Ayla's POV
I had barely taken a few steps away from Elena when a cold, sharp presence slammed into my spine.
One look down the hallway was enough to confirm my suspicion.
No one but Elena Morgan.
She stood there, arms crossed, radiating that quiet authority that made even the walls stand straighter. Her glare was the kind that could crack concrete or confidence.
"Where are you coming from?" Her voice sliced through the air like a scalpel. "Did you go see her again?"
I clenched my jaw and kept walking.
Not today. Not now. My day was already bad enough. She didn't need to add her usual serving of trauma.
Before I could slip past, her hand shot out, firm, unyielding, too warm, and grabbed mine. She dragged me into the shadowed corner behind the lockers like a teacher catching a student committing a crime she invented.
"I told you not to let anyone touch you!" she hissed, voice low but vibrating with restrained fury. "Didn't I say when you have a problem, you come to me not others? Why are you letting her touch you all over?"
Touch me all over? I almost snorted.
Oh sure, helping me when your minions nearly drenched me with breakfast now counts as touching me all over? That's rich.
"She…" I began, but she cut me off like she always did.
"She was doing what? Holding your hand? Your wrist? And you were smiling?"
I yanked my wrist free, the sting of my old injury flaring up. "What if she did? What if she held it? It's my wrist, isn't it? Do I have to run from everyone just because I offended the Mother Queen?"
Her eyes flashed, blue storms trapped in ice.
"I didn't…"
"Didn't what?" I snapped before she could finish, just like she always does to me. "Do you think you own me? Why can't I live a normal school life like everyone else? Am I your wife now? Are you planning a marriage contract or what? And where were you when Vivienne and her friends were bullying me? Aren't they your people? You started this, didn't you? They're just following your lead."
Her lips parted. Shock flickered, then confusion, then something unreadable. Her eyes darted to my hands.
The devil in me, apparently unsatisfied with being alive, decided to keep talking.
I stepped closer, lowering my voice, tapping her chest lightly because apparently, I had a death wish.
"If you're doing this because I offended you on my first day, Mother Queen," I said with a shaky grin, "then can you please forgive me? I was ignorant. I'm sorry. Now be generous and let me live a peaceful life."
Her mouth hung open. Her gaze locked on my hands.
And suddenly, all my fake confidence evaporated. My body went cold. I realized I had just talked myself into a standoff with the human embodiment of a blizzard.
"I…" I tried to fix it, but she cut me off again this time with a calm, low authority that made my pulse jump.
"Wait here," she said softly. "Don't leave. I'll be back soon."
Then she turned and strode away, her long dark hair swaying like a silk flag in slow motion.
I blinked, caught between thank God and I'm doomed.
Was she moved by my words or just plotting a more elegant execution plan?
Either way, I needed to relocate to a safer, more populated area. Preferably somewhere I could be safe from her execution.
I was halfway to escaping when a gentle voice froze me in place.
"Ayla."
Of course. Eden.
Calm as ever, stepping out of the shadows like some divine balance to the chaos that was my life.
"Does it hurt your wrist?" she asked softly as she approached.
I turned away without answering, trying to leave, but she gently caught my arm.
"Does it hurt?" she repeated, voice calm, steady, almost like water.
"Stop acting like you care," I blurted. "You're all the same, using people for your stupid school power plays. And I'm sorry, but I'm not built for that."
Eden blinked, clearly unfazed. "Using you? I don't get a single thing you've been saying."
"I know what's going on," I said, crossing my arms like that made me sound wiser. "You and Elena are rivals. You both pick pawns. And I'm not one. I just want a normal school life, not to be anyone's minion."
She didn't argue. Instead, she calmly reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pack of band-aids and a tiny disinfectant cream.
"I don't know what you heard," she said softly, taking my wrist with care, "but I never had any power plays with Elena. Students say whatever they want. This morning, I just felt bad seeing what they did to you in the cafeteria. I couldn't stand there and do nothing."
Before I could argue, she sprayed the disinfectant and wrapped a plaster around my wrist, her movements gentle and precise.
"I wasn't trying to use you, Ayla," she said quietly. "I was just helping."
I looked at her, trying to find an ulterior motive, but found none. After everything I'd heard, Eden was supposed to be the enemy, but she felt safe. Calm. Maybe too calm.
"There," she said, pressing down the last plaster with a faint smile. "Such cute hands don't deserve a mark."
My throat tightened, but I covered it with a dry laugh. My brain was calculating.
Was this genuine care or just really advanced manipulation?
"Are we good now?" Eden asked, tilting her head slightly.
"No," I said too quickly.
She chuckled. "Then I'll make it up to you later and prove I'm not what you think. For now, come on, let's go to class before someone accuses me of kidnapping you."
"I can't," I admitted. "Elena told me to wait here."
Eden sighed, folding her arms. "And you're actually listening to her?"
"She's Elena," I muttered. "People say I have to obey her to survive."
"Yes, and I'm Eden," she said flatly. "And I say you can live your life without her. You're not her prisoner. If she throws a royal tantrum, let her. I'll deal with it."
I blinked.
Did she just volunteer to stand between me and the human storm?
Eden shrugged like it was nothing. "Come on. You're here to be a student, not her slave."
I stared at her. Nobody ever talked about Elena that way. People avoided her shadow like it was cursed.
But Eden… Eden was different. Calm. Steady. Unshakable.
"Fine," I said quietly. "But if she kills me later, I'm haunting you."
Eden smiled. "Deal. Maybe then you will have to be my ghost roommate. I've always wanted a ghost roommate."
As we walked down the hall, side by side, I sneaked a glance at her. How grounded she looked, how her steps never faltered. She didn't feel like a rival.
She felt like peace.
Maybe she is my first ally in Solaria.
Maybe she really was an angel disguised in a Solaria uniform like I thought earlier.