"LINA!"

Adelina didn't even hesitate, yanking on my arm and instantly speeding up her steps. "Do not turn back. Do not look back. Do not show him any indication we heard him."

I coughed. "I get that, but you don't need to drag me, you know."

"Please," Adelina said, sending me a pleading look. "Just, please. I do not need to deal with Withington right now."

"Lina!" James hollered again. This time, I turned my head to face him. Our eyes met, and he desperately gestured at Adelina, as if asking me to stop her. I replied with a helpless shrug.

Adelina yanked my arm again. "Hon! Don't make eye contact! Please! For once in my life I'm in a good mood, and I do not need him to ruin this for me!"

"Adelina, this is unnecessarily rude, I'm just saying. He hasn't really done anything to you."

"He has done everything to me. Everything. Which is why I'm not going to reply. Or acknowledge."

"Adelina Roche! Stop right there! I know you can hear me!" James was hurrying now, and there were more than one pair of footsteps hurrying besides us. I glared at Adelina before pulling her into a halt.

"Adelina!" James growled. "I was calling your name!"

Adelina finally turned, giving him the blankest stare in existence. "Didn't realise you were calling for me."

"I said your name!"

"You said Lina. My name isn't Lina."

"I called you Adelina afterwards!"

"Well, sorry then," she gave a slow, purposeful shrug. "Is there a problem?"

"Yes, in fact." James crossed his arms and stepped forward, eyes narrowed into slits as he regarded Adelina. I exchanged a glance with Clark besides him, and he just very slowly shook his head.

Adelina replied, "Too bad. Solve it yourself."

Clark coughed to hide his abrupt bark of laughter. I shut my eyes to repress the sigh I wanted to release.

I've gotten used to these encounters in the past month I've been here. Every time the two crossed paths, sparks of war started. Screw those people who laughed that they were on the trajectory of an enemies-to-lovers story. These two were enemies, plain and simple, and they held nothing back. None of their friends wanted to be dragged into it, me included, but most of the time we had no chance.

Today, Clark Ford and I would be the unfortunate friends chosen to witness what was sure to be a ferocious battle between the two childhood archnemesis.

I had never hated my life more than in that exact moment.

"Nah, I don't think so," James said with a casual shrug, glaring at Adelina with some kind of clear malicious purpose that I was far too tired to decipher after a tiring day of school. I'd gone to the Duelling Club morning session today, and Coach had us doing drills for the entire duration. My limbs felt like jelly. Half my teachers asked if I needed to head to the health centre because of how tired I looked through the whole day.

"Get it over with," Adelina barked. "My time is precious."

"Is it, though?" James retorted. "It's like you never have anything to do when I see you around school. It's kind of pathetic, really."

"Do you need my help or not?" Adelina gritted out between her teeth.

I glanced at her. "I actually have a lot of prep to do, so I'll just..."

"No, no, you're not going anywhere." A light green barrier formed before me, stopping me in my tracks. I turned my head slightly to glare at her. She didn't look at me. "You're staying. I'm not going to be left here with these two."

"Hey," Clark protested weakly. "I haven't done anything."

Adelina's cool stare flickered to him. "Yet."

Clark smartly chose not to respond. Silence was usually the best way to save your life around here. James might not be much of a combatant, but he was ridiculously good at domestic magic. Which meant he could probably summon a bunch of pots and pans and whatnot or calmly poison our food. Something like that. I wasn't actually certain how one could use domestic magic maliciously.

Adelina, though...

I was very glad I was technically somewhat on Adelina's side. She seemed like the more dangerous one to make an enemy out of.

I rubbed my forehead. I didn't actually have lots of prep, but my god was I far too exhausted to be standing here for this. "Get to the point, please, James? I actually do need to get back soon, and Ade won't let me go until you're done."

"Well, get better friends," James scoffed. "So, Ade—"

"Don't fucking call me that!"

"Honoria just called you that!"

"Only she can! And Yunji! Not you, you fucking clown!"

"Woah, woah," Clark raised his hands, "let's use nicer language here, please? We're still in school, and I don't feel like getting into trouble for being around such extreme language."

Adelina didn't have to glare at him this time. I did it for her. Clark clamped his mouth shut.

Idiot.

"Adelina," James corrected with equal parts frustration and irritation. "That good for you? I need a favour."

"And you think I'll give it?" Adelina asked incredulously.

"It's more of a business deal," he said, looking very pleased with himself.

Adelina's eyes narrowed with suspicion. I glanced at her, then back at him. You could cut the bloody tension with a knife. It would be funny, if it wasn't so annoying.

"Are you aware of the annual boarding student fashion show?"

Adelina nodded slowly. We'd never been, of course, but we'd heard about it. It was legendary, an iconic event of the school, when its students trotted down the runway in all kinds of fashion. I'd seen pictures.

