Ember’s POV
As I arrived at the academy, Lucas was already waiting for me at the gate, just as we had planned.
“Hey,” I called out, catching his attention.
“Are you sure you’re up for this? We could take today off and start the project tomorrow,” Lucas said, giving me a strange look as if I were some fragile glass about to shatter.
“I'm fine,” I deadpanned, tired of being treated like I was weak.
“If you say so, let’s go. It’s this way,” he replied, gesturing toward a path leading into the woods.
I nodded and followed him. Once we were deep inside the woods, we came to a fork in the path.
“How about we split up? You take the left path, and I’ll take the right,” I suggested, still feeling uneasy about our last encounter and not wanting a repeat because I was certain I wouldn’t
