Rain pattered against the window pane behind her bed as Velaya steadily ate through three plates worth of food, gulping down the blue mana potion in between bites.

Magus Ossacus had returned after Archmagus Ena had left and insisted she wasn’t allowed to talk any further until she’d eaten and finished her potion. Athone had left for a while to change and inform her classmates that she’d been the victim of an attack and where they may find her. He currently sat quietly next to her, a book propped open on his lap. At the sound of her putting her plate down on the end table, he looked up.

Velaya could tell that he was tired from the bags under his eyes and the way he sat slouched on the stool.

“You should get some rest,” she said. Her voice was still horse and no matter of liquid was able to take away the dryness.

He closed the book and set it on the bed next to her leg, offering her a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’ll be alright. It’s you I’m worried for.”

“I’m ok,” she said, not entirely truthfully.

Her body ached in the way that fatigued muscles felt the day after a hard workout. Her head felt heavy and, if she stretched her mana, she could feel the lingering presence of Ena’s Soothing spell inside her mind. It bolstered her confidence and helped her stay relaxed, lest she drown in her own thoughts. She felt as though she would know the moment the Archmagus left the island as she anticipated the suffocating sense of dread impending. Perhaps if she got out ahead of it and found a way to speak about it before the Soothing dissipated, it would help, but she didn’t know where to begin. Everything felt like a terrible dream.

She could not imagine that she had actually killed someone. It wasn’t something she’d ever done before, though she wasn’t ignorant enough to believe she’d get by her whole life without having to do so. Aesor was a volatile world, where beasts and demons and armies or vigilantes rose up to challenge Kingdoms. Whether directly or indirectly, she knew she would not be able to avoid it. Not unless she stayed at Manatide Tower the rest of her life. Except, even that was no longer true. The sadness at losing that part of her threatened to crack through the Soothing.

“No Velaya, you’re not ok,” Athone said.

“I am - or I will be. If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know that I’d be sitting here now,” she said quietly.

Athone shook his head, his jaw tight. “I fucked up. Your brother’s going to kill me.”

“Stop it. Doriel would never,” she said as another twinge of sadness knocked against the Soothing. If her brother was at sea, he would have no idea of what had occurred here. Part of her was glad for that.

“I made a promise to him, Vel. I promised I’d look out for you. I’ve failed him. I failed you,” Athone lowered his head into his palms, shielding his face, rubbing his eyes.

Velaya leaned over and grasped his wrists, pulling his hands away so she could stare into his silver-lined eyes.

“You did not fail anyone, Athone. You saved my life,” she affirmed. She continued to stare into his eyes, willing him to understand just how grateful she was for him.

“She’s over there,” Otto’s voice rang out over the rainfall, snapping their eye contact as she quickly dropped his hands.

A second later the curtain pulled back and Otto’s smiling face appeared. His smile faded once he caught sight of her. “Aesor’s tit,” he swore, “you look like shit.”

A smile cracked at the corner of her lips as the curtains behind him pulled further open, and Ingrid and Lime entered into the little space.

“Damn, you weren’t kidding,” Lime whistled low as Ingrid gasped.

Athone chuckled softly as he stood offering the seat to Ingrid. Lime perched herself next to Velaya on the bed and Otto and Athone stood together around the foot.

“I can’t look that bad,” Velaya said, a warmth rising within her chest at the sight of them.

“You do,” Lime teased, gently nudging her arm.

“How are you feeling, Velaya?” Ingrid asked softly.

“I’m…” she hesitated. She wanted to lie, to say she was fine. She didn’t want to worry them, and yet they were here with her. Despite their playful entrance she saw the strain in their faces, the concern in their eyes. Her throat began to burn and it had nothing to do with the injury from last night.

“I get it,” Ingrid said, reaching over to grab her hand.

Lime wrapped her arm around Velaya’s and leaned her head down to rest on her shoulder. As hard as Velaya tried, she could not fight the tears that escaped the Soothing and her eyes.

“You’re a tough kid, Vel,” Otto said. “I’m glad you’re still here. I’m not sure how I was supposed to finish my Mana and Magic homework for Magus Erich without you.” His joke broke the heaviness in the room and they all laughed.

“Ow, please Otto, do not make me laugh,” Velaya said, reaching her hand up to her throat.

“Apologies, your grace,” he mocked, bowing deeply.

