With some newfound freetime, albeit limited, Velaya, Rose and Ingrid used every moment of it to discuss the Corruption and the theory of Saeligos. They spent hours late into the evening huddled within Velaya’s room pouring over tomes and scrolls they found on all matters of the God and Goddess, searching for clues.

“I still don’t understand why you don’t ask Ena,” Otto said one evening, not bothering to knock as he entered her room and took a seat on the bed next to Ingrid.

He’d often catch them leaving the rest of the group to retire to bed early and had demanded to be included in what they were doing. Initially Velaya was hesitant; there were matters she was revealing to Ingrid and Rose that she didn’t think were safe for too many to know but in the end relented. She had to admit having another person around to help was handy. Otto’s carefree attitude helped to ease the seriousness of what they were dealing with - he reminded her of her Doriel in that way.

“I’ve no doubt Archmagus Ena and even Barrett are already working together on this. But she has a lot on her plate and I do not wish to burden her further,” Velaya said, not looking up from the journal she’d found in the library. She sat at her desk, making notes on a scroll next to it.

“Or face her wrath for not giving your studies your full attention?” Rose suggested, sitting on the floor against the nightstand.

Velaya stuck her tongue out at her. “I’m not the one who keeps cancelling our lessons together and last I checked, I’m still top of the class.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “You’ve had a sixteen-year head start.”

“Not tops in every class,” Otto said, nudging his elbow into Ingrid who gently pushed him away, her cheeks flushing.

That part was true. Ingrid was far ahead of the first-years when it came to their Theology classes. It’s why Velaya was glad to have her help with all of this. Most of them struggled to stay awake during them, but she was always attentive and had been even more so of late.

“You sure you can't just send a prayer out to Aesor and ask why her brother is such an asshole and find out how to stop him?” Otto asked Igrnid.

Ingrid glowered at him. “Last time I asked, all she talked about was how annoying you were.”

They all laughed. Unlike the others, Ingrid had always kept up with her prayers but she had not received any direct response from the Goddess. Velaya assumed that Ingrid had inadvertently used the ley lines to fuel the original connection she’d made. But to risk tapping into them again wasn’t something she was going to suggest, just as the Headmistress had asked Velaya not to attempt it.

“Alright, fine,” Otto said. “With Aesor too preoccupied with my charm, where does that leave us?” Rose snorted.

“Aesor embedded her soul into our world to protect us from Saeligos,” Ingrid said, closing the book in her lap. “We have to assume that Saeligos can do the same. That a part of his soul exists somewhere within this world.”

“Right, and we think that piece of his soul is responsible for the Corruption,” Otto said, nodding.

Velaya put her quill down, and turned to her friends. “The questions are how do we find it, and-”

“How do we destroy it?” Rose finished for her.

“Or is that even what needs to be done?” Otto offered. “What if that disrupts the balance of things?”

Ingrid shook her head. “The demons of this world represent Saeligos’ contribution to the balance. This Corruption of his exists outside of that. The journal there is further proof of it.”

“And there’s nothing Aesor can do to combat it?” Otto asked. “If Saeligos can corrupt her creations, can she not contribute more to thwart him?”

“Who’s to say she hasn’t already?” Ingrid asked.

Rose stared up at Ingrid. “Is that it then? Has she hidden something away that we can use to defeat his soul and the Corruption?”

Ingrid’s face flushed, her eyes stared out the window above Velaya’s desk. “I cannot say for certain but…”

Velaya was watching her closely. “That’s why she wanted you here,” she said softly.

They were all quiet for a moment.

“So,” Otto said slowly, blowing air through his teeth, “let’s assume that’s the case. Aesor has left something here for us to use against her evil brother. Let’s just say we locate what that is. Then what? How do we find Saeligos’ soul?”

“Follow the Corruption,” Rose said so matter-of-fact they all stared at her in surprise. “What? Tracing it back to its origins would be the first place to look.”

Velaya stared down at her fingers as she wove them together in front of her. The tan line from where her family ring used to sit was almost completely gone now. “The Corruption has been going on for thousands of years. A slow wound that’s only gotten deeper with time. We only found out about it a hundred years ago.”

“Only,” Otto mumbled under his breath, earning a light slap from Ingrid on his knee.

“Then perhaps we should speak with those who discovered it,” Rose said, standing suddenly, a wild gleam in her eyes as she looked down at Velaya.

A slow smile crossed Velaya’s face. “Onas Perlee and Delimira Lazziar.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Who?” Ingrid and Otto said in unison, both flashing smiles at one another.

“Family friends,” Rose waved her hand in the air. “They reside at the Tower. Velaya and I can meet with them. Find out what we can about the Corruption itself.”

“You two keep looking for whatever it is Aesor wants you to find,” Velaya said to Ingrid and Otto. “Perhaps if we split up this task it won’t be so daunting.”

