The flames licked the photograph and it quickly caught fire. Maya lunged forward and snatched it away. With a hand gesture, she banished the flames, but the irreversible damage had already been done. The glossy surface was blackened, warped, and bubbling from the heat.

Maya stared at her distorted family portrait, her eyes welled up with tears.

"Why?" Maya uttered in a small and weak voice.

This was her only copy—a fact that now stabbed at Maya's heart as she berated herself for never making a digital backup. Her eyes fixed on Elena, who stood there motionless, without a shred of sympathy or regret for what she had just done.

"This is all I have left of them!" Maya billowed. "You know that! You know how much this means to me, and you destroy it! And for what? A couple of bottles!?"

To make matters worse, it was with the treasured lighter Elena had gifted her.

"Why!?" Maya was crying.

Elena only stared at her with indifference. "Why, indeed?" There wasn't a hint of emotion in Elena's voice as she turned away.

And that was how quickly their friendship fell apart.

Maya had lost her parents yet again, with the only remaining reminder she had of them destroyed. And Elena… she must've cared about those bottles for whatever reason. The disproportion in the damage sustained was truly unfair.

Unsurprisingly, they didn't share a table at lunch today. Elena was seated at Keith's table, not engaging in their conversations and casting a bored yet spiteful glare towards Maya.

Maya was angry as well, but mostly hurt. She didn't participate in the petty staredown, knowing it was a pointless competition she could never win.

'It turned out that way, but I was only trying to help… and ended up punished for it.'

"…I think we deserve it," Andrea was talking. "I mean, who cares? Christmas isn't only for the religious. A lot about it isn't related to religion at all. Think about it: gifts, festive spirit, food… So I fully support the petition."

"Of course, you're in. A school dance is such a you thing," Isaac wasn't enthusiastic.

"You're just saying that because you're afraid to ask a girl out," Andrea grinned.

"Not true."

"Then, what's the problem? It would be great. You'll finally have an excuse to ask Linda out."

Isaac and Linda exchanged embarrassed looks.

"We're not—" Linda started. "Never mind."

There was an awkward moment with only Andrea's eyes darting from one to another, but they refused to meet anyone's eyes.

"Way to make an awkward situation," Isaac mumbled to himself.

"Well, someone needed to point out the elephant in the room," Andrea stated with conviction.

"You pointed at the wrong elephant," Linda said quietly, glancing at Maya, who hadn't spoken a single word since she got there.

"Ah, whatever," Andrea decided to drop it. "I think the dance would be a great idea… But speaking of awkward encounters, what's up with you today, Maya?"

Hearing her name, Maya snapped back to reality. "Huh? Sorry. I'm just a bit out of it today."

"Did something happen? You haven't been this quiet since… the Adam thing."

Maya flinched at his name being brought up.

It's been over a month since Maya was ditched by Adam for the second time. They hadn't spoken since. Lack of closure hurt her, but avoiding him was easy since he was doing the same. Since then, she had spent her time with friends practicing her powers, rarely allowing herself a moment alone with her thoughts.

"Why did you have to bring him up?" Linda shot a glance at Andrea.

They all knew the situation and were quite disappointed that the cute and charming Adam from their class would treat someone in that way.

'Are all my relationships doomed to end that way?'

"It's fine. I just had an argument with Elena this morning," Maya explained to her friends.

"Oh," Linda interjected, glancing at Elena's direction. She must've figured out that was the reason Elena didn't sit with them today.

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"What did you fight about?" Andrea inquired.

"I don't want to talk about it, right now."

Thankfully, Sarah's arrival at their table, with her underlings in tow, saved Maya from further questioning.

"Andrea, do you have anything that needs picking up? I'm dropping by the laundromat later." Only Sarah can make something like doing chores sound like a grand undertaking.

It was surprising to hear someone as snobbish as Sarah offering to run an errand for her roommate. However, Andrea seemed to know the exact reason why Sarah would bother herself with someone else's laundry.

"Sarah, you should know that a taken man is not going to look your way no matter how many dirty clothes you gather for him to check in. Stop harassing him."

Sarah attempted to sound like a good roommate, but in truth, all she was interested in was Keith who worked there as a part-timer.

"I'm not harassing him, Lords," Sarah rolled her eyes. "I offer to do something nice and, right away, I'm the bad guy."

As Sarah swung her head around, she noticed the dejected Maya and glanced in the direction she was fixated on.

