Mia emerged from her sleep with a smile on her lips. She was comfortably lying down, warm, and felt perfectly safe. She hadn't had such a restful sleep since... since she had arrived at the Arena. Everything seemed normal, even the arm wrapped around her chest as she stretched her legs under the covers.

The arm?

When she turned her head and her gaze met Ethan's, her brain froze. While the events of the previous evening replayed in her mind, the vila released his embrace to give her space. She shivered in the absence of his warmth and instinctively turned around, burying her face in his neck and pressing her chest against his. He gave her a few soothing minutes before placing a kiss on the roots of her hair and gently pushing her to observe her face.

"Can you tell me what happened now?" he asked in the softest and most patient voice he could muster.

Mia was no more eager to answer that question than she was yesterday. Stubbornly, she forced her way back and positioned herself in his neck, wrapping her arm around his shoulders so he couldn't push her away again.

"It's past noon already, we'll have to get up at some point," he indicated with a smirk.

She mumbled a "so what?" as her only response, met with a sigh. During her college years, she had developed the bad habit of sleeping in whenever the day seemed a bit too challenging to face. This had earned her many remarks from her friends, who then had the heavy task of sending her the missed classes. Of course, the critiques were for show: half the time, she was the one who had to play secretary for her absent friends.

"Mia," he said more sternly. "We need to inform Professor Vassili and try to find..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Mia had grabbed his cheeks with both hands and pressed her lips to his in an attempt to silence him. Surprisingly, he seemed like he wanted to protest, but the "shut up" she whispered was enough to make him cooperate.

When he finally responded to her kiss, shivers ran down the blonde's spine. She had forgotten how intoxicating it was to be so close to someone, and the little butterflies awakening in her lower belly confirmed the sensation. When he slid his hand down her neck to cradle the base of her nape, a moan escaped her. Ethan took advantage of her parted lips to slip his tongue in, igniting a fire within her. In a swift movement, he turned her onto her back, positioning his knees between her legs, which she wrapped around his waist. When the vila's lips left hers to scatter kisses along her neck and down to her collarbone, her breath caught in her throat. A sudden frenzy to touch his skin prompted her to unbutton his shirt, taking the opportunity to slide her hands against his chest. He wasn't overly muscular, but he was lean, and she could feel under her fingers the beginnings of his abs and pectorals. The unconscious friction of her hips against the already present erection of the vila elicited an animalistic growl from him, further igniting Mia's body. If she had pressed her lips against the vila's simply to silence him without any other ulterior motive, that concern was long gone.

"Mia!" Lily shouted through the door, abruptly interrupting their momentum. "If you don't open the door in ten seconds, I'll do it myself, no matter what you're doing!"

When Mia finally opened the door a few seconds later, the fairy was met with two annoyed looks.

"Ah, I suppose I'm interrupting a moment," Lily chuckled and winked at Mia.

The fairy's cheerful attitude managed to dispel a bit of her frustration. She was relieved to see that Lily didn't seem intent on interrogating her and that everything seemed to be back to normal. A relief that didn't last long.

"I didn't want to disturb you earlier, but Professor Vassili will be here in about an hour to discuss... the events of last night."

Her jaw clenched, and she gritted her teeth at the surge of stress that rushed to her body. She knew that she would have to revisit the events sooner or later, but it seemed that someone had decided it would be as soon as possible.

"How does he already know?" Ethan asked.

"I had gone to inform him that Mia had disappeared before we joined you at the forest edge, just in case, and that everything was fine after leaving Mia's room last night. I didn't give him details, as I don't exactly know what happened... He said he would come around one p.m. after lunch to talk to both of you."

"I'm going to change," Mia announced with a sigh.

Clearly, she couldn't avoid it. The shower would also have to wait since she had no desire to rush it. Too bad if she looked dirty. It didn't seem to bother Ethan when he pressed his body against hers, so it must be okay.

Yes, it's well known that hormones are very sensitive to impeccable hygiene, she ironically thought, opting for a quick wash at the sink as Lily left the room to give them privacy.

Hidden behind the bathroom door, the blonde took off her ball gown and quickly inspected her body for injuries that needed attention. Apart from a few bruises on her knees and arms, she was relatively unharmed. A discreet red mark covered her throat, inflicted by the centaur's grip, but it didn't cause her any pain. Just minor wounds that would disappear in a few days, unless she opted for a more radical solution: applying magical cream to heal them in a matter of hours.

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"There are baths in the vila quarters," Ethan suddenly blurted out, waiting for her on her bed, as he didn't really have anything to freshen up with immediately.

"Is that an attempt to see me naked or an invitation to move into your room?" she replied, a mischievous smile on her lips, peering her head through the half-open bathroom door.

"Both," he said, copying her smile.

"We kiss once and you're already asking me to move in?"

The idea would have been outrageous a few hours ago, but the butterflies in her stomach that responded to the first option seemed to have already made up their minds on the matter. That, plus the fact that she had no desire to be left alone after the attack. The shock of the assault seemed to have dispelled all her doubts on the matter. After all, the promise of some spicy physical contact wasn't equivalent to a marriage proposal. And it would have the advantage of distracting her from recent events.

