“Cursed?” Alice looked at Olivia with worry, grabbing a firm hold of my hand.

We were discussing the poison the goblins inflicted when I got cut.

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. He’s fine, isn’t he?” Olivia waved her off, glancing at me with a soft smile. “We’ve already taken precautions and stopped it from spreading, so all that’s left is for the mana to flush it out. We even fixed up your core while you were unconscious.”

I was out for almost an entire day.

“What about complications?” I asked, figured it’d be best to know.

“There shouldn’t be any as far as I’m aware, but you’ll have to deal with the pain. Luckily for you, consuming this mixture will help ease it quite a bit, and if you happen to drink the whole vial, Alice can make you one more dose for today. Feel free to come here if you need the table.”

“So it’s just the discomfort?” I asked, holding onto my stomach. “There’s hardly any pain left.”

“It’ll kick in. . . Cleansing chaos is never painless, but you’ll be safe,” Olivia explained. “Anyway, it’s time for me to leave. You kids have fun.”

“Am I allowed to leave?” I asked, hoping I wouldn’t be stuck in bed all day.

“Just don’t wander far, and keep someone close.”

“I’ll stay with him,” Alice said, still holding my hand.

Perhaps we weren’t supposed to be doing that when someone was around, especially not a Professor, but that didn’t stop us from gently fidgeting our thumbs together.

“Alright, take care,” she said, leaving the room as we waved goodbye.

Without saying a word, we just looked into each other's eyes before Alice sighed and leaned into me.

“I should put my shirt on,” I said, but at the same time I didn’t want her to move. We took it off during the examination.

“Liar. . .” she whispered, closing her eyes as her head gently rested on my shoulder. “I know it hurts.”

“Hmm? Oh, I’ll be fine. Pain, discomfort – same thing, right?” I chuckled.

Technically I wasn’t wrong, the pain was benign, so it was all about endurance.

“It’s not, but you’re too stubborn for me to deal with now,” she whispered, partially opening her eyes while staring aimlessly into the distance. “Just don’t forget our promise.”

“Then I’ll be in your care,” I whispered back, shutting my eyes and taking a deep breath.

It was peaceful. We just stayed quiet for a bit, enjoying each other’s company.

“Is the pain getting worse?” Alice broke the silence, moving her free hand to my stomach before gently starting to massage. “You’re tensing up quite often.”

“I can handle it,” or so I hoped. It was getting worse by the minute despite having drunk some of the mixture when Olivia first made it.

“Perhaps the dose wasn’t enough,” Alice suggested, almost as if she read my mind. I couldn’t help but smile.

“Let’s not be wasteful. Not sure if I’ll need it more later on.” I tilted my head back, focusing on her warm touch.

“Alright, but from one to ten, how bad is it?” She sure was persistent.

“Like an eight or a seven,” though more like a nine, but she needn’t know. Not like we could’ve done anything about it. “But I’ll be fine.”

“Does massaging it help?” Alice asked, gazing into my eyes.

“It’s comforting, but I wouldn’t mind if we talked about something else,” I sighed, hoping to just forget about the pain.

“Then how we talk about that book you were carrying while on the run.”

“So you were the one to find it, huh?” My gaze dropped, not because of the book, but the questions I wished never had to be answered.

“You dropped it when you passed out, so it was hard to miss.” She sighed, tightening the grip on my hand. “You looked pale as a ghost.”

“Sorry if I scared you,” I whispered, gently stroking the back of her hand with my thumb.

“Just a little,” she lowered her voice while avoiding looking at me. “Anyway, about the book–”

“What about others?” I had to ask, and while waiting for her answer, even the room darkened as a cloud passing by blocked out the sun.

“Chloe and Daniel were unharmed, and Sarah’s still recovering. They moved her to a different room where they could keep a close eye on her.” Alice finally looked up with a saddened look in her eyes. “The burns were pretty bad, but they managed to stabilise her. She’ll live.”

“Will they heal? The scars,” I asked, feeling my stomach turn.

“We don’t know. Not everyone’s as good as my aunt, even at Grimhold,” she regretfully said.

“I was afraid you were going to say that. . .” I uttered, slowly letting my head drop. But before that, Alice’s hand massaging my stomach caught my chin, cupping my cheek.

“You did what you had to do,” she said, and before I could even protest, she caressed my cheek while reaching for my ear. “Chloe explained everything that happened, that you were the one that used a fire spell to save her.”

“I was poisoned, and they wouldn’t stay dead so I–” I suddenly stopped talking, seeing my vision blurred.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, gently rubbing my ear. “The only thing that matters is that you’re safe and she’ll live. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

Taking a deep breath, I exhaled all at once before blinking a few times to clear up my eyes.

“What about the others?”

The truth was that regardless of how I looked at it, the call I made, I couldn’t take it back even if I wanted to. But at the same time I knew that any other spell I had would’ve simply either injured the goblins or they would’ve just gotten back up after dying, putting everyone else at risk.

However, what haunted me most was not what happened but knowing that had Alice been in Sarah’s place, things would’ve been different. I wouldn’t have cared as much about others, choosing to put the whole group at risk if it meant avoiding hurting Alice. But it also means I was willing to sacrifice others for my sake.