"Did that beast run out of her power juice today? What's with the weird vibe?" Sarah suggested to Elena.

"Power juice?" Andrea was confused.

Sarah scoffed and rolled her eyes. "We all know what she carries in that thermos bottle. I don't see it with her today. And she almost looks… sober."

Maya's eyes widened at how accurately Sarah pieced it together.

"Heh, that must be a first one for her," Priscilla, one of Sarah's underlings, added.

Hailey grinned, supporting Price's derisive comment. It was amusing how bold they seemed, throwing shade at Elena when they would be trembling in fear if she stood before them. Maya couldn't shake off the memory of the ordeal they had put her through in that broom closet.

"Thank you, Sarah. I don't need help with laundry," Andrea finally said, saddened that her roommate only offered help for her own benefit.

"Suit yourself," Sarah responded, flicking her vibrant pink hair that transitioned into blonde at the roots.

She'd styled it into big curls that suited her well. Watching Sarah walk away, Maya thought how great it must be to be a natural blonde, always looking like she had just stepped off a runway.

"It must be serious if even Sarah noticed something was off," Andrea remarked.

"Come on. She's Elena's biggest fan. That's not unusual," Isaac countered.

"Elena asked me today if I could lend her some money," Linda admitted quietly. "She's broke again."

"Seriously? Maya, what is happening? You need to talk," Andrea insisted.

🜺🜺🜺🜺

Amanda sat in her mansion's security control room, studying a rudimentary vector map of Amellan on her computer screen. Small dots glowed across the map, with three in particular not far outside the town boundaries.

She focused on these dots, elegantly scratching her chin with her nails in contemplation. This wasn't a surprise; she'd observed these same dots in the same place every weekend, like clockwork—repeated violations of rules.

"They're just kids testing their power," Daria said softly, noticing Amanda's displeased expression. "They seem smart enough to play it safe, never venturing too far. Shall I stop them?"

"Not just yet," Amanda replied, still focused on her screen. "It could work in our favour," a slight smile appeared on her face. "If only they were a bit less careful."

A shudder ran through Daria as she fought to maintain her composure. Ever since losing the book—their last hope for a solution—she had watched Amanda descend into something even darker, more ruthless. Daria's nails dug into her palms as she clenched her fists, trapped in the hopeless inability to intervene and the crushing fear of losing another loved one.

"Amanda," Daria began cautiously, "I still think you're holding back too much. One day, one of those young minds could find you a solution, but not if you keep them in the dark."

Amanda pierced her with a cold, disdainful glare and asked with an icy tone:

"And what solutions did those knowing minds bring?"

Daria's hands trembled a little. "You never gave them a chance!"

"And thank the Lords I acted quickly. Otherwise—"

"So anything that can't be put on a tight leash has to be destroyed?" Daria shot with indignation.

Amanda glared at her coldly but remained silent.

"Do you not know how suffocating your grip is, Amanda? It was enough for Mikołaj to procure a debt with mighty Ashtons to escape it!"

"Haa… Someone free to roam two worlds in need to escape me?" Amanda scoffed at the idea. "He betrayed me, that's simply what it was! And you diligently paid off that debt without ever consulting me!"

Daria paused—his name still brought both women pain. She closed her eyes and let out a small breath, then said barely above a whisper:

"I did. Because that was also our chance… If you don't care about the answers, why'd you have to snuff out my chances of finding them?!"

Amanda suddenly sneered. "You want answers? You can still go out and ask them directly for your supposed answers."

Lifting her gaze, Daria stared at her with disbelief. Was this some form of mockery or a threat? Amanda always seemed so hung up on the fact that Daria had the freedom to leave this world, but in reality, Daria was bound by heavy shackles, walking the path paved with blood behind a cruel master who held her on a leash.

Clans, such as the Ashtons, sat out there in Vetus Orbis, possessing ancient knowledge but no power, while Amanda sat here in Mellgrah, having the power but fearing the knowledge. They couldn't touch each other without Daria, yet instead of negotiating to gain what each needed, they would rather wage war.

Daria didn't have to be a part of it. She could have claimed neutrality—at least, that's what she'd believed. But even that option became impossible.

"Ha! How could I… After what you did… how could I be shameless enough to face them again?"

"A wise decision. You should never have gone frolicking with them. It is the treason of the highest regard."

Daria stayed silent.

"Remember, you're never out of my sight," Amanda's eyes glinted dangerously. "If you approach them again, I'll see to it that you face trials befitting a witch."

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