The air outside the café felt thick, charged with a strange energy that Ariana couldn't explain. Her heart pounded in her chest as she walked briskly down the dimly lit street, away from the unsettling encounter. Her fingers still tingled with the memory of the shield she had instinctively conjured. She didn't understand what had happened—why her magic had flared up so uncontrollably, so forcefully. Magic. She had never felt anything like that before.

Her breath was shallow, her mind racing through the moments that had just unfolded. She could still see Dorian's eyes—those dark, knowing eyes. He hadn't been bothered by the shield, not in the way a normal person would be. Instead, he had been intrigued, almost amused.