“Alex–” she was hesitant.

“Just tell me.” I needed to hear it to understand what went wrong. “Please.”

She was thinking, moving the hand cupping my face onto my chest, resting it there while our eyes locked like magnets.

“Chloe said they fell after the spell broke. You probably got too far away and lost control over it. Dax broke his ankle during the fall, and some of the goblins chasing after you took notice. Jarred fought them off, but one of the goblins reanimated and took him from behind. Daniel ended up killing it, but not before Dax got killed.”

“It’s all my fault,” I muttered, not knowing what else to say. “Had I broken free from the restraints back when there were only two goblins with us, we could’ve all figured it out together. But instead I chose not to risk it, fearing I might miss a chance. Fearing that I might never see you again.”

“And? What’s so wrong with that?” she asked, raising her voice. “The way I see it, you did your best. It’s not your responsibility to save others. You do it because you can and want to, not because you must. I would’ve done the same had I been in your shoes.”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“But had it been you instead of Sarah–”

“What?” She cut me off, her voice more serious than usual. “Had it been me, you would’ve tried harder? Put yourself at risk?”

“Yeah. . .” I openly admitted, feeling a bit guilty.

“Well, go ask everyone here what they’d do in your shoes, but I doubt more than one or two would actually mean it if they said they’d do things differently. And that’s if they could even do what you did.” She sighed before smiling, moving her hand again to poke my nose. “It wasn’t your responsibility, yet you still tried your best. The best you could at the time, and no one can fault you for that.”

Perhaps she was right. No, I believed she was, but it still left me with lots to think about. But then I thought at least I had forgotten about the pain, inadvertently making myself more conscious of it, worsening the symptoms.

“Fuck me,” I grunted, leaning forward a bit.

“Is it hurting?” She immediately jumped, reaching for the mixture Olivia left. “Drink some. I’ll make more.”

I nodded, taking the vial.

The taste was horrible, and the smell even worse, but at least it worked.

“Ugh. . . disgusting,” I mumbled, having chugged it one go.

“Too bad Penelope ain’t here to transmute the taste,” Alice said, walking over to the workbench.

“Tell me about it. I need to learn that trick.” I sighed, placing the vial on top of the bedside table before shifting over to sit on the edge of the bed. “So what did you do with the book?”

It’d be a lie if I said I wasn’t interested in what’s in it.

“I gave it to the professors. Figured they’d know best what to do with such a thing,” she said, already mixing the next dose. “Why? Were you curious?”

“Eh, it’s not every day I get to peek into a mysterious-looking book. Oh well, maybe one day,” I said as I shrugged.

“Is that so?” Alice smirked, turning to me and snapping her fingers, causing the dark tome to appear in her hand.

“The book?” I furrowed my brows, wondering why she lied. “Were you testing me?”

“Nah, just wanted to see your reaction.” Alice winked while pointing her tongue at me, making the tome vanish again. “I’ll give it to you later. You probably don’t want someone seeing you with such a thing.”

“Have you looked inside?” I asked, curious about a few things.

“Yeah, at night while making sure the book wasn’t cursed or something.” She returned to mixing the medicine. “Though I haven’t looked much. Figured it’d be more fun if we looked through it together.”

“I’m surprised you’re not more against it. I thought elves hated anything related to necromancy.”

“We both know the world is not so black and white. It’s better to know what sort of magic we could face in the future than having to figure it out while fighting.” She made a solid argument, reaffirming my belief that we should take a look. “Now, do I wish to learn necromancy? No, not really. But the book isn’t magical, so reading through it won’t do any harm.”

“Yeah, I agree.” Knowing there were likely side effects from using necromancy, I wasn’t too keen on learning more spells from the book. However, I still needed to talk to Professor Dark regarding the whispers in my head I heard occasionally. “But should we keep the book a secret?”

Alice paused what she was doing, glancing to the left before turning to look at me.

“We probably should,” she hummed. “Though I think we have to tell Penelope. I’m not sure she’ll be all that into dark and weird stuff, but she seems to like mysteries, and I’m certain there are quite a few in there. Maybe we’ll get to decipher some hidden code.”

“Glad to see you’re excited.” I smiled, giving her a nod. “Alright, we’ll tell Penelope. But not a word to Eliot.”

“Think he’d snitch?” Alice asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the table.

“Probably not, but he’s too noble and religious for such things,” I explained, gathering my strength before pushing myself back on my feet.

“You shouldn’t move too much,” Alice said, looking at me worried.

“You’re right,” I said, walking up to her so her feet were between mine, our faces inches away. “But you were too far away.”

“Is that so?” Alice blushed, dropping her gaze for a second before looking directly into my eyes.

“It is,” I smirked, reaching for her left hand.

She didn’t move at first, allowing me to brush my fingers against the back of her hand, but seconds later, Alice gently shoved me away, giving herself room to stand.

“Since you’re so full of energy, why don’t you allow me to finish mixing this up, and then we can go for a walk? Fresh air will do you good.”

“Alright,” I chuckled, thankful there was someone like her looking out for me.

