First week of second semester, early morning Her dorm room. Esme Larue in her bed.

My brain is basically soup.

Warm, stupid, lightheaded soup.

Esme’s mouth is on my neck, my shirt is halfway off the bed, and I swear I’m not thinking about anything except how good he smells—like cigarettes and someone who makes terrible decisions. Perfect.

His hands are in my hair, my legs are around him, and I’m honestly just… floating. Not analyzing. Not overthinking. Just vibing. Just letting myself be a dumb teenage girl making dumb teenage choices.

And then my phone starts buzzing.

Annoying, nonstop buzzing.

I let out this whiny, muffled groan into his shoulder. “Ughhh nooo. Not right now. Oh my God.”

Esme laughs against my skin. “Ignore it.”

“I am ignoring it,” I say, without actually ignoring it because it’s vibrating against my hip like it’s trying to escape the bed.

But then his phone buzzes too.

We both go still.

He lifts his head slightly, hair a total disaster. “Uh… that’s weird.”

“Super weird,” I mumble, grabbing blindly for my phone without even looking at the screen. I honestly expect it to be my mother yelling about my attendance or something equally boring.

But it’s not her.

It’s from The Librarian.

And the text is— I squint. I’m not even wearing my glasses.

“Ugh—wait—hold on—my eyes aren’t, like, awake yet.”

Esme snorts. “Same.”

I finally manage to focus.

NOTICE TO ALL LEGACY FAMILIES: Lucian Arkhalen is expected to arrive at Bellhaven immediately.

I stare at the words for a full five seconds before my brain catches up.

Then I make the stupidest sound ever— somewhere between a gasp, a laugh, and a “what?”

Esme takes his phone. “Holy—wait. This is real?”

“Apparently.” I flop back onto the pillow dramatically, hair covering my face. “God. Literally why? I’m busy.”

Esme laughs, collapsing beside me. “Cass… you’re ridiculous.”

“No, seriously, why now?” I groan. “I’m half-naked and barely awake. This is, like… a terrible time for a whole Arkhalen crisis.”

He rolls onto his stomach, still breathless, still flushed. “Lucian Arkhalen, though? That’s—”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” I wave a hand lazily, eyes half-closed. “He’s the bastard one, right? The one no one talks about because it makes his family twitch?”

Esme blinks. “Cassie. That’s… kind of a huge deal.”

“Mmhm.” I’m not processing anything. I’m still warm and dizzy and annoyed that reality is interrupting my fun.

I shove my phone under a pillow. “He can come later. I’m busy.”

Esme laughs so hard he falls onto the mattress, face buried in my shoulder. “You’re unbelievable.”

“I know,” I say, stretching like a cat, still refusing to fully wake up. “And now I’m grumpy. I hate mornings. And Arkhalens. And responsibility.”

Then my phone buzzes again.

I groan loudly. “If it’s another update about the bastard son or whatever, I swear—”

Esme looks at me, eyes bright with amusement. “You do realize this is gonna be the biggest thing on campus, right?”

I sigh, pushing my hair off my face. “Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Can he show up after I get a coffee?”

Esme shakes his head, laughing. “You’re not serious.”

“I’m absolutely serious,” I mumble, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him back down. “I’m too tired and too horny for Arkhalen drama at eight in the morning.”

And even though we both know the air feels… different now, heavier, colder—

I’m really too lazy to care.

Lucian Arkhalen can wait.