"You cannot be serious right now."
Camille stood in the middle of their dorm room, hands on her hips, staring at Yuna like she had grown a second head. Which, given recent events, wasn't entirely impossible.
"I'm telling you the truth," Yuna said, sitting on her bed with her knees pulled to her chest. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Ever since my bracelet broke, I've been feeling strange."
It wasn't a complete lie. Just not the whole truth.
Camille sat down beside her, her expression softening. "Strange how? Like sick? Should we go to the campus clinic?"
"No!" Yuna said too quickly. "No clinics. I just need rest."
A knock on the door made them both jump. Camille got up to answer it, and Yuna's heart nearly stopped when she saw who it was.
Christopher stood in the hallway, his nose bandaged, his expression unreadable. Behind him stood two of his friends, both smirking.
"What do you want?" Camille demanded, moving to block the doorway.
"I need to talk to Yuna," Christopher said. "Alone."
"Absolutely not," Camille shot back.
"It's okay," Yuna said quietly, standing up. Her hands were shaking, but she forced herself to meet Christopher's eyes. "I'll talk to him."
Camille looked like she wanted to argue, but Yuna gave her a pleading look. After a moment, Camille stepped aside, though she didn't look happy about it.
Yuna stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind her. Christopher's friends immediately started snickering, but he held up a hand to silence them.
"Wait downstairs," he told them.
They left, still laughing. Christopher turned back to Yuna, and she braced herself for more humiliation. More cruel words.
Instead, he surprised her.
"I heard what happened at the tournament," he said. "Everyone's talking about how you played like a completely different person."
Yuna said nothing, waiting for the insult. The mockery.
"I also heard about Megan," Christopher continued. "About what she did to your bracelet."
"So?" Yuna crossed her arms defensively. "Did you come here to gloat?"
"No." Christopher looked uncomfortable, shifting his weight. "I came to warn you. Megan's planning something. She's been talking to people, spreading rumors. She's trying to get you kicked off the team."
"Why do you care?" Yuna asked bitterly. "You made it pretty clear what you think of me."
Christopher had the decency to look ashamed. "Look, what I did was messed up. I know that. But Megan's dangerous when she wants revenge. Just watch your back."
He turned to leave, but Yuna called after him.
"Wait. Why are you really telling me this?"
Christopher paused, not looking back. "Because maybe I'm not as much of a jerk as I thought I was."
He walked away before Yuna could respond.
She stood in the hallway for a long moment, trying to process what just happened. Christopher warning her? Showing remorse? Nothing made sense anymore.
When she went back inside, Camille pounced immediately.
"What did he want?"
"To warn me about Megan," Yuna said, still confused. "He said she's planning something."
"Of course she is," Camille muttered. "That girl is a viper. But since when does Christopher care about warning you?"
"I don't know."
Yuna's phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.
Meet me at the library. Third floor. We need to talk about tomorrow. - N
Her stomach flipped. Noah.
"I need to go," Yuna said, grabbing her jacket.
"Go where? Yuna, it's almost curfew."
"I'll be back before then. I promise."
She left before Camille could protest further.
The campus library was nearly empty at this hour. Most students were either at dinner or holed up in their dorms, still spooked from the kitsune sighting. Yuna took the stairs to the third floor, her heart pounding.
She found Noah in the back corner, surrounded by books. He looked up when she approached, and the relief in his eyes was almost painful.
"You came," he said.
"You texted."
Noah gestured for her to sit. "We have a problem. The silver charms are being distributed tomorrow morning. Every student has to wear one."
"I know." Yuna sank into the chair across from him. "What am I supposed to do? The second I put it on, I'll transform, won't I?"
"Probably." Noah ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "I've been researching all afternoon. There has to be a way around this."
"And?"
"Silver disrupts supernatural energy. For werewolves, it burns. For kitsunes, it breaks illusions and forces transformation." He pushed a book toward her. "But there might be a loophole."
Yuna looked at the page he had marked. It was written in old English, barely readable, but she caught key phrases. Diluted silver. Partial exposure. Temporary resistance.
"If the silver is mixed with other metals, it weakens the effect," Noah explained. "It won't completely protect you, but it might buy us time."
"How do we dilute the charms? They're already made."
Noah pulled something from his pocket. A silver charm, identical to the ones that would be distributed tomorrow. But this one had been altered somehow, wrapped in copper wire.
"I made this," he said. "The copper interferes with the silver's purity. It's not perfect, but it should keep you from transforming immediately."
Yuna stared at the charm, then at Noah. "You did this for me?"
"Don't make it a big deal," Noah said, but his ears turned slightly red. "I just don't want you getting killed because of some stupid charm distribution."
Yuna took the charm carefully, turning it over in her hands. The metal felt warm, almost alive.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Don't thank me yet. We still don't know if it'll work."
They sat in silence for a moment. The library was so quiet Yuna could hear the clock ticking on the wall, could hear Noah's steady breathing.
"Your father," Yuna said finally. "At the assembly. He was looking right at me."
"He looks at everyone like that," Noah said, but there was tension in his voice. "He's suspicious by nature."
"He's going to find out, isn't he? That I'm the kitsune."
"Not if I can help it."
"Noah, you can't keep protecting me. If he finds out you knew, he'll-"
"He won't find out." Noah's voice was firm. "I won't let him."
"Why are you doing this?" Yuna asked desperately. "You should hate me. I'm everything your family has been hunting for generations. I'm dangerous. Your father said so himself."