"Well, I've been put onto it," James sighed dramatically, "and I'm playing the part of Drakori the Wizard. I need someone to be my Jacilara." The story of Drakori and Jacilara was famous to all magicians—Drakori was from the eleventh century, during the invasion of the Normans, a great warrior who fought for whichever side paid him more. And then there was Jacilara, his eternal foe, his eternal rival, who switched to the opposite side of whichever one he went to. A never-ending cycle. A pair of archnemesis bound by a curse and blood feud that originated from the start of magic.

"And you want me to be Jacilara?" Adelina asked in disbelief. I mean, I could see it. The brown hair, the pale skin, it fit the very vague description of Jacilara in the history books.

But my question was, "It's a fashion show. Why are you dressing up as historical figures?"

"And what do I gain from this?" Adelina demanded.

James shrugged. "Popularity, fame..."

"I already have both."

James scowled. "Not really."

"More than enough at any rate." Adelina raised her head. "Not much of a deal, James. Throw something else into it."

James' brows furrowed, looking deep in thought. "I'll... I'll tutor you in Healing for the rest of term."

"Who the fuck says I need tutoring in Healing?" Adelina barked, looking extremely outraged. "I'm doing just fine, thank you very much."

"No you're not."

"You're really not." I didn't even take Healing and I rather thought I was better at it than her. Adelina wasn't someone who was built for that kind of thing. She was a fighter through and through, and one who lost rarely enough that she simply didn't need to learn suc defensive crafts.

"Honoria! You're meant to be on my side!"

"Right now," I told her pointedly, "I just want to go back to my dorm. And rest."

"And do prep," Clark reminded politely.

"That too," I said, giving him a firm nod.

She scoffed. "Fine. Go. Abandon me."

And so I did.

I asked about the fashion show when I ran into an Upper Fifth full boarding gir, Dianal back at house. "Oh yeah," Diana murmured. "Fuck, completely forgot about the fashion show, honestly. Each house does a different theme, Wadsworth is probably doing history or something. Their housemaster is a history teacher, so I'm not that surprised."

"What are we doing?" I questioned.

"Most likely something just... fashionable. I don't know. The Lower Sixths organise this stuff, not us. They'll probably start announcing stuff soon, so just wait."

"Huh." I thanked her and went back to my dorm. Lucy was there, and we greeted each other before she turned back down to her laptop. She was watching Gilmore Girls, it sounded like. Her favourite.

A few minutes after I'd settled down, my door flung open. It was Yunji, looking mighty out of breath. "Adelina and James are like, screaming at each other in the quad. I feel like we should do something about it."

I raised a brow. "I'm aware, I had just gracefully extracted myself from the situation."

"Seriously?" Yunji questioned. "You're just going to let them kill each other?'

"Clark's there, isn't he? And it's in the quad, in front of everyone. They won't dare actually do anything to each other."

"Yeah, but still. I don't get it anyways."

"No one does, except them two, probably. I don't think they're secretly in love or anything, though. They just don't like each other."

"I hope they're not in love with each other," Yunji grumbled, lowering herself onto my chair.

"Yes, it wouldn't seem like a very healthy relationship."

"Yes. That." Yunji rolled her eyes. "I'm exhausted and I have orchestra practise in... ten minutes. God save me, Hon, god save me."

"Not sure I can do anything to help," I told her, "I'm pretty damned tired myself."

"I want coffee."

"Make it, then."

"If I drink coffee now, I won't be able to sleep tonight!" she exclaimed. "So I bloody can't and I'm so close to falling asleep and I fucking hate my life right now." She covered her face with both hands, shaking her head. "I'm so tired."

"Then go back and take a nap for ten minutes. Even that would help you stay a bit more awake." I scowled. "Go, go. I have things to do."

Lucy glanced at me when Yunji had shut the door. "Adelina and James? Again?"

"It'll never end." I sent her an exasperated glance. "It's like Ra's battle with Apophis every day. The cycle simply cannot be broken. Their hate, their passion is too strong. They'll kill each other again and again until the end of eternity."

Lucy let out a loud snort. I laughed too.

A message notification popped up on my opened laptop then, and I turned to check it. Of course, it was Seb. Our conversations had only become more frequent. He was a nice person. A bit of a clownster, and I couldn't fully get him sometimes, but he was always helpful. When I struggled with anything here, I asked him. As another full boarder, he usually had the answers.

i spy with my little eyes ms roche and mr withington in the quad

I sighed. y'know you're the second person telling me this. i was there two seconds ago. i'm aware.

it's the fashion show right? he sent back. heard withington languishing about it to victor earlier

he wants adelina to be the jacilara to his drakori LOL accurate af if you ask me

that's actually perfect tho, he sent. But he was still typing, so I waited. i'm thinking of going as xuan hu.

