Evelyn didn't return to the library after that night.
She didn't avoid Alexander—but she didn't seek him out either. Not because of the kiss, not even because of the strange warmth that bloomed in her chest every time she thought about it. No, it was because she'd begun to sense something shifting. Whispers trailed her in the halls now. Girls with perfect hair and venom-laced smiles watched her as if she'd stolen something precious.
And maybe she had.
Isabella had become especially cruel since the assessments. She had smiled at Evelyn during breakfast, offered her juice… then tripped her in front of the Academy gates. Laughed when her books scattered. Said, "Oh dear, did you forget how to walk?"
Evelyn picked herself up in silence.
By the time she reached her first class, bruises bloomed across her knees, but her face remained calm.
Alexander stood by the window when she entered. He didn't acknowledge her, not as Professor Valerius or anything else. But his eyes flicked to her knees, sharp and subtle.
Later, when the lesson ended and the students filed out, he stopped her with a single word.
"Stay."
Evelyn stiffened.
The door clicked shut behind the last student. She turned to face him.
"I'm fine," she said before he could speak.
"I didn't ask," he replied coolly, folding his arms. "I saw the bruise."
"It's nothing."
His gaze sharpened. "You need to stop letting them get to you."
Evelyn stepped closer. "You think I let them?"
"You're not defending yourself."
"And you are?" she asked, voice low.
He didn't answer that. Instead, he reached into his coat again, and this time, pulled out something unfamiliar: a letter. Sealed. Heavy.
"Take this," he said. "Don't open it here."
"What is it?"
But he was already turning away.
The silence stretched.
She left with the letter burning in her hand.