Her voice was melodic with a slight rasp that made everything sound vaguely suggestive.
I activated Snake Eyes on pure reflex, and the information appeared immediately.
AURORA FITZGERALD
BUST: 34D
RANK: SILVER
ATTRACTION: 15%
Fifteen percent baseline. Just from bumping into her in a sculpture garden.
The charm effect activated automatically once Iâd looked at her long enough, the invisible connection forming between us, pulling her attention toward me even though I was objectively still overweight and not particularly impressive.
Her smile widened slightly, like sheâd noticed something interesting but couldnât quite name it.
"You gonna stand there staring, or are you gonna apologize properly?"
"Already apologized," I said, finding my voice somewhere beneath the distraction her entire existence presented. "You want it in writing?"
She laughed. "Oh, youâre funny. I like funny."
Aurora shifted her weight, one hand on her hip, the other holding what looked like a bag of candy. She pulled out something that looked like a lollipop and unwrapped it slowly while maintaining eye contact.
"Youâre lost," she said, not a question.
"Aggressively lost," I admitted. "I was trying to get lost on the road of life, but I think I just ended up in Zone Two."
"Zone One, actually." She gestured behind her with the lollipop. "You walked past three buildings and a fountain. Very thorough lostness. Impressive commitment."
"I contain multitudes."
"Clearly." Her eyes traveled down my body and back up, assessing. Not cruel about it, just honest. "First year?"
"That obvious?"
Her expression lit up. "Oh good. Blairâs class. This just got interesting."
The way she said Blairâs name carried history. Not friendly history.
"You know her?"
"Everyone knows Blair Davenport." Aurora put the lollipop in her mouth, her lips wrapping around it in a way that was definitely intentional. "I outrank her by thirty spots. She hates that."
My brain processed that information. If Aurora outranked Blair at number two, that meantâ
"Youâre Elite Ten," I said.
"Number twenty-three, actually." She pulled the lollipop out with a soft pop. "Not quite the top ten yet, but Iâm working on it. Aurora Fitzgerald. Second year."
She extended her hand.
I took it, and her skin was warm and soft, her grip surprisingly firm.
"Jace Monroe. First year. Professional liability."
"Self-aware. I like that too." She didnât let go of my hand immediately, holding it a beat longer than necessary. "Whatâs your ability, Jace Monroe?"
"Touch-based sensory manipulation."
Her eyebrows went up. "Thatâs a fancy way of saying something dirty, isnât it?"
"Depends on context."
"Everything depends on context." She finally released my hand, and I immediately noticed the absence of contact. "You hungry? I was heading to grab something before my next class."
I checked my phone. 11:24. Still had time before Vale.
"Sure."
We started walking, Aurora leading the way back toward what she claimed was the actually correct path to the dining hall. She moved with confidence, her whole body language screaming that she owned whatever space she occupied.
"So whatâs a first year doing wandering around like a lost puppy?" she asked, glancing at me sideways.
"Thinking."
"About?"
"Whether to spend my money on a weapon now or save them for later when I have a bigger budget."
She whistled low. "Thatâs a lot of spare thinking for a first year."
"Iâve been motivated."
"By what?"
"Not dying."
Aurora laughed again, that same genuine sound from before. "Fair motivation. Very relatable." She paused at an intersection, considering. "You should spend a little bit for a good reliable weapon now and save for a top tier weapon later. The gap between low level and mid level is much less than mid level to high level."
"Spoken from experience?"
"Iâm ranked twenty-third despite having an ability that most people think is useless in direct combat." She turned those green eyes on me fully. "Iâm here because Iâm fast, hard to pin down, and I know how to make people question their own senses."
We walked in comfortable silence for a bit, the dining hall coming into view ahead.
"You got a girlfriend, Jace Monroe?" Aurora asked suddenly.
The question landed like a grenade.
"Why?"
"Just curious." She pulled out another piece of candy, this time offering me one. Some kind of fruit chew. "Youâve got that look. Like someone whoâs recently discovered girls are soft."
I took the candy. Strawberry.
"Iâm seeing someone."
"But itâs complicated."
"Extremely."
"The best ones always are." Auroraâs smile turned knowing. "Let me guess. Sheâs nice, youâre not, and youâre trying to figure out if youâre using her or if itâs real."
I stopped walking.
She stopped too, looking at me with those sharp green eyes that saw too much.
"Howâ"
"Iâm good at reading people." She unwrapped her own candy. "Itâs literally my job. And youâve got guilt written all over your face whenever you think nobodyâs watching."
Fuck.
She was good.
"Itâs real," I said, surprising myself with the honesty. "But Iâm still figuring out what that means."
Aurora studied me for a long moment, then nodded once. "Good answer. Keep figuring it out. Girls like honesty more than perfection."
We started walking again, and I found myself relaxing slightly despite the fact that this gorgeous upperclassman had just psychoanalyzed me in under five minutes.
"Youâre dangerous," I said.
"Extremely." She grinned. "But Iâm also fun. You should come find me sometime when you need a break from being serious."
"Why would you want to hang out with a first year?"
"Because youâre interesting, and interesting is rare around here." She bumped her shoulder against mine, casual and warm. "Plus I think youâre going to cause problems, and I love watching problems unfold."
We reached the dining hall entrance, and Aurora paused at the door.
"This is where I leave you. My foodâs in a different direction." She pulled out her phone. "Give me your number. Iâll text you sometime when Iâm bored."
I rattled off my number, and she typed it in with quick fingers, then sent me a message immediately.
AURORA: dont forget about me freshman đŠ
"Cute emoji," I said.
"Iâm a cute person." She winked, actually winked, then turned and walked away, her orange hair catching the light as she disappeared around the corner.
I stood there like an idiot, watching her go, my brain slowly rebooting.
What the fuck just happened.
My phone buzzed with a notification.
SYSTEM ALERT: NEW TARGET IDENTIFIED
AURORA FITZGERALD - RANK #23
TIER: SILVER
ATTRACTION: 22%