Volume One

Watching her brought a kind of stillness to me, a hush that silenced the noise constantly buzzing in my head. Nyssara moved with an effortless calm, trailing her fingers along the spines of ancient books like she was coaxing secrets from them. I’d never noticed it before, but now that I focused, I could make out a scent that lingered around her. Faint, almost hidden behind expensive perfumes. Rain. Not the kind that ruined plans or drenched you, but the fresh kind. The scent that came right after the weather had calmed down, clean, cool, and oddly comforting.

Then I heard it.

“Varkai’s youngest.”

I froze.

I had been noticed.

Abandoning the illusion of secrecy, I stepped forward from behind the shelf. “Rhyven,” I corrected, keeping my tone even as I met his gaze. “Fancy meeting you here, my lady.”

Nyssara’s cousin, Cole, I recalled, raised an eyebrow. “Hm. It seems like you came here for her, the way your eyes kept wandering around only to land on her again.”

He wasn’t wrong. But the way he said it wasn’t quite jealousy.

No, jealousy only came when someone thought their claim was threatened. What I heard in his voice was more... amusement, or irritation. Either way, he didn’t see me as competition.

I offered a small shrug. “Her beauty is alluring. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her the moment I saw her.”

He looked at me then, with something dangerously close to pity. That was, until Nyssara spoke.

“Hey Rhyven,” she said with a small, welcoming smile. “Didn’t expect to see you so quickly after last night.”

Cole's eyes widened like she’d just dropped a bomb. Which, in a way, she had. Everyone knew I didn’t attend social events. If I had spoken with someone in private the night before, people would assume all kinds of things.

I caught her eyes for a second, reading the hint of mischief there. She knew what she was doing.

“Same here,” I replied smoothly. “I came looking for the newest updates on some of my favorite novels.”

Her lips curled, amused. “Oh? Which novels do you read?”

“Action. Romance. Historical. Things like that.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. I just didn’t read them often.

She turned to Cole, batting her lashes. “He has the same preferences you have.”

He scoffed. “Name some of the novels, then.”

I blinked. Yep. Definitely a setup.

I cleared my throat. “I just read here and there. Don’t really keep the names in my head.”

Before he could press further, I added, “Honestly, I don’t read much. I was just bored today and decided to stop by.”

He didn’t believe me, that much was clear. But he let it go, probably assuming it wasn’t worth the effort.

Nyssara glanced at the clock hun above the reading archway. “It’s time we leave, Cole.”

Turning to me, she asked, “Would you like a ride, Rhyv?”

It wasn’t a question people typically asked me. She’d noticed I came alone. She’d noticed everything. I wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or worried.

‘Rhyv.’ The way she said it was soft. Familiar. Nothing like the cold, condescending way my siblings said it.

“If you don’t mind,” I replied, “I wouldn’t want to be a bother.”

“You’re not, Rhyv. You know that.”

No. I didn’t.

But maybe I wanted to.

The ride was quiet. Nyssara took the front seat beside the driver while I sat in the back with Cole. The occasional glance came my way from Cole. I tried not to read into it. Tried, and failed.

Finally, I broke the silence.

“Is there an issue?”

He didn’t answer immediately.

“Are you participating in the Annual Youth’s Competition?”

The answer was simple. No. I never had. Everyone knew why.

I was about to excuse myself when she turned slightly in her seat, voice calm but firm.

“Of course he will. Right?”

Something in her tone made the words feel less like a question and more like a statement. A promise. A challenge.

For a moment, I considered saying no. And then, I didn’t.

We didn’t speak after that. The silence returned but felt different this time.

When we reached the intersection between our homes, I spoke up. “I’ll get off here.”

They didn’t question it. We all knew how rumors liked to spread in our world.

I stepped out, thanking them quietly, and stood in the fading headlights as the car pulled away.

The night had grown colder, but my body felt warm. Refreshed. I took the longer path home, letting the silence sink in, letting her words echo.

Back at the mansion, I avoided the main hallway and slipped up the staircase unseen. My room was quiet, the walls still carrying the thin chill of the broken heater. I didn’t mind. Cold sharpened the senses.

Stripping off my jacket, I tossed it across the back of my chair. Then paused.

Something shifted.

I turned back and picked it up. A small black notebook had fallen from the inner pocket.

No title on the front, just worn leather. I opened the first page.

“Volume One.”

Flipping through, I found scribbled notes in a tidy, precise hand. Diagrams. Techniques. Explanations. The kind of training that matched the words she said in the garden.

“Your body doesn’t respond to brute force. It’s seeking something else.”

It was all here. Modified breathing techniques. Combat adjustments. Things I’d never seen in standard training manuals.

How…?

I reached the last page and froze.

There, written in smooth ink:

“From your tutor, N.”

Underneath it, a phone number.

I stared at it.

She hadn’t just noticed me. She planned for this. Prepared it. Slipped it into my jacket without me ever realizing.

Why?

And how did she already know what I’d need?

My fingers tightened around the book. Whatever this was, however it came to me, this was no accident.