Owain has never been the daredevil sort. In fact, the very notion is unsettling to him.

So Founders only know why he's currently scuttling behind Derald, his buffalohead of a roommate, Vieva Bestel, Xara Roffinnes, and Lysabel Axelane. It's bad enough that the five of them are stuck doing an assignment together, but breaking school rules in the middle of the night?

Just kill me now, sighs Owain in his mind. He's always had a voice of reason; not that anyone would listen to it. Xara powers ahead, fiercely determined. Vieva follows, but with a note of caution on her face. That isn't surprising. She's been conditioned to perfection, something she doesn't hesitate to tell everyone she's met. Derald just looks spurred on, nearly bouncing along, while Lysabel slinks next to Xara. She looks to have as much enthusiasm as Owain. None.

"C'mon, Owain, don't dawdle!" hisses Derald, slowing just enough. Owain's cheeks color in embarrassment, and he looks ahead, but the girls haven't even looked over their shoulders. No surprise there. Being ignored, especially by girls, is a frequent occurrence for Owain. Normally, he wouldn't care, but lately, he has found himself wishing that one girl would notice him.

And at the moment, she's trotting beside Xara, the two of them conversing in hushed tones. Owain slumps. The notion that Lysabel Axelane would notice him the same way he did is preposterous.

Xara skids in front of the door, turning back. Her unsettlingly sharp gaze lands on Owain, and he gulps.

"If you want, turn back now. I don't want anyone slowing us down."

Owain wants to shout that he would very much like to go back to his comfy, safe bed. But before he can even open his mouth, Derald grabs his arm, squeezing tight to shut him up.

"Let's go."

"Derald!" whispers Owain furiously to his roommate.

"You want a girl to see you? You have to impress her, Owain. Running away with your tail between your legs won't do that."

Owain struggles to come to a conclusion. The idea of Lysabel noticing him as someone impressive is appealing, but the thought of getting hauled to the headmistress's by the ear overrides his desire to influence Lysabel's thought of him.

Owain jerks his arm back to himself. "I want to go back. Right now."

"Owain?" A feminine voice calls to him, in a silk-soft tone.

His head whips up. It's Lysabel, with her emeralds for eyes. Derald elbows him and Owain stumbles a few steps.

"Are you coming?" her voice holds a hint of confusion.

"I-I-I'm-"

"We are." Derald grins broadly at her. "You girls go ahead. We'll catch up." She nods once, glancing to Owain once more before jogging back to Xara and Vieva, her golden hair fluttering behind her like a banner.

Derald whirls on him the second she's out of earshot. "What in Nessira's name was that?"

"Hey, don't judge," defends Owain, looking down.

Derald sighs dramatically, rubbing the nape of his neck. "I was wrong. You being here isn't enough to get her to notice you. You'd need a brain transplant for that."

"Ok, so can I go back now?"

"I'll see you back."

Relief lights him up from the inside. Thank the Founders, wherever they may be. Owain pivots and begins to walk briskly back when a spine-quenching shriek streaks across the sky. His blood chills, like autumn giving way to the winter.

He catches up to Derald once more, who merely smirks ahead.

The five of them skitter across the quad like mice, light on their toes. Lysabel had outlined how to get to the building right before they'd gone out, and thankfully, it isn't far from the first year dorms. It would be about 3 minutes, if they ran. But that's the easy part.

The hard part has yet to come.

"What happens if we get caught?" Owain asks Derald furtively. The two had lessened the distance between them and the girls, but they are still just dark, blurry figures ahead of them.

Derald makes a dismissive sound, not slowing. "I won't." Then he looks Owain up and down, clucking his tongue. "You, though, I'm not too sure about."

Derald didn't give Owain an opportunity to respond as he ran ahead, his abnormally long legs eating up the grounds. Owain struggles to keep up.

Vieva looks at the two between narrowed, bright eyes. "Just take your time. No rush at all."

Derald's jaw locks. "Just shut up, Bestel."

Vieva simpers, flipping her hair coyly over her shoulder. Derald glowers at her thin, retreating form.

"Why don't you just ignore her?" Owain offers. Derald snorts.

"Lucky for you to say, Snagsnout. You're not the one she annoys." He jerks his chin at the door which Xara's holding open. "Come on. We can't stay out here too long."

Owain follows after him, nodding his thanks at Xara. She brushes past him, sidling up next to Derald.

"Remind me why she's coming?" Derald asks Xara in a low, distasteful voice as Vieva peppers Lysabel with questions about the door.

Xara laughs softly. "If it were up to me, she wouldn't. But she overheard us."

"Not a hard thing to do. Speaking through a megaphone would've been quieter."

Owain sighs softly. How does he do it? Owain can hardly look at a pretty girl without the words fleeing his mouth. He even has a hard time speaking with his girl cousins. But he knows better than to be jealous of Derald Pellefard. His roommate may be gifted in his social skills, but he also has a great variety of downfalls. Pride, ego, stubbornness, a temper.

"Hey, you!" Xara stares at Owain with her hands on her hips, lips pursed.

