18th December (Thursday), around noon

I had a lunch break before critique, but I decided to skip it. It was my least favorite class anyway, and I already had my final project finished. Instead, I wanted to use the time to find some of my friends and reconnect a little. Something I hadn't done in what felt like forever.

The campus was quiet, winter settling in like a blanket. I walked along the main path, wrapped in a warm coat, scarf, and hat, with high boots crunching over the thin crust of snow. I should have been sweating under all those layers, considering the constant warmth of shadowlight that pulsed from within me, but it didn't seem to work that way. It only flared when I actually needed it, like a perfectly tuned thermostat for my soul. Honestly, I'd recommend everyone get themselves a Domain; it's great for comfort and existential insulation.

The benches were empty, of course. It was way too cold for loitering students. Even the usual spots under the trees were deserted. But as I passed one of those bare trunks, something caught my eye: a security poster pinned to the bark. They usually put up missing-student notices or warnings about strange behavior. Curiosity got the better of me, so I stepped closer, half-expecting or maybe half-dreading to see Jason's face staring back at me.

It wasn't him.

Still, the face was familiar.

It was the Chinese guy I'd sent here, the one from the bridge, the one who'd escaped the Shattered because of me. The text beneath the photo said he'd been spotted wandering around campus several times, looking suspicious, wearing only a sleeveless shirt and sweatpants. Apparently, he'd scared a few students, and now campus police were looking for him.

I stood there for a moment, watching the photo flutter faintly in the breeze. I should have felt guilty, maybe. But really, I didn't.

I saved him from being turned into a slave for the Shattered, or worse, minced alive by an unreflected. Whatever he was dealing with here, it had to be better than that.

If anything, he should be thankful.

A shout cut through my thoughts.

"Alexa!"

Elena's voice. I didn't even have to look to know it was her.

Still, I turned, blinking as my world felt strangely narrow, too narrow. Operating expanded awareness had spoiled me fast; now, forced to see through ordinary human eyes again, I felt practically blind. It was nerve-wracking, like walking around with half your mind missing. I'd have to fix that somehow. Something discreet. An eye tattoo came to mind, but the thought of marking my skin with anything visible still didn't sit entirely well with me.

"Hello!" I called back, forcing a smile as Elena jogged up, dragging poor Tyler by the arm like he weighed nothing. Hannah and Sophie followed a few paces behind, laughing and breathless, clearly trying to keep up.

Elena slowed when she reached me, cheeks flushed pink from the cold, eyes bright with that fierce energy she always carried like a personal sun. Tyler looked less thrilled, half out of breath, half exasperated, but still managed a grin when our eyes met. Sophie waved a mittened hand from behind, and Hannah gave me that quiet, reserved smile of hers that always said we've missed you.

And I missed them too.

"Good to catch you up here," Elena said without breaking stride, that easy confidence of hers radiating even through the cold. "I heard there's a fantastic risotto today, and I know how you love your rice."

Honestly, I loved any tasty food, but yes, a well-made rice dish held a special, tender place in my heart. Or stomach. Probably both.

"Were you afraid I'd eat all of it, or what?" I shot back, smirking.

"Of course I am! I've seen you eat rice before. It's not pretty." Her grin stretched as far as her muscles allowed, and that was saying something.

"Nice to see you guys," I said, resuming my walk toward the dining hall as they all fell into step beside me.

"You were checking out that creepy dude?" Tyler asked, shoving his hands into his pockets to fend off the chill.

"Yeah," I replied. "What about him?"

"He's kind of our own urban legend now," he said. "Apparently he shows up around campus almost naked. Like, sleeveless shirt, sweatpants, no shoes, and asks weird questions. Especially to girls. No reports of actual aggression, though."

"I saw him on Monday," Hannah said quietly. "I actually talked to him. He wanted to tag along and learn about… whatever I was going to learn, I guess. He said he hadn't seen so many actual people in ages."

"Spooky," Elena chimed in, her tone light but her brows faintly drawn.

"Yeah. Bad vibes, so I bailed," Hannah continued. "He just… moved on to someone else."

"Whatever," Sophie said, cutting the subject short. "I don't want a gloomy mood. Can we talk about something else?"

"Yeah, like your boyfriend," Elena said with a mischievous glint. "Can't wait to finally see the guy."

"You can always look at me," Tyler said, deadpan.

"Please," Elena scoffed. "I see you every day, Ty. I need someone handsome to hang my eyes on once in a while."

