Chapter 86 The Inferno
Evernya and her companions spent the next thirty minutes observing the crowd from their corner, with no change in the atmosphere. No one even glanced at their little trio, instead favoring mingling amongst themselves.
I wonder what the snacks taste like. Since no one seems to want to eat them, I may as well nibble a little. It would be a shame to waste a table full of snacks. Evernya thought as her eyes zeroed in on the five-meter long table stocked with all sorts of finger food.
“Everyone seems to mind their own business, so I’m going to check out the snack table. Do you want anything?” Evernya announced, to the surprise of her companions.
“Getting brave, are we?” Meira commented with a proud smile.
Evernya blushed in response, prompting her to justify her decision. “No one has even looked our way since we have arrived. They are all too busy conversating amongst their own groups. Besides, someone has to nibble on the snacks. They smell amazing, yet no one seems to want them.”
“Just be careful and don’t overeat. I don’t want you to go all food coma on us,” Meira warned, only half-serious.
“I’ll try, but I make no promises if the food tastes as good as it smells.” Evernya replied before asking, “So neither of you want anything?”
“No, I’m still full from my steak,” Elizabeth replied as she observed the crowds with keen interest.
“I’m fine as well. The salad I ordered was bigger than I expect.” Meira stated while rubbing her dress clad stomach.
Elizabeth turned toward Meira and teased, “Well, you asked for their biggest salad. They probably found the biggest bowl they could for the great Meira.”
“Says the woman who ate an entire steak bigger than her head.” Meira fired back, smiling brightly.
“That steak was outstanding, so worth feeling like I might explode.” Elizabeth agreed, also smiling brightly.
Taking that as her cue to leave, Evernya snuck off, giving the flirting women some alone time. She glided her way across the room, trying her best to avoid attracting attention. A few people glanced at her. But otherwise, her journey to the food table was uneventful. She drooled when her eyes landed on the table. I have no idea what ninety percent of this is, but it smells delicious. I wonder, can I get food poisoning? Somehow I doubt they would risk poisoning this many important people, though that may be the reason they would and why no one seems to want any of the food. I guess I’ll take one for the team and taste-test every piece. Evernya thought, giving in to the temptation.
Unable to help herself, she floated pieces at random to her mouth. As soon as the first piece landed on her tongue, her fangs descended, and she lost all thoughts of only sampling the food. She turned into a shifter shaped vacuum, sucking down everything on the table plate by plate. It took until almost a quarter of the table emptied of food before she came back to her senses. She frantically scanned her surroundings to see if anybody noticed her little snacking session, but found no one was staring at her. Feeling a little sluggish, she sat down on a nearby chair to rest. She had a little catnap sitting slumped forward while her body processed her newest meal.
“How do you fit all that food in that little stomach of yours?” A male voice commented, causing Evernya to jump out of her seat and trip over her dress. Her tail uncurled from her waist just in time to balance herself. She spun around to find the cause of her interruption, letting out a low growl when she recognized the culprit.
“What are you doing here? Don’t you have a group of friends to hang out with?” Evernya questioned in a suspicious tone.
A confident smile hung on Inferno’s handsome features as he commented, “Oh, you recognized me. I wanted to get more of a snack that I liked, but I couldn’t find a server so I came to the source. I then see a certain girl doing her best to imitate a vacuum, sucking down what I wanted, but it was worth seeing that trick of yours again.”
Unaffected by Inferno’s dazzling smile, Evernya continued to question while maintaining eye contact. “But why did you interrupt my nap? I left most of the table. You could have grabbed something else and left.”
“I did. You’ve been napping for like twenty minutes. So I figured I would get to know the star of my current hottest video before the auction.” Inferno replied without letting his smile slip for a second.
Fed up with Inferno’s casual demeanor, Evernya fumed, “You mean the video that you took without my permission that caused a nightmare-inducing walk down the stupid aisle.”
Confusion flashed across Inferno’s face, quickly masked as he casually leaned against the table. “Interesting, so you’re not a fan? Most girls would be over the moon if they were a star of one of my videos.”
