Desmond nodded at Adam and took a steady step forward, but the trio's pursed lips and narrowed eyes struck his confidence like folded newspapers swung at bugs. He made himself small as he halted two meters away from them. His mind drifted for a moment to memories of the last time he stood too close to them.
"You're not one of us, vermin," they had said, while trashing him with vicious spells. More students than he was comfortable admitting were more powerful than him, but Nadia, Trevor, and Jonathan? They made sure he remembered they were the House of Exorcism's monstrous prodigies, teenagers beyond his reach despite their shared age.
"It's a waste of time," Trevor sighed, the sound almost a hiss.
"Show the pitiful beast soul you've imprinted on your talisman and be done with it," Nadia added, with a slow eye roll that conveyed the depth of her disdain louder than words.
