As I crushed the mana and prevented it from flowing into the air, the shadowy lines receded and stretched back into her shadow. She released me but she didn't revert the shift.

Two glowing eyes appeared below me, and a growl echoed around the room.

Adeline glared, her claws tensing. But Alice poked her side and Adeline jumped away, bewildered.

"Calm down," Alice said.

It was a tense ten seconds before Adeline looked away, and her bones snapped into place. The fur receded, and her long-sleeve shirt reappeared as she massaged her palms.

"What just happened?" I asked, still confused.

"That incantation, don't use it around me," Adeline snarled.

What the hell?

"The incantation, your mana corrupted it," Alice stated.

I nodded. "Yeah, I was curious about what it would do. Did it affect you, too? I didn't see."

"No. Only Adeline."

Why?

"It felt wrong." Adeline flexed her fingers while her eyes stayed crimson. "Like something was hunting me, digging into my body. I felt exposed."

"What's the magic supposed to do?" Kierra asked as she stared at her mentor.

Alice held up the scroll and read the contents. "A wolf hunts through smell. A Grimm is beyond that. Find the morsel and expose the prey no matter where it hides. Picture the mana as

paint that exposes the object of your hunt."

Kierra frowned. "Does that mean you were trying to hunt Adeline?"

"No, that makes no sense. I wasn't thinking of Adeline at all."

"Just don't do it again!" Adeline growled. "You're lucky I know you. Other Grimms wont be so nice."

I closed my mouth—the protest dying on my tongue—as Adeline grabbed her canteen and stalked out of the room.

Kierra frowned, but I shrugged. How was I supposed to know my mana would act weird?

Kierra moved to where her spear was and returned it to the wrack near the back. She grabbed a set of clothes and her own canteen and headed to the tunnels.

"I think I'll take a bath now. It was nice seeing you Cain, Alice. Would you be willing to spar sometime?"

"Yes," Alice agreed.

"Uh, sure. But I'm not that good, not technically," I said.

She smiled. "Good. Adeline said I needed to practice with others with different combat styles and experience."

She waved goodbye, leaving the two of us alone.

I strained my ears and waited till the footsteps were far enough for me to relax before I turned to Alice.

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"There's only one reason I can think of as to why the incantation would target her, but it also doesn't hold up considering you weren't."

She frowned and stared at the spot where Adeline stood. After a moment, she walked over and took up position, adjusting her posture to match Adeline's.

"Repeat the incantation. Only one way to test it."

I closed my eyes and conjured the bead. It began as a red marble, but the shadow mana rushed into place before the runes could form. Surprisingly, my other mana didn't fight for dominance and was contained at the edge, swirling but in one place.

Why?

I probed it, urging it to move and it did but it didn't cross the line that it made and resettled into my core.

I tried again with the same results and felt a slight tug pull my attention back to the marble that had turned into a jet-black baseball. I formed the runes, and they came into existence while locking the mana inside the ball.

It felt right. Fast, even. Like an instinct I didn't know I had, I kept my mouth closed and willed the incantation to activate, picturing the shadowy lines around Alice's body.

The ball exploded and pulsed. I opened my eyes, expecting to find the same lines on Alice, but she stared and sniffed the air.

"I felt the mana, but no lines."

That was odd.

Alice was definitely the same strain as Adeline's. So, my theory on my lore strain being different and affecting the incantation didn't make sense.

"Hey. Do I smell different to you? So far, Neina, Grim, and Adeline have all said the same thing."

She moved closer and sniffed my neck and then my head before backing up and shaking her head. "No. It smells the same. But I've been around you the most."

"I guess we can ask Devon. Have you seen him since we got back?"

"No."

"Well, we can find him tomorrow. Do you want to stop or continue practicing?"

She pointed to my head. "Explain what you did."

The next few hours were a blur. Despite my success with the first incantation, the second and third failed to respond. The mental image was the easiest step, but the runes resisted me. Every time I began creating them, they would disperse as if the magic was saying no.

As for Alice, she meditated and constantly checked the scroll.

It was hard to explain instinct, and my mana naturally wanted to move and be used. Alice's didn't feel the same. While she could easily translate the mental images to ice and cold, even force and pressure thanks to her other incantation, it wasn't the same as my mana that was aspected.

But eventually she got the incantation to work. Unlike mine that created shadowy lines that constantly moved and apparently did something to your body, her mana simply coated me like a thin film.

I poked at the red energy above my skin and watched the mana bend around my finger.

Alice sniffed the air, coming closer and examining my extended arm.

"I can smell you."

"Uh, okay. Is that all?"

She closed her eyes and moved around the pit. When she opened, she grinned. "There's more; I can tell where you are."

"Like a connection? I had the same thing with Adeline."

She nodded.

I poked at my arm and had an idea. What Astra explained about my barrier had me curious.

Like before, I willed the mana to extend into my hand and pictured the swirling vortex. I wanted the mana to consume, absorb, and swallow the attack. The scouting incantation wasn't exactly an attack, but it was sticking to me in a way I didn't want.

The shadow mana rushed in, and the incantation rose above my palm. As soon as it did, I watched the red film flicker like static before it was sucked away into the barrier. Alice grunted and I stopped, but the red shroud faded away.

"Did I hurt you?"

"No, but it messed with my nose," Alice replied.

I grinned. "Looks like I have a way to cancel magic."

Alice returned the scroll and stretched, going through a series of practiced movements I copied before torching the pit. I kept the fire on low heat, but I removed the hair. Unfortunately, the smell lingered, but Alice said the room would handle it.

Alice stopped next to one of the whispering tunnel walls as we left. "Elias' funeral will be within the week. Do you still want to attend?"

"Of course," I said. "I said I would."

She nodded and waved goodbye. Her body phased through the stone, and I closed my eyes. The problem Garret brought up was still in the back of my thoughts, never leaving. And hanging around Alice made me feel bad. It felt like lying.

I hated it.

I'll just have to confront Devon when I see him.

Freki poked his head out, and I rubbed it. Before I could retract my hand, he licked my finger.

Before I could protest, my stomach rumbled. I smirked and shook my head.

"Let's go, Freki. I want more of those steaks.

"Wulf!"

He licked his lips, and I booped his nose.

"You don't even need to eat."

"Wulf!"

I shoved mana through the connection, and flames leaked from his nostrils, licking the stone below.

"Fine. Let's get some food."

"Wuulf."