Chapter 81: Washed Clean

Starlight had really missed swimming. Back in District Fifteen, she used to pay just to get access to one of the local public swimming pools whenever she could afford it. Most of the time, however, the experience was hardly pleasant. The pools were often crowded, poorly maintained, and sometimes so dirty that she would stand at the edge wondering whether getting into the water was worth it. There had been one particular day that finally made her stop going altogether. She had climbed out of the pool in disgust after swimming for nearly an hour, only to see a used sanitary pad lying beneath the water near the edge. The memory alone was enough to make her stomach twist. She had been so disgusted that she never returned to another public swimming pool after that.

Unfortunately, her family had never had a private pool of their own, so giving up public pools had meant giving up swimming too, despite how much she loved it. The only real opportunity she sometimes had to get into the water was when she went to train with her self-defense coach.

Even then, swimming was hardly guaranteed. Training usually left her exhausted, and by the time she was finished, she barely had enough energy to shower and head home, leaving little time for anything else. Now, standing beside a pristine pool that seemed to stretch endlessly before her, Starlight realized just how much she had missed the feeling. Without thinking too much about it, she lowered herself back into the water and swam toward the middle of the pool. Then she took a deep breath and slowly submerged herself beneath the surface.

The world became silent. She opened her eyes beneath the water and stared upward at the shimmering surface above her. The lights overhead blurred into pale, wavering shapes, their reflections dancing across the water like distant stars. She floated there without moving, letting the water hold her weight as the last remnants of tension slowly drained from her body. It had always amazed Starlight how long she could hold her breath underwater. She had never learned the skill from anyone, never trained specifically for it, and could not even remember when she had first discovered that her lungs seemed capable of something most people would have considered impossible.

She could simply hold her breath underwater for several minutes. Sometimes, she could remain beneath the surface for as long as thirty minutes, completely still, without feeling the desperate need to breathe that should have forced her back up. It was a strange natural ability, one she had never understood, but she had always loved what happened afterward. Whenever she finally surfaced, she felt as though she had been washed clean from the inside out. Her body felt lighter, her muscles looser, and her mind clearer.

Any exhaustion, irritation, or negative feeling that had been weighing on her before seemed to dissolve beneath the water, leaving behind a strange sense of calm and renewed energy.

After spending what felt like several peaceful minutes beneath the water, Starlight finally pushed herself toward the surface. She broke through with a soft gasp, dragging in a deep breath as she threw her head back and swept her soaked red hair away from her face. Heavy with water, the strands clung to her neck and shoulders before she gathered them behind her head, squeezing some of the water from the ends. A contented sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the lingering calm in her body. Her muscles felt loose, her mind clearer, and for the first time in days, she felt completely at ease. She wiped the water from her face with both hands, blinking away the droplets as she opened her eyes.

After spending several peaceful minutes beneath the water, Starlight finally pushed herself toward the surface. She broke through with a soft gasp, drawing in a deep breath as she threw her head back and swept her soaked red hair away from her face. The heavy strands clung to her neck and shoulders, weighed down by the water, before she gathered them behind her head and ran both hands through them, pushing them away from her face.

A happy sigh escaped her as she closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the lingering calm in her body. Her muscles felt loose, her mind clearer, and for the first time in days, she felt completely at ease. She wiped the water from her face, blinking away the droplets before opening her eyes.

She froze. Someone was standing at the edge of the pool, watching her.

A pair of steel-blue eyes stared right back at her, their cold intensity immediately wiping the relaxed smile from her face. Starlight frowned, her body instinctively tensing as she straightened in the water. Every trace of ease vanished, replaced by sharp alertness as she studied the unfamiliar man standing there.

His hair was unusually white, even by werewolf standards. Werewolves were known for their strange and sometimes unusual hair colors, which were supposedly a reflection of the color of their wolves’ fur. Still, something about the white-haired man’s appearance made her uneasy, especially with the strange way he was smiling at her, as though he had been waiting for her to notice him.

"Wow, what do we have here?" he said, his voice carrying easily across the quiet complex.

His smile widened slightly as his steel-blue eyes remained fixed on her. "Who do I have here in my domain?" Starlight’s frown deepened.

His domain? Wasn’t the swimming complex part of the academy, a public facility available to all students? There was certainly no sign anywhere declaring that the swimming pool belonged to any particular person.

Kage loved swimming. He loved the feeling of the water against his skin, the rhythm of his body cutting through it, and the quiet concentration that came with being beneath the surface. Swimming had always been more than just a hobby to him. It was something he took seriously, something he had spent years perfecting, and his skill had earned him a place among Asterion Academy’s elite swimming team. As the team’s captain and strongest swimmer, Kage had access to the complex whenever he needed it, though he rarely bothered using that privilege at ordinary hours. He preferred the early mornings, when the academy was still quiet and most students were either asleep or preparing for the day. Around six in the morning, he would usually make his way to the swimming complex, spend some time training in the pool, and then return to his other responsibilities. It was a routine he had followed so consistently that the place had practically become his second home.

That morning, however, something immediately caught his attention.

The moment Kage reached the swimming complex, he slowed to a stop several feet from the entrance. Bright light spilled through the narrow glass panels beside the doors, illuminating part of the otherwise quiet hallway. He frowned, staring at it for a moment as if the building itself had somehow betrayed him. The swimming complex was fitted with an automatic lighting system that responded to movement and occupancy. Once everyone left, the lights remained on for ten minutes before shutting off automatically. Since Kage usually arrived around six in the morning, he was accustomed to seeing the complex completely dark before he entered. The academy had no reason to waste electricity illuminating an empty facility.

But the lights were on, which could only mean that someone was inside. He glanced at his watch. It was barely past six.

Who the hell would be here this early?

His first thought was that someone had sneaked in. His second was considerably more ridiculous.

"Don’t tell me these idiots are doing it again," he muttered, already imagining the kind of nonsense he might find inside.

It wouldn’t exactly be the first time he had caught students using the swimming complex for things that had absolutely nothing to do with swimming. He had walked in on enough suspicious couples over the years to know that some people apparently saw a massive, secluded swimming facility as the perfect place for a little forbidden romance. He had warned more than a few students himself, and the academy had made its rules regarding inappropriate behavior on school property perfectly clear, but you could never tell with people in love and their complete lack of common sense.

If he caught someone fooling around in the pool again, he was going to lose his mind.

"The things I would do to you horny lovebirds if I caught you," he muttered under his breath, fuming as he reached for the door.

But when he pushed it open and stepped inside, it was empty. He looked around the enormous complex, but there was no one in sight. The vast facility appeared completely deserted.

There was nobody lounging around the poolside, and certainly no suspicious couple hiding behind one of the structures. His eyebrows drew together as he slowly scanned the area again.