Evaline:
I didn’t remember leaving the ballroom.
I only remembered the heat in my chest, the stinging behind my eyes, and the noise of clinking glasses and laughter blurring behind me.
My barely made any sound on the glossy floor of the hotel lobby, then onto the pavement, and before I knew it... I was just gone.
I was gone from that hall, from the humiliation, from River’s smug voice painting me as something I wasn’t - an object to prove a point. A tool. A showpiece. The very thing I had vowed to never become again.
The air outside was cool and damp, tinged with the faint scent of the nearby river that was cutting through the city. I walked. Fast. Then faster. Turning corners, taking streets without looking at their names, ignoring the stares of passersby. I was still in that stupid blouse and trousers, clean and modest but plain. Cheap.
I kept walking and walking until the noise behind me faded, until the ache in my feet was too much to ignore, and until my breath was coming out in ragged bursts from both the cold and my emotions threatening to spill out.
When the fog of my rage began to lift, the panic crept in.
I was somewhere in the city - somewhere. But where exactly, I had no idea. Nothing was looking familiar. There were no signboards I recognized. No scent I could latch onto. The city lights were casting an artificial glow over everything, making even shadows look unreal.
I pulled out my phone, but the battery had already dipped into red. I could neither call nor message anyone, not like I had any idea whom to call and what to say.
Hey, I walked off in a fit of rage and now I’m stranded in a city I don’t know without a single coin to get back. Could someone please fetch this emotionally unstable rogue girl?
I let out a humorless laugh.
The worst part?
Even if I wanted to call a cab or hop on a bus, I couldn’t.
I had no money.
Nothing.
My internship stipend wouldn’t come until next week. The only thing I had on me was my ID and that black card Professor Kieran had given me before the Academy year started. I still remembered how casual he had been about it - "Use it for anything you need" - but I hadn’t touched it after buying the school supplies.
I had already decided I would return that card soon. And even if it took me a few months, I would still pay back the amount I had spent from it. I wanted nothing that belonged to them.
Especially not after tonight.
I inhaled deeply and kept walking, even as my feet screamed. The city was buzzing with neon lights and chatter, but the street I wandered into next was quieter... too quiet.
It was narrow... and mostly shrouded in darkness except for the faint light coming from a broken lamp hanging from a street lamp.
This was the kind of alley that made the hair on the back of my neck rise.
I paused. Maybe I just needed to turn around and find a more populated road -
A shuffle.
Then another.
And I knew it was too late.
Three figures emerged from behind a dumpster. Another two from the other side of the alley. Street thugs. They were tall, grinning with yellowed teeth and cracked knuckles. They were reeking of alcohol, sweat, and something darker... something I didn’t want to identify.
"Hey, sweetheart," the one in front said with a grin that made my stomach churn. "You lost?"
I stepped back only for them to step forward.
"We can help you out. Pretty thing like you shouldn’t be all alone in a place like this."
I turned, ready to bolt, but a sudden, loud roar filled the air.
A growl louder than thunder echoed in the alley as headlights bathed the thugs in white. A motorbike screeched to a stop right at the mouth of the alley, its rider tall and broad-shouldered. He cut the engine and pulled off the helmet, revealing a mop of unruly dark hair and eyes I knew.
"Rowan?"
He kicked the stand and swung off the bike, rolling his neck like he was preparing for a fight. "You guys have about five seconds to get the hell away from her."
The thugs hesitated.
"Two," Rowan said.
And they scattered.
I didn’t even realize I had stopped breathing until the last of them disappeared into the darkness.
Rowan strode toward me and immediately removed his jacket, wrapping it around my shoulders. "What the hell, Eva? What are you doing here?"
I opened my mouth. Closed it. I was still shaking. The fog was back... different this time. Sharper. Cold.
"I-I didn’t mean to," I said finally. "I just... I left. And I kept walking. I wasn’t thinking-"
"You clearly weren’t," he muttered, then sighed. "Come on. Let’s get you out of here."
Before I could take a step, another voice cut through the alley.
"Evaline!"
I froze and so did Rowan.
Professor Kieran appeared at the end of the alley. His coat was flaring around him as he hurried toward us. He looked around, taking in the alley, the bike, Rowan, and me in one sweeping gaze. There was a furrow between his brows and a tightness around his mouth.
"Are you alright?" he asked, looking directly at me.
I nodded, then shifted uncomfortably. "I’m fine."
He turned his gaze to Rowan, brows narrowing. "And you are?"
"Rowan," my roommate said smoothly, slipping one arm around my shoulder - just enough to be protective, not possessive. "Her friend. Classmate. I live in the same dorm room."
Kieran blinked, clearly surprised. "You are one of the First Years?"
"Yep. And you must be Professor Kieran," Rowan said, not bothering to hide the sharpness in his tone. "Didn’t expect to see you here."
Kieran didn’t respond to that. He looked back at me. "Let me take you back. I have my car."
"No," I said quickly, taking a step back from him and closer to Rowan. "No offense, Professor, but I would rather go with Rowan."
His expression flickered with confusion, hurt, or something else I wasn’t able to name. But he nodded. "Of course."
Rowan gently steered me toward the bike. "You’ll be warm enough?"
I tightened the jacket around me and nodded. "Yeah."
"I’ll follow on foot until you are on the main road," Kieran said, stepping aside as Rowan helped me onto the bike. "Be safe, both of you."
Rowan started the engine and looked over his shoulder. "I always am."
And then we were off within seconds. The city lights blurred behind us as wind whipped past my face.
My heart was still a mess. My mind, worse. But for the first time that night, I wasn’t feeling alone.