There are worse distractions indeed...

A little while later, Vassili's blond hair appeared in the hallway as Mia and Ethan sat in the armchairs to have a quick lunch. The vampire greeted them briefly before inviting them to a quieter place where prying ears couldn't listen in. Mia led them to her room, with the couple settling on the bed, leaving the desk chair for the professor.

Nervousness began to make theMia's body tremble at the thought of diving back into the memories of the previous day. Ethan, seated beside her, placed his hand on hers in an attempt to calm her. She gazed into his eyes, taking a deep breath, unaware of the slight smirk on the professor's face as he observed the scene with interest. A moment later, just as she felt ready to speak, Vassili raised his hand to stop her.

"There's no need to tell me what happened. Unless you have names to provide, there's nothing I can do."

A feeling of relief washed over the blonde, quickly replaced by incomprehension that also gripped Ethan.

"No investigation?" the vila asked, half astonished.

"No," Vassili confirmed.

Mia was torn between the satisfaction of being able to simply forget about this matter and the indignation at the thought that her attackers would get away as if nothing had happened. Ethan seemed to be focused on the latter option, as his grip tightened on his soulmate's hand before releasing it to avoid hurting her.

"I know what you're thinking, Ethan, but I advise against trying to find and punish them yourselves. It's in your best interest not to attract too much attention. Your mother..."

"Fine, fine," Ethan interrupted, resigned.

"Can someone explain to me what's going on?"

She didn't need an IQ of two hundred to understand that she hadn't been told everything about the situation in which she apparently found herself deeply entangled.

"Alright, I won't beat around the bush. The Director isn't aware of your presence here, Mia. And it's preferable that it stays that way," he explained, looking pointedly at his two interlocutors.

"Why?" Mia inquired, surprised.

Turning toward Ethan, she was even more taken aback to see no trace of questioning on the vila's face. His expression leaned more toward immediate understanding and then resignation.

"Because the Director actively participated in the genocide under my mother's orders," Ethan elaborated with a sigh. "If he had learned of your presence here, he would have immediately exposed you or even executed you out of respect for her."

"Under your mother's orders?"

Fresh pieces of the puzzle seemed to fit together with this newly acquired information in Mia's mind. Ethan wasn't just afraid that they might possibly meet the same fate as Kayn and Greya; he knew it wasn't a matter of if, but when.

But to kill her own son... one must be seriously twisted for that. What mother would dare to do that... Ethan mentioned his deceased brother who protected humans; don't tell me that...

"She led the 'purge' during the war," Vassili continued. "She even came up with the idea. Ethan's family has always been highly respected among the vilas... It wasn't very difficult to rally the most influential families. The other species just followed, seeing the opportunity to win easy battles."

"I thought they were exterminated because they were the weakest, implying that it wasn't necessarily the intended goal," Mia continued, stunned. "And it's your mother who ordered the entire operation?" she repeated, turning to the vila.

He simply nodded, sighing once again.

"When she bonded with my father, who is also a vila, they quickly established themselves as one of the most influential families. Their respective bloodlines were already ancient and honored, but two vilas... that's a bond that commands respect and power. The offspring of such a union are strong. I don't know when this popularity started to alienate her, but she became obsessed with the idea of magical purity. Humans not being magical..."

He didn't finish his sentence, as the implication was logical and evident. With all these new pieces of information, the fear that the vila's mother could threaten their lives was becoming increasingly tangible.

"Another threat to deal with," she sighed.

"I think you understand why it's so important for you to keep a low profile in this matter. Do you have any other questions, Mia?"

Silence settled for a few tens of seconds. Mia took the opportunity to quickly reflect on the situation. For Ethan's mother, although surprising, it was consistent with the vila's previous behavior. As for the director... it explained why they hadn't been called to testify regarding the investigation into the werewolf's death and the fireball that nearly killed her. Keep a low profile. A question naturally arose in her mind.

"How can he not be aware of my presence here? With the number of students who seem to dislike me, it's surprising that no one has reported me yet."

A small satisfied smile formed on the professor's lips. She couldn't discern the reason for this reaction, but it seemed positive.

"Students always go through the professors before approaching the director. Most professors don't wish for your death, so it wasn't difficult to convince them to send those students back to their activities. As for the more stubborn professors... let's just say that hypnosis is a power that can be quite useful."

Ah, so that part of the myth is true. Dangerous and deadly assumptions are always true here, it seems.

"If you don't have anything else to add, I'll leave right now," he announced as he stood up, wishing them a good day before exiting the room.

"Do you believe in this purity story?" Mia inquired, turning toward the vila.

He sighed, letting himself fall back onto the bed, arms behind his head.

"I believed it for a while. She's skilled with words... It's not difficult to fill a child's head with ideas. But I had already stopped believing when I found out you were my soulmate."

"What made you change your mind?"

"My mother, when I realized she's a master manipulator and... she's just crazy. I discovered she was responsible for the death of my brother, whom I never had the chance to know because of her."

Great.