<h4>Chapter 123: Back at Silver Moon</h4>


    <strong>Evaline:</strong>


    I woke before sunrise on Friday. It was thest day of our trip.


    As usual, I finished my morning routine and stepped into the shower to wash away the sweat that was clinging to me after nearly an hour long workout session. Once I was dressed, I started packing.


    By the time I finished, it was already past eight. I joined my friends and the rest of the ss in the dining area for ourst meal at the hotel.


    "Not sure where to put this trip. Good one, or just..." Ria didn’t finish, but we all knew what she was trying to say.


    In my opinion, this trip was an alright one, just filled with some unexpected happenings. But still, we got to learn a lot and had sessfully finished exploring the Halendor Ruins.


    "Here, Eva. Try these dumplings. They are really tasty," Kyros said as he ced a te of warm dumplings in front of me.


    "Thank you." I gave him my warmest smile as I dug into the savory balls filled with grounded seasoned chicken. There were also ones with variety of vegetable fillings.


    As I ate, my eyes started scanning the area and I finally found <i>him.</i>


    Oscar was standing at the other side of the hall with Instructor Corey and Jasper. He had his regr calm appearance on disy but his gaze kept swiping over the students in the hall every now and then.


    As if he knew I was watching, he looked up and fixed his gaze on me, almost making me choke on the dumpling. The smirk that curved the corners of his lips almost made me feel embarrassed.


    "We need to talk."


    The chopsticks dropped from my hand the moment I heard Rowan whispering the words in my ear. Of course, he caught that momentarily interaction between me and Oscar.


    Before I could have replied, Professor Aldric pped his hands to get our attention. "The original n was to let you all have a tour around this town before we would have returned after lunch. However, we have received orders from the Academy to return early. So we have to cancel the tour n, unfortunately."


    The groans of disapproval were loud and clear, but there was nothing anyone could do against an order that might havee directly from Kieran.


    "It’s alright, everyone. Let’s look at the bright sight. We sessfully finished exploring the ruins and gathered all the required data for your projects. You all might be returning with a lesson or two." Professor Aldric tried to keep the atmosphere light and optimistic.


    "Finish your breakfast and pack your bags. We will be leaving in half an hour." He finished and left us to enjoy our food.


    We boarded the bus at nine. This time, both me and Kyros were spared from our ss President and ss Keeper’s duties as the instructors took over them.


    But this wasn’t the only change. Unlike Tuesday, Oscar didn’t join me on my bus this time. Instead, he was in the first bus Professor Aldric. From what I knew, Nadine and her group had also boarded that bus.


    I took a seat next to Kyros while the rest of our group fell into seats either in front, back, or on our opposite side.


    The air in the bus was humming with quiet conversation. Some were discussing the project that we needed to finish by next friday while some were still voicing out their unhappiness about not getting the chance to explore the town as they had been hearing about a lot of good ces from the hotel staff.


    "Can you trade your window seat with me? Please." I requested Kyros once I realized that I would be missing on the beautiful view from my seat.


    I was expecting an immediate agreement, but instead, he turned to me with arched eyebrows. "What are you going to trade with me?"


    "Well... my seat for yours?"


    "Very funny, Eva." He gave me a fake smile before continuing, "How about you exin to me exactly..." he leaned closer and whispered next to my ear, "... what’s going on between you and that person?"


    I let out a small sigh and quickly whispered, "You can keep your seat to yourself."


    He was clearly not impressed with my response. "Eva, I know you might be feeling that I’m trying to be nosey, but that’s not the case. If it was someone else, I would have left you alone. But it’s... him<i>. </i>I’m worried because-"


    "How about we talk about this when we are back at Academy? This ce is... too crowded." Rowan’s sudden interuption from the back seat took both me and Kyros by surprise.


    Werewolves had sharp hearing, and with a bus full of students, it was indeed not a great idea to talk about the current topic even if we were whispering. So, Kyros just exchanged his seat with me and left the matter there.


    But I knew that I could no longer ignore his and Rowan’s questions. And I also knew why they were pressing me for answers for the first time. Just like Kyros said - <i>because it’s him... Oscar Thorne. </i>


    The three-hour ride was smooth. When we reached the Academy gate, Professor Aldric and Instructor Corey were checking the names. I looked for Oscar but he was nowhere to be seen. Instead Professor Kieran was there, waiting at the head of the line.


    "Eva," his tone was gentle under his mask of instruction. "Good work."


    I nodded. "Thank you, sir."


    He met my gaze and let it hold. "Have the afternoon off," he said, addressing the entire ss. "But make yourself ready - two sses this evening."


    "Yes, sir."


    I didn’t allow my gaze to linger on him more than that and walked away with my friends. And while I didn’t look back, I still felt the pressure of his gaze following after me.


    There was nothing much to do once we were back in our rooms and we weren’t really tired. So we all decided to gather in Kyros and Noah’s dorm to have some good time before lunch.


    "You areing, right?" I asked Rowan when I noticed he showed no sign of moving from his bed.


    "I actually need to go somewhere." He replied, putting his phone away.


    I stared at him, trying to study him. "Somewhere as in... outside the Academy?" I knew that there was this unspoken rule between us where we didn’t press for answers about each other’s personal life, but I was really curious.


    "That’s right."


    That made me arch my eyebrows. "You are allowed to step out of the Academy during weekdays?" I asked, staring at him in shock.


    A smile broke out on his lips and he quickly shook his head. "Of course, not Eva. I’m not Draven Thorne. Why would I get such a privilege?"


    I tried to not react at his sudden use of Draven’s name. Instead, I continued with my questions. "Then how are you going to get out?"


    "The main gates aren’t the only way to go out. You know?"


    He said it so casually, but my jaw was literally hanging open. I didn’t even know why I was surprised. It’s not like his constant disappearance every night for the past two months hadn’t been enough of a proof that he was breaking Academy rules.


    I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it. Because really - what could I say? Lecture him like an instructor? Demand to know where he went every time he vanished into the dark? No, that wasn’t our dynamic. We weren’t that kind of friends.


    "You are going to get yourself in trouble one day," I muttered, narrowing my eyes as I crossed my arms.


    He just shrugged, his trademark calm confidence settling across his features like a second skin. "I’ll survive. I always do."


    I let out a sigh but said nothing more. Whatever he was up to, it wasn’t my ce to stop him, not unless it put him or someone else in danger.


    So, I left it at that and walked out of the room only to find Mallory and Ria already waiting for me in themon area.


    "Is he noting?" Mallory asked, ncing at the bedroom door I shared with Rowan.


    I just shook my head in response.


    "Typical him," Ria said with a shrug abd the three of us stepped out of the dorm to head Kyros and Noah’s dorm.


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    Laughter greeted us even before the door fully opened. Their other two dormmates were also there with Selene and her roommate.


    We yed games, talked, and then headed to the dining hall for lunch.


    Instead of returning to the dorm after that, we decided to work on Runes project as we still had four hours of free time. I messaged Freya and Cedric and the two joined me and Ria in the library. But Rowan was missing and I had toe up with excuse of him not feeling well.


    I was two hours into the work, when my phone started buzzing.