After the initial shock wore off and the explanation of my new tattoo cleared out, the question of how I ended up like this resurfaced. I repeated what I had told Theodore, earning two skeptical looks in response.

  "Right." Papa dragged the word out.

  'Why does no one believe me!?'

  "And how did you end up like that?" He took a sip of water.

  "It was weird. When I opened my eyes again, I was inside a hole and the grass wasn't there anymore and some trees had fallen over."

  Suddenly, Papa choked on his water, coughing. "Wait—you’re saying your awakening burst destroyed everything around you!? How big was the radius—" He cut himself off, took a deep breath, and rephrased.

  'What's a radius?'

  “Lyon, how big was the weird area around you?"

  "Um... a little bigger than Mr. Orion's house?"

  Papa’s eyes widened. "A little what!? Are you sure?"

  "Yeah?" I scratched the back of my head.

  He slumped in his chair, covering his face. "What happened next?" His voice was muffled behind his hands.

  "Then a Silverfang came. It was small, like the Emberfang in the volcano, but I beat it!

  Mr. Orion frowned. "And all that blood on your face?"

  "I... I bit it. Once... Twice..." I mumbled, looking down.

  Knock! Knock!

  A voice came from behind the door, saving me at the perfect moment.

  'Thank you!'

  "Orion, what's with all the yelling? Is everything alright?"

  Miss Lilia stepped inside, rolling her eyes with a knowing smile—until she saw me. Her expression froze, mouth opening and closing like a fish.

  "I-I— I have to go. S-sorry for interrupting!" She stammered before vanishing.

  Papa sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Ah, fu—ahem." He shook his head. "This is gonna be troublesome..."

  After that, Mr. Orion asked most of the questions, with Papa occasionally explaining a thing or two. Before we knew it, the sun was going down. It had been a long, tiring day, and I just wanted to sleep. Papa and Mr. Orion wanted me to stay overnight so they could check on my scar in the morning, but I refused. I wanted to sleep at home with Theodore—it had been so long since we last slept together!

  Luckily, they agreed, as long as I promised to visit Mr. Orion first thing tomorrow.

  At home, Cain was reading. He didn’t react when the door opened, but when he saw me—and the bandage—he paused. His mouth opened like he was about to say something, but then his eyes landed on my tummy. His brows turned sharp, and then, without a word, he looked back at his book.

  "We're back!" Theodore announced loudly.

  "Welcome back," Cain said, stealing another quick glance at us. “Go take a bath. The water’s warm.”

  And just like that, he went back to reading.

  What’s wrong with him?

  Usually, he’d have something snarky to say—maybe tell us to be more careful or remind us how much trouble we always bring to Papa. But now? Nothing.

  Well, whatever. A bath was more important. I stank!

  After two baths—one for me, one for Theodore—we decided to sleep in my bed tonight. Not that we were going to sleep right away.

  It had been a whole month since we last had time together, and we had so much to talk about. No way were we just going to roll over and sleep! Papa would be furious if he caught us eating snacks in bed, but… he wasn’t here. Hehe.

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  Theodore had learned so many new things while I was gone. Like the number after one thousand! Who knew it went up to something called a million!? That and so much more—I almost had to question if this was actually Theodore.

  Compared to him, my news felt small. I only had flowers, quint, and my walks in the moonlight to talk about. We wanted to sleep early, but we ended up staying up until the candle burned out completely.

  Similarly, I woke up later.

  Yawn

  Rubbing my eyes, I woke up next to Theodore hugging his pillow, murmuring in his sleep. "That's what I said..."

  I hid my chuckle behind my hands. Other than Theodore, there wasn't anyone else in the house. I knew Cain was missing because there were only two sandwiches on the table rather than the usual three.

  Miss Lilia had been preparing lunch for us for the past month. Typically, I would wake up and go for the forest before she visited, but every evening when I returned, my lunch awaited for me. It was always cold, but I enjoyed it all the same—it was still delicious.

  But something was off with Cain. Since yesterday, he had been acting strangely. Not rude, just... different. And now he was missing.

  'What is going on with him?'

  Ouch!

  As the sweet sleepy feeling was leaving, the rest of my senses began to wake, and the stingy pain a little lower my neck was one of the first to come.

  'Right, Papa said to visit when I wake up.'

