Page 96 of Academy of the Wicked, Year Two

His gaze flicks briefly to my neck, the exact location where Cassius's bond mark lies beneath my glamour, then away with deliberate casualness that feels practiced.

"Like the energy patterns on your skin," he continues, voice carefully neutral despite the bombshell contained within simple observation. "They're quite distinctive once you know what to look for."

I nearly choke on a piece of pear, the casual confirmation that he can indeed see through my disguise landing with physical impact.

"Who are you?" I ask directly, abandoning pretense in favor of addressing the growing mystery his existence represents.

Instead of responding immediately, Zeke approaches the tree once more, this time reaching much higher to select what appears to be the perfect peach from the upper branches. The fruit shouldn't be within his reach given his height, yet the tree seems to bend slightly, branch lowering to accommodate his grasp.

When he turns back to me, his expression carries new openness, a decision apparently made during that brief communion with the ancient plant.

"I'm a catalyst," he states simply, offering the peach with an extended hand. "Just like you."

Before I can demand clarification of this cryptic statement, a distant bell chimes through the chamber, its crystalline tone suggesting a transition between class periods rather than an emergency alert.

"We need to go," Zeke says, sudden urgency replacing momentary calm. "If we're late to Professor Valerian's class, there'll be consequences beyond simple demerits."

I accept the peach automatically, its weight surprisingly significant for its relative size, warmth pulsing against my palm like a miniature heartbeat.

Questions crowd my mind, each demanding immediate priority, yet practical considerations prevail. Whatever mysteries Zeke represents, getting answers while accumulating academic penalties won't serve my larger purpose.

"This conversation isn't over," I warn him, tucking peach into my jacket pocket for later examination. "I want actual answers, not cryptic statements."

His smile returns, smaller than before but carrying genuine warmth that feels earned rather than automatically granted.

"I know," he acknowledges, already moving toward the passage leading back to the main corridors. "But first, we really need to avoid Professor Valerian's wrath. Even the Abundance Tree can't protect against that."

From how he’s saying it, the whole school administration won’t protect us from this Professor’s wrath.

I follow with reluctant acceptance, questions temporarily set aside but not forgotten. Zeke represents a puzzle far more complex than initially appeared, his intervention against Damien revealing courage that contradicts his seemingly frail exterior.

More importantly, his ability to perceive through my glamour presents both potential threat and opportunity I can't afford to ignore. If he can see the bond marks and energy patterns beneath my disguise, what else might he perceive that others miss?

Can he really see me as Gwenivere and not as the persona of Gabriel?

Whatever Zeke's true nature, I suspect it connects directly to Elena's dream warning about the cat who would crave my company.

If following her advice means protecting this strange, brave boy who stood between me and danger despite his evidentdisadvantages, perhaps the path forward isn't as complicated as feared.

Pay mercy to the cat that will crave your company. It will lead you to the next step towards your salvation and allow you to remember what you've obviously forgotten.

The cryptic instruction echoes through my mind as we hurry through winding corridors, Zeke's movements growing increasingly fluid with urgency, that feline grace more pronounced when necessity removes conscious restraint.

He has to be it.

I've found the cat.

Now I just need to discover what forgotten knowledge he's meant to help me remember and how it connects to the chalice that might save Elena before time runs out.

Let’s hope this goes smoothly.

Legends And Sleeping Cats

~GWENIVERE~

Professor Valerian's classroom differs dramatically from Professor Eternalis' structured amphitheater.

Here, desks arrange themselves in concentric circles around a central dais where the instructor stands beneath what appears to be a living model of Faerie's complex celestial system.

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