"The forest isn't safe. Ivander is gone now." Leroy shut the door with his heel and spun toward Celeste, reaching out to help her — though she stepped away before he could even touch her sleeve.
"I don't trust you," she said, brushing dust off her uniform. "But…" Her eyes flicked to Nathan, who stood calmly near the shattered bookshelf. "My mind has changed about him."
Leroy scoffed loudly. "Seriously? Come on. I literally just saved your lives."
Celeste didn't even blink. She pointed around at the chaos in her room — torn blankets, broken glass, feathers, splintered furniture. "And you're also the reason Ivander showed up."
Leroy lifted both hands like he was surrendering. "I already told you — Ivander is just playing his games. He flirts, he teases, he throws people off balance. That's his thing."
Nathan crouched beside the cub sniffing among the debris. He picked up a snapped arrow, twirled it between his fingers, and frowned. "I agree with Celeste. Those boulders and arrows were meant to cause real damage. Whoever fired these…" He glanced up. "They weren't warned shots."
Leroy hesitated. "Okay… maybe it wasn't Ivander. But someone is trying to get rid of us."
Nathan gave him a look that cut deeper than his words. "You sound very sure all of a sudden. Why the panic?"
"Because!" Leroy's voice cracked — rare. "During the attack everything he said made sense. Ivander knew more than he should. He was pretending to be clueless, except when he was busy flirting with Celeste."
Celeste's cheeks tightened, but she didn't react.
Nathan stood, brushing dust off his hands. "We need facts. Not fear."
"Well here's one," Leroy said. "Emile and the other freshmen weren't even placed in the same forest as us. They were in the beginner grounds — with cameras, holograms, and literal plush animals."
Nathan blinked. "What?"
Celeste stared at Leroy like she had misheard him. "That's why you slept with her?"
Leroy froze. "What— no— okay look." His voice dropped three levels. "I was desperate for answers. I needed access to information I didn't have. Emile had connections, and she's… persuasive. It was a mistake."
Nathan suddenly burst out laughing.
"What is so funny?" Leroy barked, but he already looked embarrassed.
"Emile having connections," Nathan wheezed. "That's the part that killed me."
Celeste sighed, rubbing her temples. "She does, though. Her aunt sits on the Academy's Board."
Nathan stopped laughing.
Celeste continued, calmer. "Vasra Academia is the one place where change can actually happen. People like me… we don't get ignored. We get targeted. Nobles and royals don't waste time on tiny threats."
"Celeste," Nathan tapped his chest. "We're literally right here."
"Exactly," she replied. "Which is why I don't understand why anyone would target either of you."
Leroy scratched the back of his neck. "Past grudges… Academy history… maybe something old stirring again? I don't know." He looked genuinely unsure, which was weird — Leroy always acted like he knew everything.
Celeste looked down at her torn blankets, the feathers swirling as the cub pawed through them. "I'm exhausted. And my room is ruined."
"You can sleep in my room tonight," Nathan offered without hesitation.
Celeste raised a brow. "And where exactly will you sleep?"
"With Leroy," Nathan said instantly.
Leroy choked. "Excuse me?!"
Celeste ignored their bickering and lifted the cub. He wriggled happily in her arms.
Nathan cleared his throat. "By the way… have you given him a name yet?"
"Not yet," she said. But the moment she looked into the cub's bright, curious eyes, something clicked. A cold, strange breeze swept through the cracked window, brushing the back of her neck.
"…Maximus," Celeste murmured.
Nathan blinked. "Why Maximus?"
Celeste shrugged, cradling the cub against her chest. "I don't know. It just… popped into my mind. Like he whispered it." She handed Maximus to Nathan, who held him awkwardly at first, then relaxed as the cub nuzzled into his shirt.
Leroy watched them with a blank expression — unreadable for once.
Celeste stepped close enough that Leroy had to tilt his chin down to look at her properly. "You talk a lot," she said quietly. "But I only trust actions. Not empty promises." She glanced at Nathan. "Isn't that right?"
Nathan nodded, steady and firm.
"So tell me," Celeste continued, her voice low, her eyes locked on Leroy's. "What do you really want to do?"
Leroy hesitated. He was close enough that Celeste could feel the warmth of his breath. "I want to help you," he said. "Actually help you. But you keep throwing walls at me."
"Because you earned those walls."
He swallowed hard, then tried again. "Just tell me what you need."
Celeste's jaw tightened. She had been waiting — for days, maybe even weeks — for someone to finally ask that without twisting it into something else.
"I want information," she said. "About a person."
Leroy frowned. "A person?"
"A long-lost friend." Celeste stepped back slightly, fingers brushing the torn hem of her uniform. "He studied here years ago. He disappeared. No one talks about him anymore."
Leroy's tone turned doubtful. "A missing student? And you think I can just find that?"
"You can," Celeste said. "And you will."
He laughed — short, disbelieving. But when he saw Celeste's expression, the laugh died instantly. "Oh. You're actually serious."
"Very."
Leroy rubbed his forehead. "What's the name?"
"Lysander," she said softly. "Sometimes called 'Ares.'"
The name broke the air like glass.
Nathan froze mid-movement.
Leroy's eyes narrowed. "Ares? As in—"
"Yes," Celeste said. "That Ares."
Leroy let out a long breath. "You're asking me to dig up information on someone the Academy practically erased from history."
"Yes."
"Someone tied to some of the darkest stuff in this school's past."
"Yes."
"And if I find anything…" Leroy swallowed. "Then you'll trust me?"
Celeste lifted her chin. "If you find the truth about Lysander Ares, then we can talk about trust."
Nathan placed Maximus back in Celeste's arms. The cub yawned and curled into her like she was the safest place in the universe.
Outside, thunder rumbled softly — too soft for a normal storm.
Celeste turned toward the window. "Something's coming," she whispered.
Leroy followed her gaze, and for once, he didn't argue, smirk, or joke.
He looked scared.
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