𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 | 𝟏𝟖+

☽♡ 15 ♡☾

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕱𝖎𝖋𝖙𝖍𝖙𝖊𝖊𝖓

❝In a delicate dance of deception, love found refuge in the shadows of feigned disdain, where words masked the tender symphony of hearts beating in secret unison.❞  This chapter is complete now≽^•⩊•^≼  

Gulping the last drops of ScentLure to help her deal with what lay ahead with Adryn, she stood in boy's dormitory in front of Rowan's door. Clenching the empty bottle, she appreciated that Quinn had left her a few of these elixirs as well as Saphyrine pocketed it and checked if she had Rowan's flask with his elixir on ready.

With each passing moment hesitating, her mind raced, calculating every possible outcome of her actions — she knew she needed to be very believable in her charade in front of Adryn. Even though pretending wasn't unfamiliar to her, there was a lingering fear in the back of her head. She worried that her emotions, which yearned for Rowan so much, might betray her. There was also the dread of whether Rowan would understand that she wouldn't mean any of it for real.

Listening intently with her heightened senses, she detected the faint sound of Adryn's movements inside the room — the rustle of papers signaling his presence, perhaps sitting on a chair far in the dorm. It was a stroke of luck that he was preoccupied, granting her a momentary advantage in her entrance. Shifting her focus, she caught that Rowan was most likely in front of his closet, changing — she waited and glanced to the side, noticing a moving shadow. So, if anyone just saw her, there was no way back of her plan.

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she raised her hand and knocked forcefully on Rowan's door. The sound echoed through the corridor loudly, but amidst the noise, she could discern the soft, deliberate steps of Rowan approaching to answer the door and his voice as he cursed inwardly.

Did he just run out of his magic completely?

As they swung open, revealing Rowan's surprised expression, Saphyrine braced herself for what was to come, her eyes glinted with a mischief which he noticed.

Saphyrine patted her pocket secretly, knowing Rowan would see it and understand she came with his elixir right in the moment it was done. With a determination, she stepped inside, her heart pounding loudly and she pushed him to his chest with a force. He made a step back and simply watched her.

Her voice carried a deep, venomous tone, just as she tried hard to. "You bastard."

Maybe he had been aware of her entrance same as she had known about Adryn sitting behind him on the other side of the room, because he smiled. And his poisoning hiss didn't align with his curved lips, "Roselight."

At least Rowan was standing back to his friend, because on top of that his eyes sparkled, darting over her whole body with a hitch of his breath. He should cooperate more, so she dropped a bigger bomb for their eavesdropper.

"Not only you take Odette on that ball—" she yelled and was cut off by his pretended scoff of disagreement.

"Nice to see you too," he spat the words line poison.

Clasping the door shut behind her, she pointed a finger on him while fuming with a fake anger. "I swear to god if you will hurt Odette."

His move of brows indicated that he recognized the same argument he had heard of her and Finnian. Good. Her muscles relaxed a bit as she knew her Rowan knew, that it was just a charade.

The room was same like she recalled it from Monday, grand, pristine and the only thing there missing were blankets — these were in their secret passage — and Saphyrine wondered how Rowan had wrapped it up with Adryn.