h4Chapter 303: Finding My Ne/h4

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    strongChapter 303/strong

    strong~Valerie’s POV~/strong

    Professor Winnie leaned forward, her silver-ringed fingers gripping the edge of the desk. Her voice dropped, but the subtle power behind it made the air crackle.

    "Let me make something very clear. Prestige is not a yground for petty rivalries and secret power trips. If I ever hear of anything like this again, you will not only be suspended, but you will also be stripped of your rankings and expelled from every elite supernatural registry we are affiliated with. Do I make myself clear?"

    "Yes, ma’am," Avery muttered, looking anywhere but at me.

    Titania’s head bobbed stiffly, like she was being forced to agree against her will.

    Astraea gave a faint, insincere hum of acknowledgement.

    "Good. Now get out. I’ll be speaking with your parents next."

    The three of them shuffled toward the door; their shoulders were tight, their confidence in shambles. No one dared make a sound as the door clicked softly shut behind them.

    Professor Winnie turned her gaze back to me, and the sharp edge in her expression softened. "Are you alright?"

    I swallowed. My hands trembled faintly in myp. "Yeah. Thanks for stepping in."

    She smiled faintly. "Don’t thank me yet. Just... stay out of trouble. It has a way of following you around."

    My lips pressed into a tight smile as I dipped my head and left her office.

    After the meeting, I trudged through the rest of the school day, trying to keep my head low and ignore the buzzing whispers trailing behind me.

    Word had spread, no doubt, and by the time the final bell rang, I was practically vibrating with the need to not be here.

    Emerald was waiting for me at the front entrance.

    "Come on," I hissed, grabbing her hand and yanking her toward the courtyard path. "We’re doing the thing."

    "The thing?" she echoed, raising her brows as I practically dragged her across campus.

    "Finding the ne. Duh."

    Emerald sighed, but let me steer her all the way back to our dorm. As soon as the door shut behind us, Emerald flicked her wrist and muttered a Fae charm to seal the room from eavesdropping.

    "You’ve been brooding over that ne for days," she said, toeing off her shoes and reaching for her pouch of spell tools when we got into her room.

    "Are you sure you didn’t just misce it?"

    "I didn’t misce it," I snapped. "It was in the top drawer. I put it there after my emotional outburst with Dristan and then when I came back for it, it was gone."

    Emerald gave me a wary nce as she pulled out a small crystal de. "You really think someone took it?"

    "Yes. They also made it a point to leave a note. We’ve been over this already, Em. Please, just..." I sighed.

    "I know, I know. I am just making sure you remember so that we know we’ve crossed this stage."

    "I know."

    Emerald knelt on the floor and motioned for me to sit. "Alright. Give me blood. Just a drop. And I’ll need a strand of hair."

    I sat down cross-legged and extended my palm. The cold steel of the Fae de kissed my skin, and I winced as a bead of blood surfaced. Emerald collected it in a shallow ss bowl, then plucked a strand of my hair from behind my ear.

    "Alright, ne location spelling up," she murmured, then began chanting under her breath.

    Thenguage was clear and flowing... ancient Faeric words. She moved her hands gracefully over the bowl, mixing the blood and hair with a wooden wand made from willow.

    "iE’vrenn sivae, tal’mora elthar. Rhaen’syl irn, show what is lost... return what is ours./i"

    The contents of the bowl sparkled and shone brightly before fizzling out like a candle that’s just been snuffed.

    Emerald’s face twisted. "That’s... not good."

    "Try again," I said, already clenching my fists.

    "Val..."

    "Try again, Em."

    She sighed but didn’t argue. She repeated the ritual, this time adding a drop of her own blood as an anchor. The light flickered weakly, then went out and turned into smoke again.

    "This isn’t working," she said quietly. "There’s no resonance. It’s either too far or... it’s cloaked."

    "Cloaked?" I snapped. "Who the hell would cloak my ne?"

    She nced at me with her green eyes, a hint of caution in them. "Are you sure you didn’t bring it with you on the trip and lost it in the process?"

    I exhaled harshly, rubbing my forehead. "No. I lost it before. I know I did."

    Emerald set the bowl aside and scooted closer. "Okay. Let’s just breathe. We’ll figure this out."

    I closed my eyes, forcing air through my lungs. After a beat, I asked, "Have you seen I today?"

    Emerald blinked, thrown off. "No. I haven’t. Why?"

    "She mentioned anything to you?"

    "Only that she wanted to ask our Physics teacher a few questions after ss."

    I raised a brow, a smile tugging at my lips. "Mr. Neil?"

    "Yeah. Why?"

    "Nothing," I said, standing up and smoothing down my skirt. "I just think I know where I might find her."

    Emerald narrowed her eyes. "You’re wriggling your brows. That’s suspicious."

    "I don’t wriggle."

    "You absolutely wriggle when you’re being shady."

    I grinned, already heading for the door. "Don’t wait up for me or her, maybe."

    Emerald looked confused for a second there as I left.

    The Alpha house shone in thete afternoon sun. I entered through the side door, which was nearest to the training quarters.

    The moment I stepped in, the house felt... empty.

    "Dristan?" I called and no one answered.

    I walked down the hallway to the lounge to check if anyone was there, quickly looking into the kitchen, but it was empty.

    Then I heard the low thrum of music upstairs, followed by the faint buzz of electricity. I climbed the steps, turned the corner... and stopped dead in my tracks.

    Kai stood in the middle of the hallway, back turned, head tilted as he plugged his phone into the wall charger.

    He was shirtless.

    Sweat dripped from his bare chest, clinging to him like dew on warm ss. His abs were well-defined, looking almost like they were carved from marble.

    As he pushed the cord into ce, his biceps flexed, and when he turned...

    Oh, gods.

    He was only wearing dark workout trousers that hung low on his hips, the waistband teasing the edges of the V-lines that dipped under.

    "Valerie?"