Chapter 99: The Fall Festival, Part Fourteen

Chapter 99: Chapter 99: The Fall Festival, Part Fourteen

Chapter 99: The Fall Festival, Part Fourteen

The front of the academic building was not a particularly good place to watch fireworks.

The view was partly blocked by the upper floors, and the narrow stretch of pavement only framed a small section of sky between the buildings. Students who wanted the best view had already headed toward the athletic field, the courtyard, or the open lawn near the parking area.

That was why the spot was nearly empty.

Faye had come there looking for Cyrus.

She had checked the main hall, the courtyard, and the path toward the auditorium. He had disappeared after leaving the haunted house, even though he had said he wanted to stay long enough to watch the fireworks before going to work.

Faye was still considering whether to text him when a familiar voice called from behind her.

"Faye, wait a moment."

Faye turned without much caution.

Audra stood several steps away in her regular school uniform. The white costume from earlier had been removed, and her hair had been put back in order, though a few pale ribbons still remained woven through the dark strands.

The fireworks had not started yet.

The sky above St. Alder had turned deep blue, with the last trace of evening light fading behind the school buildings. The distant festival noise carried across the campus, but this corner remained quiet enough that Faye could hear the wind moving through the trees.

"Audra," Faye said. "Did you need something?"

Audra did not answer immediately.

Instead, she raised one hand.

The pink stone on the glamourkin ring caught the remaining light.

Faye’s attention settled on it.

The ring seemed to glow from inside, faintly and strangely, its color too vivid against Audra’s pale fingers. Faye’s body stiffened before she understood why. Her thoughts slowed, as though someone had pressed a hand against the back of her mind and gently pushed everything aside.

Audra watched the change without altering her expression.

Faye stood in front of her with lowered shoulders and unfocused eyes. Her breathing remained even. Nothing about her posture looked unusual enough to draw attention from a distance.

Audra examined her quietly.

She had watched Faye beside Cyrus at the haunted-house table. She had watched Cyrus hand her candy, offer her the bottled drink, and make space for her when the entrance line got busy. Later, inside the haunted house, Faye had taken Cyrus’s hand before he could pull himself together.

Cyrus had not resisted.

That bothered Audra more than she wanted to admit.

Faye looked quiet in class. She hid behind thick glasses and long bangs, sat near the front, and rarely spoke unless someone asked her a direct question. Nothing about her seemed especially noticeable.

Yet Cyrus had gone to her house.

He had brought her cake.

He had smiled at her.

Audra stared at Faye’s face.

Her skin was clear. Her posture was soft. Even under the glamourkin ring’s influence, there was a gentle steadiness in her expression that made her seem less fragile than usual.

Audra could not see anything supernatural.

She could not see any obvious trick.

Still, both what Cyrus had said and what she had seen with her own eyes made one thing clear.

Faye had not always looked this plain.

Audra reached out.

She removed Faye’s glasses first.

Then she lifted the long bangs that had hidden most of her face.

Faye’s features came into view beneath the dim campus lights.

Audra paused.

Faye was beautiful.

Not in the way Audra was beautiful. Audra’s appearance made people stop, whisper, and turn their heads before they could pretend not to notice. Faye’s beauty was quieter. Her face carried a warmth that seemed easy to overlook until the glasses and hair were gone, and then it became difficult to understand how anyone had missed it.

Her eyes were soft even while empty under the ring’s control.

Her expression held a faint gentleness that did not disappear simply because she could not think clearly.

Audra’s fingers tightened around Faye’s glasses.

Cyrus knew this face.

That was the first thought that rose.

Then another followed.

Why did Cyrus treat Faye differently?

He had brought Audra a cake once, but he had handed it over impatiently and left before she could say much. He had treated it like a transaction, as though he only wanted to repay the tutoring and avoid a longer conversation.

With Faye, he had stood at her front door and smiled.

With Faye, he had chosen two cakes because she hesitated over which flavor she liked more.

With Faye, he seemed willing to be warm.

Audra’s thoughts became uneven.