It was an entirely undeserved burn. Tyler wasn't bad-looking at all. Piercing eyes, black hair, warm native skin. More than a few people on campus would've traded seats for her spot beside him.

"You have your dramas for that, sweetheart," he shot back smoothly, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't take his side!" Elena warned, wagging a finger at me as we reached the dining hall doors. The warm, steamy air rushed out to meet us as we stepped inside, and for a moment, surrounded by laughter and the promise of food, I let myself feel like a normal student again.

We scattered for a bit, each of us grabbing plates and making the usual awkward dance around the buffet trays. Eventually, I found myself standing beside Sophie again, just the two of us in the line.

She leaned in close, so near that her breath brushed my ear. "I found the best way to transport whatever you want into Paris," she whispered. "We'll mail it to my aunt. Well, technically my mother's aunt. I told her I'd like to visit her for New Year's Eve with some friends, if that's okay."

Stolen novel; please report.

"And she agreed? Is she crazy?" I asked under my breath.

"A little, actually," Sophie admitted with a shrug. "Some kind of dementia or maybe mild schizophrenia? Mom never explained properly. But yes, she agreed to be our host. She's old and lives alone since her husband died. I told her I'd send her an art piece as a thank-you gift. Smart, right?"

"Well… okay, I guess?" I said, eyeing the next tray of food. "But won't the others find it strange when we get teleported into your aunt's house?"

"We could go there beforehand," she countered smoothly, "and find another place nearby for you to teleport us to. Then I'd just suggest we visit her since we're already there. Sounds like a plan?"

"Pretty good," I admitted.

Her grin widened as she scooped some potatoes onto her plate. "I also made a business plan for the Hoppers," she said, almost casually. "But establishing a bureau and doing proper marketing will need some funds, and I don't want to ask my parents."

"How much?" I asked. "And what exactly do you mean by marketing?"

"Around three hundred thousand to start," she said, still grinning at the cook. "That covers half a year. Tent for a proper office, equipment, and some basic salaries. Then we'd have to balance everything as we go. It's hard to predict income early on. Marketing's obvious: ads, a website, building a reputation as a mage organization for special deliveries, discreet tasks, that kind of thing. Depends what we decide to focus on."

"You'd advertise us openly as mages?" I asked, lowering my voice.

She shrugged. "Why not? It's the same as with our trip. Whoever's supposed to notice will notice. Everyone else will glance, forget, and move on."

"True," I admitted.

"But the money's the issue," Sophie continued. "We'll need some kind of cover story for the bank if we apply for a loan."

"First of all, Sophie," I said, smirking, "I kind of forgot you study business. Sorry about that."

"Finance, actually," she corrected with mock pride.

"Right. Finance. Second—we don't really have to worry about money. So if you want to go ahead with your plan, we can start pretty soon."

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," I said quietly, "I've got about sixty thousand under my name. And around one million under… another, more business-oriented name."

"One mill—" she started to yell before I clapped my hand over her mouth.

"Yes," I hissed. "And I'd prefer to keep it quiet."

She nodded, eyes wide, so I let go.

"Penrose was willing to pay me whatever I wanted for my last logistics job," I continued. "I wasn't sure what to charge, so I may have underestimated my worth."

Sophie's mouth opened and closed like she was trying to decide whether to scold me or bow.

"You're much better at valuing things, at organizing, than I am," I went on. "So I'll give you the account details and full access later."

"Are you serious?" she whispered.

"Yes," I said simply, as we finally sat down at the table. The others were still picking out food, chatting across the room.

"You're not worried about giving me access to that much money?" she asked softly.

"Sophie," I said, meeting her gaze, "you're one of the very few people in this world I trust completely. Hell, you carry a piece of my soul on your necklace. And I've never cared about money for its own sake. It's just a tool, a challenge, like everything else."

She looked at me for a long moment, then smiled. Not her usual teasing grin, but something warmer and steadier.

"Okay then," she said. "Challenge accepted."

"We'll need some kind of magical protection, though," I said quietly, keeping my voice low "I'm still green when it comes to that stuff. I've seen sigils used before. Two of them, actually, but maybe there's something else that could work too? And we'd probably want a few mage bodyguards to keep an eye on you. You're not afraid of dealing with that kind of crowd?"

Sophie just shrugged, unfazed. "Honestly, Alexa, it doesn't sound any more dangerous than dealing with regular people. I mean, I can be shot with a gun just as easily as I can be burned by magical fire, right? And if we play it smart, most folks will be open to business. It's not like we're advertising assassinations."

