"Mana is everywhere; it's the ambient energy that all living things depend on. Think of it like the air we breathe—similar rules apply. Every human has what we call a mana core, which purifies the raw mana we absorb. Unfiltered mana is toxic and can cause your mana pool to literally explode if you're stupid enough to ingest it directly..."
Professor Hendricks kept droning on about mana theory, but my mind had checked out somewhere around "ambient energy." I stared out the window, watching clouds drift by while trying to figure out what the hell was happening to me.
The obsession with Renay was gone. Just... gone. Like someone had flipped a switch in my brain. Don't get me wrong—I still cared about her, but that desperate, all-consuming need had vanished overnight. It was honestly disturbing how normal I felt now.
And then there was Zel's disappearance. The timing couldn't be a coincidence. My mana returning, Zel vanishing, my feelings stabilizing—it all happened at the same time. Either I was having the world's weirdest psychological breakdown, or something seriously strange was going on.
"You okay?" Selena's voice pulled me back to reality. Her warm hand touched my cheek, and I realized I'd been unconsciously frowning.
"Yeah, just thinking." I turned back to the lecture, trying to ignore how aware I'd become of her presence.
That was another problem. Before yesterday, I could barely register other girls as anything more than background noise. Renay was the only one who'd ever caught my attention. But now? Now I was acutely aware that Selena had striking blue hair, unusual peach-colored eyes, and was sitting way too close for comfort.
She'd linked her arm through mine like we were dating or something, which would've been fine yesterday when I had the emotional range of a brick wall. Today, with teenage hormones hitting me like a freight train, I couldn't think straight.
"Oh, I wanted to ask you something," I said, desperate for a distraction. "When you said you 'asked nicely' to get my stuff back from those idiots, what exactly did you do?"
Her smile turned wicked. "I told them I'd show them a good time if they returned your things."
I raised an eyebrow. That sounded way too easy.
"And I did," she added with a grin that could've belonged to the devil himself.
I stared at her, waiting for elaboration. When none came, I felt my stomach drop. "Please tell me you didn't—"
"Oh my god, are you jealous?" She covered her mouth in mock surprise. "Did you think I actually slept with those losers?"
(A/N- For those with creative minds, save yourself the stress, she didn't.)
"Fuck off," I muttered, turning back to the professor. Why was I acting like some insecure teenager? This was pathetic.
"You didn't ask about Silver though," she said, changing the subject. "Thought you two were friends."
I glanced at Silver's empty seat. We weren't friends, not really. The guy had always made me uncomfortable in a way I couldn't quite explain. "What about him?"
"Someone found him half-dead in one of the private training rooms yesterday."
My head snapped toward her. "What?"