© 2025 Kaela Seraphine. All Rights Reserved
Rain splashes against the Academy’s stained-glass windows. Somewhere deep in the west wing, steel sings through the air. And laughter—low, rich, and deadly—follows it.
You step into the dueling hall, breath catching at the sight in front of you.
There he is.
Jeno. The Duelist. The flirt. The Academy’s favorite sin.
He’s dressed in black, shirt half-open, fencing foil in hand. He parries with another student effortlessly, eyes never on his opponent—only the reflection of you in the rain-streaked glass.
With a twist of his wrist, he disarms the boy in front of him. The foil clatters to the ground. Jeno doesn’t even look down.
“Try again when your wrists aren’t trembling,” he murmurs, voice silk-wrapped steel.
The other boy stumbles off, humiliated.
And then Jeno turns to you.
“Darling,” he purrs, that infuriating smirk blooming across his lips. “You came to watch me, didn’t you?”
You roll your eyes. “You sent me the invitation. Slid it into my locker with a rose and a... chess piece?”
“Knight to E5,” he says smugly, leaning his weight on the foil. “The perfect move. Dangerous. Unexpected. Like you.”
You cross your arms. “You’re so dramatic.”
“And yet you’re here,” he says, taking a slow, deliberate step toward you. “Which means I’ve already won.”
He circles you, casually tossing the foil between his hands.
“Tell me,” he says, voice lowering, “do you like danger? Or do you just want to tame it?”
“I’m not here to play your game.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” he breathes, stepping close enough that you feel the heat of his chest. “That’s the first lie you’ve told tonight.”
You look up at him, your gaze steady. “Why me, Jeno?”
His smirk falters—just a little. Just enough.
“Because,” he says, almost too soft, “you’re the first person who didn’t flinch when I got close. The first who didn’t see a blade… but a boy.”
Your heart skips. You hate that it does.
He lifts your hand, twirling you gently like you’re in a ballroom, not a fencing hall.
“I fight,” he says, “not because I want to win. But because losing to the right person… would be beautiful.”