“No, of course not. What could possibly be easier than locating fragmented souls of Gods - that may or may not actually exist?” Otto drawled. They all smiled despite themselves.

“You think this is what Barrett and Ena are doing?” Ingrid asked Velaya.

“I would have to hope. Along with trying to locate a cure for it,” Velaya said.

Rose was looking at her. “Have you learned anything further from your time in the infirmary?”

Velaya shook her head. “No. Magus Ossacus is very tight lipped. All I know for certain is that his team works around the clock towards it.”

“You’d think after a hundred years they’d be close,” Otto said, standing beside Rose and stretching.

“Let’s hope they are,” Ingrid said, gently nudging Otto out of the way so she could stand. With the three of them standing there and Velaya in her chair, it was tight quarters. “I need to get some rest. We have Theology tomorrow. Perhaps I’ll see if Magus Rufina has any extra books for me.”

“Good idea,” Otto said, throwing an arm around her shoulder. “The bed part. Not the sitting up late reading about deities bit.”

Velaya smiled as she bid them goodnight and watched them disappear down the hall laughing. As usual, Rose lingered behind. She was never good at hiding her frowns.

“What is it?” Velaya asked her, walking into her washroom to clean her face before bed. She could hear her bed squeak and knew Rose had sat down on it.

“They’re not close are they?” Rose’s voice carried over.

Velaya looked up in the mirror, catching the creases between her own brows, tucked under stubborn stands of blond hair that fell across them. “No.”

“Because they haven’t been researching it for that long.”

When Velaya said nothing, Rose appeared in the small doorway and Velaya looked at her through the mirror. Rose was searching her face, challenging her to reveal what she was hiding. Velaya cast her gaze down to the water trickling over her fingers. She thought about Kilyn Daebalar, Rose’s friend. Rose had confided with her and Ingrid, baring the deepest parts of her soul. She heaved a sigh, turned off the water and faced Rose.

“No, they haven’t been.”

“And you know why.” There was no accusation in her voice. Velaya gently led Rose back into her room and sat with her on the bed.

“They only started researching it about a decade ago,” Velaya said, and Rose watched her expectantly. “That’s around the time that… it changed.”

“What do you mean it changed?”

“The Corruption is no longer limited to animals,” Velaya finished, her blue eyes staring into Rose’s greys. Rose just blinked.

“It’s affecting people now,” Rose said quietly. Velaya nodded. “Humans? Elves? Both?”

“Both.”

Rose stared at her, and Velaya could practically see the thoughts churning within.

“And there is no cure…” Rose said, her eyes razor sharp.

Velaya swallowed and could only shake her head.

“So… where are they?”

Velaya looked down at her hands again. “Depends on the Kingdom. Ballaurose, and Ayradora have taken a softer approach.”

Rose’s face paled. “Trelladain and… Elyzeme?”

Velaya looked up, her face full of anguish. She didn’t need to say it aloud.

“How many?” Rose’s face was hard. Her throat swallowed.

“I do not know.”

“An estimate?”

“A hundred-thousand.”

Rose’s eyes were wide. “A hundred-thousand people have been infected by Corruption?”

Velaya couldn’t look at her. “Per Kingdom. That we know of.”

Rose jumped to her feet, staring down at Velaya who kept her eyes down.

“What is the soft approach?” her voice deadly quiet.

“They are shackled in cells so they cannot harm anyone… or themselves.”

It was silent for a long time. Velaya had closed her eyes, fighting back against the tears that threatened her. Her parents, along with Athone’s, were adamant about not harming them. Rose’s own Kingdom of Elyzeme and the grand Kingdom of Trelladain often argued against them. They believed a firm hand was the safest, and quietest approach.

She knew that research on a cure was being conducted at Manatide Tower but she had not realised it was Magus Ossacus’ team until the night of her attack when she’d overheard him talking in the Great Hall. Athone’s parents were hopeful they could find one but had, at last she knew, not offered up anyone for trials. It was often a topic of conversation she and Athone had whenever they got a moment alone. He didn’t think they should, whereas she felt like anything to help the research was warranted, provided no harm came to them.

When she felt Rose’s hands on her knees, she looked up to find her crouched before her, a pained but tender expression on her face.

“Thank you for sharing this with me,” Rose whispered. “You have my word I’ll keep this to myself.”

“Thank you, Rose. Although I’m not sure how much longer the Kingdoms will be able to keep this quiet. Each year the numbers continue to grow.”

“Then we must stop it.”

Velaya desperately searched Rose’s determined face. “What makes you think we can? Some of the brightest minds in all of Aesor are here on this very island and have been studying it for hundreds of years to no avail.”

“What makes you think you can’t?”

A hundred different reasons. Velaya opened her mouth but no words escaped. Rose was smiling, her eyes flickering in the candlelight.

“I figured it out,” Rose said, a mysterious tone that caused Velaya’s brows to crease.

“Figured what out?”

“The prophecy was about you.”