Chapter 545

Evaline:

My muscles burned in that familiar, satisfying way as I pivoted on my heel and ducked under my opponent’s arm.

The training hall echoed with the dull thuds of bodies hitting mats, sharp exhales of breath, and Oscar’s occasional commands cutting through the chaos like a blade.

Sweat trickled down my spine, my tank clinging uncomfortably to my skin, but I barely noticed. My focus was locked entirely on the girl in front of me.

She lunged.

I sidestepped, caught her wrist, twisted just enough to throw her balance off, and used her own momentum against her. With a sharp pull and a sweep of my leg, I sent her crashing onto the mat on her back.

The bell rang at the exact same moment.

A loud, metallic sound that signaled the end of the class… and the end of our duel.

For a second, we both just lay there, breathing hard, staring up at the ceiling.

Then I laughed.

She did too.

I pushed myself up and immediately offered her my hand. “That was impressive,” I said honestly.

She took it, letting me pull her to her feet. “You are fast,” she replied, brushing stray strands of hair from her face. “I didn’t expect that flip just now p>

“I didn’t expect you to counter my hold like that either,” I admitted. “You almost had me p>

She grinned. “Almost p>

We had gone two rounds – she won the first, I just won the second. A clean tie. No bitterness. No bruised egos. Just mutual respect.

We bumped fists lightly before she jogged off toward her friends.

I exhaled, rolling my shoulders as I scanned the hall. Students were already dispersing, grabbing their bags and towels, laughing and chatting as they headed for the exits.

Since it was the last period of the day, most of us had decided to skip showering here and head straight to the dorms instead.

Mallory caught sight of me from across the hall and waved enthusiastically, Selene beside her doing the same.

Finally, I thought, relief washing over me. A long shower, clean clothes, and maybe-

“Miss Evaline p>

I stopped mid-step at the familiar voice, and then, I slowly turned.

Oscar stood right in front of me, arms crossed over his chest that made his biceps bulge. There was a familiar knowing smile playing on his lips – the kind that never meant anything good for me.

“Yes?” I asked cautiously.

“It’s your turn to clean the hall,” he announced casually.

I blinked. Once. Twice.

“What?” I stared at him in disbelief. “No, it’s not. I already took my turn last week. There are at least-” I gestured vaguely around the hall, “-dozens of students who haven’t even done their first round yet p>

His smile widened.

One look.

Just one.

That was all it took.

I closed my mouth, my shoulders slumping as I let out a long sigh. I knew that look. Arguing further wouldn’t help him change his mind at all. Instead, it would only make me look bad in the eyes of my classmates.

Sometimes, I completely forgot he’s not just my mate but also my instructor and I needed to keep a grip on my emotions around him during our classes.

“Yes, sir,” I muttered, shooting him a quick glare sharp enough to cut glass.

Oscar looked entirely too pleased with himself.

If he’s planning to do anything like what he did in the showers after our first physical class, I would make sure he regert it.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Mallory’s expression shift from excitement to sympathy as she realized what was happening. Selene mouthed a silent ‘good luck’ in my direction.

I waved them off weakly.

Then… of course… things got worse.

“Sir p>

The voice was sweet. Too sweet.

I stiffened before I even turned.

Nadine stepped forward, her posture demure, her red painted lips curved into an innocent smile that would have fooled anyone who didn’t know her. Bianca and Violet flanked her, mirroring her expression like loyal shadows.

“I was wondering,” Nadine said softly, batting her lashes, “if my friends and I could join the cleaning team today p>

Oscar raised an eyebrow. “Volunteering p>

“Yes,” she replied smoothly. “We would like to help and do our part of the duty p>

I nearly laughed.

Help. Right.

A group of four students was always assigned to clean the hall after calssee. With Nadine and her two friends joining, that made a full team… with me.

Oscar glanced at me briefly, something unreadable flickering in his eyes, before turning back to Nadine.

“I don’t see why not,” he said.

Even though he had long sensed there’s something off between me and Nadine, as our Instructor, he got no valid reason to say no to any volunteers.

Nadine’s smile widened. “Thank you, sir p>

I clenched my jaw.

The last thing I wanted was to be stuck alone with Nadine and her group… even if it was just to clean the hall. I knew her all too well. She wasn’t here out of goodwill. She’s not the type to volunteer. She’s the type who would found a way to skip her own duty and dump the work on someone else.

Or worse.

There was nothing I could do about it either.

I noticed Kyros and Rowan hadn’t left yet and seemed to be waiting for me.

I caught their gazes and subtly pointed toward the cleaning supplies, then toward Nadine. Understanding dawned immediately, followed by looks of pure sympathy.

I’ll survive, I mouthed.

The hall emptied quickly after that. The echoes of footsteps faded, doors closed, and soon the massive training space was eerily quiet. Just the four of us remained.

I headed to the supply room, grabbed the mop bucket and stepped back into the hall.

That’s when they appeared.

Nadine, Bianca, and Violet stood directly in my path, blocking the way forward.

They hadn’t moved toward any of the cleaning supplies.

Hadn’t picked up a single mop or broom.

I stopped short and put down the bucket. Then slowly, I lifted my gaze to meet Nadine’s.

Her innocent smile was gone. In its place was something sharp. Calculating. Almost eager.

So I was right.

These girls weren’t here to clean at all.