During my time here at Lixierra academy, I had come to learn a few things about the mystics that surround me. One, they take their titles very seriously. Most of the history lessons I had taken showcased the royal family trees of each kingdom, and as surprised as I was to find out that Chanyeol and Hyuna were royal –Chanyeol’s great grandmother was once Agni’s queen and Hyuna turned out to be Ahri’s second cousin- , nothing boggled my mind more than the realization that even if you are not an heir to the throne, you still get treated like a prince or a princess. Two, exposing magic to the human world is considered treason. Mystics don’t forbid interaction with the human race; they are not a secluded paranoid bunch. But if you expose yourself as a magic wielder to a human you have no intention of marrying, you will be sentenced to death. And three, mystics have mastered the art of concealing all emotions. This was particularly true for the royals and the council members. Emotions like excitement, happiness, sympathy and grief were deemed too mundane and so they learned to push them down. And so when Sooyeon finally came to her senses, the look of utter indifference on her face was eerie but expected.

As we left the closed office of Sooyeon and emerged into the chilly night, a loud buzz greeted us. It seemed that just like last night, the entire student body was sprawled across the garden, waiting for news of the attack. Sooyeon had left us as soon as she had gained back her composure, heading for the covenant to make sense of what she saw. Rose, Gabriella, Kira and I said nothing as we made our way through the masses. I shivered as the cold night wind brushed through me and I threw a hateful glance at my gym wear. We had left practice in a hurry and headed straight to the main office, which meant I was still in my sweaty thin gym clothes.

It was obvious that none of the students knew what happened in the underworld, and a secret glance shared between our little group made it clear that we weren’t going to share our knowledge with anyone just yet. It wasn’t exactly a secret that would get us in trouble, but we weren’t willing to risk anything.

The booming voice of Mr. X rang through the intercoms of the academy, snapping everyone’s attention. He announced that the attack was over, and that for the most part, the mystics were successful. He left out the reason behind the attack, the fact that the mystics were risking everything to capture the Grim ones – a fact that only my friends and I were aware of- and declared that the troops made it safely to the covenant for treatment and debriefing. He then instructed the students to go back to their dorms with the promise of more news in the morning.

The students continued to whisper amongst themselves, curiosity taking priority over the cold weather. They were mostly still questioning the decision that led to the attack, the majority of them furious with the covenant’s carelessness for the lives of their subjects. My head started spinning, partially because I was drained, but mostly because of the haunted look on Sooyeon’s face when she realized her brother had been attacked. What could have happened to Sungmin? Would he be alright? Or was it already too late? I picked up my pace as I rubbed my palms together for warmth. A hot shower and a good night sleep were a much needed escape from the reality of Lixierra. Behind me, I could hear the muffled whispers of Rose and Kira as they said goodbye to Gabriella and hurried to catch up with me.

‘Meet me by the lake at midnight.’ I read Kiseop’s text as I dried my hair. My muscles were finally starting to relax thanks to the scolding hot shower and my bed never looked more comfortable. It was currently 9 pm and trying to stay awake for three more hours was the last thing I wanted to do. I contemplated declining his offer, but I haven’t seen him since we left the gym and I really wanted to talk to him. Kiseop was a great listener, and telling him about my worries and problems always made me feel better and after what we saw -or rather heard- at Sooyeon’s I had a lot to worry about. Granted I found it harder to share certain aspects of my life with him like my true origin story and my magic issues but it was still nice to talk to him. So I laid on my bed and tried my best to stay awake until midnight. Unfortunately, my efforts were futile and my whispered objections were drowned by the overwhelming darkness.

“Look who decided to join the living!” Kira’s eyebrows rose as I came down the stairs. She was sipping her black coffee on the sofa and flipping through a magazine while Rose tried to tame her wild blue hair. “We were contemplating burying you in the backyard.”

“I oversleep for a couple of hours and you’re already plotting my untimely death? How did I get so lucky?” I stretched my sore muscles and stifled a yawn.

“A couple of hours?” Rose giggled. “Honey it’s almost 2pm.” She went back to work on Kira’s hair, trying but mostly failing to get the girl to sit still. “For heaven’s sake Kira stop twitching or I’ll pull your hair out!”

“It feels like you already did!” Kira winced and pulled away from Rose with a nasty glare. “I’ll braid it myself.”

“2pm?” My eyes almost bulged out of my skull as I realized that I have slept for most of the day. I guess waking up every day at the crack of dawn to train like the military took more of a toll on me that I had thought. Thank heavens the covenant spared us on weekends.

“Has there been any news of the troops?” My heart picked up its beat when I remembered Mr. X’s promise of news in the morning. Did the royals release the mystics yet? Did they make the news of capturing the Grim ones public? Was Sungmin alright? Did Isaiah make it out? My mind reeled with questions as worst case scenarios started playing on loop in my anxiety ridden brain.

“Nothing yet.” Rose shook her head as she plopped down on the couch. “They’re still being held in the covenant.”

“No detail is too small I guess.” Kira sighed.

I took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm down as I made my way into the kitchen. Living with a caffeine addict like Kira meant that coffee will always be hot for the taking so I poured a cup and added some sugar and cream.

“Your pancakes are in the microwave.” Rose pointed out.

“Thank you!” I gave her a warm smile and started pushing the device’s buttons to heat up my breakfast.

“So what are we doing today?” Kira asked, her hair now separated into two Dutch braids. “Gabi is coming by in a few minutes, anyone fancy a trip to the beach?”

“In this weather? No thank you!” Rose scoffed. “Besides, Lilith probably has plans with Kiseop anyway.”

I choked on the pancakes as I heard my boyfriend’s name. Kiseop! I was supposed to meet him last night but I fell asleep. Damn the mystics and their rigorous training and my body for not being able to stay awake. A tiny ‘Oh my God’ escaped my lips as I ran upstairs to fetch my phone. 10 missed calls. Holy hell he must have thought I stood him up. I debated calling him to apologize but I decided I better just go to his house and do this in person. I quickly changed out of my pajamas and into some warm clothes. I wrapped my hair in a bun, put my coat on and ran downstairs to get my boots.

“See? I told you she has plans.” Rose nodded towards me as I frantically put my shoes on.

“Oh come on Lilith we barely get to see you anymore.” Kira whined.

“I’m sorry girls but I kinda was supposed