EIRA POV
The academy parking lot buzzed with excitement.
Students dragged suitcases across the pavement, teachers shouted instructions nobody listened to, and the buses waited with their engines running.
I adjusted my backpack and searched for my friends.
Then I saw him.
Adrain.
He was leaning against a black car near the edge of the parking lot.
One hand rested in his pocket while the other supported him against the vehicle.
As usual, he looked completely detached from everyone around him.
Yet his silver eyes were fixed directly on me.
My stomach tightened.
Why was he staring?
The distance between us was large, but somehow it felt like he was standing right beside me.
"Eira!"
I jumped.
Jake appeared beside me with his usual grin.
"There you are."
Immediately, the strange nervousness eased.
"You're late."
"I'm not late."
"You are."
"I'm not."
Jake laughed.
I found myself laughing too.
When I looked back toward Adrain, he was still watching.
For some reason, I quickly looked away.
The trip started badly.
Very badly.
Because the teachers decided to arrange the seating.
And somehow I ended up between Jake and Adrain.
The bus ride was long.
Students sang songs.
Teachers gave up trying to maintain order.
Jake spent most of the journey making me laugh while Adrain remained silent beside me.
A few hours later someone suggested a game.
"Never Have I Ever!"
The entire bus exploded with excitement.
The game became complete chaos.
People shouted.
Laughed.
Exposed embarrassing secrets.
Even the teachers gave up trying to maintain order.
I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt when the bus suddenly hit a rough patch.
The vehicle lurched violently.
A gasp escaped me.
My balance disappeared.
Before I could stop myself, I fell sideways.
Straight onto Adrain.
Strong hands caught me instantly.
One hand steadied my shoulder.
The other caught my waist.
For a brief second I froze.
His grip was firm.
Unmoving.
I looked up.
His expression hadn't changed at all.
No surprise.
No embarrassment.
Nothing.
Just those silver eyes looking back at me.
"Sit properly."
His voice was calm.
Heat rushed into my cheeks.
I quickly moved away.
"S-sorry."
He simply nodded.
Across from us, Jake had gone completely silent.
The rest of the journey passed quickly.
Somewhere between the mountains and the endless curves of the road, exhaustion caught up with me.
The last thing I remembered was leaning back in my seat.
Cold air greeted us when we arrived.
Silverpine was beautiful.
Snow-covered mountains rose beyond the endless forest.
Ancient pine trees stretched toward the sky.
Mist drifted through the woods.
Everything felt untouched.
Wild.
Magical.
The trek began soon after.
Jake stayed beside me the entire time.
Talking.
Laughing.
Helping me over difficult paths.
Occasionally I caught sight of Adrain somewhere nearby.
Never close.
Never far.
After nearly an hour, I heard something.
Water.
My eyes widened.
"Do you hear that?"
Jake groaned.
"Oh no."
"It's a waterfall!"
Before he could stop me, I ran.
"Eira!"
I ignored him.
The sound grew louder.
The trees opened.
And there it was.
A massive waterfall crashed into a crystal pool below.
Mist sparkled beneath the sunlight.
Rainbows danced in the spray.
"It's beautiful."
I moved closer.
Then closer.
Completely forgetting the slippery rocks beneath my feet.
One step.
Then another.
The rock shifted.
My balance vanished.
The world tilted.
I was falling.
Then suddenly—
An arm wrapped around my waist.
Strong.
Steady.
I looked up.
Adrain.
His arm remained around my waist.
His silver eyes locked onto mine.
The waterfall roared behind us.
For one strange second, everything else disappeared.
Adrain POV
The moment Eira slipped, the world slowed.
One second she was laughing beside the waterfall.
The next she was falling.
The distance between us disappeared before I consciously decided to move.
My hand closed around her waist.
I pulled her back against me.
Safe.
For a brief moment, I felt the rapid beat of her heart.
The warmth of her body.
The scent that had been driving me insane all day.
Then I let go.
Immediately.
Control.
