CHAPTER 332: WATCHING

Inside the lecture hall, students were settling in, voices mixing in a lazy morning hum. Adrian waved them over; Liliana had saved seats. Ethan was slumped in his chair like he had been defeated in his sleep, while Dorian gave a silent nod from the row behind them.

For a moment, everything felt exactly like it used to be—just friends, just classmates, just second-years dealing with another brutal lesson.

Elara sat beside Merlin. She didn’t say anything, but her proximity was different today—closer, deliberate, protective. The others definitely noticed, if Adrian’s slow smirk was anything to go off of.

Merlin ignored him heroically.

The instructor, Professor Rowan, strode into the room precisely as the bells finished ringing. His steps had the clipped precision of a man who believed lateness was a moral failing. His thick white beard didn’t match the rest of him—his face was younger, sharper, too intense for the grandfatherly softness the beard attempted to provide.

"Settle," Rowan said. "Today we cover multi-affinity resonance."

Nathan straightened a little too quickly, and Merlin disguised a wince.

Of all days... this was the subject guaranteed to put attention on him and Nathan both.

Rowan continued, "It is rare for combat mages to hold more than one affinity, and even rarer for them to wield more than two in battle. But those who can..."

His eyes swept the room.

"...become weapons entire nations covet."

Merlin felt Elara shift beside him—barely a millimeter, but enough that her knee brushed against his. Not accidental.

Nathan whispered, "He’s doing the stare. The ’I sense a multi-affinity freak in this room’ stare."

Merlin whispered back, "You are not helping."

Rowan turned to the chalkboard and began drawing a complex diagram of intertwining mana flows.

And as he spoke—

As the students scribbled notes—

As Nathan nudged Merlin’s elbow and whispered a joke about Rowan’s beard being an interdimensional creature—

And as Elara pretended to be fully focused while occasionally glancing sideways at Merlin, just to make sure he was fine—

Merlin realized something strange:

He didn’t hate this moment.

Even with danger lurking beneath the surface, even with the Cabal plotting, even with Merlin’s head full of knowledge of a future that should’ve happened differently...

this quiet reprieve felt precious.

He let himself breathe.

Let himself simply exist.

Let himself feel the normalcy he never got in the novel’s original timeline.

But even peace has limits.

Partway through Rowan’s explanation of resonance thresholds, Merlin’s senses pricked—tiny, subtle, the faintest ripple of foreign mana brushing the edge of his perception.

It wasn’t threatening.

It wasn’t hostile.

It was a watcher’s presence.

Familiar.

Faint.

Deliberate.

And Merlin felt his stomach tighten just slightly.

Morgana was observing the class.

Silently, invisibly, but definitely there.

Why?

He didn’t know yet.

But he knew one thing for certain:

The calm wasn’t going to last.

Not for him.

Not for anyone here.

Still—Merlin allowed himself to lean back slightly, letting the peace continue just a little longer.

For now, this was enough.

Professor Rowan continued explaining resonance thresholds, his chalk tapping the board in steady, rhythmic strokes. The lecture hall was warm with the afternoon sun slanting through enchanted glass, dust motes drifting lazily in the golden beams. Students were settling into that half-focused state where learning happened—but only just.

Merlin listened, but not entirely.

A tiny fragment of his awareness kept tracking the faint signature he’d sensed a moment earlier.

Morgana wasn’t trying to hide from him.

If she wanted to, he wouldn’t have sensed her at all.

She was deliberately letting him know she was there.

But until she made a move, he couldn’t react without drawing attention.

Beside him, Elara shifted in her seat, her elbow brushing his. She noticed something—she always did—but she didn’t speak. Instead, she leaned forward slightly, hands folded on the desk, eyes sharper than her relaxed posture suggested. She was on alert for him, because she felt the change in his mood, even if she didn’t know the reason.

Nathan wasn’t so discreet.

He leaned toward Merlin, whispering behind his notebook, "You’re doing the stare again."

Merlin blinked. "What stare?"

"The one where it looks like you’ve transcended humanity and are currently communing with the universe."

Ethan, overhearing, muttered, "Or having a crisis."

Adrian snorted. "Both sound accurate."

Liliana quietly offered, "Do you want some calming tea? I have some in my bag."

Dorian, from behind them, added dryly, "He doesn’t need tea. He needs the rest of you to stop talking during lecture."

Professor Rowan paused mid-sentence. "Is the back row discussing alternate resonance theory?"

Everyone froze.

Nathan raised a finger. "Technically—"

"Silence," Rowan snapped, returning to the board.

The class exhaled collectively.

When Rowan continued, his topic shifted.

"Now, examples. Multi-affinity resonance is exceedingly rare, but when present, it creates distinct signatures. Each combination carries unique properties..."

Merlin felt his shoulders tighten.