“Well, I’m not one of those girls. Why not record one of them? I swear half the crowd at the door was here for you. Those same girls targeted me next.” Evernya growled as her eyes glowed with anger.
Something clicked in Inferno’s mind as a very familiar shiver ran up his spine under the petite girl’s glare, “The chill I felt an hour ago was you?”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Evernya growled as her anger wrestled against her control.
Inferno realized his current direction wasn’t working, forcing him to change gears. He glanced at the engraving on Evernya’s collar before speaking, “How about we play a game, Evernya. I’ll answer your questions as long as you answer mine.”
After a deep breath, Evernya replied with a hint of growl lingering in her voice, “Whatever, as long as you don’t ask anything too personal. I was hoping to nap this stupid mingling session thing away, but you ruined that, so I have nothing better to do.” Evernya replied, plopping back down on her chair.
Inferno sat on a chair to her left before he became serious. “To answer your question, fangirls don’t interest me, I only film things that interest me. Just because they think they are my biggest fan doesn’t mean they will make an interesting video. Saying this, I don’t dislike my fans. I’ve even made some videos about my fan base or fans that catch my attention. However, I refuse to make a video about someone just because they beg me to.”
“Well, when you are as rich as you are, you can pick and choose who to film, but that doesn’t mean you should film someone without their permission.” Evernya sneered.
“Oh, you did some research on me, didn’t you?” Inferno commented with his dazzling smile returning.
“Nope, I didn’t even know you existed until the car ride here,” Evernya revealed mercilessly while internally smiling.
“I’m hurt, so how do you know then?” Inferno inquired, leaning in with curiosity unaffected by Evernya’s jab.
“My turn, you will have to wait to find out.” Evernya denied with a wave of her finger, unconsciously mirrored by the tip of her tail.
“Oh, come on! You only gave me a half answer.” Inferno whined, despite smiling.
“Tough luck! So what’s your real name? Inferno is too childish.” Evernya denied as her tail tip continued to wave between them.
Caught off guard, Inferno questioned. “Wait, you don’t know my name? Yet you know I have money?”
“No, I don’t, and to be honest, I don’t care, but since you know my name because of this stupid collar, it’s only fair that I know yours.” Evernya justified with a shrug of her bare shoulders.
“My name is Aiden Firebear, though not from the main Firebear family from Buran,” Inferno informed with obvious pride in his tone.
Yet again, unimpressed, Evernya commented, “Everyone seems to name themselves after their element. Why announce to the world your power? You are asking them to find a counter.”
Despite the constant jabs, Inferno’s interest only increased as he answered, “we don’t have a choice, our bloodline and family names are the same. You wouldn’t understand unless you have one.”
“I get bloodline given last names, but it isn’t just bloodline families. Three-quarters of the comments in your video named their accounts after their element or at least the element they hope to have.” Evernya clarified.
“True, I get your side of things, especially with your unique nature,” Aiden commented with a cryptic smile.
“What do you mean, unique nature? Because I am a mage?” Evernya questioned, unable to resist her curiosity.
“A mage shifter is rare, but that’s not what I mean. However, it’s my turn.” Aiden denied mirroring Evernya’s finger wave sans a tail.
“Damn you, but I guess I deserve that.” Evernya pouted cutely.
“I’m guessing Meira, your scary Elven protector told you about me, but what I’m curious about is why you seem so removed from society.” Aiden inquired a moment later.
Evernya nodded in agreement, flashing back to her training week. “True Meira can be scary at times but usually for a good reason.”
“Oh, I know all too well your elf and the human have been giving me death stares for the last hour.” Aiden shivered, prompting Evernya to turn toward her companions sitting at a table on the opposite side of the room, finding them looking anywhere but in their direction.
With a shrug, Evernya commented, “What can I say? They are protective of me. I have a nasty habit of getting in trouble because people just love to either obtain me or discriminate against me. Don’t worry about them. They are probably just trying to keep you in line.”
Again glancing toward the duo, finding them again staring in their direction, Aiden commented with a hint of fear in his tone, “Well, it’s working. I wouldn’t dare touch someone under the protection of that duo. Thankfully, Thomas isn’t here as well. That trio makes for a hellish team. Their mana grades may not be much, but that never stopped Meira from taking out thousands of mages over her time on the run. When she finally settled down outside of Druth, it relieved the major families of Sespina.”