Lime reached over to grab Athone’s book and tossed it at him. Athone caught it before it hit him square in the nose.

“Sorry for not coming sooner,” Lime said. “When Athone told us what had happened we were on our way to our History lesson.”

“Otto insisted you’d be devastated to hear we’d skipped class and demanded we wait til after,” Ingrid said, her good eye winking in Otto’s direction. He looked properly offended and Velaya smiled again.

“The others said they’d come by later,” Otto said. “We weren’t sure how many of us were allowed in here at a time.”

Velaya found it hard to say anything so she nodded, her eyes still stinging.

“So… have you any idea who he was?” Lime asked slowly.

“No, I didn’t recognize him,” Velaya said.

“His name was Davis Leroy,” Athone said, not bothering to hide the bitterness in his tone. “He was an alumni here. He graduated about ten years ago but stayed on to help study magical artefacts. From what I heard, he was from a small fishing village in southern Ayradora, where his entire family was killed by a Corrupted pack of manticores.”

“Did you know him, or his family?” Velaya asked.

“I only heard the Headmistress speaking about it while you were still asleep,” Athone said quietly.

For a moment no one said anything, only the soft wash of rain against the window echoing through the room.

“Why attack her then?” Ingrid asked, her eyes large.

“He wanted my parents to know what it was like to lose someone so that they would take action,” Velaya said, staring at the blankets.

“What exactly are your parent’s supposed to do?” Lime demanded.

“It doesn’t make any sense. No offence mate,” Otto said, turning towards Athone, “but why not go after you? If his family was from Ayradora, why attack the Princess from a Kingdom an ocean away?”

Athone’s eyes were cold. “This Corruption affects everyone in the world. Yet all four Kingdoms have been too busy to pay it any serious attention. I think he was hoping to change that. I suspect he thought Velaya was an easy target and his naivete cost him his life.”

Ingrid and Otto turned stunned faces to look at Velaya and Lime lifted her head from her shoulder, her mouth open in surprise.

Velaya felt as though a cold bucket of water was dumped on her head and glared at Athone. It was the first time she’d heard anyone acknowledge aloud what she had done and for him to mention it so casually? She felt betrayed. She could feel the heat rising on the back of her neck.

“You killed him?” Lime said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Velaya said nothing but continued to stare at Athone, his expression impassive, as though they were merely discussing weather.

A low whistle came from Otto. “Damn Vel. Remind me not to get on your bad side.” When all eyes snapped to him, he raised his hands in the air in defence. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”

“It’s no joking matter,” Ingrid scowled at Otto before turning back to Velaya. Her face softened. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Velaya stared into Ingrid’s face, her hazel and milky white eyes firmly holding her gaze - not in challenge but in support. Velaya wondered what horrors she had endured to have earned her scars. What had she seen or been forced to do for her own survival?

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Taking a deep breath, she relayed the events of the night before to them. Unlike earlier with Archmagus Ena, she included the conversation she’d overheard the Magi having in the Great Hall. It was the only part of the story Athone hadn’t heard before, and his attention perked up when she told it, but he said nothing. No one did. Otto, Ingrid and Lime had remained quiet while she spoke.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen,” she insisted, after confessing what her magic had done. What she had done. “I’ve never … I’ve never killed anyone before.”

No amount of Soothing could stop the tears that came fully then, as she hunched over, her shoulders shaking and buried her face within her hands. Lime wrapped her arms around her, holding her in a firm embrace as Ingrid rested her hand on her leg.

Otto had moved from standing at the end of the bed to sit near her feet and said softly. “It’s ok. You acted in self defence, Velaya.”

“Four,” Athone said quietly from the end of the bed, looking at the floor. Confused, everyone looked up at him. “I’ve taken the lives of four men.”

Velaya froze, as Lime released her embrace and they all sat in stunned silence. She knew that Athone was well trained with a sword and had helped serve his father’s guard in missions for his Kingdom, but she’d never heard him speak about the specifics of what those were. A sense of guilt swelled within her and as she stared at him she questioned just how much she truly knew of the Prince of Ayradora.

Athone waved his hand dismissively in the air and looking up offered them a tight smile. “Duties of a Kingdom, if you will.” His smile faded as his eyes met Velaya’s again. “It doesn’t get any easier. Nor do I believe it ever should. For the moment it does, is the moment you lose every bit of yourself. ”

“He’s right,” Ingrid whispered quietly. “The loss of any life will momentarily disrupt the harmony of the world as their soul meets Aesor or Saeligos. That crack in the balance will take a piece of you in return, in order to restore it. Time will help mend the pain of it, but the scars always remain.”