The ring hung around her neck on a thin chain now, but its effect had not fully left her. Every time she used it on Cyrus, every time she watched him answer helplessly beneath its influence, something inside her grew more restless.

She had spent the afternoon trying to behave normally.

She had walked with him.

She had bought him food.

She had told him part of the truth.

Then Faye had held his hand.

Audra stared at Faye’s uncovered face.

Why did Cyrus treat her with such patience?

Why did he look at Faye as though she was safe?

The irritation rose until it became difficult to separate from anger.

Audra had not done anything wrong.

She had offered Cyrus tutoring when he needed help. She had paid for festival games. She had shared food. She had kept his secret after seeing his face. She had even tried to make the day enjoyable for him.

Yet he remained guarded around her.

Faye had only lent him manga and made tea.

The unfairness of it pressed against Audra’s chest.

A firework exploded somewhere beyond the athletic field.

The sound cracked across the campus.

Color flooded the sky above the buildings in a sudden burst of gold and blue.

Audra’s hand paused.

For several seconds, she looked away from Faye.

Fireworks opened against the darkening sky one after another. Each bloom lasted only a moment before fading, replaced by another brighter shape. The light reflected off the academy windows and spilled across the empty pavement in brief flashes.

The display was beautiful.

It was also temporary.

Audra watched one burst dissolve into smoke.

Then she turned back to Faye.

Her expression cooled again.

She lifted Faye’s glasses, intending to place them back where they belonged.

Before she could, something made her look upward.

The rooftop above them stood in shadow.

At that distance, she should not have been able to make out anything clearly. The night had deepened, and the fireworks kept throwing uneven light across the school buildings. A person standing near the roof fence would be little more than a dark shape.

Yet Audra knew someone was there.

Someone was watching.

Her eyes narrowed.

Cyrus.

The thought came with such certainty that she did not need proof.

Was he watching her?

Had he seen Faye standing still beneath the glamourkin ring? Had he seen Audra remove her glasses and push aside her bangs? Had he noticed the way she had looked at Faye?

The anger inside Audra found a direction.

For a second, she wanted to walk into the building, find Cyrus on the roof, and force him to explain why he kept looking at her as though she was always doing something wrong.

She wanted to ask whether he had been laughing at her all day.

She wanted to raise the ring and make him tell her exactly what he thought.

The thought came too easily.

Audra stopped herself.

Faye was still standing in front of her.

Audra put the glasses back on Faye’s face and lowered her bangs until they covered the girl’s features again. The careful disguise returned in seconds, hiding the face Cyrus had seen and Audra had now seen for herself.

Then Audra snapped her fingers.

Faye blinked.

The fireworks were already bursting across the sky.

For a moment, she looked around in confusion, as though she had been distracted by a sound and only now realized the show had begun.

Audra was walking away.

Faye saw only her back as she entered the academic building without another word.

Above them, a figure stood behind the rooftop fence.

Cyrus had gone to the roof after leaving Faye at the stairwell.

He had not planned to stay long.

The rooftop was normally closed, but someone had left the access door unlocked for the festival. Most students did not seem to know about it, which made it one of the few places on campus where he could stand without being surrounded by people.

He had chosen the corner nearest the safety fence.

The wire barrier was high enough that no one could lean too close to the edge, and the view over the school grounds was clear. The athletic field glowed with festival lights. The stage had gone dark for the fireworks. Students crowded the open areas below, their voices rising whenever another burst of color opened over the campus.

The wind moved through Cyrus’s hair.

For short stretches, it lifted his bangs enough to reveal part of his eyes.

He should have been enjoying himself.

The festival had been fun. He had eaten more snacks than he usually allowed himself to buy. He had walked through classrooms, watched a performance, tried games, and spent time with people who did not expect him to become anything more than a student with too much hair in his face.

Then Audra had happened.

Audra in white.

Audra appearing onstage like she had stepped out of an old Frostborn story.

Audra finding him alone afterward.

Audra asking strange questions.

Audra somehow seeing his face.

The day had gone from pleasant to exhausting so quickly that Cyrus did not know whether to blame her or himself.

