Thornhill Academy (By Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 252

Allison

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Dinner is quieter than normal. Well, really, what is normal anymore? The food is eal, the bread tears instead of dissolving, there’s meat that steams when it’s cut, and vegetables that crunch faintly between teeth. My body reacts to it, shoulders easing, spine finally letting go of the tight, coiled readiness that’s been living there for days. We sit around the long table in Rhaziel’s dining hall, lates close, cups within reach, everyone moving a little slower than usual. No one has the energy for banter. Kael eats his food like he’s just gotten out of prison. Evander eats methodically, posture relaxed but eyes heavy-lidded. Cassian’s attention drifts in and out, gaze unfocused in a way that tells me he’s already half asleep. Rhaziel enjoys his meal as if he’s simply done a hard day’s work. Cage sits beside me, shoulders squared, expression closed, the messyne of stitches along his face still raw and angry-looking despite someone having cleaned him up. There’s a faint smear of blood near his jaw that he keeps wiping at absently.

“So,” Kael says eventually, breaking the silence with a voice that’s softer than usual. “Varyn.”

Every head lifts just a fraction to acknowledge the problem.

“We can’t give him time,” Evander adds. “He’s not the kind of man who waits quietly.”

I open my mouth to agree, the words already lining up in my head, but Rhaziel speaks first.

“Not tonight,” he says calmly.

The words land without force, yet they still carry weight.

He turns his head slightly, horns catching the low light. “We will discuss him after you all have rested properly.”

Kael frowns. “He’s dangerous.”

“Yes,” Rhaziel agrees. “And you are exhausted. All of you are, and you’re not good when you’re… sloppy.”

He’s right.

“You are in the Shadow Realm,” he says. “Time moves differently here. You will sleep. You will eat. You will recover. Varyn will still exist tomorrow.”

No one argues with him, and that in itself says everything,

Dinner winds down slowly after that. Plates empty, cups refill once, then sit untouched. Conversation dissolves into the soft clink of cutlery and the low hum of the space around us. When Rhaziel finally stands, the sound of his chair moving is like a signal.

“Time for rest,” he says. “Follow me.”

We move as a loose group through the halls, footsteps quiet against dark stone. When we reach the rooms, Cage stops without hesitation.

“I’ll take my own,” he says.

He

says

it like a boundary he needs to hold…

Rhaziel inclines his head. “There is one across the hall.”

Cage nods once, already stepping toward it. The others drift inside our room, Ka flopping onto the bed with a tired groan, Evander laughing softly as he follows, Cassian lingering just long enough to look back at me before disappearing inside. I stay where I am and watch Cage hesitate at his door. His hand rests on the handle, shoulders tense as he looks back at me. For a moment, neither of us says anything. Then he wipes at his jaw again, fingers coming away

red this time.

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Second Chance

“Would you…” I start, then stop, recalibrating. “Would you like me to clean that r you?”

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He lets out a short breath that might be a laugh if it didn’t sound so tired.

“It’s probably fucked to look at,” he says.

I don’t answer. I simply walk towards him, open his door and walk inside. The room is spare and clean, a mirror of the others. I go straight to the bathroom, wet a cloth, wring it out, then return and sit on the edge of the bed. I pat the space beside me. He watches me for a long second. Then, slowly, he comes over and sits down, keeping just enough distance to show me how unsure he is about this. I lift the cloth and start carefully wiping away the blood, movements slow and gentle. The skin around the stitches is clearly sensitive, but he doesn’t flinch once.

“You don’t have to,” he says quietly. “I’m sure it’s… a lot.”

“Why not fix it?” I ask, still focused. “You’re a warlock. I know you can’t magic un an eyeball, but surely you could fix whatever Rhaziel calls stitching.”

He huffs. “I want it like this.”

I glance up at him.

“Why?”

“As a reminder,” he says. “Of how badly I fucked up.” His jaw tightens. “If it’s too disgusting to look at, I’d… understand.”

I shake my head and keep cleaning.

“It looks like you risked your life,” I say softly. “For me. I would never call that disgusting.” I pause, then add, “I was mostly saying Rhaziel should never try

to crochet.”

That earns a quiet, surprised laugh, but it fades quickly.

