The knock came just as the moon shifted behind the clouds.

Elowyn stirred, half-dreaming. Her arms curled tighter around her blanket. Her ribs still pulsed faintly from the earlier beating.

Another knock. Then the door creaked.

She jolted awake.

She had forgotten to lock her door.

A slim and tall man in maroon uniform stepped halfway in — no younger than forty with sharp eyes and a silver clipboard.

“Cadet Elyan Froste?” he asked, voice flat.

Elowyn nodded groggily, pushing upright.

“Updated schedule. Just received. Applicable starting tomorrow.” He placed the sheet carefully on her table and stepped back. “Valet duty ends at midnight.”

He dropped the timetable on the table by the door.

Then he was gone.

Still blinking the blur out of her eyes, Elowyn swung her legs over the cot and went to grab the page.

Her mouth dropped open as she read:

Updated Weekly Cadet Timetable

Tuesday–Friday: Wake-up call — 6:30 AM

Saturday–Sunday: Field break from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM for “Pack Familiarity & Restoration.”

(Note: Mondays remain 5:00 AM sharp. No complaints will be entertained.)

She blinked again.

Then she stood.

Then, she danced.

Not gracefully. Not anything like those moonlit ballroom reels back home. This was a fist-pumping, ankle-hopping, whispered-squealing kind of joy.

"Yes. Yes, yes, yes!" she whispered, biting her fist to stop from laughing.

She pumped her fists.

Six-thirty?!

She wouldn’t have to wake up like a soldier escaping death anymore — at least not every day.

And one whole hour of break on weekends? That was basically vacation in this hellhole!

Her legs lifted off the floor again, her bare feet brushing the cold tiles. She ran and went to place the page on her bedside table.

She twirled one last time—

And stopped dead.

Azpen was standing in the hallway. Just outside her door.

Shirt half-buttoned, a cigarette lazily balanced between his lips, and a look of unimpressed amusement resting on his sharp face.

He raised a brow slowly, exhaling smoke.

“Didn’t know princes twirled like women.” He drawled.

Elowyn stilled and nearly choked on her breath.

Her entire body froze.

She backed one step toward her bed, clearing her throat and doing everything she could to act like she hadn’t just done the joy-dance of a five-year-old.

“I was stretching ” she mumbled stiffly.

Azpen smirked.

He turned, flicked his cigarette ash into a copper dish near his door, and disappeared inside without another word.

Door shut.

Elowyn dropped into her seat.

Hands over her face.

She blushed pink.

“....I want to die.”

Elowyn had stayed awake for half an hour and then slept again after that.

Every creak of the hallway made her heart twitch. Every whisper of a door shifting had her peeking from under her blanket like a hunted thing.

But still, she slept.

Morning didn’t wait.

The academy’s massive bell clanged from the East Tower, signaling the 6:20 AM wake-up reminder for Tuesday.

She dragged herself out of bed with aching joints and eyes puffy from the stiffness of it all.

She ran about her quick morning rituals of gulping from her flask. She shook it and went to hide it in her bag.

She was still tying her boots when a hard knock came.

Again?

Cautiously, she stood and opened it....

Azpen stood there.

Hair slicked back, collar popped, boots already shined like he’d woken up smug and breathtakingly hot.

Without a word, he raised his hand and tossed a small tin container into her arms.

She caught it on instinct.

“What’s this?” she asked warily.

He didn’t answer right away. He walked in, uninvited — like he owned the entire dorm.

He circled her once, then said, “Balm. For bruises. Lean, cracked ribs. Ego shattering. All of it.”

Elowyn’s brows shot up. She opened the tin. A strong, cooling scent of crushed mint and lavender hit her nose.

Azpen leaned against her desk like it was his own.

“Don't get excited, princeling,” he said dryly. “I didn’t make it. I just don’t want your crying to distract the group during today’s drills. Alpha Baron can't help you forever.”

Her jaw twitched. “I wasn’t crying.”

Azpen huffed. “Mm. You were leaking.”

He turned to leave but paused at the door.

She looked up.

He looked over his shoulder with that wolfish smirk.

“Get ready for more beatings. Yesterday was a warm-up.”

Then he vanished.

Door shut.

Elowyn stood there, heart thudding. The balm tin felt hot in her hands even though it was cool to the touch.

She didn't know whether to throw it or treasure it.

She chose to rub it on her side.

But secretly, the timetable still made her smile.