“Not just time. We’re here for you too Velaya,” Lime said, tears in her jade eyes.

Velaya’s chest swelled but all she could do was nod. It was then she felt a deep sense of dread, anger and pain settle into her bones and she knew that the Archmagus’ spell had been broken. Only this time it did not threaten to completely overwhelm her. Surrounded by her new friends, she felt her resolve strengthen. After a few more tears and embraces by her classmates and Lime, they eventually had to return to their lessons and bid her goodbye. She’d had the sneaking suspicion that the Archmagus had delayed leaving the island until then.

~~~

Velaya had many visitors over the course of the day.

Her other Mage classmates, Jessica, Emilie and Zin had arrived together shortly after lunch. Emilie had brought some more confections from the Great Hall for her to try, offering a pleasant distraction as they tried to rank the treats.

Later the twins, Victor and Devon followed by Lilian paid her a visit. Victor, as a former guard, had promised to help teach her and the rest of their class some defensive manoeuvres once she was feeling better. Lilian had provided a rundown of the lessons she had missed that day, all while shooting Athone twinkling eyes from under her dark brows.

Even the third-year students, Aila and Dardan, popped in along with Cerwan, the Druid from Lime’s class. And at one point just after dinner, Marika Dipit, the Sorcerer she had partnered with yesterday had come by to quickly say hello. The only one she didn’t see was Rose.

With everyone that visited her, she didn’t get into specifics of the events like she had earlier with Otto, Lime or Ingrid, but by the sounds of it, it seemed the rest of the school already knew every detail. It was all anyone was talking about - much to her discomfort.

Through it all, Athone had remained with her in the infirmary. He’d pulled the curtains fully open so he could sit on the bed next to hers and had his homework and books sprawled across it. As the light from outside darkened and the torches in the room sprang to life, and with the last of her visitors retired to the dormitories, Velaya turned to him.

“There’s something about last night I don’t understand,” she said.

“What’s that?” Athone said offhandedly, still writing on his scroll.

“How did you know it was me? I had my hood up - even the Magi in the Great Hall didn’t recognize me.”

Athone paused his writing then, but did not look over to her. She noticed his cheeks appeared more red than they usually looked.

“I...” he hesitated, and cleared his throat before turning to look at her, his cheeks flush. “I recognized your walk.”

Her lips twitched as her eyebrows raised. “My walk?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s much of a walk as it is a stomping shuffle. Very unqueenly if I’m being honest. You should work on that,” he offered her a wink and she scowled.

“You should go get some sleep, Athone.”

“I can sleep here if I need to.”

“Is that your plan then? To shadow me for the rest of my life?”

A strange smile passed across his lips that disappeared a moment later as he yawned.

“If that’s what it takes, then yes,” he said and when it looked like she was going to argue he added, “Vel we’re practically family. I know we went a few years without seeing each other but that doesn’t mean I do not care for you. You’re still the sister I never had.”

She offered him a small smile. She should feel comforted by his words and yet she couldn’t understand why it had felt like she’d suddenly been punched deep in the gut.

“That’s kind of you, but you won't always be available to protect me, Athone. Besides, I feel safe here. It still feels right for me to be here. Archmagus Ena said she was going to increase security so you’ve really nothing to worry about. Please go and sleep before you collapse. You can barely keep your head up.”

He looked like he was going to refuse when Magus Ossacus walked over and insisted that he leave so that she could rest. Velaya was to stay there for the night out of precaution so he could monitor her concussion and ensure her mana pool was properly restored enough to allow her to continue lessons the next day.

Sighing loudly and creating a great deal of noise, he stuffed his texts back into his satchel and said, “Very well. I will see you in the morning then.” He approached her and leaned down to kiss the top of her head before turning without a word and leaving the infirmary, missing the sudden flush on her face.

“Take this my dear,” Magus Ossacus said, holding out a tiny vial with a green liquid in it. “It will help you sleep and if it is restful enough, I will discharge you in the morning in time for breakfast.”

“Thank you Magus,” Velaya said as she drank from it. The effects were immediate and by the time she leaned back into her pillows she was fast asleep.

She did not dream but she had the strangest sensation that someone had been with her that night. Yet when she woke she was alone in the room, with the sun just starting to rise. Magus Ossacus arrived shortly after and administered a series of tests before determining she was fit to return to her studies.