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“Was she really that bad? She told me a few stories, and I’ve heard some more from people, but she doesn’t seem all that scary. Well, aside from her habit of dressing me up like a doll.” Evernya questioned, while gesturing at her shining outfit, hugging her petite frame.
“It’s because you’re on her good side. If you gain her ire, good luck. Some of the stories I’ve read gave me nightmares as a kid. She was the bogeyman of families who kept slaves. You could mysteriously disappear at any time without a trace, with all your slaves freed. To this day, no one has figured out how she does it, so when she settled down to focus on enchanting, the Mage’s Councils allowed it on the condition she stops her hunting of slave owners.” Aiden revealed.
“You seem so sure of this, but most people I run into aren’t afraid of her. Most even praise her,” Evernya commented.
“Because most of her extra activities didn’t leak to the public. Most only know her as the wandering elf enchantress. Only rumors of her hunting have spread to the public.” Aiden added.
“Couldn’t they have blacklisted her from mana barriers like they do with exiles?” Evernya questioned curiously.
A smile returned to Aiden’s face, mesmerized by the girl’s almost childlike curiosity. “Most of her damage happened before mana barriers spread past tier 2 cities, and even when they did, she always somehow got in so they gave up.”
“She said before she got her ID, she hitchhiked inside with other people. But that doesn’t explain how she got in if she got blacklisted.” Evernya questioned, allowing her curious side to take over.
Aiden continued, momentarily forgetting about their game. “The Sespinian government blacklisted her, but it didn’t work. She still somehow got them, so they allowed her to have an ID, hoping to track when she enters cities. The tricky part was the public loves her and the councils couldn’t find conclusive evidence. Anyway, my turn, you got a lot of freebies out of me. Please answer my question.” Aiden insisted upon snapping back to reality.
To answer his question, Evernya slid her collar up, revealing the slave band underneath. “Oh, I’m sorry for asking!” Aiden exclaimed before whispering, “You don’t seem like the usual escaped slave, nor do you have a brand.”
Yet again, my slave band saves me. I’ll have to thank whoever put on me before I kill them. Evernya thought before answering. “From what Meira tells me, my enslavement wasn’t typical. I never went through slave training. I just woke up trapped and alone. I somehow ended up escaping, then Meira found me and kind of adopted me.”
Aiden quickly recovered from his shock, seeing the girl calmly sitting in her chair as he commented, “No wonder there is no record of you before your hospital stay. Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone as my family finds slavery sickening. We pay all our servants a fair wage even before Sespina technically outlawed involuntary slavery.”
“How do you know I don’t have a brand? Shouldn’t my hair cover it up?” Evernya questioned curiously.
“First of all, the brand glows to make it more visible, plus most slaves have orders forcing them to keep their brand visible at all times. As for why I know you didn’t have one when I startled you awake your hair when airborne along with the rest of your body revealing most of your back.” Aiden replied before complimenting, “Nice hops by the way you had to have gone at least two meters into the air. Plus, your balance has to be incredible for you to land on your feet in those heels and dress.”
“Damn, I didn’t realize I jumped that high. No wonder I nearly fell. I hope no one noticed that!” Evernya replied, blushing with embarrassment.
“Don’t worry, besides your chaperones, no one else was looking in this direction,” Aiden assured.
After recovering Evernya commented, “Good, that would’ve been embarrassing.”
Amused by the girl’s reaction, Aiden questioned, “a random frankly impressive jump embarrasses you, but not the fact you sucked down a good chunk of the snack table?”
“Well, they weren’t eating it, besides from the popularity of your video, most like my method.” Evernya justified.
“True, it truly is impressive,” Aiden replied, as a disgusted look appeared on his handsome features as he said. “A lot better than how most shifters eat. They usually stuff their face full of food, making a mess everywhere. Your method is clean, yet I would say much faster than most shifters. How did you learn how to do that anyway?”
“I was starving, but I couldn’t move because I overexerted myself, so I used my telekinesis on a whim,” Evernya replied.
