Maureen had mentioned she felt a strange atmosphere brewing at the academy. Hoping that she would be able to shed some light on the panic spreading by inviting the source of the rumours for an unassuming conversation, she was disappointed that, among the suspect group, only Lucas showed up.

It seemed Maureen was giving her a lot of hints, but Maya only found herself lost amidst them. However, what she did know was that she was the only one who could see the extent of their ailments and the only one who could potentially do something about it.

Maya intended to reach out to Anastasia regarding this predicament, but Anastasia preempted her, asking her to meet up. When she ascended to the top of the academy's tallest tower, she found Anastasia already there, her gaze lost in the sweeping panoramic view.

"Those kids…" she started as soon as Maya stepped onto the platform, but her voice trailed off. "I should've checked on them sooner."

A knot of worry tightened in Maya's stomach. It seems the matter was severe.

"You saw it too, right?" Anastasia glanced back toward her. "You're able to see that much by now…" she muttered.

"Their damage is different from Erik's," Maya sought confirmation.

Anastasia knitted her brows in contemplation. "Even if it were similar, that wouldn't be a relief," she muttered. "Mellgrah mages need their hearths to protect their souls from erosion."

"So, if they further deteriorate…" Maya was riddled with concern. 'What happens then?' she wanted to ask, but suddenly felt too afraid to confront the answer. "Is there anything we can do?"

Anastasia looked at her gravely. "The two of them are fortunate. If you leave them in my care, I can stem their hearths to halt damage from spreading, but their ability will stay impaired." She paused, her voice dropping lower. "The one with soul damage, however… is slowly being corrupted. She might become a soulless vessel."

Maya's eyes opened wide. "A soulless vessel? What does that mean?"

"A perfect vessel for a corrupted monster to inhabit…"

Maya froze in place and slowly swallowed. A human twisting into one of those monstrosities. And not out there in the wild, but right here within the town's boundaries. The revelation was nothing short of alarming.

"W-what can we do?!"

Anastasia pressed her lips together. "I'll investigate. However, I'm not able to touch the soul; otherwise, I might also become infected. The best action would be to monitor the situation until the soul is eaten away, then swiftly destroy the vessel before the corrupted creature fully takes over."

"What? Kill them!?" Maya's eyes widened in shock, her mouth falling open as the full horror of Anastasia's words sank in.

Anastasia hesitated, her gaze falling. "We created an unbalanced world where gods can prey upon us. I'm afraid the only remedy might have been to never venture into Mellgrah in the first place."

🜺🜺🜺🜺

A snowstorm was hitting, and dark quickly followed. Elena rushed back to her room, thinking Maya should be back by now.

In his brief explanation of runic spells, Erik had mentioned that it was a rule that they always contain Glamour. Otherwise, a person without Sight could see through its simple language and reverse engineer it. Runic spells could be among the most primitive, but versatile forms of magic. It was because of this rule that Hunters were able to monopolize its use.

Although it was an unpleasant experience branding it into her skin, Elena now had a permanent key to deciphering the runic script. She was naturally curious about the secrets she could find with it. With her Sight, she'd been lurking around the town, finding hidden spells with unknown purposes here and there.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Most of them were concentrated around the town walls. Unsurprisingly, most likely the work of that bastard. It didn't look like they were all set up recently, but he was clearly maintaining them.

A lone man maintaining the entire town's protections in secret… How does he have time to breathe, let alone indulge Maya when she wants to see him?

When it got dark early, so did the guards' rotations. It wasn't a good time to be on the wall, especially in these slippery conditions, so Elena rushed back. However, she found that the plank that bridged her way to her room window was missing.

'Fuck.'

Elena had thought it might have been Maya, removing it to avoid attracting attention from the guards. But with no light emanating from the room, she doubted it. Her suspicions were confirmed when the window creaked open, revealing an unwelcome figure behind it.

"So, you let yourself in our room whenever you feel like it now, huh?" she scorned him.

Erik leaned against the window frame, leering at her. Elena's lip curled in distaste as she noticed the missing plank. He had it, and it appeared he had inscribed fresh runes on it to hide it from unwelcome eyes.

The gap distance was a little under three meters—nothing Elena was unable to jump over. However, Erik was standing in her way and safeguarding her other way of bridging it.

'Does he enjoy being difficult?'

Elena pierced him with a glare. He knew very well that he was obstructing her, but stood there with that annoying smug expression, expecting her to request one or the other.

Elena wasn't about to dance to his tune. In a silent standoff, she stood there as the snowstorm swept through her hair.

Eventually, he sighed. "You really are stubborn," he muttered. "What, would you like me to give you a hand?"

"The plank…" she squeezed through her teeth.

"The plank, yes?"

"Give. It."

"Would it kill you to ask nicely?"

"Why would I need to do that for an intruder and a thief?"

"Because then I might just give it to you."

Elena scoffed.

Her life had already been challenging enough, even without an asshole suddenly intruding, draping himself all over Maya and showering her with those fake smiles and affection. Maya was hers—her only friend—and yet he had the audacity to try and claim Maya for himself, trying to drive a wedge between them. Elena despised him for it.

Worse yet, if Maya found him in their room like this, she would be overjoyed. He must know it, and that's why he was so shameless.

And yet, Elena wanted something from him. "So if I do ask nicely, you'll do it for me?" Elena asked, tilting her head to the side.

Erik frowned, seemingly catching onto her hidden intentions. "No."

'He caught on too quickly.'

Elena sneered, "Are you sure you want to enter a war of attrition against me? You will never be able to win Maya over, because I will continue to hinder you every chance I get until you relent."

"I don't understand why you think you have any leverage," Erik replied.

Elena knew she didn't have any real influence over Maya, who was already captivated by Erik. It seemed she couldn't even convince him that she did. Sighing, she begrudgingly considered the option she hadn't tried yet.

"Train me… please."

Her sudden plea made him momentarily raise his eyebrows, but he quickly scoffed. "It's truly astounding how you've managed to worm your way in. Not only are you leeching off Maya in a way vampires can only dream of, but you want to exploit me as well. Dream on, love."

Elena snapped back at him. "Don't pretend you don't stand to gain anything, Mr. Pure-selfless-devotion. You're clinging to her because you're also hoping for some benefits, right? Don't play coy with me."

"What benefits would those be?"

"You're hoping she'll restore your element," Elena said confidently. "She's a Prima after all. If she can do all of this for a vampire, surely she'd do it for goody-two-shoes Erik 'her-savour' Ashton."

Instead of a snide retort, he fell silent, his gaze drifting away.

Elena wanted to triumph, but with his reaction, she didn't receive the expected dose of dopamine for being right and was only left with a hollow feeling. It was a rather low blow, especially since she knew the pain of being separated from your element too closely.

Elena's knack for finding and striking the deepest and most painful parts of a person gave her no leverage over Erik. She couldn't blackmail or coerce; only hurt him. Her usual underhanded methods would only hinder her ultimate goal.

She had never felt so ill-equipped to achieve her goal. And to make matters worse, it wasn't her fault. Her path to becoming what she aspired to be was blocked by the very nature of the creature she'd been turned into—a choice that was never her own.

Thinking about it would make her seethe with rage for her murderer, fuelling her desire to end his life, which would remind her she needed Erik's guidance to achieve it. Elena was ensnared in a perpetual cycle she was unable to break.

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