  Cain and his behavior aside, I had to take care of my scar. Carefully changing my pajamas, I went to the toilet first before leaving.

  Because it was late morning, there were much more people than I was used to outside. They did their usual thing, but when they noticed me, they stopped what they were doing, smiled, and waved at me with happy faces. I smiled and waved back, but when I turned away, they whispered to one another.

  "... do you think..."

  "... is he really..."

  " ...Lilia said ..."

  Weird. Very, very weird. First, it was Cain, and now this... Why was everyone acting like that? Was it because of the weather? It was really good for this season but it was the same yesterday, so it couldn’t be that. Was it perhaps what I wore? But I wore my usual clothes.

  Making a turn, the weird feeling reached its top. It felt like everyone was looking at me.

  "Lyon! Lyon!" Ben yelled my name, all excited, forgetting his ball that was running straight to the fountain.

  "Hi, Ben. Your ball—"

  "Is it true? Is it true?" He said over me, his arms flying up and down.

  Ben as well? Ben was two years older than me and liked to spend his time with Cain. He was only a little taller than me, with brown hair and a little browner eyes. Unlike Cain, he didn’t seem to dislike me, but it was weird for him to look for me.

  'What is happening today?'

  "True what?" I asked.

  "Are you an Elemancer?

  That's why he ignored his ball and was all excited. "Yes, since yesterday."

  He took a big, loud breath. "Really!? My dad said you get a tattoo when you become an Elemancer. Do you have one?"

  "Yes, it's right here," I pointed at my tummy.

  "Can you show me?"

  "Erm… sure," I said, feeling weird again.

  The air felt very cold, not because I lifted my shirt but because it wasn't one gasp but many, followed by whispers and chatter from everyone in the plaza.

  "How is this possible..."

  "Lilia was right...."

  "He really is an Elamancer..."

  Suddenly, a crowd formed around me, pressing in from all sides, eager to get a better look at my tattoo.

  'W-W-What’s going on!? W-Why is everyone getting closer!? P-Papa!'

  Voices overlapped, growing louder and louder until they became a wall of noise. I looked left, then right—no way out. It was too late. There was no room for me to run away!

  "So that's what you've been doing?" Through the chaotic noises, a single, familiar voice came. Everyone stopped and opened up a path, revealing Cain frowning deeper than ever.

  'Cain!'

  However, he didn't look as happy as I was. "To think I even felt sorry for you yesterday. That’s what you do now, go around showing yourself like a trophy?”

  The people around started leaving, going back to their usual activities.

  What was he talking about? Trophy? I wasn’t trying anything! Ben asked, and the others came on their own, how was that my fault?

  "What?" I said back, getting angry.

  I was thankful for his help, but to say I was going around and making it sound like I did something wrong when I didn't, wasn't something I was going to let happen. He wouldn’t make me feel bad for something I didn't do. I might had before, but I was an Elemancer now. I had nothing to be afraid of.

  "Don't pretend. I saw how happy you were with everyone praising you." He continued telling whatever he wanted as he moved closer, now looking at me from above. He had a little more than a head taller than me, and that made him look scarier, but sadly for him, not as scary as the Silverfang.

  "So what?" I challenged back.

  At this point, it didn’t matter if I explained myself or not. He wouldn’t listen to me, so the only thing I could do, was face him head on.

  He was silent for a moment. Just when I was about to speak however, he pushed me.

  ‘First Theodore, and now this… Why does everyone push me?’

  Cain was much stronger than Theodore and the push alone would hurt, but he did it close to where the scar was. Feeling a watery sensation over the bandage, I pushed him back.

  He pushed again, with more power this time.

  Anger slowly getting the better of me, I pushed back even stronger than him.

  Recovering he paused and looked at me so intensely, his brows couldn’t get any closer. He raised a hand and just when I waited for a push, he slapped me.

  My cheek grew hot as my head turned to the side. By now, there wasn't anyone around us, and those who were close were looking everywhere but us.

  I was ready to slap him back, but as I raised my hand—

  "What the hell do you two think you are doing!?" An angry deep voice came from behind stopping me right then and there.

  Turning, Theodore was hiding behind a big leg. It was Papa's and next to him was Mr. Orion. Papa had his arms crossed and a face so angry, the Silverfang from yesterday look like a small little puppy in comparison.