"My name's-"
Xara's expression breaks into a smile. "I know your name, Owain. I was just teasing."

He blushes. "Oh. What is it?"

"We're here."

Any warm feelings sitting inside of Owain is rapidly replaced with something freezing and foreboding. He'd only heard snippets of Xara's words, but it had struck him as something more trouble than it's worth. And judging by the evil look of the door, he's right.

It's the same routine brown as the rest in the hall, but it had strange markings on the threshold and in the center. The lock looks foreign and strange, with wicked looking points and dark holes.

The entire thing gives Owain the creeps.

"Don't you think it's strange that there hasn't been anybody patrolling the halls?" murmurs Lysabel to Xara in a uneven voice. Fear tinges her tone.

Vieva scowls at Lysabel. "Why are you even here if you're scared of every little thing?"

Xara straightens. "I don't recall asking you to be here either, Vieva."

The two girls stare at each other forcefully and silently, before Vieva breaks away, mumbling something under her breath. Xara bumps Lysabel's shoulder fondly before letting her gaze land finally on the door. She inhales deeply, eyes widening. "This is it."

"How do we get in?" Derald directs his question to Xara.

Owain gapes at him. "Are you mad?"

Derald and Xara both ignore him, though Lysabel offers him a sympathetic smile. Vieva looks less than happy to be excluded from the conversation.

"Watch this." Xara rummages in her topknot of hair, a sound of satisfaction escaping her lips when she finds what she's looking for.

Lysabel looks at the small instrument in Xara's pinched fingers. "You're going to open all those locks with a bobby pin?"

Xara's brows furrow as she squats in front of the lock, opening the clip and artfully sticking the metal into the locks. There are some quiet clicks as Xara works. With every sound, Owain's anxiety mounts. Every minute they waste here, the more chances that someone is going to walk around the corner and find them.

But finally, the lock gives in. Lysabel gasps while Derald grins. "You continue to surprise me, Roffinnnes."

"Don't call me that," says Xara without looking in his direction.

"How did you do that?" Lysabel says with a sharp intake of breath as she turns the knob.

Xara shrugs, nonplussed. "When you live with my brothers, you just pick up some things."

Owain tries not to wonder what other things Xara Roffinnes has picked up.

Lysabel pushes the door open then jumps back with a squeak. Vieva rolls her eyes, then brusquely pushes her aside. "Get out of the way. I'll handle this."

Xara bars her from going in first. "You aren't handling anything, Vieva."

Vieva's amber eyes cool into a muted honey as clenches her fists. "Don't tell me what to do. I'm here because I want to be, not because you told me to. So get out of the way."

But Xara's not paying attention anymore. Her stormy eyes have gone glassy and her face is set.

"What is it, Xara?" Lysabel shakes her friend's arm, but Xara holds up her index finger.

Her eyes widen a fraction. "Someone's coming."

"What?" Owain all but shrieks. Derald nearly tackles him.

"Shut up!"

Xara pushes Lysabel through the door gently. "Everyone inside."

Vieva hurries in after Lysebal. Xara rolls her eyes. "Of course, now she doesn't contest what I say."

Derald drags Owain inside, and Xara promptly follows, shutting the door softly behind her. Owain's blood roars in his ears and his heart thunders, wavering in his pace. This is exactly what he'd been afraid of. His knees buckle, and he nearly topples, but Derald heaves him up. The delicate melody of heeled footsteps get louder as they pass by the door. Thankfully, there's no break in the pattern, meaning they didn't suspect a thing.

Lysabel exhales, and so does Owain after some time. The person would've been long gone.

Vieva mutters something under her breath and suddenly, a burst of fiery light blooms in the close confines. The fire crackles and snaps, and Vieva holds it in her palm easily. Xara motions for Vieva to spread the light farther, and she complies, surprisingly.

The room is blank and unimpressive. The only thing noticeable is a huge, black metal wall on the far side. It's sleek and shiny, with huge circular bolts lining the edges. Xara tiptoes over there, scouring the wall from side to side.

"Well, this was a dead end," says Owain to the group. "Can we please go back now?"

Xara doesn't even hear him. "It's a safe."

"What do you mean?" Derald says.

"There's another set of locks here, so it's clearly not a wall. It's not a door, either. It's a safe."

The group ponders that for some time. Vieva peers up at the door, eyes glowing in the firelight.

"What could they be hiding in there that's so important?"

Owain wishes that he would never find out. But somewhere in his mind, somewhere deep in his conscious, he knows that this isn't the last he'll be seeing of the safe. 

>> AUTHOR'S NOTES

that was a fun chapter to write! owain's only gotten one other chapter in his pOV, and it's the shortest one too, so it was exciting getting to have him narrate this pivotal part of the story. 

i also have some news; I'll be pausing all my other projects until the Therondia Series is finished. Thankfully, The Ruxnorth Series is next in line, so psyched about that! look out for book three of the Therondia Series: Warrior's Curse!

see ya soon!

peace&love,

raniaditi