I blinked. aesir's doing history too?

we're doing cultures, and since i'm chinese and xuan wu is famous chinese magician, it fits

Fair enough.

But then he continued, i need someone to do zhao wan'er.

If Drakori and Jacilara are one of the most famous pairs of enemies in magician history, Xuan Hu and Zhao Wan'er were the exact opposite. Their love story is one that was worshipped by most people, seen as an example of the perfect couple.

I knew what he was asking. He wanted me to do it. But the thing was that I was more than aware that people were beginning to suspect that the two of us were together, or at least on our way there. No one had said it to me exactly, but nowadays in lessons, every time Seb sat near me, his friends left. And I noticed the snickering and laughing when that happened too.

I wasn't stupid enough to be unable to decipher that.

But I don't think Seb had thought that far when he'd decided to ask me to be Zhao Wan'er. It wasn't as if Nicole Yeung would be the Wan'er to his Xuan Wu any time soon.

So I replied, nah i wanna do it for my own house lol

He typed back, sad.

I blinked and closed the application, switching to Youtube. I needed a bloody break. My back felt like it was about to break.

My door opened again, and this time, Kate walked in. "My god, Queenie and Clark..."

Lucy's eyes darted to Kate. "What?"

"Clark was downstairs with James Withington just now, you know, talking with Adelina—"

"—I wouldn't call it talking," I murmured.

"And then Queenie and I walked by and Clark just pounced on Queenie and they're now sitting on the bench chatting as if they're a couple again and dear god I'm going to kill her.'

I blinked. "You're sure Clark didn't jump on her just to escape Adelina and James?"

"Better question is, why the fuck is Queenie talking to Clark?"

Which was a bit funny if you asked me, because Queenie was the one who cheated on Clark, technically. Though from what I'd heard, Clark had cheated back on her for revenge after he learnt the truth, which I rather thought was not the best way to deal with this kind of situation.

Lucy shook her head. "It's just in the moment, Queenie'll regain her senses soon. If not, we'll make sure she does."

"That sounds ominous," I remarked.

"It's meant to be." Lucy flashed the brightest smile. "Fuck Clark Ford, I say. Fuck Clark Ford."

I supposed that was friendship. No matter what your friend did, you always backed them. I respected that, even if I didn't necessarily agree with their view of the situation. But I didn't think it was their fault either. We were all so young. Relationships at this age, they were always messy. Which was why I didn't want to date until I was at least sixteen. At least then, everyone would be slightly more emotionally mature than now.

Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. The human brain didn't fully develop until you were in your twenties anyways. But I didn't want to wait that long.

Maybe that was part of why I couldn't understand some of the girls here right now, with all their crushes and boyfriends. Because I didn't want that, not yet.

Kate shook her head. "I swear, if she gets back with him..."

"She will absolutely not," Lucy promised. "Hey, we've stopped her at least twice before. We can do it again."

I suppressed a snort. Another kind of never-ending circle, I supposed, one that matched Adelina and James' rivalry. Life was full of them. History liked to repeat itself, after all, in all shapes and forms.

It was why I liked studying the subject. The study of the wisdom of our ancestors, as I'd told James Taylor what felt like an eternity ago.

Speaking of that particular James, I hadn't spoken to him in a little while. I ought to, next time we had class together. Which was tomorrow.

What we could talk about, I had no idea. I didn't think we had many common topics, honestly. He knew a lot about gossip, but so did I, now. A month had been more than enough for me to cement my knowledge of the school's social scene.

I stood up just as another notification lit again. I switched back to the application and read, we're playing badminton tonight after prep wanna come?

I'd gone once or twice to the sports hall after school. Most of the boys liked to go and play sports then, and I'd occasionally joined in to play badminton. But it was awkward when I went alone, and neither Yunji nor Adelina accompanied me often, so the number of times I'd gone had drastically dropped in the past while.

I replied to Seb, prob not, too tired. If I went, Adelina would skin me alive. Me being tired was the reason I'd abandoned her in the courtyard.

I suppose indirectly, if Queenie and Clark got back together because of this—which wasn't unlikely, in a way—it would partially be my fault for abandoning Clark there with Withington and Adelina too. I found that oddly funny.

This time, I quit the messaging app completely. I wanted to watch my bloody video, and as nice as it was talking to Seb, I had better things to be doing right now.

—

"HONORIA, HONORIA," I recognised the voice immediately, twirling around.

"What the fuck?" I asked as James Withington popped out from behind a pillar. "Are you alright, James?"

"I'm perfectly good," he replied. "I just want your help."

"If it's to convince Adelina to go as Jacilara, it's not going to work. She's Adelina Roche, I can't change her mind."

"Can't you at least try?" he asked, holding his hands together. "Please? I don't want to go as just Drakori, that's just stupid, and everyone else who fits the character is busy."

