Chapter 27: The Shadow on the Wall
The revelation of Julian’s invisible guard hung over Elena’s head like a heavy, golden shroud long after the line had gone dead. When morning finally broke, flooding her room with the sharp, unyielding glare of the sun, the surreal magic of their midnight conversation didn't dissolve. If anything, it solidified into a hyper-awareness that made her skin prickle with every step she took outside her hostel block.
Walking across the sun-baked asphalt toward the faculty building, Elena felt entirely exposed. Every student passing her by on the crowded walkways—every familiar face from her department, every stranger loitering near the campus buttery, even the security guard nodding sleepily by the gate—suddenly looked like a potential link to Julian’s hidde
