Chapter 828: I Want To Know Why
Chapter 828: I Want To Know Why
Isolde was left still for a fraction longer than she liked.It was not fear. Not exactly. Surprise, however, was difficult to deny. Liam Hunter was not supposed to be there. Not in the third-year wing at this hour, not standing in the enclosed walkway between the academic section and the dormitory building, and certainly not waiting in a place she had to pass through after leaving a room no one should have known she entered.
For a moment, her mind moved through possibilities quickly enough that none settled fully before the next appeared. Had he followed Chris? Had he followed her? Had he guessed she would come this way? Had someone seen her and told him? Had he been waiting there by coincidence? No. Liam Hunter did not feel like coincidence.
The thought made her irritation tighten beneath the calm she wore.
How had he known where she was?
She had not told anyone she would still be in the third-year wing, and after the announcement in Beacon Hall, most students had scattered to dinner, dormitories, or frantic conversation about Eldervale. The student council office could explain her presence in the wing, but not the empty classroom. Unless Liam had simply guessed.
She was student president, after all. If she was not in the dining hall or dormitory, it would not be outrageous to assume she was still handling something in the upperclassmen’s wing. Student council work often ran late, especially now that the second-year Bastion Assessment had been announced and leadership succession would become a louder issue.
But Isolde did not believe that was all.
Liam stood too still.
His red eyes were fixed on her with the detached patience of someone who had not wandered here looking for a possibility, but waited because he already had the answer. His hands were in the pockets of his coat, and the dim light of the enclosed walkway made the faint red traces in his dark hair seem sharper. Beyond the glass panels beside them, the academy grounds lay under night and wind, the bare trees moving in restless silhouettes. Inside, the lamps burned warmly, but the air between them felt colder than the outside.
Isolde let her usual expression settle fully over her face.
Calm. Approachable. Mildly curious.
"Mr. Hunter," she said, her voice smooth and pleasant. "What is a second-year doing in the upperclassmen’s wing this late without permission?"
Liam did not answer directly.
He simply looked at her.