"It's a fashion show. You don't need someone who looks accurate to do it. It's the clothes that matter, not the people."

"Yeah, but I want Adelina to do it."

I paused. "You're either planning something, or you don't hate her nearly as much as you want us all to think."

"Us hating each other is just banter," James grunted. "We don't actually have any reason to despise each other."

"Her dislike of you seems very real," I murmured. "I'm just saying, are you sure she shares the same sentiment as you?"

James froze for a moment, as if that notion had just hit him for the first time. "Well, fuck. But still. You're Adelina's best friend. I'm sure you can convince her to do it. She's the perfect fit. And we've played Drakori and Jacilara before, when we were kids. During Halloween. Our parents thought it was hilarious."

"Maybe that laid the groundwork for your rivalry," I suggested.

"Oh come on, at least it's not a pair of lovers or something. I'm not asking her to be Zhao Wan'er or something."

Was that a jab at me? Did he know that Seb had asked me to play Wan'er? Was he hinting at something?

I wasn't sure. Instead I replied, "Thank god no, because I'm pretty sure that would be cultural appropriation."

He pulled a face. "Come on. Help me out. I can help you with shit, you know. I'm friends with a lot of people."

"I have no need for favours. If you need her help so desperately, go talk to her yourself. Despite everything she is someone who listens to logic. If you provide that..."

"I did. It didn't work."

"Try harder." I turned to walk away, but James stopped me again.

"I'm begging you. I'll... I'll... buy takeaway for you."

"Dude," I pointed out, "you're not a full boarder. You're never here on weekends and we're not allowed to get takeaway on weekdays."

"I'm staying this weekend for a fixture on Saturday," he said, shutting his eyes. "If you manage to convince Adelina to agree to be Jacilara on the fashion show—we even have the clothes picked out, I'll buy you takeaway on Friday night."

"Buy it for me and Yunji, and then it's a deal."

"You have to convince her first."

"Promise that you'll buy me and Yunji takeaway if I succeed, and then I'll go and try to convince her."

He opened one eye and stared at me. "Promise."

"I'll do my best, I assure you of that." Takeaway was expensive around here. A single meal could be twelve pounds. It would be less than half of that back home. But to have a taste of home—cooking was too difficult in the tiny kitchen in our dorm common room—the money was worth it.

But if I could have someone else pay to do it for something that doesn't really even affect me?

I'll take the bloody chance. There weren't going to be any consequences if I failed to do it anyways.

"Deal?"

"Deal."

"Honoria? Why are you—oh, hi James!"

It was Yunji, who'd just left her orchestra practice, from the look of the violin case she was holding. That and the fact that the rest of the school orchestra filed out from beside her a few moments later. "What's up?" she asked, brows knitting together in confusion.

I smirked. "I've gotten us an excellent deal, Yunji. If we manage to convince Adelina to be Jacilara in the fashion show, James here is going to buy us both takeaway on Friday."

Her eyes bulged. "Oh, James, you're so fucked."

James glared suspiciously at me. "You're not going to buy something crazy expensive right?"

"No, no." I waved my hand in the air. "I'm sure you can afford it anyways."

James didn't look like he knew what to say to that. He was rich. Adelina-level rich. He lived in a mansion in the countryside, probably, and most likely had moved multiple times in the same house, that kind of stuff. He could afford to lose a couple pounds for our takeaway.

But then he said, "My parents are rich. I only get so much money from them for myself, you know?"

"I'm sure you can afford, like, thirty pounds maximum. And you asked for this. I didn't force you into this."

James moaned into his hands. "The shit I'm giving up for this."

"As I've said multiple times, you don't need Adelina to be Jacilara."

"Hell, anyone could do it," Yunji agreed. "Even I could."

"You don't have brown hair."

"Technically I do." Yunji grinned. "True black hair doesn't exist. So my hair's technically brown."

He blinked at Yunji.

I was starting to figure out what was going on. But I didn't pop the bubble. Things like these, it was better off being left unsaid. Some things that didn't need to be put on the surface for all to see didn't need to be taken apart. Some things were simply better off being hidden. It was a rule of life I'd figured out quite a little while ago.

"I'll do my best," I echoed to fill in the empty silence that had descended upon us. "I'll do my best to convince Adelina. You don't need to worry. I'm a trustworthy person."

"I really damn hope you are," James said, a hint of worry still obvious. I didn't know what he was so bloody nervous about. Even if I failed, he technically didn't lose anything. In fact, he'd lose things if I succeeded.

This was the most fucked deal of the century. But since I was the one earning benefits from it, I wasn't going to complain.

Now. Time to find a way to convince Adelina Roche that playing the Jacilara to James' Drakori was an excellent way to establish their rivalry.