“What the hell?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

Alice shrugged and she started adjusting her weapon, fixing the straps and completely glazing over what she just revealed.

“That was it. To avoid you during the Blood Harvest.”

I studied her. She looked as neutral as ever; with relaxed shoulders and not a crease on her face. Only her eyes revealed a hint of emotion. The dull crimson stood out underneath the overhang of the building above.

“And what did you say?”

“Nothing.” She looked up. “We should run before Kierra gets to the Warren.”

“Alice?”

“The clouds are in the same position, the sun too. If we hurry, we can prevent Adeline from freaking out.”

“Alice,” I said more forcefully. She turned and waited. “Are you okay?”

“I am. I’m curious and concerned, but what will come will. There’s no use in worrying about the future.”

I snorted. “That doesn’t sound right. I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to worry about the future, especially considering we have a fight in four days.”

“But we live in the present. The future will come and I will deal with it when it does.”

She went silent after that, beginning her jog toward the mountain. It wasn’t hard to catch up and she pushed harder, leaving little room for talk as we both began to sprint uphill.

It was freeing in a way to run away the stress, so that’s what I did. We weaved through the trees until Alice led us slightly off the trail. Within moments we found Kierra, who had turned around, dagger in hand.

She relaxed when she saw us and stowed the dagger.

“If you’re both here, does that mean it’s safe?” she asked.

“Yeah. Sorry for making you run for nothing,” I said.

“You guys caught up so easily. You’re not even breathing heavily. I can’t wait till I get my system. It’s such a cheat.”

“It’s nice. But it’s not that pretty.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. Adeline has told me stories. I know what I’m signing up for.”

I smiled politely and we proceeded to the entrance of the Warren. Kierra said her goodbyes, leaving me alone with Alice. When she didn’t say anything, I waved a hand in front of her face and she caught it.

“Yes?”

“Did you want to check out the thing Devon told us today or tomorrow?”

She paused for a long moment. Eventually she shook her head.

“Tomorrow. It’ll give us a chance to ask Astra for more questions. We still need to prepare for the fight. Hopefully, Astra will have records of what we need to do.”

“Alright. Want to spar? Or practice the incantations some more?”

“Tomorrow,” she said after another pause. “I have something to deal with first.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

That sent a pang of worry, but I nodded anyway and waved goodbye.

Something was off. And while I didn’t think Alice would lie to me–it wasn’t her personality–there was something unsaid. Hildegrim could has discussed anything with her, and if she went through all the effort to separate and corner us, it had to be something important.

Or I was wrong, and the crazy old witch was just that; crazy. She could have wanted something from Alice to stack the deck in her favour.

Not that I believed it.

Elias, Hildegrim, Garret, Alice, Devon, Grim and the Reds, they were all connected somehow.

But what?

My stomach rumbled and I started walking toward the mess hall. If I was going to be stuck thinking about something, might as well do it will a full stomach.

—--------------

Mana swirled in and out, moving from my core to my hand and back into my chest before sliding down to my toes. From there, I let the mana slowly return and settle till I was ready to move it again.

Inside the world of magic, my thoughts were focused, honed in on one thing only. The red marble inside the ocean of lava continued to spin with loose embers breaking off. They were tiny fragments of deep red amongst the orange and yellow.

For the last couple of hours, I watched it. Probing the marble, testing for any reaction.

But nothing.

It stayed inert, even with the slow decay of its flames.

What are you?

I moved my mana through the exercise for the hundredth time and waited.

When the expected result played out, I sighed and pulled myself away from the inner world.

Why would you give me this?

Grim had used a similar marble to light the ritual circle. If it was the same flame, then maybe I was meant to cultivate it? Somehow?

Shaking my head, I stretched and massaged my limbs. Werewolf regeneration was one hell of a perk, but even it bowed to the long hours of constant mana usage. My chest was the worst, burning like a furnace as the discomfort stretched toward my arms. Hopefully with time, I'd figure out what Grim had given me, and soon.

As I exited the sandpit, I smelled someone coming and stopped. My hand drifted toward my axe, but Adeline's face peeked from around the corner. I sighed and waved the huntress.

“Hi. If you want to use the training room, It’s all yours. I just finished."

“Thanks. Messing with another incantation?” she said as she set her gear on the nearby bench.

“Yeah. I was gifted something from our leader. I'm trying to make sense of it.”

She stopped and stared at my chest. “Devon gave you something?”

“No? I was talking about Grim.”

Her eyes widened and she looked away.

“Ah. My bad.”

“Hold up,” I said. “I didn’t think about it before, but is Devon the leader usually? Others are always taking orders from him.”

“Usually. It’s kinda funny, considering he’s not that much older than everyone else. But his authority commands the other Grimms, in terms of pack hierarchy, he’s above us.”

And yet, I can resist them. What does that say about me?

“How long has Devon been a Grimm?”

She blinked. “You don’t know? Has he never told you?”

“What do you think?” I asked, deadpanned.

“Fair. Well, I believe he’s only been a Grimm for the last decade or so. About four years before me. He adapted to becoming a hunter easily, and it’s not too surprising that he’s as powerful as he is.”

My mouth dropped. “Only ten years? Seriously?”

“What? What’s wrong with that?”

“I don't know. I guess I’m just surprised. It’s hard to think he’s young with how he acts."

“Well, he was always a grump, even when I was first inducted. Don't let that fool you, though. He cares, but his mentor… when she was still alive, she had an eat-the-young kind of mentality. I’m sure it's left its mark on him.”

Yeah, that’s an understatement.

“What happened to his mentor?”

“That’s…” Adeline sighed. “I’ve no idea. It happened before I was a Grimm. They left for a hunt and he returned, alone. He took a piece of her cloak during the funeral and has never been the same since. I think that’s when Devon started to be respected by the others, started to be more serious about everything.”

Oh. That explains a few things. Ugh, I'll deal with this tomorrow.

I waved and headed for the tunnel. “See you later, Adeline.”

A hand gripped me should and I turned around to her scrunching her face in discomfort.

“Hey. I want to apologize."

“For?”

“Earlier. I shouldn’t have reacted that way. I’m sorry.”

I removed her hand and shrugged. “Already forgot about it. You’re good.”

She crossed her arms with a ghost of a smile on her face. As she looked me up and down it felt like I was being judged.

“You’re different. In only a couple of months, too. It’s a good look on you. Confidence is better than the scared kid from before.”

“Have a goodnight, Adeline.”

As she turned away, I adjusted my cloak and caught my reflection on one of the swords hanging off the wall.

Luminous green eyes stared back, before I turned and walked out.