Page 64 of The Moonborn's Curse

Always with the same unreadable look—like he was studying a puzzle no one had explained to him. His silence didn't feel malicious. But they didn't feel safe either.

With him, Seren never quite knew what she was dealing with.

It happened in the corridor, between classes.

Seren turned the corner too fast, her thoughts elsewhere, her mind running ahead of her body.

She didn't see him until it was too late.

Her elbow slammed into someone's arm, the impact sending a sharp, strange sensation shooting up her limb.

Like a current of electricity—but not just that.

It was like hitting the funny bone, that sudden, jarring fission of shock, something that left her breathless and off-balance for a second.

Her book slipped from her hands, hitting the polished floor with a dull thud.

Seren bent down instinctively—

And so did he.

Their hands stopped just short of touching.

That's when she looked up.

Hagan.

For a brief, suspended moment, neither of them moved.

He had felt it too.

She could see it in the way his eyes widened, just slightly—just enough to tell her he wasn't expecting whatever had passed between them.

But then—

Laughter.

Lia's voice, mocking, drifted toward them as she and the others approached.

Hagan's expression shut down instantly, like a curtain coming down.

Before she could react, before she could process what had just happened, he straightened to his full height—book in hand.

For a second, she thought—hoped—he would just hand it to her.

Instead—

He turned it over in his fingers, gaze flicking to her face, and said, low and sharp.

"You're so desperate to belong, you'll throw yourself at anyone's feet, won't you?"

Then—

He dropped the book.

Not at her feet.

Not even close.

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