"No, definitely not," I said. "I'm thinking logistics, deliveries, extractions, treasure hunting, maybe detective work, even some protective detail later on. That sort of thing. And that's just my side of it. If we bring in Nick and Peter, we could add healing services too. A seer would be useful as well, but I'm not sure if Zoe would want to give that a try."

Sophie's expression shifted to half thoughtful, half calculating, the way she always looked when a plan started forming behind those sharp eyes.

"It's not an easy job, Sophie," I added quickly, realizing how much I was piling on her shoulders. "But every bit of money I earn from now on, I'll send your way to help make it happen. You might also want to talk to Nick's parents, they know a lot more about the mage world than I do."

Her lips twitched into a small smile, but before she could answer, the rest of our group finally joined us. Trays clattering, laughter echoing and conversation flooding the air.

I shut my mouth and turned my attention to my plate, pretending to be focused on the food. But inside, I was buzzing with a strange mix of curiosity and pride. Sophie had a real mission now, something she could build with her own hands. And maybe, something that would finally make her feel like she belonged in both worlds at once.

As I tore through the risotto—which was, by the way, criminally good—the usual chatter swirled around me like background music. Elena was teasing Tyler again, Hannah was politely pretending not to roll her eyes, and Sophie was already sketching something on a napkin that probably counted as an early draft of our future empire. It was all so normal that for a moment, I almost forgot how not-normal my life had become.

Then two things happened, nearly at the same time.

First, my phone buzzed with a text from Malik: Can we meet? Short, to the point, and also probably not a good sign.

And then, as if the universe wanted to twist the knife, Jason walked into the dining hall. He smiled, waved, greeted people by name. Casual, confident and perfectly at ease. The kind of performance that would've fooled anyone who didn't know what really happened in here.

Tyler saw him first. His eyes flicked to me for a split second, checking, measuring my reaction and when I didn't say anything, he stood and went to meet him.

I just watched. Quiet.

I couldn't help but wonder how Joan was playing their side of things. They seemed frighteningly good at pretending, at slipping into masks so easily that you'd swear they were born with them.

And that thought, that they could fool me just as effortlessly as they fooled everyone else here, sat in my stomach heavier than the risotto ever could.

When they approached, wearing Jason's face, his walk, even the tilt of his head, the illusion was flawless. The voice, the smile, the easy swagger… every detail screamed Jason.

"Hey, everyone! Long time no see," they said, eyes sweeping across the table like a practiced performer taking in the crowd. "Kinda missed you all, you know?" Then, of course, came the kicker, their gaze landed squarely on me. "Especially you, Alexa, my true love, my heartbreaker. Think there's a chance for some rekindling?"

Laughter broke out instantly. The whole table joined in, the sound easy and unbothered, as if this were just another harmless joke. I laughed too, because that's what I was supposed to do.

"Who knows?" I replied, keeping my tone light.

"I'm holding my breath here, girl. Let's hope it doesn't kill me," they teased, grinning as they pulled out a chair beside Tyler. The movement was natural, smooth. "I was expecting some clever comeback from you, Sophie. Everything alright?"

For anyone else, it was just small talk. But for me? Every word came laced with suspicion. It was impossible to tell where the performance ended and the manipulation began. Were they just trying to blend in, or was this another move in whatever quiet game Joan was playing behind those borrowed eyes?

"I am fine." She replied and refocused on her napkin doodles.

Tyler, oblivious to the tension running under the surface, leaned forward. "You guys thinking of getting back together?" he asked bluntly, jerking his chin toward me before glancing at Jason.

And that did it, everyone's attention shifted to me. Great. Lucky Alexa.

"I don't know," I said evenly. "I'm not a never kind of woman."

"That's a definite yes in my book," Joan said with an easy laugh. "Don't worry, everyone. We won't make it weird for movie night, right, honey?"

"No," I said, matching their grin. "Not weird at all."

"That sounded weird," Hannah muttered, smiling into her fork.

"That's their whole charm," Sophie cut in smoothly, coming to my defense. "They're both so fiercely full of themselves that somehow it just… works."

The table broke into laughter again, the tension smoothing over like ripples settling on still water.

But behind my smile, my mind stayed sharp and alert. Joan was good. Too good. And if they could fool my friends this easily, they were certainly playing me as well. It reminded me that in the big, ugly worlds, there were no good players. Everyone was bad, it was just that sometimes, interests aligned long enough to call it a ceasefire.

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