CHAPTER 23
THE DOOR TO LENORE’S ROOM was shut, the curtains drawn tight. Hazy sunlight seeped through, refusing to let the space fall into complete darkness. Lenore knelt beside her bed as Pip flew slow circles overhead.
A hard clink of glass stopped Pip mid-air. It darted down to the glass vial it had retrieved from Charie’s bag. The vial lay before Lenore, containing a jet-black fragment, its tips jaggedly pointed. Black mist breathed off it in slow pulses.
Lenore’s blood ran cold. She knew it.
“It really is the same,” Lenore whispered. “It’s the same thing—or at least, a fragment of what that werewolf had on him back at Arkhaven.”
“Pip...” Pip flew to the ground, pressing its arms against the glass curiously.
Lenore’s eyes widened. The object recoiled from Pip’s presence—the solid mass melting into a fleeing puddle of inky spikes that surged and collapsed against the glass, as if shrieking from the light.
The glass vial shook violently, but the solid walls kept it contained.
As Pip flew back up into the air, the vial’s frantic shaking dwindled to a faint quiver, then stilled. Lenore let out an uneasy breath.
“... Well, one thing’s for sure, this is definitely not good.
” She leaned over to her side, grabbing a journal and pen.
Flipping open to a blank page, she sketched out the fragment.
Next to it, with her face pulled into a focused squint, she drew up the memory of the black star she had seen back when the Arkhaven knight had questioned her.
Notes were scrawled by the sketches—where they were discovered, who had them, and how it ran from the light.
After writing those words down, she paused, then added: mithrial blood. If all the blood was taken, Lenore suspected there was something more to it.
Next, she sketched the white-eyed ravens. Pip pointed and chirped at the birds on the paper, shaking as the unpleasant memory ran through the sprite. Lenore patted Pip on its head, then jotted down everything she could remember about them. Hostile. Abnormal eyes. Cursed?
Her brow knitted close. Lucyn. In one quick motion, she underlined the word with a heavy black stroke.
The pen clicked softly as she set it down, breaking the silence.
Lenore took hold of her journal in both hands, giving it a careful look-over.
Seeing everything laid out made it easier to piece it together.
“The mithrial blood must be important... maybe its mana is what powers this thing?” Lenore mused aloud. “Which would explain why they took all the blood.”
Picking up her pen, she tapped the end against the sketch of the black fragment.
“Charie was probably going to give this to Hesper... but they didn’t expect me to show up.
” Her head tilted back, meeting Pip’s eyes.
“And for Charie to disappear like that… she must’ve needed to get it to him right away. But what is it for?”
“Peep pip!” Pip waved its arms as it flipped around in the air.
“Hesper... obviously I don’t know him, but he was clearly not right in the head.” Lenore pulled her lips to the side. She looked back down at the vial. “Fia said something about Lucyns eventually losing their sanity… could this be related? Maybe it’s something to keep them stable… or to delay it?”
Her head ached with all the thoughts spinning in it. She rubbed her face with her hand, groaning quietly. “Both Hesper and Charie mentioned Beren too. He’s the healer who’s been with Auden this whole time, isn’t he?” She frowned. “Do you think... he’s even helping Auden?”
The room turned somber. A shadow fell over Lenore’s face. “I can’t trust anybody.”
Pip drew close to her. “Pip?” Lenore looked up at the light sprite, raising an eyebrow as it began to huff and cross its arms. She stared in confusion as Pip paused to look at her expectantly, then repeated the same actions, standing proud all the while.
Realization hit her. “Are you... trying to act like Edmund?” she laughed loudly, covering the bottom of her face with her hands, muffling her string of laughter.
Pip giggled with her, then nodded.
“So why bring him up?” Lenore’s brows shot up as Pip waved its arms at its sides, hovering so close she had to lean back.
“Pip pip!” it yelled at her, pouting when Lenore continued to stare at the sprite in befuddlement. Flying back a few inches, Pip repeated its Edmund charade, then flew to her hand, grasping the tip of her finger.
“What?” Lenore smiled through her confusion, amused at Pip’s frustrated flailing. It was just too cute.
Pip pointed at her, then at itself, and huffed like Edmund once more. The sprite pointed at its mouth and pretended to talk.
She moved to sit with her knees pulled close to her chest, slowly making sense of its gestures. “... You want me to tell him this?”
“Pip!” Pip flew circles around her, squeaking excitedly.
