*Ariella*
The cool morning air is a balm as Thalia and I walk through an open corridor, with a lush courtyard on one side. The hallway and small garden is alive with the murmur of students and the ancient magic of the school's walls.
We are lost in conversation about what my first class might hold when a voice, sharp and clear, cuts through the ambient noise.
"Thinking you can just walk in here and take him, huh?" The accusation is pointed, directed at me with an intensity that stops me in my tracks. “A bland little nobody like you.”
I turn, facing a girl I don't recognize, her eyes blazing with an emotion I can't quite place. Confusion wraps around me like a cloak. "I'm sorry, I don't think we have met," I manage, my voice steady despite the sudden tightness in my chest.
“It’s Coral
