The air in the Academy felt brittle. Dafne moved through the library, her steps light, her expression a mask of eerie, serene detachment. The sharp, jagged edges of the previous day—the screaming in the infirmary, the crushing weight of the "strings"—had been smoothed over by Maya's accidental command.
She felt like she was floating in warm water, the memories of her own anger drifting just out of reach like sunken treasure.
Chloe was sitting at a corner table, her sketchbook open. She looked up as Dafne approached and immediately froze. Chloe had been there in the cafe; she had seen the raw, visceral terror in Dafne's eyes when Henderson appeared. She had seen the girl shattering.
But the girl standing before her now looked... empty.
"Dafne?" Chloe whispered, standing up. She reached out, her fingers hovering near Dafne's wrist. "Are you okay? You look like you're not really here."
"I feel wonderful, Chloe," Dafne said, her voice melodic and flat. "The sun is so bright today, isn't it? I think I might go for a walk later."
Chloe's stomach twisted. "Dafne, yesterday you were screaming. You told Maya and Raphael to leave you alone. You were so angry. How can you be 'wonderful' now?"
Dafne tilted her head, a small, puzzled frown touching her lips. The Echo hummed in the back of her mind, trying to reconcile the logic. "Angry? Why would I be angry? Maya is my friend. Everything is fine."
Chloe stepped back, her eyes wide with a growing realization. "You don't remember? Dafne, look at me. You were crying. You looked like you were dying. How do you just... forget that?"
Before Dafne could answer, a shadow fell over the table.
The Public Shaming
Suzan and her circle had been watching from the mahogany stacks. To Suzan, Dafne wasn't a girl with a condition; she was a rival for the attention of the Vane brothers, and she was bored of the "quiet girl" act.
"Look at her," Suzan sneered, stepping forward. "Still playing the wide-eyed orphan. Is that how you get Raphael to look at you, Sterling? By acting like you've had a lobotomy?"
Suzan reached out, plucking a book from Dafne's hand and dropping it onto the floor. "Pick it up. Or are you waiting for a prince to do it for you?"
Dafne blinked, her vacant smile never wavering. She began to bend down, her body moving with that haunting, mechanical grace.
"Enough."
The word cut through the library like a gunshot. Raphael appeared from behind a pillar, his eyes burning with a cold, predatory light. He didn't look at Dafne; he looked at Suzan as if she were a bug he was contemplating crushing under his heel.
"Suzan," Raphael said, his voice a low, terrifying vibrate. "If you ever speak to her again, I will ensure your father's firm loses every Vane contract by the end of the business day. Am I clear?"
Suzan went pale, her mouth snapping shut. She scrambled back, her bravado evaporating instantly.
Raphael turned to Dafne. His gaze was sharp, searching. He saw the blankness in her eyes, the lack of the "spark" of resistance he had grown to enjoy. He felt a sudden, sharp pang of irritation.
"Dafne. Leave the book. Follow me. Now."
Dafne stood up instantly, her movements perfectly synced to his command. She followed him out of the library and into a secluded hallway behind the auditorium, her steps echoing rhythmically behind him.
The Glitch in the Soul
Raphael stopped and spun around, trapping her against the wall with his arms. He leaned in, his face inches from hers.
"What happened?" he hissed. "I saw you with Maya this morning. You were supposed to be furious. You told us to leave. You looked at her like she was a monster."
Dafne looked up at him, her eyes clear and terrifyingly peaceful. "Maya is my friend, Raphael. She's very kind. I don't know why you're upset."
Raphael's hand tightened on the stone wall. "You forgave her? After she made you crawl? After she pulled you apart in the music room?"
"I don't think she did those things," Dafne said, her brow furrowing slightly as the command to forget fought against the reality of the past. "I remember... we were just talking. My head is a little fuzzy, but I know I'm happy now."
Raphael felt a cold shiver go down his spine. He was the master of commands, but he knew the limits of his own power. He hadn't told her to forget. He hadn't told her to be happy.
"You're confused," Raphael whispered, his voice trembling with a mixture of jealousy and dread. "Dafne, look at me. Tell me exactly what Maya said to you in the hallway."
"She told me..." Dafne started, then stopped. Her eyes began to dart back and forth, a "glitch" appearing in her calm. "She told me to... to... I don't know. I can't find the words. They're gone."
Raphael stared at her. He realized then that Maya hadn't just apologized. She had found a way into the attic of Dafne's mind and started throwing out the furniture.
He felt a surge of pure, unadulterated rage. Maya was playing with a deeper level of the Echo—one that could erase him, too. If Maya could make Dafne forget her anger, she could make Dafne forget him.
"She broke you," Raphael whispered, his hand shaking as he touched Dafne's chin. "She didn't save you. She turned you into a hollow shell so she wouldn't have to feel guilty."
Dafne just smiled at him, the blank, beautiful smile of a girl who no longer knew who she was supposed to be afraid of.