Rachel waited in one of the airport’s small restaurants, nursing a cup of lukewarm tea. Three hours had passed since she landed. She didn’t dare wander far — she didn’t know the city, and without the academy’s address there was no way she could find it on her own. Getting lost in a country she barely knew would be beyond foolish.

Still, the waiting clawed at her nerves. It wasn’t the first time she’d been left sitting alone, and the memories stung more than she liked to admit — her father forgetting to pick her up from elementary school, hours spent waiting outside the gates; her uncle leaving her behind in middle school; sitting in the dark outside her college building until evening because she’d forgotten her phone and couldn’t call for help. She pushed the thoughts down and kept herself busy — fixing her messy hair, jotting down a few lines in one of her novels, anything to stop the quiet from turning into loneliness.

Meanwhile, Alexander Brock was buried under a mountain of paperwork. By the time he signed the last page, the clock told him what he had done — he’d completely forgotten the “magic girl” his uncle had asked him to pick up.

With a quiet curse, he gathered his most important belongings.

“Wrap up the rest,” he told his assistant. “I have something to deal with.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied, before hesitating. “Are you free this weekend? I was thinking—”

He didn’t let her finish. Adjusting his suit, his voice went sharp. “Is that really how you interact with people at work?” He didn’t wait for an answer and headed out, ignoring the look she gave him.

By the time he arrived at the airport, Rachel had just finished a chapter of her story. A tall, broad-shouldered man in a dark suit approached.

“Are you Miss Wilde?” he asked. She matched his uncle’s description exactly — short, small-framed, long dark-purple hair, pale skin, and vivid pink eyes. She looked even younger than he expected, almost like a teenager, but it had to be her.

“Yes, that’s me. And you are…?”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner,” Alexander said, awkwardly adjusting his tie. “I had… work.”

Rachel smiled faintly. “It’s alright. I figured you might be busy. Still, it would’ve helped if your uncle had given me the academy’s location — I could’ve taken a taxi instead of waiting.”

Alexander studied her. Usually, he could read people easily — with or without the aid of his magical artifact — but she was… unreadable. Shaking off the thought, he reached for her luggage. “Let me help you with those.”

“It’s fine, I can manage,” Rachel replied with a polite smile. “You look tired enough as it is.”

On the way to his SUV, Alexander opened the front passenger door for her. Rachel hesitated. In the Kemp tradition she had been raised with, it wasn’t proper to sit next to a man who wasn’t her father, uncle, or brother. No matter how far she had traveled from home, some habits refused to fade. Quietly, she walked to the back seat instead.

Alexander didn’t comment, and Rachel didn’t explain.

The ride was silent. She gazed out of the window, lost in thought. Unlike most women he met, she didn’t pepper him with questions or make small talk about his success. She seemed to be somewhere else entirely, and he couldn’t decide if that intrigued or unsettled him.

When they arrived at the dormitory, Alexander finally spoke. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to Uncle Brad or me.”

“Sure,” she said simply, then added, “When can I meet Mr. Brown?”

“Soon, maybe in a couple of weeks. His wife just gave birth to their second child, so he’s a little… busy.”

“I see,” she murmured.

Alexander insisted on carrying her bags to her room, talking as they walked. “This academy is just like a regular school, except it accepts students with unusual magic. You can finish your studies here while learning to control your abilities. There are also normal, non-magic students.”

Rachel nodded, but said nothing more