“Seriously, you’ve vanished for a week!” Natalia elbowed Eydis as they walked through the early winter courtyard. The brittle crunch of orange leaves underfoot filled the silence Eydis left unbothered. “A week, Eydis! You were doing so well in class, and then… poof! What gives?”

  Eydis drank her espresso, its bitterness matching the muddled thoughts in her mind.

  After the French press incident with Astra, which she was now mentally cataloging as "The Great Caffeine Catastrophe of 2050", there had been attempts at conversation, an effort to work out some arrangement to return to their world.

  But it wasn’t just the arrangement that had her on edge.

  It was Ast—

  No. The Eye.

  She lifted her head as if to prove the thought, and there it was… that grotesque, bloated mass of flesh looming in the sky, pulsating like a fevered heart.

  Was it a vessel for her Sins? Could Pride have picked something this obscene to represent itself?

  No.

  Pride had taste and a frankly exhausting obsession with aesthetic coherence.

  It was something she had not yet named, not yet understood, but it was surely tied to her world. Astra confirmed as much. Each strike had broken a Sin free.

  Envy.

  Then Gluttony.

  Then Greed.

  How many had escaped? But it was only the beginning and it was also the key to regain her full power.

  So why had she agreed to come back to St. Kevin’s, of all places? Because she needed to be in the loop. Because she needed Astr—no, required answers from—Astra.

  She had been avoiding Astra.

  She wasn’t afraid. She was assessing the likelihood of her brain spontaneously combusting from overexposure to certain… thoughts.

  Nothing major.

  Something fundamental had shifted between them that day, and Eydis had been excruciatingly aware of it.

  It could not be happening.

  She was the Queen of Shadows. Astra was the Saintess of Light. Some boundaries were not meant to be crossed.

  As they passed under an arch of ivy, Natalia’s voice interrupted the spiral of her thoughts. “What’s going on with you?”

  Eydis turned toward Natalia with languid amusement. “Besides my triumphant return from the abyss?”

  “Triumphant… what?”

  Eydis waved a hand vaguely. “More importantly, where are your little marsupials?”

  “Marsupials?”

  “The koalas.” Eydis took a sip of her coffee. “The ones permanently attached to you. Do they hibernate in winter?”

  Natalia groaned. “Colette and Birgit.”

  “Yes, them.”

  “If you’re so interested, you could use their actual names.”

  Eydis smirked. “I could.”

  “It’s just the flu, seasonal, no big deal.” Natalia said, but Eydis caught the way she rubbed at her temple, her movements a little sluggish. A slight flush dusted her cheekbones.

  She hesitated, glancing away, before flicking her gaze back to Eydis, looking oddly flustered. “Okay, not to be weird, but… are you wearing your contacts more? Because people keep staring.”

  Eydis followed Natalia’s gaze to the crowd.

  Students, boys and girls alike, were blatantly… ogling them. A few looked outright dazed, as if they had stepped into a dream and forgotten how to wake.

  Ah. Right.

  Her vision had sharpened with the return of her magic. She saw too much now, down to the unspoken thought resting just beneath the surface of their skin. Well, not literally. That would be unnecessary. She’d never get anything done with that kind of power.

  How did Athena even tolerate it?

  “Naturally.” Eydis shrugged, pretending nonchalance, but the moment her eyes returned to Natalia, she caught a flicker. The way Natalia shifted, her body angling just slightly toward her.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Odd.

  Natalia blinked, gathering herself. “Naturally? That’s it?”

  Eydis tilted her head, considering. Then, deciding to lighten the mood, whatever this was, she clutched her chest.

  “Would you rather I pretend to be shy? Oh no, Natalia! Not my devastating good looks! Anything but that!”

  She leaned in. “I could. If it would entertain you.”

  Goosebumps spread across Natalia’s arms as she stiffened, stepping back quickly. “Oh, no. Nope. Don’t do that. Go back to ‘Naturally’! ‘Naturally’ was safe!”

  “Pity. I had an entire monologue prepared.”

  Natalia fought back a smile. “Of course you did.”

  Eydis chuckled, then let her gaze drift lazily over Natalia, pausing. “Hm.”

  “What is it, Eydis?”

  “Perhaps they weren’t staring at me.”

  “W-What?” Natalia asked.

  Eydis stepped closer to make her point. To her credit, Natalia did not immediately wilt.

  Interesting.

  Her crimson hair, usually braided, hung loose around her shoulders. She wore make up as well—eyeliner and a swipe of cherry lip balm.

  Cherry.

  Cherry. Lip. Balm.

  The Queen of Shadows almost flushed.

  “Eydis… they weren’t staring at me.”

  Eydis frowned. “They should.”

  Natalia’s breath hitched. A loose strand of hair fell forward, and without thinking, Eydis tucked it behind her ear. It felt soft, with a slight dampness.

