Chapter 44: Chapter FOURTY FOUR

The hall was guarded against the outside by two soldiers whom they could easily ignore, and a lookout who was casually leaning on the railing of the small balcony between the two black stone stairs on the upper floor. The structure formed a sort of M that allowed the guard to watch the front door and the first few steps to ensure no one came up. It also meant that once past the birth of the stairs, the area was in his blind spot if he didn't intentionally move to the edges of the balcony, something he wasn't inclined to do.

The lack of supervision and the casual attitude of the guards screamed "trap" to such an extent that no one should have been fooled by such a ploy. Unless you were used as bait, of course, in which case this was the perfect setup to complete your mission.

Thanks to their cloaking spell, the couple had no trouble sneaking down the hall to the stairs on the right and climbing the first steps when the guard simply had his head turned away or his eyes closed. He wasn't paying enough attention to his surroundings to notice the blurry outline of their silhouettes through the semi-lit decor of the main hall. Rushing down the hall turned out to be just as easy since he simply had his back to them. The architecture of the floor was relatively basic: there was a huge corridor that ran through the back of the castle from east to west, allowing easy access to the different quarters and wings of the school, dormitories for the werewolves and magicians, and access to the tower of Vilas at the end of the corridor to the west. Each dormitory entrance was made up of an open arch that opened onto a hall converted into a living room, more or less large depending on the neighborhood, and it was exactly there that the trio of guards kept watching so that no magician tried to run away at night.

Getting past them turned out to be even easier than the couple had hoped since they were just sitting comfortably on a sofa and an armchair chatting. From their conversation, Mia guessed that they were playing something hearing them giggling since they didn't bother to know if the volume of their chatter could be heard through the castle. Their presence was more a matter of principle or even a simple demonstration of existence than a matter of vital surveillance, and the couple was certainly not going to complain about it.

When the entrance to the hall was now behind them, Mia allowed herself to take a quick break, relieved that they had managed to reach the tower without incident. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to pause for long, as Ethan grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the tower's first steps without her understanding why. When she heard the footsteps of one of the guards approaching their position, she quickly realized that they were in danger of being spotted. Surely the man had to go to the toilets which were located at the end of the corridor.

"Was it my imagination? I thought I saw something odd..." came the voice of the watchman, who was looking for the anomaly he had seen.

He must have noticed the blurring of their silhouettes when Ethan had dragged the blonde into the tower entrance. The Vila had pressed his body against hers, a few steps above ground level on the spiral staircase. The blonde couldn't see him, but she could feel the heat emanating from his chest and his ribcage heaving rapidly with his nervous breathing. When the soldier approached the tower's entrance and poked his head inside to try to spot something strange or unusual noise, the couple's breath caught in their throats so he couldn't hear them breathing. The sound of the man's soft footsteps echoed almost as much in Mia's ears as the sound of his heart pounding wildly against her ribs.

I'm going to die of a heart attack at this rate, she mentally joked, giggling.

"Anyway," he finally said, continuing on his way to the bathroom.

The couple took a long breath after catching their breath, the critical tension leaking from their tense bodies now that they could continue the rest of the way. However, nervosity rose again when they arrived at the top of the steps of the tower and entered the perfectly lit hallway that would lead them to the small living room in the Vilas quarter. Compared to the rest of the castle, the magic lamps were lit to the maximum, as if to invite them to wander around the place or to guide them as best as possible to their destination. There was no noise or movement, which was even more disturbing knowing full well what awaited them.

When they finally arrived at the door to the room where the blonde's two friends were being held, Mia held her breath once again when Ethan simply tried to open the door by turning the handle. The couple half-expected it to simply be open since the trap was obvious, but it was indeed closed.

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"Damn, we don't have anything to open it," Ethan complained in a low voice, removing the spell that hid them since it was useless at this point.

Mia imitated him following the wizard's instructions, simply ripping what seemed like air from her chest. Her fingers feverishly felt like an invisible layer that she recognized as the magical structure of the spell that broke when she pulled it out. It was a strange feeling, halfway between touching something tangible and feeling pure energy, but the gesture once again gave her a certain satisfaction at the idea of ​​handling magic.

Foolishly, Mia tried to turn the round knob a second time, in case Ethan didn't know how to use the mechanism. It was absurd, of course, so the surprise was clearly reflected on their faces when the door opened slowly, almost in slow motion it seemed to them, creaking slightly.

Creepy, she thought, looking at the Vila who must have had the same thought judging by the skeptical look he gave her.

Ethan snuck inside the bedroom first, ready to defend their lives if guarded, but they only found the two bodies sleeping on Lily and Arry's bed. Approaching the piece of furniture, the fairy finally opened her eyes upon sensing their presence, and stared at them, her mouth hanging open, shaking Arry by the shoulders.

"What?" roared the redhead who had her back to the couple, annoyed to be woken up like this.

"Turn around and be quiet," Lily ordered flatly.

A few seconds of silence filled the room as her magician friend assimilated the information she had before her.

"Tell me you're not that stupid," she couldn't help commenting on understanding what their presence here meant.

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