As we made our way up the mountain, we passed several groups of Grimms, them tending to rove in packs of two or three. Some I barely recognized, others I didn’t. But they seemed to keep to themselves, going out of their way to avoid our path.

All except one, who beelined for Adeline, drawing her away into a conversation. As they got into a heated discussion, I lightly bumped into Kierra, drawing her attention.

“So what’s been going on? What did we miss?”

Kierra glanced at Adeline before shaking her head. “Honestly?”

“Well, I’d prefer it, yes.”

“It’s been confusing, and tense. There hasn’t exactly been fighting but the mess hall was bad enough that Adeline started bringing me food.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“The new Grimms who showed up, some of them have some pretty strong personalities. I swear, for a group of people who are all about being a pack, they have trouble getting along. Really only ever seen the young ones, and mostly the not-yet-initiated talk in larger groups. It's like you’re all hardwired to be antisocial.”

A laugh escaped and drew a pointed glare from the guy talking to Adeline. If anything the man proving Kierra’s point only made it funnier.

There were plenty of memories of just dealing with Devon and Alice alone, not to mention Garret.

“You’re not wrong,” I said. “But maybe don’t go saying that to their faces.”

Eventually, the man left in a huff, and Adeline motioned for us to continue. She took us off-trail, along a well-walked path but still off the main road. As we neared the top of the mountain, she sighed and turned around.

“Change of plans. Take Alice to Astra, she’ll be in the Archives. But I won’t be accompanying you,” she said.

“Is something wrong?”

She bit her lip and looked down the mountain. Eventually, she sighed and shook her head.

“No. But expect to be summoned tomorrow. The same room where you gave your speech.”

Okay. What’s going on now?

I caught her sneak a glance toward Kierra before she turned around and marched up the mountain. And while it was subtle, her jaw had clenched and it looked like she was fighting not to snarl.

It made me uneasy, but I had a different priority.

Near the entrance, Adeline took the time to gently pat Alice’s head before she pulled Kierra to the side.

“I’ll be taking her. You know what to do about Alice.”

“Yeah, of course. See you two tomorrow?”

Adeline mumbled her goodbyes and Kierra followed along, disappearing into the Warren while I patted Freki’s head.

More Grimm drama. I had enough on my plate already.

Alice twitched, her fingers grasping Freki’s horn and nearly yanking him back. He whined but stood still till.

“Sorry boy. No more distractions,” I said.

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He growled but followed along. The entrance was packed with two unfamiliar faces so I slid past them and stuck to the walls till I neared a Whisper Tunnel entrance.

From there we arrived at the Archives and I knocked before trying to open the door. It didn’t budge and I tried again, to the same result.

That’s unusual.

A third knock earned me a loud thump that flung my hand off the metal. I examined my palm, finding a small dot of mana having transferred onto my skin. My mana reacted by burning it away,

Thankfully I didn’t have to knock a third time. The door swung open, revealing an angry Astra with her chains writing in the air like snakes. The tips were glowing dull grey, thrumming with a low level of mana concentrated at the tip.

“What?!” she screamed. She paused long enough to take me in before her eyes widened and she grabbed me by the collar. “Cain! You’re back.”

“Uhf. Hi?”

She pulled away only for Freki to muscle into view and push his snout into her leg. “Alice! What happened?”

We were dragged into the room with the door shutting soundly behind us. Astra crouched and began inspecting Alice’s pulse, going so far as to probe her with the chains.

“A few things. Are we okay in here?”

“What? Yes. Now explain why her mana is so chaotic.”

“Right. Well long story short, we fought a keeper, a weird one. And Alice was gifted a boon of his blood. Like how Rock-splitter gave me his.”

There was a look of shock but Astra calmed down and moved us along into the alcove in the back. From there, she started pulling tinctures and other items from the drawers, along with a scroll from one of the bookshelves.

“If that’s true, she’ll more than likely have the same reaction you had. Here, take these bottles and place them in the corners.”

I complied, placing the bottles as she directed me. Each one looked normal, and I saw no tell-tale signs of mana inside but after recent events, I wasn’t about to write them off as safe.

After the vials, were the stones, I put them equal distance between each corner. Astra uncorked a bottle and dripped a perfect circle wide enough for a person to lie down in.

“What are we doing?”

“Preparing a ritual circle. Best we restrain her peacefully than do something drastic.”

Freki was directed to place Alice in the circle and he did so, melding into the ground and returning to my shadow to not disturb the carefully crafted ritual lines. Crystals were added at four points and she finished the last of the runes completing the triple-layered circle.

Astra moved to the north, next to Alice’s head and directed me to the south by her feet. “Good. Now place your hand atop the triangular rune and run your mana through.”

“But I don’t know the incantations or runes?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll be the one guiding it, you’ll be adding fuel and nothing more.”

“Sounds doable. Just pump mana into it?”

“Pure mana, try not to corrupt it. It’ll be hard enough adjusting to someone else's input.”

I pushed my hand into the center triangle placed directly behind Alice’s heel. It was accurately sized so that my palm fit in the center without touching the outer lines.

As I willed my mana down my arm, the rune came to life and the liquid glided upward and over my fingers, locking it in place. It was like ice entering my veins before my mana rushed in to angrily push it back. Steam rose from my fingers and the rune’s light turned a lighter shade of orange before Astra grunted and and pushed her other hand onto a second circle.

“Control yourself,” she said. “Please.”

I breathed in and exhaled, forcing the raging tide to a calm and willing the mana to trickle out rather than flood the rune. It was unhappy, but complied, giving its energy freely while Astra guided it into other runes.

One by one the circle became glowing lines that vibrated the air. I tracked it all, watching the mana ebb and flow into the ritual before retracting. Astra had her eyes closed, but her chains moved on their own, weaving through the air as she made minor adjustments. All in all, it took nearly twenty minutes before she removed her hands.

“That’s enough. It's done,” she said.

I cut the mana and checked my core, finding it about half as full. It was deceptive, the output being so small, but nearly half an hour of it had taken its fair share.

“That's it?” I said, gesturing to the ground.

It didn’t look too different from before. The lines were white, and fully lit. The air above had a strangely solid look to it and when I waved my hand through the air it felt thick, like water.

“That’s it,” she confirmed. “If she starts reacting violently it’ll restrain her.”

“How? Like a barrier pushing her down?”

“Nothing so drastic. It forces her mana to calm and uses it to fuel the Restful Sleep incantation. If something does happen despite the protections, she’ll be far easier to restrain.”

Astra struggled to the chair. As she sat down I began pouring the tea, having seen her do it enough times. To heat it up I used my fire and controlled the flame till the temperature was just right. She accepted my cup with a tired smile and melted into the seat as she slowly sipped her drink.

“I think I added too many leaves.”

“A little, but not bad. Thank you.” She set the cup down and leaned forward. “Well go on. Tell me what happened. And don’t leave a single detail hidden.”