The corridor outside the Discipline Hall was empty, and Theodora leaned over the wall, releasing a breath.
There was no doubt in her mind now. Professor Sylas knew she was pretending to be Thaddeus, but the question was: Does he know who she was underneath the mask?
The throbbing from her wrist had her rolling up her sleeves and unwrapping it. Her wrist looked worse than before - a dark bruising swallowed her hand and the swelling ran up her elbow. She made the mistake of flexing her hand and hissed from the pain.
*I already told you. Two days and you'll be fine,*
*I know,* Theo grumbled
A low groan came from Seraphina.
*You should go to sleep, Sera. You've tried enough for today, and we're done with practicals. I can manage myself for the rest of class* Theo advised.
*What if someone tries to mess with you?* Seraphina was quite dizzy, and Theo could hear her panting softly, which was also affecting her on the outside.
*I won't give them the chance to. Now, go to sleep. I don't like seeing you like this*
Seraphina couldn't complain anymore. She murmured something no one could hear, and then Theo felt her succumbing to sleep.
Good.
Just then, the door to the Discipline Hall opened, and Theodora panicked and tried to run, but it was too late, so she had no choice but to remain still and act natural.
She hid her wrist behind her as Sylas walked out.
"Aren't you supposed to be on your way to class?" Sylas questioned sternly.
"I was just leaving," She straightened too quickly.
And the moment she pushed off the walls, her vision swarmed and the world around her tilted. She knew she was falling, and didn't know how to stop herself.
Fingers wrapped around her forearm, stopping her before she could hit the ground and jolted her back up. Sylas had grabbed her bad arm, and pain seared up her arm.
"Ouch!" She cried and tried to pull her arm away, but his grip was unyielding and firm. He looked down at her bad wrist, and his fingers lightly brushed against the swollen, violet area. Something in his eyes darkened, then it was gone.
"You're not healing," he stated, and then looked up at her to say more, when she also looked up, and both of them realised at the same time that their faces were too close.
His breath brushed against her cheek as he spoke, and the air between them held this... uneasy, heated tension. His eyes flickered down to her throat again, then back to her eyes. Whatever he was thinking, he buried it well with a calm expression.
"Why aren't you healing? Is your wolf not active?" He asked, and she tried not to react to the feeling and scent of his breath.
"I'll be fine," She murmured.
"Next time," He started, finally letting go, "When you want to faint in a hallway, try not to do it when I'm standing directly behind you,"
Her lips twitched, "I'll keep that in mind,"
Then, he turned around and walked away. She watched him leave, wondering what that was all about.
The thought of heading to the clinic was in her mind, but she was afraid the doctor there would figure out she was a girl. So, the clinic or getting drugs was out of her options.
She headed back to class and survived for the next three hours of theory classes. She tried to look alive and endure the pain, but it was becoming more and more unbearable.
But the thing was, she had endured worse than this before. The things she went through to get this strong and fast, and the troubles her brothers put her through, were much more painful than a mere broken wrist.
"Hey, you good?" Liam whispered to her in between classes.
She nodded, "Yeah, sure,"
The moment the bell rang that classes were over for the day, Theo was out of the class in a flash. She was walking past the boneyard when she heard her name.
Eric.
One look at him and her stomach was feeling funny again. That silly smile touched her face with a faint stain of red on her cheeks.
"Teddy," He stopped in front of her. He did not look happy.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Please don't tell me you went back to your room?"
"I did. Zeke is letting me stay, I don't need to change...,"
"Yes, you do!!" He deadpan.
"Eric?"
"I don't mind you staying in my room till you change rooms. I'll talk to Finn about it, and you'll head to the Commandant's office and...,"
This time, she cut him off, "Why didn't you tell me you had a brother?"
Silence.
"We've known each other for ten years, Eric, and you never bothered to tell me that you had a brother, that you weren't the only son of your father and ...,"
"How is that important?" He snapped angrily, "You eventually found out, didn't you? Now are you gonna come with me or not?"
It was really annoying. She was so mad at it, but her feelings were much stronger and she easily calmed and spoke softly again, "Whatever your reason is for not telling me about him, it's fine, okay? And as much as I would like to stay with you, I think I'll stick with my room,"
Eric's eyes also softened and he placed both hands on her shoulders and gave them a squeeze, "Please, Teddy," his eyes were shimmery and dreamy, "Zeke isn't someone... Anyone wants to live with. Come and stay with me,"
"The Commandant refused to let me change my room. And I read my schedule, there are usually unannounced morning inspections three times a week, and I don't want them to barge in and get all three of us in trouble. I need to stay in my assigned room,"
Eric groaned, "I don't like this,"
"If it helps, I won't necessarily be staying in the room that much unless it's time to sleep. I could always come to your room and hang out during the daytime,"
Eric still looked disturbed, "Yeah, I guess,"
"What's going on between you and Zeke? Why don't you get along with him?"
Eric shook his head, "It's not important, don't worry about it,"
She recalled their encounter and it felt very important to her, but she wasn't gonna push if he didn't want to speak.
"I'm just... I'm just afraid he's gonna use you to get to me," Eric confessed through gritted teeth, "If he knows how close we are, he might utilise that and that is why I don't want you getting close to Zeke in any way,"
"You just said I shouldn't worry and it wasn't important,"
"It's not!" Eric let out a ragged breath, "I promise, it's not, okay?"
"Okay," She whispered.
He finally noticed, "Why do you look pale?"
"Class Stress, don't worry about it,"
He nodded, and that was it.
Just then, Finn came along and Theodora turned around with an eye roll.
Eric's attention was snatched by his lover and Theo felt invisible for the rest of their walk to the Northern Dormitory.
They were almost there when she sighted Zeke standing by an empty block where the sun didn't reach. His hair was tied back as always, with some strands falling down his face, which gave him an added dangerous aura.
His shirt was unbuttoned, and it was right there on display.
Chest. Abs.
Like he could feel her gaze on him, he looked in her direction and their eyes met.
Then, he looked at Eric next to her, then back at her again.
Eric wasn't looking, he didn't even know someone was watching, and yet at that second, he casually threw an arm around her shoulders, and she trembled slightly while her face turned completely red.
A smirk touched Zeke's face.
She looked away. Darn it!