Page 124 of Cursed Dreams
“You really don’t know what you’re doing.”
“Neither do you,” she said, voice shaking. “You think you can terrify me into abandoning this? You think you can control everything around you and people will just fall in line? You’re wrong, Vaelith. I’m not scared of you.”
He stepped forward, but she moved quicker this time.
“It’s not me you should be scared of little healer”, his mouth twisted into a smile, slow and sharp.
“You go chasing that forest, Thalia. You keep believing in your pretty prince and his pretty lies.” His eyes sparked with flickers of gold, like fire behind silver.
“But know this, I will go to war. Even if that means going to war with you.”
Then his gaze dipped again, toward the place where her necklace hid beneath her robes. He looked... haunted.
“Light always forgets what shadows remember,” he murmured.
Before she could demand what he meant, he turned on his heel and walked away, his boots silent on the stone, his presence finally retreating like the thunder after a storm.
Thalia stood frozen, heart in her throat, her magic still humming like a live wire beneath her skin. She wrapped her arms around herself and stumbled down the corridor, aware of the hushed silence as she walked past , a feeling of numbness spreading through her. Instead of turning toward the infirmary, she veered sharply down a quieter corridor that led to the dormitories. Her hands shook. Her heart felt as though it might crack open
Her body moved on instinct, unlocking the door without a single conscious thought. The heavy click of the lock and the welcome silence that followed wrapped around her as she slipped inside and let the door shut behind her. She collapsed onto the bed, folding in on herself, too exhausted to hold anything together anymore. Her mind wouldn’t stop spinning replaying images of golden eyes, furious snarls, and that moment… that terrifying, strange moment where Vaelith had leaned in and inhaled at her neck and the sudden calm that has washed over her. The memory of his wide eyes and stunned expression haunted her. His final words repeated over and over
"I will go to war. Even if that means going to war with you."
Thalia buried her face in her arms. Her heart pounded as if it were trying to claw its way out of her chest.
She woke to the sound of her door creaking open.
“Thalia?” Nyla’s voice was gentle.
She looked up, startled, as her friends filtered into the room, Nyla first, then Marand behind her, and finally Cellen, carefullyclosing the door behind . His eyes swept the room before they landed on her with an intensity that was rare for him.
“You weren’t in rotation,” Nyla said, crossing the room in three strides. “I told Master Elric you were ill. I thought maybe… maybe you were in the library.”
“I looked there,” Marand added, her brows tight with worry. “Then your hiding spot in the south garden. When we couldn’t find you, I started to panic.”
“I’m fine,” Thalia said quickly, her voice raw. “Just… needed air. Space. I couldn’t face classes. Not after—” she stopped.
“You mean after the very public spat that has theentire templetalking?” Cellen dropped onto the edge of the bed beside her with an uncharacteristically grim expression. “Thalia, people are saying, you attacked him? What the hell happened?”
She hesitated, then sat up, rubbing her hands over her face. “He knows. About the map.”
Marand gasped. “How?”
“I don’t know!” Thalia snapped, then immediately winced at the sharpness in her tone. “I’m sorry. I just… he was waiting for me. He confronted me between classes. I tried to keep my cool, but the way he roared at me, I lost it and then he, he grabbed me and—”
“Grabbedyou?” Nyla’s eyes flashed, already halfway to standing.
“No, not like that. I mean he… he didn't hurt me in. Then we were too close, he was next to my neck and I felt my magic building ..” Thalia shivered. “I slapped him. It was the only thing I could think to do.”
“Gods,” Marand breathed.
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Nyla asked, her voice soft but full of steel.
“No,” Thalia whispered. “But he could have. And I think… I think hewantedto. Just for a moment. But then he looked worried? I ... I don’t know I'm so confused”
There was a long silence.
Then Cellen leaned back with a sigh. “Well, that explains the rumours. ‘Thalia and Lord Smolder-Eyes’ apparently had lovers spat in the corridor. ““They are saying you’ve been cheating on him with another professor, and that your also betrothed back home?”
