A ray of sunlight awoke Rena. She rubbed a little bit of sleep from her eyes and began to sit up. Seeing as it was the first day of classes, only the new students were up already; most of the older students, like herself, did not have classes until around noon, which meant she still had a little time.
When she tried to stand, she felt a pinch of complaint from the muscles around her hips. At that moment, memories of the night before flooded her mind, raising the temperature of her face by several degrees. Over in the corner of her room, she heard the sound of rustling clothes.
Standing there, looking at her, was the man of her dreams. He was only slightly taller than she was and had shaggy black hair and piercing eyes. Though he was not a bodybuilder, he was nicely toned and defined. She stood and walked over to him, holding his face between both hands, testing to make sure he was real.
"Good morning, my love." He said with a smile before leaning in to give her a kiss. "Perhaps we should get ready."
She wordlessly nodded her head and gathered together her clothes. Realizing that he was all hers now, she cheekily decided to turn around and watch him get dressed. However, what she saw made her gasp.
His back was marked and burned beyond belief. There were more scars than she could bare to count, several of them stretched along the entirety of his body. Rena found herself being pulled to him, and she hugged him from behind.
"What happened to you?" she asked quietly.
"The reason you were told I was dead is because someone tried very hard to make it happen," Lucius answered plainly. "It was no accident, and it was planned."
"Do you know who?"
"I do."
"Does Lyrah know?"
"I don't know."
"Are you going to tell me?"
Lucius chuckled and turned around, giving her another kiss. "No. At least not yet. The knowledge is not yours to bare just yet. Please let me grant you a small amount of peace before I tell you."
"Okay. I trust you, Lucius."
"[Lux: Heal]," Rena said in a panic, healing the marks that were peppering her neck. She thanked her best friend profusely for saving her from a modicum of embarrassment.
After a few minutes, they found themselves in their classroom. For Rena and the girls, this was the fourth year they had been assigned to this exact classroom. However, there were a handful of new students in the room this year.
Of the new students, a few were actually Marked Ones, though most were transfers from other academies hoping to get another chance at facing 'Titan' in battle.
It seemed that among the populace, they had thought the barrier was weakened by the strain of maintaining it all day. What Rena believed is that some of the mages who were in charge of powering the barrier felt slighted that it was broken by someone of a low rank, so they fabricated an excuse.
Put simply, many of the common people believe that Lucius's victory in the final match was a fluke. A mistake they would likely learn soon.
"Well, well. If it isn't my dear cousin, Rena. It seems you finally reunited with that worthless bodyguard of yours after all." Thomas was apparently in their class as well.
"Thomas, it seems you were not paying attention at the banquet, or maybe you left early to entertain the maids... but Lucius is not my bodyguard." Rena glared at her cousin who blocked their way. "He is my husband."
The classroom had filled with people by this point and all their conversations came to a sudden halt. What Rena had announced was that a member of a noble family had married a commoner and a Marked One. At least that was what they believed. Lucius's family name had not made it out of the castle yet, the same as their marriage.
Thomas sneered. "Is that so. Well seeing as how you married a commoner, then its fine if I do this!"
Thomas reached for the choker around her neck, something he was acutely aware of being precious to her, though he did not know the reason. Before anyone could react, there was a small crackling sound and the smell of ozone that filled the room.
A loud crack came from the wall to her right. Lucius had moved from his position behind her and took Thomas by the throat. He held him aloft and pinned to the wall with one hand. Crackles of electricity flicked around Lucius's body. Several threatened to zap Thomas but at the last second they would pass by him and strike the wall instead.
"Do not touch her." Lucius growled. His eyes were trained directly at Thomas, not caring that their professor had entered the room. "Hey Thomas... remember Vik and Peter?"
"What are you..." Thomas tried to choke out.
"Do you not remember? I asked you all a question that day in the forest. 'What resides in the Abyss?' They found out... if you are not careful, so will you."
"Lord Kane, Lady Kane. Please return to your chosen seats. We do not care for violence in the classroom. Should you and Lord Petra wish to settle differences, please do so in your practical courses."