Chapter Two — Between Bells

  The second bell rang, sharp and loud, and Nyra flinched before she could stop herself.

  She adjusted the strap of her bag and followed the flow of students out of the classroom. Her head still felt heavy, like sleep hadn’t fully let her go, but the familiar rhythm of school helped steady her. The noise, the movement, the structure—she liked it. Always had.

  Kevin waited for her just outside the door.

  “You survived,” he said.

  “Barely,” Nyra replied, but there was a hint of a smile there. “I like the class, though.”

  “I knew you would,” he said. “You always do.”

  They fell into step together, moving down the hall as lockers slammed and voices echoed around them. Nyra caught herself glancing at her schedule again, double-checking where she needed to be next.

  “You didn’t miss much,” Kevin added. “Orientation was mostly rules and warnings. You’d have hated the speeches.”

  “I would’ve survived,” she said. “Just… not on that kind of morning.”

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  Kevin nodded. He didn’t press. He never did.

  “Nyra!”

  She looked up just in time to see Lina waving at her from near the stairwell, already pushing through the crowd. Lina reached her first, eyes scanning Nyra’s face with practiced ease.

  “You look exhausted,” Lina said. “Again.”

  Nyra huffed softly. “Good to see you too.”

  Behind Lina, Seris followed more calmly, hands in his pockets, expression easy. “Kevin said you almost didn’t make it.”

  “Almost is doing a lot of work there,” Nyra said.

  Seris grinned. “Figures.”

  The four of them clustered near the lockers, the noise of the hall wrapping around them. Nyra felt herself relax a fraction. This—this was familiar. Friends filling in the gaps, grounding her when her body felt like it lagged behind her mind.

  “You okay now?” Lina asked, quieter.

  Nyra nodded. “Yeah. Just tired.”

  It wasn’t a lie. It just wasn’t the whole truth.

  Across the hall, Kael leaned against the lockers like he always did—too relaxed for someone who drew attention without trying. He was talking to Rowan and Elin, laughing at something Rowan said.

  Nyra barely spared them a glance.

  Kevin didn’t.

  Elin laughed, sharp and bright, her eyes flicking briefly toward Kevin before returning to Kael. Kevin’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.

  Nyra noticed the shift before she understood it.

  “He’s not even aware, is he?” she murmured.

  Kevin exhaled through his nose. “No. He never is.”

  Kael, oblivious, turned back to his locker, already digging for something.

  Rowan looked up then.

  His gaze met Nyra’s for half a second—curious, open, lingering just a beat too long before he looked away again. Nyra felt nothing more than mild awareness, the way you noticed someone noticing you.

  Nothing more.

  “Anyway,” Lina said, clapping her hands once. “We’ve got to move. Next class.”

  They started down the hall together.

  As they walked, Nyra felt it again.

  Not a thought. Not a memory.

  A pull.

  Low and quiet, like something stirring just beneath the surface of her chest. Not directed at anyone around her. Not desire. Not interest.

  Grief, maybe. Or recognition that didn’t belong to her.

  She slowed for half a step.

  Kevin noticed immediately. “Nyra?”

  “I’m fine,” she said automatically.

  This time, she meant it—mostly.

  She straightened, matching their pace again, focusing on the sound of her friends’ voices, the bell schedule, the day unfolding in front of her.

  Behind her, unseen, something listened.

  And waited.