Despite not being his turn, Aiden inquired, “Why do you become tired after you eat? Most shifters become tired after a large meal, but not to the point of passing out as you do.”
Evernya glanced around the room before whispering, “I don’t know, but we think I digest faster while sleeping, so I guess my body forces me to sleep. Ironically, the fastest way to knock me out is to feed me. Drugs don’t work too well.”
“I think that is really cute.” Aiden complimented, causing Evernya to smile while blushing involuntarily
“You have a beautiful smile.” Aiden pointed out, causing her to remove it instantly.
Is he flirting with me? I hope not. I better nip this in the bud, just in case. Evernya thought before, seriously stating, “Just so you know, I’m not interested romantically in you though you are handsome.”
To her surprise, Aiden shrugged her rejection off, replying, “That’s okay. I just wanted to compliment a beautiful young woman. I’m not looking for a relationship with anyone at the moment, either. I just find you very interesting, so I wanted to get to know you.”
Did I just friend zone him? As long as his fangirls leave me alone, I don’t mind spending time with him. He seems decent for a noble. Evernya thought in surprise, stating, “As long as it’s just that I’m okay with just being friends, you don’t seem too bad. Though it wouldn’t take much to beat out most of the humans our age who I’ve met so far.”
Aiden scowled as he fumed. “Yeah, I’ve done my research on you. The way people have treated you is disgusting just because you happen to be a mage and a shifter. I’m sorry if that sounds creepy. I have a nasty habit of researching things a little too much when they interest me.”
Damn, no wonder he has a literal army of fangirls. How can someone be so handsome and perfect? Wait, did I just catch a case of fangirling? Crap, maybe I shouldn’t spend too much time around him. Evernya mentally gushed involuntarily.
After shaking off her temporary case of fangirl, Evernya replied, “I’m the last one qualified to berate someone for being curious, as curiosity is literally in my genes. But as payment for your curiosity, indulge in my own curiosity and tell me what you meant by my uniqueness?”
Despite his confusion at watching her shake her head as if trying to expel something, Aiden answered, “Well, I wasn’t sure if I should ask because it may be too personal for you. You are unique because you are on par with a shifter with a bloodline in mana grade and have way more abilities than you should have as a pure-blooded shifter. Are you mixed? It’s okay if you don’t want to answer.”
Evernya countered his question with one of her own. “Meira told me there are rumors you inherited your family’s bloodline. I’m curious about something related to bloodlines, so if you answer that, I’ll try to give you an answer to your question.”
Aiden scanned the room to make sure no one was listening before turning back to the curious girl, whispering. “I don’t know how Meira found that out but I suppose it’s only fair I answer but you have to promise you will tell no one.”
Eager for an answer to her question, Evernya instantly replied, “Who will I tell? I could count the number of people I’m close to on the one hand. You have my word. I won’t tell anyone besides Meira who seems to know already.”
Aiden leaned in and whispered, “I guess that’s good enough. The answer is I inherited my family’s bloodline, but I don’t have it. Only members of the main family unlock the bloodline when they awaken, but for branch members, it isn’t so simple. There is a tiny chance a branch member can inherit the family’s bloodline, but it’s sealed. They have to unlock it on their own. If they unlock their bloodline, the main family will adopt you. The way to unlock a bloodline is a closely guarded secret among the upper echelon of the main family, so I am essentially on my own.”
Evernya’s curiosity instantly deflated as she whispered back, “well that answers my question. I was hoping you knew more about the unsealing of a bloodline because I have one too.”
Aiden’s eyes widened at Evernya’s confession, whisper yelling, “Holy shit! No wonder you are so strong for your age. You are some unknown shifter royalty. Even with a sealed or severed the line bloodline, it doesn’t affect the person’s talent like with me. I am a grade 6 fire and wind mage at eighteen.” Aiden wanted to continue but stopped after seeing Evernya’s closed off demeanor with her arms wrapped across her chest. With a friendly smile, Aiden added, “A sealed bloodline explains your talent but not your other quirks like why you feel like a mundane, but I’m assuming that’s as much as I’ll get.”
