Chapter 38: Chapter THIRTY EIGHT

In the early morning, Mia's hand once again only encountered the cold mattress at her side. She got up with a sigh, expecting to find the Vila at his desk, as usual. It pained her that he couldn't sleep because of his restless mind, but she already knew there was nothing she could do about it. She could have agreed to bond to at least calm his inner Vila, but doing it out of pity disgusted her. She had learned to appreciate his presence, to desire his touch. She didn't want to give in to such a decisive gesture in their lives only to bring him some comfort. No, Mia wanted this moment to make sense, as it was supposed to.

I don't think it's a secret now that I'm slightly romantic...

"Slept well ?" inquired Ethan, noticing that the young woman had gotten out of bed.

"Hmm," she replied, placing her arms around the Vila's shoulders to place a kiss on the back of his neck. "But I would sleep better if the bed wasn't so cold."

"Sorry," he breathed, burying his face in his palms to stroke his temples.

His purplish dark circles once again testified to his vital lack of sleep. Hesitation swept through Mia as her heart sank at the state he was in.

Maybe after the tournament, when he's a little less on edge...we could consider the bond.

Half an hour later, Mia had dressed after a quick wash and was ready to leave the room. They hadn't planned anything specifically for the day, but she had the idea of ​​spending some time with Andrei by Arry's bedside. The wizard, after his crisis the day before, seemed to need the company to take his mind off things. Ethan had supported the project without flinching, but she strongly suspected that it was linked to his suspicions and that it reassured him to be able to monitor the man.

Unsurprisingly, the corridors were very quiet on the eve of the tournament. The couple passed a few hurried stragglers who paid them no mind, otherwise, most of the students were huddled together in various places around the castle to perfect their training. They did it for every tournament, but the barrier between the races had never seemed so thick as it did now. Even the few interracial friendships she had seen since arriving here had not survived the tension in the atmosphere.

Arrived at the infirmary, Lily greeted them briefly, her arms filled with potions, before disappearing into the storeroom. A few of her colleagues, all equally busy, copied her gesture before returning to their occupations. Mia had never been particularly close to the other fairies, but they had always behaved in a friendly way with the young human. War stories did not interest them.

Andrei looked up and smiled at Mia as the pair entered the redhead's bedroom. When his gaze fell on the Vila, his smile turned into a neutral, almost icy expression, but none of the three commented on his reaction. The blonde hastened to sit down on the free armchair next to the patient's bed while Ethan preferred to wedge his back against one of the walls of the room, set back.

"How are you ?" Mia asked to start the conversation.

"I... I'm sorry about yesterday," he replied immediately with his head down, "I was blinded by anger... It's breaking my heart to see her like that."

"I understand, don't worry."

"Could you tell me more about humans in your world?"

Mia appreciated the change of subject, especially since she had never been asked a lot of questions about her life before. She then proceeded to describe as concisely as possible their way of life, their history – or at least their defining moments – their technology, and their society, focusing mainly on her country of origin to make the task easier for her. The two men listened to her story carefully, asking a few questions when the need for clarification arose. The discussion made Mia happy, but she couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia for the memories of her world. In order not to spoil the atmosphere, she preferred to focus on objective facts by omitting the details of her personal life.

Around noon, Lily appeared, packed lunch in her hand, cutting short the blonde's story.

"How about a little walk?" she offered, smiling.

"I thought you didn't have time?" Mia asked, excited to spend some time with her friend away from the stuffy walls of the castle.

"We decided to take a break before burning out. Half of the fairies take the first part of the afternoon, the other half the second. I'm free until... five pm I guess."

"Shouldn't you rest instead?" Andrei inquired.

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"Oh, don't worry, I was planning on taking a little outdoor nap," Lily replied, smiling warmly, "but right now I need some fresh air."

The group of friends headed for the edge of the lake, the same place as the last time. After eating their sandwiches, Lily settled down comfortably on the blanket she had brought and closed her eyes, sleep taking over almost instantly. Ethan, sitting arm on knees, also seemed to struggle for long minutes against the call of a nap but ended up breaking down by resting his forehead against his arms, leaving the blonde and the magician to resume their discussion of the morning. Mia suspected that the Vila was going to grumble asking why she hadn't woken him up when he was supposed to protect her, even if they weren't in any immediate danger, but she decided to let him rest anyway. After all, he needed it.

The afternoon passed peacefully, a feeling the blonde enjoyed, though she couldn't help but think it felt very much like the calm before the storm. Ethan cursed as expected, but he seemed slightly less agitated after he was able to grab a few hours of sleep. After reassuring him that it wasn't the end of the world and that everything was going perfectly well, he agreed to let go of the matter, and they were able to return to the infirmary in the greatest calm.

The evening passed in the same good-natured atmosphere, without the presence of Lily who had gone back to her business. They had returned to Arry's room, preferring the privacy of the chamber to the bustling hall. The wizard's company was certainly pleasant, even Ethan himself didn't seem so defensive in his presence anymore. At least his stern gaze had softened and was slightly less judgmental. That in itself was a positive change since Ethan had never been particularly open socially with the blonde's friends. Not that he despised them, but he just didn't care.

Around 9 p.m., Vassili's arrival cut short their interactions. He seemed agitated, quickly acknowledging the trio with a curt nod.

"Ethan, sorry to pop up out of the blue, but I really need to talk to you," he said with a sigh. The Vila's gaze slid over Mia, silently asking her to get up to accompany him, but Vassili stopped her with a wave of his hand before she made the slightest move.

"Alone. She's safe here," the vampire clarified before he could challenge his request. Mia nodded with a grimace, assuring the Vila that he didn't seem to have a choice and that everything would be fine. He sighed and left the corner of the room with his jaw clenched, visibly annoyed.

"Sounds urgent," Andrei said after they left the room.

"Hm," exclaimed Mia simply, uneasy without the presence of her soul mate. What could the teacher possibly have to say to the Vila that she couldn't be with? A bad feeling sent shivers down her spine as her mind began to wander into the possibilities of doomsday scenarios.

"Come on, no need to rack your brains! You'll know soon enough what it is," the sorcerer said enthusiastically, wanting to be reassuring.

Lily ended up joining them again after finishing her day to help distract her human friend. She relaxed slightly, but the anxiety grew as time went by. Forty-five minutes later, as the lobby clock struck ten, the wait was beginning to become unbearable.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to leave you. We still have some preparations to do tomorrow morning, it's time for me to go to sleep," explained Lily while yawning, confirming her words.

"I should go too," Andrei said. "I would like to train a little more tomorrow morning. You should also go get some rest Mia, worrying won't make him come back any faster."

He wasn't wrong, but she couldn't see herself falling asleep without the Vila's presence, especially when his absence was starting to get suspiciously long.

"At least go lie down," he suggested with a sigh, getting up from his chair.

Passing behind her, he put his hand on her shoulder, as if to comfort her, and pressed her lightly, murmuring a few words that she couldn't make out.

"What did you say ?" she asked, yawning, crushed by a sudden feeling of fatigue that poured through her body in waves.

"Nothing, I wished you good night."

After a final wave and a goodbye smile, Mia found herself alone in the room, next to a still sound asleep Arry. Another yawn threatened to snap her jaw, prompting her to go to her bedroom and lie down on the comfortable duvet of the bed she hadn't slept in for a few nights. In the back of her mind, a small voice begged her to wait for Ethan's return, that something was wrong, but she couldn't fight her heavy eyelids for long and sank in a few seconds into a deep sleep.

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