She was thankful for the early hour. Not many were awake as she crossed the school grounds heading back towards the Mage quarters, only a few students shuffled their way into the Great Hall.

When she arrived at her dormitory it was quiet. Her classmates were likely still in bed. She crossed the room and was surprised when she passed the table and saw an abundance of food and snacks on top. It took her a second to take in her surroundings and realise that the rest of the room was full of prepackaged foods and beverages, lining the shelves between all the other various books and items. It appeared her classmates didn’t want anyone to have to leave their building for food again. She could feel her eyes prickling and her throat felt tight as she ascended the stairs quietly and made her way down the hall.

Her room was exactly as she’d left it. She spent a generous amount of time in the bath, scouring away the events from the last twenty-four hours. When she had finished washing and had changed into a fresh pair of Tides, she finally looked at herself in the mirror. Her classmates weren’t kidding - she looked terrible. Though the healing had mended her broken bones, the bruises remained. Both of her eyes and nose were circled by angry deep blue and purple marks and it appeared as if she was wearing a thick necklace of them too. Sighing, she could hear doors in the hallway opening as others awoke and was about to join them when something on her bed caught her eye.

A small object, the size of her palm, had been placed on her pillow. The twigs of trees had been wound together to create a circle, and within that circle were many interconnecting threads of shimmering silver hairs forming an intricate webbed pattern. Dangling down from the bottom of the circle were various small plumes of stunning gold and green feathers. It seemed to buzz softly and her mana reacted pleasantly to it, a quiet song echoing through her. She recognized the object as an ancient artefact of the elven people of Elyzeme.

Tucking it under her pillow, she wiped her cheeks and made her way down the hall when she heard a door behind her open.

“You’re back,” Rose’s sharp voice echoed through the hallway.

Velaya turned to look at her and noticed how tired her beautiful face appeared. Her long ears were slightly downcast and her grey eyes were dull as they roamed over Velaya’s face, lingering for a moment on her neck.

“I am,” Velaya said hesitantly, unsure of where their conversation was going to lead.

Rose just nodded her head. “Good.”

“Were you up all night making it?” Velaya asked quietly, taking a few tentative steps towards her.

A muscle twitched in Rose’s face. She was quiet for a moment before responding. “Yes, it took me most of yesterday to acquire the components. I had to finish it last night. It’s believed to ward off nightmares and promote restful sleep. I thought perhaps you may benefit from having one.”

Velaya had believed Rose had disliked her from the first moment they met, but this gesture of kindness was so thoughtful that she didn’t know what to think.

“Thank you, Rose. I.. I don't really know what to say.”

Rose offered a small smile. It was a kind smile, one up until moments ago Velaya didn’t think she’d ever receive from her. Velaya smiled in return and Rose made her way down the hall to stand with her.

“I recognized it immediately,” Velaya said as the two of them turned to walk together down the stairs. “I’ve seen them before while in Elyzeme. I thought the unicorn hair was native to your Kingdom. How did you acquire it?”

“The Tower has many artefacts and supplies available to us. I know a few of the older elves that reside here year-round and they helped me locate them,” Rose said, shrugging casually.

“Are they Magi?”

“Alumni. They graduated a few hundred years or so ago. Onas Perlee and Delimira Lazziar are their names. They’ve been here studying zoology. Given the nature of things at the moment, their work is more important than ever.”

Velaya stopped abruptly on the steps and Rose continued down a few more before turning back to look at her in surprise.

“You know Onas and Delimira?” Velaya exclaimed.

The elvish couple, originally from Elyzeme, was renowned for their work of magical studies of animals and beasts within the world. They were the ones who had first identified the Corruption and had dedicated their lives to understanding its effects on the wildlife.

“Yes, they’re friends of the family.”

Velaya’s jaw nearly hit the floor and Rose laughed. It was a short, deep burst of sound with a charming musical quality to it.

“I’d offer to introduce you to them, but as you look now, they may suspect you’re some sort of deranged raccoon and wish to experiment on you,” Rose teased.

It was Velaya’s turn to laugh but she immediately regretted doing so when her sore throat protested.

Rose frowned. “But perhaps once you’re feeling better and we find some free time?”

Smiling, Velaya nodded. “I’d like that very much.”