This was the part of the lecture where students were encouraged to compare their affinities and see resonance examples up close.

And Professor Rowan had the observational ability of a hawk that drank too much coffee.

Sure enough—

He put down the chalk and surveyed the room.

"Second-years, by now many of you have learned techniques to reveal your affinity resonance. Today, we will perform a controlled demonstration. I will need volunteers."

His gaze swept across the class.

Stopped.

Lingered.

On Merlin.

On Nathan.

Of course.

"Merlin, Nathan"

Nathan whispered, "I blame you for this."

Merlin whispered back, "Why?"

"You breathe suspiciously."

They stood and walked to the front, the room holding a collective breath.

Rowan gestured to Nathan first. "Your affinities are known to the faculty. Show the class your resonance as instructed."

Nathan nodded, exhaled, and let mana gather in his palms. A swirl of soft gold light mixed with deep violet, threads intertwining in elegant spirals. Light and darkness—his primary affinities—merged with a gentle crackle of friction between them.

Rowan nodded. "Stable. Impressive control for someone with opposing types."

The class murmured.

Nathan shot Merlin a smug look.

Your turn.

Rowan turned toward Merlin.

"Everhart. Manifest."

Merlin inhaled slowly, steadying himself. He didn’t want to show everything—not all five affinities. But he needed to show enough to avoid suspicion. The faculty already knew he had more than one, thanks to first year, but most students still believed he only had wind and lightning.

Slowly, Merlin raised his hand, drawing in a steady breath.

A swirl of crackling silver lightning sparked in his palm.

A ripple of wind spiraled around it.

A controlled ring of water condensed around the core, humming softly.

Three affinities.

Enough to shock the room, but not enough to reveal everything.

The reaction was immediate.

Whispers exploded.

Elara didn’t move. But her gaze slid sideways, watching everyone who reacted too loudly.

Nathan, to his credit, didn’t look jealous—he looked proud. Irritated, yes, but proud.

Rowan, however, stared at Merlin with cold interest. "Three affinities... Everhart, you continue to surprise me."

He stepped closer, analyzing the resonance. "Lightning as the dominant frequency. Wind stabilizing. Water regulating. A peculiar combination..."

Peculiar was an understatement.

Unique, in the novel.

Only Merlin had ever manifested those three in sync without backlash.

But Rowan wasn’t done.

"Tell me, Everhart... do you feel resistance when channeling them together?"

Merlin answered calmly, "Less than you’d expect."

Rowan’s brows drew together. "Troubling. Or remarkable." His voice softened. "Or both."

It was then—just for a second—that Merlin felt the faint presence again.

Morgana observing.

Even more focused now.

Like she’d been waiting for this.

The moment he displayed more of his power.

Rowan dismissed them back to their seats, but Merlin felt eyes on him the entire walk back. Some awed. Some envious. Some wary.

Elara leaned close once he sat down.

"Next time someone asks you to demonstrate," she whispered, "I’m standing next to you. No exceptions."

"Why?"

"Because you’re too calm when everyone stares at you, and it makes me stressed."

He chuckled softly.

But deep inside, he knew she was right.

Attention like this never led anywhere good.

Not in the original story.

And definitely not now, with timelines shifting.

And with Morgana watching...

Things were about to get complicated.

The rest of the lecture dragged on in a tense, simmering haze. Professor Rowan continued his explanations as if nothing had happened, but the class was no longer focused on resonance theory. Every few minutes, someone snuck a glance at Merlin—curious, startled, wary, or outright speculative.

Three affinities wasn’t unheard of.

But three manifesting seamlessly in a single, unified resonance—without instability, without mana backlash—was rare enough to border on suspicion.

Suspicion he didn’t need.

Elara shifted her chair closer to his, subtly but deliberately. Her presence was a quiet barrier, a shield that didn’t need explaining. Merlin could feel her focus sharpen every time someone stared too long.

Nathan kept glaring at the rest of the class as if daring someone to say anything out loud.

Dorian looked relaxed, but every time Merlin checked, he found the shadow-user’s eyes drifting around the room with a measured, predator-like watchfulness. Dorian wasn’t worried about Merlin—he was worried about everyone else.

Ethan leaned back with a sigh that sounded dramatic enough to echo. "Okay, so now that Merlin’s a mage-polyspecialist or whatever, can he do my homework?"

Liliana whispered, "That’s not—Ethan, that’s not how that works. I think."

Adrian grunted. "Today just confirmed he’s secretly an old man living in a teenager’s body."

"I’m... what?" Merlin muttered.

Adrian nodded solemnly. "You have ’ancient mystery’ vibes. I don’t trust anyone who has more affinities than fingers on one hand."

"That’s not how this—never mind."

The tension broke some of the unease, but not all of it.

Because Merlin felt her again.

Faint.

Sharp.

Cold.

Morgana.

She was still watching him.