The first week back the palace passed by trying to stray away from the Ellermans.

I was shocked that Andreas didn't come at me to blow my head off. Seeing the frequent visits of Azure to the palace confirmed my suspicions that the Vartiyahs had something to do with the unusually kind treatment that I was receiving. I hadn't met with Azure, although, I had seen him deep in talks with my father several times. It could be that I was overthinking and it was nothing about me after all.

The idea of returning back to Asteria, however, was tormenting me. Now that everyone would know about my stay at the juvenile and my stint with a psychiatrist. My dad always told me that there was nothing I should be ashamed of. However, it was I who chose to be. I wasn't scared of people's judgment, I had been acclimatized to that since forever. My real dilemma was the fact that I would be seen differently. Especially by people I had almost become close to. 

I was terrified people wold know. Even though I had battled to maintain my facade and keep my symptoms at bay, I had failed. Reverting to my habit of destroying myself and everything around me. Feeling like I was standing amidst a huge crowd of people as I looked on at Ezekiel losing the battle against his own mind again and again. I was doubting my senses, wondering if I had in fact simply been hallucinating about the attack. But it had seemed so real. 

It always did. 

It had been two weeks since I had visited Aris' home. It had almost felt like trust. 

The fact that I had hidden such a big part of my life made me feel like a traitor. I knew people would have questions. I knew more rumours would now be spread. The rumour that I was unhinged would gain prominence.

A guard I had never seen before dropped me off to Asteria after the stipulated suspension was over. My father bid me a brief farewell. He had been accompanied by aunt Lisette, however, I continued giving her the cold shoulder that I had mastered. By their vacant expressions and nervous glances that they exchanged, I could tell that something was bothering both of them. I didn't ask, afraid of the answer.

My heart thudded almost painfully at the thought of facing everyone after everything that had happened. It was Monday morning when I reached the academy. Thankfully, it meant that students were in their classes, leaving the campus mostly empty. I went back to my room, where everything from my luggage, to the tapestry, remained intact. The only thing that had changed was that a new mirror now hung in place of the old broken one. It made me slightly uncomfortable that someone else had been in my personal space, but there was pretty much nothing I could do about it.

I got dressed and sat at the edge of my bed, contemplating attending the classes. I took a deep breath, finally coming to the resolution that it was unavoidable and made my way to the classroom where 'practical elements' was being held. I would have to face everyone sometime. There was no escape.

I was ten minutes late to the class. However, since I already knew that everyone would stare at me anyway, I decided to walk in with confidence I didn't feel. My stomach bubbled with anxiety, each of my steps heavier than the last. The air felt so thick that it took all of my focus to keep my lungs functioning. 

Professor Everhart glanced at me, her expression cold as she nodded. I entered the room, my blood turning to ice as I felt everyone's eyes on me. My legs seemed to entangle and make it harder to move as I made my way to the very end of the class, the deafening silence closing on me like a suffocating shroud.

I heard a few whispers, people actually turning back in their chair to stare at me. Wide-eyed. I hid my face on the desk, closing my eyes as professor Everhart finally started speaking. I was barely paying attention as she taught about some advanced magic skill that consisted of projecting your powers to confuse the opponent. It seemed to be notoriously difficult, consisting of a great amount of control over your powers and some astral ability. I was barely listening to her voice which was muffled by the loud pounding of my heart.

Sooner than I would have liked, the bell rang and class was dismissed. I got up, quickly trying to make my way towards the exit before a pretty girl with dark hair stood up and addressed me, shrieking without a preamble. "Oh my god! You were incredible!" 

I stared in shock as more people started scrambling towards me and I soon found myself being jostled around by a crowd. Bewildered and uneasy, I tried to make my way past them as they all started yelling at once. I felt overwhelmed, like an avalanche would crash over me any moment. 

"Man you really gave him what was coming at him!"

"And that uppercut-"

"You were on fire, Hunt!"

 "Hey now come on guys, give him some space!" 

I took in a sharp breath, relief flooding through my system as Aris made his way through the crowd, his eyes shining. A smirk played around his mouth playfully as he gazed at me. He waved his hands, trying to disperse everyone as mercifully, the class went away, still shouting compliments and shooting me swooning looks much to my astonishment. I sighed in relief, staring at Aris in shock.

"Well...nice of you to turn up, Sunshine," he said, grinning widely. I blinked rapidly in response.

Aahan and Nia made their way to us, both of their faces plastered with identical, amused smiles.

"Welcome back, Zeke," Aahan said and I felt a twinge of regret when I remembered our last interaction.

"What...exactly happened?" I asked.

Aris shook his head. "Ah, sweet child!" He started pacing around with his arms crossed behind his back, as if he were some pompous warlord. "Do you not see? You are the hero! Went to jail, hit the fucking prince...you're a rebel."

"I'm...an ex-con or something. How...what?" I spluttered, feeling shocked. 

"Of course there's mixed feelings. But the general public seems to agree that it was impressive; how badly you beat up Ellerman."

Nia shook her head, her voice low. "Which is frankly disturbing."

Aris laughed, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "People love a dandy delinquent. They'll probably be writing fanfictions about you soon." 

Dandy?

I looked at my black shirt and blue jeans. Really dandy.

"You're right," I said, addressing Nia, my heart racing from the sudden and scary fanfare. "It is disturbing." 

Aahan spoke up, "Yes. You honestly should never do that again. But..." a smile broke out on his face. "I think this is good. People will hold you in higher regard. There will...however be new rumours about you I expect." 

"Yes," Nia said. "Someone in the girls' hostel started a rumour that Ezekiel has size thirteen shoes."

I instinctively moved backwards, hiding my modest tens behind a desk. "Er...you girls have a weird shoe fetish."

She laughed. "I'm just an informant."

We made our way to the next class, history, while the three of them filled me on everything that had happened. Apparently, Elijah had been replaced by Mitchell, who had to be recruited back into the team due to the lack of the captain and an extra. The team had won the second and the third match and advanced into the quarter-finals.

Elijah had wanted to eliminate me from the team, but a voting resulted in only three people voting for my expulsion and the rest voting for inclusion. I was relieved to hear that my place was reserved, even though that had been the least of my concerns this past couple of weeks. Mitchell however, had left the team again after they entered quarterfinals. Which put me in the playing line up. An idea that frankly, made me nervous. However, I knew I could worry about that later.

"Aahan," I said, as I walked up to him, my stomach clenching nervously. "About last time...sorry. I yelled at you."

Aahan looked at me, his brown eyes slightly wide. "It's...not your fault. We should've believed you. We do believe you." He gave me a slight, reassuring smile. "Although...it's really a rather frightening thought," his brows furrowed. "Maybe you should shift rooms."

I didn't answer right away, my heart filling with an unexplained feeling. I had practically stopped listening to him after he had told me that he believed me. I wanted to tell him that it meant more to me than he would ever know.

Instead, I remained quiet. 

I bore a lot of pointing, whispering and giggling that day. Trying hard not to pay attention to them and knowing that as soon as something new came up, everyone would forget about it. The major worry at the back of my mind, however, was the assassin.

I still had no way of proving that what I had seen that day was real. In the very depths of my heart, a tiny possibility flickered as I extinguished it hastily. 

What if my dad was right? What if, it was a hallucination?

It didn't make any sense. My hallucinations had always consisted of Geoffrey, certain things, vertigo, and heights. Never before had I conjured up an entire human being in my head. Was it symbolic to something? What about the blood that had splattered on the ground? What about the stinging pain I had felt as the knife had sliced into my skin?

I had no way of knowing.