School of Affliction

9

I watch from the corner of the room like a stalker as Finn sleeps. His blond hair hung over his closed eyes. His face relaxed. I let my eyes roam down his chest. He was thin but still muscular, and a light dusting of chest hair stood out against his tan skin. He looked like a surfer. I could see him on the beach—strong and happy.

 The door creaked open, pulling my gaze away as Luca stepped back in, carrying a tray with food and some medical supplies. "I thought you two might need this," he said, setting the tray down on a small table near the bed. His tone was casual, but I could see the tension in his posture,

"Another privilege?" My tones came not harder than I meant. He had saved us, after all.

"I mean, thanks,"  I said, reaching for a piece of bread.

Luca went over to the desk and sat down. he glanced at me, his eyes narrowing slightly."Did you touch my books?"

"I'm a fox shifter." I shrugged my shoulders like that should explain my curiosity.

I took a deep breath; I couldn't stay silent any longer. "Why did they listen to you? What's your connection to the headmistress?"

Luca's expression didn't change, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes—something guarded. "Let's just say I have my ways of getting things done."

"That's not an answer," I pressed, feeling a surge of frustration. "You can't expect us to trust you if you don't tell us anything."

He leaned back against the chair, crossing his arms. "Trust goes both ways, Vera. I've helped you. I didn't have to get you out of that lab or bring you here. But I did. So maybe cut me some slack."

"Maybe," I shot back, "but we're supposed to trust you with our lives, and we barely know anything about you. Or your so-called connections."

Finn sits up, rubbing his eyes. "What's going on, and is that food?"

"You're awake." I walk over and hand him some water and bread. He looks better. His color is back to that surfer golden tan, and his green eyes are bright.

"How could I not be with all the yelling." He said, around a mouth full of food.

I cringe. "Sorry, things got heated. But Luca is playing hardball over here." I turned back to him with my hands on my hips.

Luca's eyes narrowed slightly, though his posture remained relaxed. "I get that you're scared and confused. But there are things I can't explain right now. It's not just about you and Finn—it's bigger than that. The more you know, the more dangerous it gets. For everyone."

Finn, who had been silently observing, finally chimed in with a smirk. "Dangerous, huh? Sounds like my kind of fun."

I rolled my eyes at Finn's attempt at humor, though it did ease some of the tension. "So what now? We just pretend everything's normal and wait for the next time they try to drag us back to that lab?"

Luca shook his head, "No. We need to be smart. Keep your heads down; don't give them a reason to notice you. I'm working on something, but I need time."

I arched an eyebrow, leaning in a little. "Working on what? Or is that classified, too?"

He sighed, clearly holding back a smile. "You really don't let up, do you?"

"It's a fox thing," I replied with a sly grin. "We're curious by nature."

Finn chuckled, adding, "And a little too clever for our own good."

I laughed and playfully shoved Finn before returning my attention back to the man full of secrets. "Now, back to what you're 'working on,' Luca."

Luca looked at us both, his gaze lingering on me a little longer. "Getting you out of here, permanently. But it's not easy. People with a lot of power are watching, waiting for any excuse to make you disappear for good."

The room fell into a tense silence. Finn's usual smirk faded as he absorbed Luca's words while I tried to process the gravity of what he was saying.

"So, what do we do?" I asked, my tone more serious now.

Luca leaned forward, his voice dropping slightly. "Stay out of trouble. Keep your heads down and blend in. I'll handle the rest."

"Blend in?" I scoffed, half-joking. "Not exactly my strong suit."

Luca's lips twitched into a smirk. "Then try to act like it is. You're a fox, right? Use those wits of yours."

Finn leaned back, looking between us with a mischievous glint in his eye. "So, what you're saying is we should be boring? That sounds like torture."

I grinned, "Like you could ever be boring ." For a moment, I forgot just how much danger we were all in. Good thing Luca was here to remind me.

"This isn't a game." He snapped. "And Finn, you need to stick to one form during shifter training. Can you do that?"

Finn nodded before asking. "What's to stop the powers that be from throwing me back to the dungeon?"

 "keep your head down, and for the love of everything, don't let them see what you really are. I bought us some time, but it's not much."

Finn sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I got that loud and clear. But what about you, Luca? "

"Yeah, why are you here if you have all these connections?" I was dying to know his story.

Luca's gaze shifted to the window. "I have my reasons. Let's just say I've got enough pull to keep things from getting too bad but not enough to walk away."

I narrowed my eyes, sensing there was more he wasn't saying. "So, you're trapped too. Just in a gilded cage."

His eyes flicked back to mine, something unreadable in them. "A cage is still a cage, Vera."

He was right. I was giving him a hard time, but he was just as trapped as us,maybe more.