  She could not help silently comparing it to the texture of Astra’s hair.

  And there was the sweet scent of honey lingering on the crimson strands. It differed from the cinnamon-and-night-bloom blossom fragrance of Astra’s hair. She would never admit that everything about Astra was—

  A prickle ran down her spine as she felt eyes on her. Eydis blinked.

  Natalia, meanwhile, had turned red. “E-Eydis…”

  “Did you change your shampoo?”

  “You… noticed?” The flush on Natalia’s face deepened.

  Eydis didn’t notice any of that, because her own thoughts were racing. What she felt against her fingertips wasn’t the same curiosity she felt with Astra. It wasn’t the one that made her want… more.

  She withdrew her hand. But Natalia moved forward, then wobbled, her heel catching on the uneven stone. Eydis caught her at the waist.

  Natalia’s hands pressed against her shoulders, eyes wide. “WOAH—oof…You totally did that on purpose.”

  “Did what, exactly?” Eydis still held her steaming coffee, but the arm wrapped around Natalia felt even warmer.

  Was it just embarrassment?

  “Nothing! I mean—Cool. Yep. Totally fine!” Natalia tried to pull herself together. But when her eyes darted past Eydis’s shoulder, she froze.

  “Eydis…”

  “That’s my name.”

  “No, I mean—you’re right.”

  Eydis sighed. “Natalia, be more specific.”

  “Now I’m being stared at.”

  “Of course you are.” Eydis took a step back. “You’re glowing, Natalia. Staring is the least they can do.”

  “G-glowing?! What am I, a lightbulb?”

  “Yes. Radiant. You’re positively… what’s the term? Ah, yes. On fire.” Eydis flexed her fingers, frowning at the lingering warmth from Natalia’s body. “Quite literally, actually.”

  “I AM NOT ON FIRE—” She nudged Eydis’s elbow. “No! I mean… Murder stare! Eydis!”

  Eydis turned.

  Across the courtyard, Astra stood motionless. The winter air stirred a silver strand of hair loose, but she didn’t tuck it back.

  Astra’s crimson eyes gave nothing away. But there was a slight tension pulled at the corners of her mouth. Her eyes dropped to Natalia’s hand, where it still rested on Eydis’s elbow. Her lips parted slightly, almost forming words.

  Eydis flinched and instinctively moved toward Astra, but she had already turned away. A faint shimmer trailed behind her. Flecks of frost caught the light and disappeared before they hit the ground.

  Natalia shivered and hugged her blazer. “Did you feel that? Why is it suddenly freezing?”

  Eydis watched Astra disappear around the corner, her eyes darkened.

  The Saintess.

  “The force of nature,” she said, trying to sound casual, like that explained everything.

  “Huh? Wha—“

  Eydis slipped her arm through Natalia’s, guiding them toward class. “It’ll pass.”

  She shrugged off the cold as if it were nothing, but it wasn’t, not when her thoughts kept drifting back to that moment…

  The almost.

  The almost-touch. (They had touched.) But it wasn’t enough.

  The almost-smile. (Astra had smiled.) But Eydis had wanted more.

  That quiet afternoon in the greenhouse had felt like a secret place, just between them.

  She remembered Astra drinking her terrible coffee in one go, pulling a face, pretending the taste appalled her. The act was hardly convincing, though, for a secret smile had lingered just behind the rim of the cup. Astra must have thought Eydis didn’t notice.

  But she noticed. She had been watching, attuned to Astra.

  To her, above all others.

  And that realisation…

  It terrified her. What terrified her most wasn't the noticing itself. It was how, even now, after everything that had happened, the memory still tugged her lips into an unwilling smile.

  She tried to push it aside. It lingered anyway, obstinate as honey refusing to sink in coffee. A trace of sweetness that didn’t belong, but wouldn’t leave either.

  A taste she had, at last… reluctantly acknowledged.

  And recognised it for precisely what it was.

  She wondered if a single indulgence might unmake her world. Would she open her hands and let it in, let it flood her, let herself sink? Or would she, in the end, turn away, insisting as always that she preferred her coffee dark, bitter, untouched?

  That thought tasted like danger.

  Her thoughts skipped to the moment Astra slowly stirred honey into a fresh cup, as though guarding the sweetness from melting away. When she passed it over, her crimson eyes brighter with expectation, as if wanting Eydis to taste what she felt, to share her favourite drink.

  Sunlight washed across Astra’s face and, for a breath, she seemed light enough to drift clear of every weight the world had placed on her. Such a trivial thing. Two women, silent over coffee. And yet, it had been the easiest thing in the world.

  The taste would not let go. Eydis felt the gravity of it shift—

  And realised, too late, that she was already falling.

  “It’ll pass,” she repeated, less certain each time.

  It must pass.