Evernya gave him a thankful look as she replied, “Yeah, the rest is a lot more sensitive. I don’t know you well enough to spill everything. By the way, my mana grade is grade 6 as well, though I don’t know my exact grade. Meira thinks I achieved grade 6 last week.”
“Damn, your tested grade was like 5.7! How the hell did you get 6 in less than a month?” Aiden exclaimed in shock.
Evernya frantically scanned the surroundings, only relaxing upon finding the orchestra music covering up Aiden’s outburst. After a minute of contemplation, Evernya leaned forward to answer. “I’ve spent a lot of time training since my test, but I think the real reason for my sudden burst of strength is because I temporarily unsealed my bloodline and cultivated. That’s how we knew for sure I have one, though it showed up on my testing too.”
With increased interest, Aiden commented, “Geez, not only do you have a bloodline, but a fairly potent one at that. Only about half of the known bloodlines have a cultivation method. Luckily mine has one as well though of course, I have no idea what it is.”
“Yeah, Meira said the same,” Evernya added in agreement before changing the subject. “Anyway, do you have any idea why so many members of major families are here?”
Aiden took the topic change in stride, replying, “A week ago, a rumor spread amongst major families that something special will appear tonight, prompting a lot of our families to send a representative beyond a servant. None of us have any idea what it is though, so I can’t tell you anything more. As you probably guessed, I’m the Firebear’s representative.”
“It must be pretty valuable to attract so many people. Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter to me. The reason why Meira dragged me out here is to find me some weapons, but I got lucky at the festival.” Evernya commented casually.
“Somehow, I doubt you found something good enough for Meira at the festival. We estimate her to have over one hundred million crystals. She wouldn’t settle for anything average, just like my family wouldn’t.” Aiden questioned.
With a playful flick of her tail, Evernya teased, “Well, I did, but I can’t show you here without drawing attention.”
Now more curious than ever, Aiden questioned, “Wait, there is a spatial lock here and you don’t have a storage device and none of your jewelry has enchantments unless...” Aiden’s eyes widened as he came to a realization. “Do you have what I think you have? There’s no way that’s possible. Those usually exchange hands privately to our families or sent to a tier 1 auction.”
Dammit, why do I keep on accidentally giving away secrets? Me and my stupid big mouth! Evernya internally berated herself while keeping a straight face, whispering, “I didn’t expect you to catch that. I found what Meira calls a mana bound artifact, but it didn’t come cheap and I can’t use it currently.”
Upon seeing Evernya’s attempt at concealing her shock and discomfort, Aiden quietly added, “Well, there’s no way you could hide it under that dress, so the only possibility was one of those. Just to be fair, I have one too. The main family gifted me one after they found out I inherited the bloodline. Still, even though mine was technically free, most mana bound artifacts have a test to see if you are worthy.”
“Well, my so-called test nearly killed me,” Evernya grumbled, causing her tail to puff slightly, just thinking about it.
“By chance, were you the mummy at the festival today?” Aiden asked out of nowhere.
Evernya’s eyes widened in surprise, questioning, “Yeah, but how did you know that?”
“Some of my followers posted pictures of it before all pictures vanished,” Aiden replied.
“So they took pictures instead of helping me? What assholes though, there was nothing they could do to help me even if they tried.” Evernya fumed, hands clenched with flashing eyes.
Hoping to distract Evernya from her anger, Aiden asked with a hint of hope, “Guessing, you won’t tell me how you recovered so fast?”
After a deep breath and a few tail strokes, Evernya answered, “Sorry, but that would reveal a little too much. I’ve spilled a lot already.”
While looking across the room, Aiden said, “That’s okay. We have company coming anyway. Meira and who I’m assuming is Elizabeth Chapman are on their way over and they don’t look happy. I don’t think it’s about me though from their lack of death stares directed at me.”
Evernya spotted her companions weaving their way through the groups in their direction with scowls on their faces. Meira, in particular, had an expression promising hell for whoever slighted her.
A minute later, Meira and Elizabeth sat down next to the teens. Meira directed her attention to her curious and somewhat nervous kitten, hissing, “We have a problem.”