Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Chapter 55

The Proctor arrived an hour later.

Vesper Kane looked like a man who had aged ten years in three days. His robes were rumpled, his hair uncombed, his eyes shadowed with the kind of exhaustion that came from sleepless nights and impossible decisions. He stood in the doorway of the healer’s wing, taking in the scene—Soren bandaged but alive, Thorne still unconscious but stable, the healers moving with quiet efficiency—and something in his expression cracked.

"Proctor," Soren said, trying to sit up.

"Stay where you are. Don’t move." Kane crossed the room and stood at the foot of Soren’s bed. For a long moment, he simply looked at him—the crown prince of the realm, the Lycan heir, the student he had been entrusted to protect. "You’re alive."

"I’m alive."

"Do you have any idea—" Kane stopped. Swallowed. Started again. "Do you have any idea what the past three days have been like? The search parties. The reports. The fear that I would have to write to your father and tell him his son was dead?"

Soren was quiet. "I’m sorry, Proctor."

"Don’t apologize. You survived. That’s all that matters." Kane paused, his expression growing heavier. "But there’s something you need to know. The King—your father—is coming to the talent showcase. In person. A month from now. He’s confirmed his attendance."

The words hit Soren like a physical blow. "My father? Coming here?"

"Yes. And if you hadn’t returned—if you were still missing when he arrived—" Kane shook his head. "I don’t need to tell you what the consequences would have been."

Soren closed his eyes. His father. The most feared Alpha in the kingdom. The man he hadn’t seen in nearly two years. The man whose expectations had shaped his entire life, whose shadow he had been living in since the day he was born. The man who had signed a betrothal contract without asking his son’s opinion.

And now he was coming here. To the academy. Where Soren had fallen in love with a woman who was not his betrothed.

"I’ll be ready," he said quietly, though the words felt hollow. "Whatever happens, I’ll be ready."

"You’d better be." Kane turned to go, then paused. "And Soren? I’m glad you’re alive. Truly."

He left before Soren could respond.

The healer finished stitching Soren’s wound a short while later, wrapping fresh bandages around his ribs with brisk efficiency. "You’ll live," she said, not unkindly. "But you need rest. Actual rest. Not running off into forests or fighting rogues or whatever other heroics you’re planning."

"No promises."

"Stubborn boy." She shook her head and walked away.

Ragnar, who had been sitting in a chair beside the bed the entire time, leaned forward. "She’s right, you know. You look like death warmed over."

"I’ve been told."

"You should listen."

"I rarely do."

Ragnar snorted. "I know. It’s one of your more annoying traits."

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment. Around them, the healer’s wing continued its quiet bustle—patients being tended, potions being administered, the soft murmur of voices. Nyra was still unconscious on the far side of the room, but the healers had reported that her fever was slowly coming down. She would be alright. She had to be.

"She’s going to be fine," Ragnar said, as if reading his thoughts. "She’s tougher than she looks."

"I know."

"I mean it. That girl—" Ragnar stopped abruptly. His scarred face flickered with something that might have been panic.

Soren’s head turned slowly. "What did you just say?"

"Nothing. I said nothing."

"You said ’that girl.’"

"No, I didn’t."

"Yes, you did." Soren pushed himself up on his elbows, ignoring the pull of his stitches. "You know."

Ragnar was silent for a long moment. Then he sighed, running a hand over his scarred face. "I know."

"How long?"

"Since the poisoning. When you carried her to the healer’s wing, you were half out of your mind with worry. You called her ’she’ when you were arguing with the healers. I don’t think you even realized you did it. But I heard." Ragnar leaned back in his chair. "At first I thought it was just a slip of the tongue. But then I started paying attention. The way you protected her. The way you looked at her. The way you never left her side. It wasn’t just duty, Soren. It was something more."

"Why didn’t you say anything?"

"Because it wasn’t my secret to tell. And because I figured if you wanted me to know, you’d tell me yourself." Ragnar paused. "The full moon confirmed it. I saw her running from your suite with tears in her eyes. I saw the way you chased after her. And I knew. I knew she wasn’t just some prince you were training. She was the reason you’d been acting strange for weeks."

Soren closed his eyes. "Does anyone else know?"

Ragnar shrugged. "Corvin knows. Obviously. Valeria suspects something, but she doesn’t have proof, but I am not sure of her roommates they might suspect but I don’t think they know because Finn would have told me about it if he knew."

"And you’ve told no one?"

"I’ve told no one. Not even Finn. I haven’t spoken about it to anyone else. I swear it."

Soren exhaled slowly. "Thank you."

"You don’t have to thank me. You’re my brother. Your secrets are my secrets." Ragnar’s scarred face softened. "But you should know Finn is loyal to her. Fiercely loyal. He’d die for her, I think. And he’s been worried sick these past three days. We all have."

"Finn," Soren said, a hint of curiosity breaking through his exhaustion. "You and him. How did that happen?"

Ragnar’s ears turned slightly red. It was the first time Soren had ever seen him look embarrassed. "It just... happened. He was assigned to my team for training. He was terrible at first kept falling off the climbing wall, couldn’t throw a proper punch. But he never gave up. Every time I pushed him, he got back up. Every time I thought he’d quit, he asked for more."

"That sounds like Finn."

"He’s annoying," Ragnar said, but his voice was fond. "He talks too much. He trips over his own feet. He makes terrible jokes at the worst possible moments. But he’s also brave and loyal and he looks at me like I’m worth something. Like I’m not just the scarred guy who stands in your shadow."

"You’ve never been in my shadow."

"I know. But he makes me feel like I’m not. Like I’m my own person." Ragnar shrugged. "I don’t know how to explain it. It just feels right."

Soren nodded slowly. "Then I’m happy for you. But be careful. My father is coming to the showcase. If he finds out about any of this—about Nyra, about you and Finn, about anything that deviates from what he expects there will be consequences."

"I know." Ragnar’s expression sobered. "We’ll be careful. All of us."

"Good."

They sat in silence for another moment, the weight of the coming month pressing down on both of them.

"You should rest," Ragnar said finally, standing. "I’ll check on Finn and the others. Let them know you’re alright."

"Ragnar?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For keeping her secret. For everything."

Ragnar clasped his shoulder. "That’s what brothers do."

He left, and Soren was alone with his thoughts.

Across the room, Valeria watched from the shadows.

She had followed the stretcher back from the forest, had stayed at the edges of the chaos while the healers worked. She had done her duty. She had brought Soren home. And now she stood in the corner of the healer’s wing, her arms crossed, her heart a tangle of emotions she couldn’t name.

Soren was alive. She should be happy. She was happy.

But he loved the prince. He had said it out loud not the exact words, but close enough. He cared about Thorne Astrlyn in a way he had never cared about her. And the way he looked at that bed, the way his eyes kept drifting to the far side of the room where the healers were working...

You suspected, Lila murmured in her mind. You suspected all along. The binding cloth. The way Soren looked at him. The way Eldritch looked at him. There’s something about that prince. Something hidden.

"I know," Valeria whispered, her voice barely audible. "But it doesn’t matter now. Soren’s made his choice."

Has he? Or is he blinded by the mate bond? By whatever magic that prince is using to ensnare him?

"I don’t know."

You need to find out. Get closer to Thorne. Pretend to accept what’s happening. Smile at him. Offer to help him. Make him think you’ve given up on Soren. And when the moment comes...

"When the moment comes, I’ll be ready."

That’s my girl.

Valeria turned and walked away, her footsteps silent on the stone floor. Her mind was already spinning with plans and possibilities. The talent showcase was a month away. The King was coming. Everything was about to change.

And she intended to be ready.