Chapter 7

The campus was massive, lined with ancient oak trees that dropped golden leaves onto the manicured lawns.

Dasia walked down the main promenade with Landon clinging to her side. The noise from the front gate faded, but a new kind of noise replaced it.

Girls in cheerleading uniforms stopped and stared at Dasia's sharp jawline and brooding aura, whispering behind their hands.

Landon noticed the attention. He puffed out his chest and gripped Dasia's sleeve tighter, glaring at the girls to back off.

Dasia didn't care about the stares. "Where exactly is your brother?" she asked, her voice rough.

Landon scratched his head. "He said he's at the library near the fountain plaza. But I don't know where the library is."

Dasia pinched the bridge of her nose. The school was a labyrinth.

Two boys walked out of a gothic-style gymnasium ahead of them. They were staring at their phones, then looked up and pointed directly at Dasia.

"Look at the forum," one boy whispered loudly. "Declan just posted. That crippled loser Gerald is here stalking King!"

The other boy sneered. "Shameless trash. His hand is ruined so he's trying to get famous by harassing our captain."

Landon's face turned red. He let go of Dasia and took a step toward the boys, his tiny fists clenched.

Dasia's hand shot out. She grabbed Landon's shoulder and pulled him back to her side. Her face was completely blank.

"If a dog barks at you, do you get on your hands and knees and bark back?" Dasia said. She didn't lower her voice.

The two boys froze. Their faces flushed with anger, but remembering the video of Declan getting slammed against a wall, they quickly looked away and hurried past.

Landon looked up at her, pouting. "They're liars! You're not a loser. You're a superhero!"

The corner of Dasia's mouth twitched upward by a millimeter. She reached out and patted the top of Landon's head.

"Let's find the fountain," she said, shoving her hands back into her pockets.

They walked past towering brick buildings. More students pointed and took photos. Someone in a second-floor window blasted the audio from Gerald's worst e-sports match, the commentators screaming about his failures.

Dasia's spine remained perfectly straight. Her footsteps didn't speed up or slow down. She treated the insults like background static.

Her absolute indifference infuriated the bullies. They wanted to see her break, but she walked through them like a king inspecting a ruined city.

Landon felt incredibly safe walking next to her. He started talking again to fill the silence.

"My brother is the worst," Landon complained. "He has this crazy germaphobia. If someone bumps into him, he washes his hands three times. He's a total tyrant."

Dasia frowned. An image of the man at the train station flicking his expensive coat flashed in her mind.

"And he thinks everyone is obsessed with him," Landon continued. "He's so arrogant."

Dasia mentally rolled her eyes. The brother sounded like an insufferable, spoiled brat. She just wanted to drop the kid off and leave.

They cleared a line of trees, and the space opened up.

A massive white marble fountain sat in the center of a stone plaza. The water sprayed high into the air, catching the sunlight.

Landon jumped up and down, pointing at a grand building with massive stone columns behind the fountain. "That's the library! He's gotta be there!"

Dasia followed his finger. Her eyes narrowed.

Standing at the top of the library steps was a tall man in a custom black trench coat. He wasn't entirely alone; his assistant, Alex, stood a few feet away, scanning the plaza with vigilant eyes, effectively keeping everyone else ten feet away. Carlton was looking down at his phone, radiating a dark, oppressive energy.

Dasia's stomach dropped.