I had spent centuries mastering it.
I wasn't about to lose it now.
"Eira."
She looked up at me.
Confused.
"What?"
"You need to stop running toward danger."
She frowned.
"I was fine."
"You were falling."
Before she could answer, Jake appeared beside her.
Of course he did.
Always close.
Always watching.
Always there.
I should have ignored it.
Instead, my gaze followed the way he instinctively moved closer to her.
The way he checked if she was hurt.
The way she immediately relaxed around him.
Something unpleasant stirred inside me.
I crushed it.
The same way I had been crushing it all day.
The bus ride replayed in my mind.
Eira asleep between us.
The mountain roads twisting through the snow-covered cliffs.
Her head slowly falling toward Jake.
Toward him.
I had moved before thinking.
Carefully shifting her onto my shoulder instead.
She never woke.
Jake had noticed immediately.
The look he gave me could have started a war.
I pointed toward the front of the bus.
A silent challenge.
Do something.
I dare you.
For a moment, I thought he would.
Then he looked at Eira sleeping peacefully.
And stopped.
Smart choice.
I had watched them all day.
Not intentionally.
At least that's what I told myself.
But every time I looked up, there they were.
Jake making her laugh.
Jake carrying her bag.
Jake reaching for her hand when the path became difficult.
Jake smiling whenever she smiled.
And Eira...
Eira never noticed.
She smiled at everyone.
Trusted everyone.
Walked through danger as if danger didn't exist.
The cold air carried her laughter across the waterfall.
For a moment, I found myself staring.
The mist settled on her skin.
She looked happy.
Too happy.
Then Jake touched her hand.
A simple gesture.
Meaningless.
Yet my jaw tightened.
Ridiculous.
I looked away immediately.
The feeling vanished.
Or rather, I forced it to.
Feelings were weaknesses.
Weaknesses got people killed.
I knew that better than anyone.
"Eira slipped."
Jake's voice dragged me back to the present.
I looked at him.
"No."
His eyes narrowed.
"She fell."
"She's fine."
A cold smile touched my lips.
"That's a strange thing to say."
"If I were you, Eira..."
Both of them looked at me.
"What?" she asked.
My gaze remained on Jake.
"You should replace your bodyguard."
Silence.
Jake became perfectly still.
The dangerous kind of still.
Eira blinked.
"My what?"
I ignored her.
"This one seems unreliable."
Jake took a step forward.
"Careful."
I almost laughed.
"He follows you everywhere."
Another step.
"He watches everyone who talks to you."
His fists clenched.
"He acts like your personal guard."
The waterfall roared around us.
Cold mist drifted between us.
"And after all that..."
I glanced toward the rocks below.
"You still almost fell."
The insult landed exactly where intended.
Jake's eyes darkened.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Neither willing to back down.
"You think you're better?" Jake asked quietly.
"No."
I stepped closer.
Close enough that only he could hear me.
"I was simply faster."
His entire body went rigid.
Good.
Let him hate me.
At least hatred made sense.
The other feeling didn't.
The one that appeared whenever Eira smiled.
The one that surfaced whenever she looked at someone else.
The one I refused to acknowledge.
Jake stared at me.
I stared back.
The challenge remained between us.
Unspoken.
Sharp as a blade.
Then Eira snapped.
"Would both of you stop?"
Her voice cut through the tension instantly.
She stepped between us, glaring.
"I am fine!"
Neither of us answered.
"And stop talking to Jake like that."
Jake looked entirely too satisfied.
Then she turned toward me.
"And stay away from him."
Silence.
The words shouldn't have mattered.
Yet somehow they did.
I buried the feeling immediately.
Locked it away where it belonged.
My expression never changed.
"As you wish."
I turned away.
The shadows of Silverpine waited between the trees.
Behind me, Jake remained beside her.
Victorious.
For now.
But as I walked deeper into the forest, one realization followed me.
Jake wasn't the problem.
The problem was that I cared whether she chose his side.
And that was far more dangerous than any enemy.