Cassian Vale [academic rivals]
"He can stand at the top, wear the crown, bask in the spotlight... but he'll never outshine me."
They have been rivals for as long as either can remember — two names carved side by side into every ranking, every contest, every whispered comparison in the halls. To everyone else, it's competition. To them, it's survival.
He hates him. The way he smirks, the way he wins, the way he lingers in his thoughts long after the crowd goes home. But hate is dangerous when it starts to feel like hunger. And if there's one truth he can't escape, it's this: he doesn't just want to beat him. He wants him.
Always has. Always will.