I scanned the crowd for anyone who didn’t look like they might curse me into oblivion for asking simple favour — and that’s when I spotted him. A guy standing alone, wrapped in a personal exclusion zone.

  He was tall, with a brooding, icy stare and dark hair that fell messily over his face. Dressed in the kind of black-on-black outfit that screamed “I hate the world, and the world hates me back,” he looked like he had some invisible force field that kept people at a safe distance.

  Then our eyes locked — and he gave me a smirk that was 60% mockery and 40% “I eat freshgirls for breakfast.”

  “Hey, raspberry hair,” he called out, “looking to top up your magical reserve?”

  I froze, trying to figure out why on earth he was talking to me. Was he really addressing me? But yes — the way he looked at me screamed “special offer of the day.”

  “Excuse me, what?”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  He strolled closer with the confidence of someone who’d clearly never been told ‘no’ in his life.

  “You’re a succubus, right? Intimacy, magical reserves — it’s all part of the deal, yeah?”

  “Succubus?” I actually laughed. “Nope, just a confused first-year. Sorry to disappoint.”

  The guy — let’s call him Audacity — didn’t even flinch and kept going.

  “Look, firstie or not, it doesn’t really matter. You help me, I help you. Win-win. Come on, sweetheart, don’t play coy.”

  I burst out laughing. Honestly, the confidence. He stood there with his whole “I’m powerful, generous, and doing you a favour” routine and was offering me… what exactly? A one-night friendship?

  “Oh wow, thanks for the generous offer,” I said brightly. “But I wasn’t planning on kicking off my magical career with an elective in Intimate Necromancy”

  His grin stretched wider, eyes narrowing like he’d already written my tragic backstory.

  “Relax. Don’t be shy. Energy drains fast around here — especially for your kind.”

  “My kind?”

  “You, raspberry enigma, picked the wrong academy. Tarnograd isn’t exactly light reading. You’ll burn through your reserves in no time. And if you don’t even know how reserves work…” He sighed dramatically. “I might almost feel sorry for you. No offence, but succubi don’t exactly thrive under strict rules and rituals. And you? No allies. No protection.”

  I smiled politely — the kind of smile you use right before mentally filing someone under never again — and shrugged.

  “Hard pass. And if you’ll excuse me, I’m looking for the dean’s office. So you may head back to your personal quarantine zone.