Maybe the costume should not have bothered him that much.

A different girl in the same white outfit might have been harmless. Someone else wearing pale fabric and silver ribbons might have looked like a festival character and nothing more.

Audra did not.

He had once told her she resembled someone from his past.

At the time, he had not been joking.

That was why seeing her dressed like a Frostborn spirit had landed so badly. It dragged old memories too close, memories of pressure, locked spaces, pale hair, and women who called control a form of care.

Cyrus rested his forearms against the fence.

The fireworks began in earnest.

A burst of red spread above the school, followed by blue, gold, and white. The colors filled the sky, vanished into smoke, and returned in new shapes before he could settle on any one of them.

He sighed quietly.

After the fireworks, he would go to The Full Moon Lounge early.

Work would give him something else to focus on. He could wash glasses, restock bottles, and listen to Malcolm complain about people leaving napkins everywhere. That sounded much better than standing around school while Audra decided whether she wanted to ask more questions.

Another firework burst overhead.

The sudden light caught something near the side of the academic building.

Cyrus looked down.

Two figures stood below.

One was Faye.

He recognized her posture immediately, even from the rooftop. The other girl had her back partly turned, but Cyrus only needed a second look to identify the dark hair and familiar shape of the school uniform.

Audra.

Why was Audra stopping Faye?

Cyrus leaned closer to the fence.

The distance made details hard to see, so he let a little of his Frostborn sight rise again. The world sharpened. The pavement below became clearer. Faye’s glasses came into focus. Audra’s raised hand did too.

Cyrus frowned.

Faye looked easy to corner.

She was quiet. She hesitated before speaking. She rarely argued with anyone, even when people talked over her in class. If Audra had decided to ask her questions, Faye might not know how to refuse.

Cyrus watched the two of them.

Then Audra looked up.

The movement was sudden enough that Cyrus almost stepped back from the fence.

She did not wear the white costume now, yet the sight still startled him. Her face tilted toward the rooftop with an expression he could not read from that distance.

Cyrus’s first thought was ridiculous.

Why was she looking at him like that?

His second thought was worse.

Could she actually see him?

That was impossible.

No human had vision sharp enough to make out a person this clearly from the ground, especially with the fireworks flashing across the sky and the rooftop half hidden in darkness.

Cyrus stayed where he was.

Audra made a small motion with her hand.

It looked like a snap.

Then she turned and entered the academic building without looking up again.

Faye remained below for a moment, staring at the fireworks as though she had only just noticed them. Then she began walking toward the main gate.

Cyrus watched until she disappeared from view.

Audra had looked toward the rooftop before going inside.

That was enough.

Maybe she wanted to come up here.

Maybe she only wanted a quiet place to stand.

Either way, Cyrus did not intend to wait around and find out.

He left the roof immediately.

Instead of taking the nearest stairwell, he chose the farther one on the opposite side of the building. He went down quickly but without running, listening at each landing before opening the next door.

He did not see Audra.

That did not make him feel much better.

The fireworks continued while he crossed the lower floors.

Every burst of color shone through the windows, briefly turning the halls blue, red, or gold. The school had grown quieter as students moved outside for the show. A few classrooms still held festival supplies, but most doors stood closed.

Cyrus reached the ground floor without running into anyone.

He left through a side exit and headed toward the school gate.

It was early to go to work, but that did not matter.

The fireworks were a student activity, not something he had to attend until the final burst. He could leave whenever he wanted. The lounge would be open soon, and the walk would give him time to clear his head.

Cyrus kept moving.

Then he felt it again.

Someone was watching him.

He stopped near the gate and turned toward the academic building.

The windows were dark except for the occasional flash of fireworks reflected across the glass. Most of the third-floor corridor lay in shadow.

A figure stood near one of the windows.

The person was backlit by a faint strip of hallway light, too dark and too distant for Cyrus to identify. He could only make out the outline of someone standing still, facing the path where he had stopped.

The fireworks faded.

The night settled into silence between the next bursts.

Cyrus could no longer see the figure clearly.