Chapter 10: Awakening
The walk to the dorms was pure agony. Not because of anything Lucien said—he barely spoke at all—but because of the sheer, miserable silence that hung between them.
Lucien strode ahead without glancing back, his posture tense and rigid. Ethan followed like a lost puppy, trying not to trip over his own feet while his brain kept replaying the last hour on a horrified loop.
He'd nearly died.
Lucien had nearly killed him.
And Ignatius had... saved him, then laid down the law with the kind of authority that made Ethan's skin crawl.
When they finally reached the dorm building for first-year students, a towering structure of stone and glass, Ethan's entire body sagged with relief. He'd been here before, but after everything that happened, he hadn't even been sure if he could find his way back.
Lucien stopped just before the entrance, his back still turned. "This is the place. First-year dorms. You should be able to find your room from here."
His tone was clipped, distant, like he was already halfway to leaving. Ethan couldn't exactly blame him.
"Uh, thanks," Ethan said awkwardly, his voice barely above a whisper.
Lucien turned to leave, but then hesitated. For a moment, it looked like he was wrestling with himself. And then, in a voice that was almost too quiet to hear, he said, "And... thanks. For, you know... what you did back there."
The words sounded like they physically hurt him to say.