But the sprite deflated when Lenore began to frown, and doubt clouded her eyes. “Tell Edmund? But...” she tugged at the ends of her dress. “I... I don’t know. I know he dislikes Arisa—and he’s helped me more than once—but he and I—we haven’t—” her brows lowered. “I don’t know.”
Pip tried to protest, but Lenore suddenly shifted positions, getting back onto her knees as her face turned panicked.
“What if he thinks I’m crazy, Pip? Or worse, a Lucyn?”
“Pi—”
“I’m scared. I managed to ask him to go with me tonight and it feels like he barely said yes.” Lenore’s fingertips pressed hard against the wooden floor, turning white from the pressure. “I don’t think I should. Not now.”
The glow of Pip’s body flared up as it crossed its arms and huffed. Lenore sighed, then laughed quietly. “Now you’re actually acting like Edmund.” She gently poked the sprite, then added, “But you, I can trust completely.”
Pip shot her a pointed look.
Lenore pursed her lips, knowing full well what the sprite was trying to say. “... I’ll think about it, okay? If somehow Edmund and I start talking about something related to all of this, then... maybe.” She sat back on her knees. “Maybe,” she repeated quietly.
The light sprite seemed to accept that answer and flew around enthusiastically. Lenore smiled, albeit tiredly, at Pip—the conflict of what she said and felt fought inside of her.
What does Edmund think of me? The question weighed heavily and lingered in the corners of her mind, even as she picked up the glass vial.
“We’ll have to hide this here somewhere,” Lenore murmured out loud, more to distract herself. “I can’t carry this around with me.” She brought the vial closer to her face, watching mist disperse from the pulsating black fragment. An unpleasant chill went through her.
Pip chirped in agreement. It continued to fly in a figure-eight pattern in the air, using every bit of time to zip around and enjoy its freedom outside of Lenore’s stuffy pocket.
“It’s a blessing that no one expects anything of me today,” she whispered. At least she hoped no one would come sniffing around. “We’ll have time to keep thinking about this before I meet Edmund tonight.”
Pip suddenly appeared in front of her face, halting her in her step. Before she could question the sprite, it flew down to her hands, gesturing for her to cup them together. With raised brows, she did what it asked after she placed the vial back in her pocket.
“What’re you doing, Pip?” she asked. The sprite only giggled back at her, flying to hover right above her hands.
“Pip, pi!” Spreading its arms out in a fan-like motion, golden sparkles fluttered down into her palms. Much to Lenore’s amazement, the sparkles didn’t dissipate, and soon a small pile formed.
It was so delicate and light, Lenore thought it would all disperse with the faintest touch.
The golden light gleamed in her eyes. Her lips parted in awe.
“What is this?” She looked up at Pip, who replied with a drinking gesture.
“Drink? I can drink this?” Lenore smiled when Pip enthusiastically flipped in the air. Her smile grew brighter when she looked back down at the glimmering flecks. “Aw, Pip... you really are too sweet.”
Carefully she moved the pile into one hand as she fetched the vial out once more. The glow in her other hand cast light over the glass, causing the darkness within to deepen. She bit her lip before letting out a heavy sigh.
“I think I’ll brew some tea now.”
Thick roots split the springwaters into clear pools, linked by small cascading falls. Water bubbled softly as the last of the sunlight shimmered across the surface. Clusters of lily pads floated on top, like emerald jewels beneath gleams of gold.
Lenore peered over the edge to stare down into the water. A warped wolf’s face greeted her as her reflection rippled and wavered below. One paw dug into the bank’s edge, while the other pressed itself against her cheek.
It was still strange to see herself like this.
To see a beast staring back, with eyes so different, but the soul all the same.
A fleeting thought crossed her mind—filled with the optimism of knowing she had a semblance of control over her body now. Maybe I can visit Arkhaven again, maybe even reach out to some friends.
Lenore lowered herself onto her belly. Her paws fell over her muzzle, shutting the light out from her eyes.
She could barely stomach the news articles plastered all over the city that she saw before her departure—about a young woman being turned into a maddened werewolf.
Until her release, she hadn’t been allowed contact with anyone outside of assigned staff, and she wondered now if anybody was willing to talk to her if she came back for a visit.
The terrified looks she received throughout the whole departure process flashed through her mind.
As if they were about to be her next victims.
As if she were a maddened beast that should’ve been put down.