“I am sorry, Allison,” he says. “I shouldn’t have… any of it.”

“Hey,” I cut in gently. “You’re not the only bad guy here. I haunted your nightmares in return. We both came in swinging.”

His shoulders ease just a fraction.

“We started on the wrong foot,” I continue. “Then we kept stepping on each others toes. That doesn’t mean we can’t eventually learn to-”

“You think there’s a chance?” he asks. “Even with this mess?” He gestures vaguel at his face.

His eyes hold an emotion I’ve never seen from him before. He looks hopeful. Pleding almost. I smile softly at him as I continue holding pressure to the part

of the wound that won’t stop weeping.

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“I’ve always had a thing for eyepatches,” I say lightly. Then I let my voice soften How about we try again? Hi. I’m Allison.” I hold out my hand.

He looks down at my outstretched hand and then back at me. His lips wobble on before he takes it carefully and presses a small kiss to the back of it. A

tear slips down his cheek before he can stop it.

“Cage,” he says.

I wipe the stray tear and let my hand rest on his cheek for a moment longer.

‘It’s nice to meet you, Cage.”

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18:52 Fri, Jan 23 DGG.

Thornhill Academy

Stay With Me, For Just a Little Longer

Allison

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I leave Cage’s room feeling lighter than I have in days. The corridor back to Rhael’s quarters feels longer and quieter. My body still aches, and my magic still hums low and heavy under my skin, but something essential has eased. The ght knot in my chest has loosened. The guilt, the anger, the endless, exhausting what-ifs…. They haven’t vanished, but they’ve stopped clawing at me for now. When I step back into the room, the space is dim and warm, lit only by the soft glow of the realm’s ambient light. Kael and Evander are already asleep, sprawled across the bed in an unapologetic tangle of limbs and blankets. Kael’s face is buried in a pillow, one arm flung over Evander’s waist without a care in the world. Evander lies on his back, arms folded across his chest, breath slow and even. Rhaziel isn’t in the bed. He paces the room instead, long strides measured and quiet, tail flicking in slow arcs behind him. Cassian sits in a chair near the far wall, jacket discarded, sleeves rolled up, posture loose but alert, as if he weren’t waiting for me. Both of them turn their

heads the moment I enter, and I give them a small smile.

“Everything okay, hummingbird?” Rhaziel asks gently.

I know he’s been watching that silly little mood bracelet like it might explode if he blinks, but I indulge him anyway.

“More than okay,” I say.

The tension in his shoulders eases immediately. I expect Rhaziel to guide me to the bed, to tuck me in between warm bodies and heavy blankets, but he changes direction. He stops in front of Cassian, gestures once, and then leans down to press a brief kiss to my forehead.

“Rest,” he murmurs.

Then, without another word, he turns and climbs into the bed beside Evander, on arm settling possessively around him as if this is the most natural thing in the world. I blink after him, then look at Cassian. For a second, I’m not entirely sure what I’m meant to do, but Cassian solves that for me by holding out

his hand.

“Sit with me for a minute, sweetheart?”

I take it, and he draws me in easily, guiding me onto his lap with a familiarity that still feels slightly unreal. His chest is warm beneath my cheek. I settle against him without thinking, head resting just below his collarbone, listening to his heartbeat slow as I relax into it. His arms wrap around me softly,

pulling me in closer.

“We haven’t really had a moment to rest since…” he trails off.

“Since you stopped being scared, said fuck the Council, and joined the rebellion? I offer.

He laughs softly, the sound vibrating through his chest, and runs his fingers throgh my damp hair.

“Yeah,” he says. “That.”

His hand settles at my back, rubbing slow, grounding circles that make my eyelid flutter. The room feels farther away with every breath.

“I just wanted to be here with you,” he continues quietly. “For a moment. If that okay.”

“Of course,” I say.

I mean it with everything I have. The silence that follows isn’t awkward or heavy It’s full of everything I’ve ever secretly craved in life. Cassian presses a kiss to the top of my head, unhurried, unasking, and something inside me finally unclenches. The world stops demanding things. The Council fades. Varyn becomes a problem for another day. It’s just the two of us, breathing in sync.

“You scared me,” he admits after a while, voice low.

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