----------------------------------------

Later in the evening, while everyone was asleep, Alice and I joined Penelope and Rose in Rose’s room, hoping to go through some of the stuff hidden within the tome.

Since Rose was also a succubus, the professors figured it’d be best that Rose had her own room, unwilling to deal with the consequences of parents finding out their daughters shared a room with a demon. However, despite learning of Rose’s identity, the girls Penelope and Alice roomed with had no qualms with her sleeping over, sharing a bed with Penelope. And Rose later turned her room into a private hangout for a select few.

“I think you’re right, Alice. If what Chloe and Alex said was true, it would appear the goblins were trying to summon a demon,” Penelope said, flipping over to the next page.

“I mean, the book’s literally called the Grimoire of the Dark Arts,” Rose pointed out, a bit bored as she only wanted to hang out, disinterested in the grimoire’s content. “You probably shouldn’t think too deeply about it.”

While Penelope was lying on the carpet with her face buried in the book, Rose rolled around in her bed, throwing random remarks whenever she could. Meanwhile, Alice and I got close again, with Alice leaning into me or gently touching me whenever she had the chance.

Alice must’ve figured out I wasn’t going to shy away from her advances – quite the contrary – but at the same time, it felt a bit strange acting like that in front of the girls, especially Penelope. However, both knew Alice and I had a thing for each other and didn’t seem to mind.

“Based on the initial written on the last page, it could be that this grimoire belonged to Laféa, one of Grimhold’s founders.” Penelope flipped the book over, pointing to the signature. “See? It’s an L.”

“Isn’t that stretching it a bit?” I asked, a bit reserved with the idea that we found an archmage’s spellbook in the hands of a few crazed goblins. “Plenty of names start with L.”

“I think she’s right,” Alice joined in, squinting at the initial. “First, it’s written in Elvish. And second, you did find it in her forest, perhaps even her ruins or whatever you’d call that place?”

“Maybe,” I mumbled.

“Now you agree. . .” Penelope sighed, shaking her head. “Anyway, if it’s true, then a book like this is a pretty big deal. Spells, rituals, lore– I wonder what else is in here.”

“Told you she’d like the book,” Alice giggled.

“Not that hard of a guess,” I argued, smiling the entire time.

“You guys don’t mind if I check out a few more things before giving back the book, right?” Penelope asked, closing it up. “Afterwards, it’s all yours. I just want to copy some of the ritual notes I glanced over. The rest of it doesn’t really interest me all that much.”

“Fine by me,” I said, but then turned to look at Alice, who wasn’t saying anything. “Alice?”

“Hmm? Ah, right. Forgot I had a say in it,” she awkwardly chuckled, scratching her head.

“You okay?” Penelope furrowed her brows.

“Yeah. . . I just need to use the bathroom real quick.” Alice jumped to her feet. “I’ll be right back.”

And then she just left.

“Alright, what did you do?” Penelope immediately turned her attention to me.

“Me? Nothing, I swear,” I pleaded innocent, raising my hands as a sign of early surrender.

“Did you two kiss?” Rose just asked out of the blue, almost making my jaw drop.

“No, nothing like that,” I said, taking a deep breath before letting out a sigh.

“You two seem awfully close tonight,” Penelope pointed out, her voice a bit lower than usual as she averted her gaze back to the book. “Finally decided to chase after her?”

“Not really,” I said, much to Penelope’s shock. On the other hand, Rose seemed unphased. “Also, why are you practically whispering.”

“Because Alice has freakish hearing, and I don’t want to cause trouble,” Penelope explained, looking at me sternly. “Alex, listen. We all know you two are crazy for each other, but I also get why you’re so hesitant. But think of it this way, right? You’re at Grimhold, away from politics.”

“You’re not wrong, but I ain’t changing my mind,” I smirked, knowing I was being a bit misleading.

“You’re crazy,” Rose said, her words aimed at me.

“You said it. . .” Penelope agreed.

“Hey, listen, okay? It’s not like that.” I sighed, tilting my head back. “I’ve decided I won’t shy away from her advances, but I can’t be the one to make the first move–”

“I think you’re beyond just a simple first move,” Rose pointed out the obvious again.

“Alright, kiss. You know what I meant,” I averted my gaze, a bit flustered that I said it out loud. I wasn’t used to sharing these types of things. “Why are we even talking about this? You’re just going to snitch on me later.” But perhaps that’s what I hoped for.

“Not sure I get it, but whatever,” Penelope said, sitting back up. “Just don’t mess with her feelings, okay?”

Penelope seemed genuinely worried for Alice.

“I won’t. That’s exactly why I refuse to act first. Right now, all the consequences are on her to bear, so it wouldn’t feel right if I forced the choice out of her,” I explained, looking back at Penelope with a soft smile. “Once she truly knows what she wants, and if her wish is to be with me, she’ll kiss me. That’s all.”

“You’re making this more complicated than it needed to be. . .” Penelope seemed to somewhat disagree but likely didn’t want to say anything because she knew what she wanted to do.

She was definitely telling Alice what I said the first chance she got.

“Eh. . .” I sighed.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.