My mind drifts to the other time I had placed my hand against the artifact in question, and I recall the riddle I solved to gain access to it. The racing of my heart somehow quickens, but for a different reason altogether.
I have no mouth, yet I speak. I have no ears, yet I listen. I am born when you call, and I vanish when ignored. What am I?
An echo.
I had to solve the riddle to use the Veilstone the first time. That’s not the usual route to gaining access, but it seems to be a favorite of his. Is that because he’s good at them?
Only those who drink without thirst may find me.Where the water meets the shore, the darkness you shall see.Four elements circle as one.But in your eyes shall they be gone. Look deep inside, and the book shall no longer defy.
I can’t wrap my head around it, but could he?
I startle when a piece of paper is pushed along the table in front of me. Looking up, my gaze darts to the person behind it, only to realize Professor Grimm is standing right in front of me. His head is tilted as he stares at me, concern flickering through his eyes.
Sitting straighter, I clear my throat.
“You seem quiet, girl,” he murmurs, and I gulp nervously under his stare.
“Sorry, lack of sleep,” I grumble, hoping that's enough to pacify him.
He shuffles the other documents in his hands as he continues to study my face. “I’m surprised to see you here at all,” he states, and my spine stiffens.
“Why?”
I can feel Rion’s intense stare from beside me, but I don’t dare look away from the professor.
“With the news of Tiran passing and you being present when it happened, I thought you might be in for questioning or resting from the experience,” he explains, and I make sure to keep my facial features neutral.
“I guess the trials have hardened me,” I rattle off, attempting to shield my panic, and he nods.
“Good.”
He stands there for a few extra moments, staring at me like he’s reading a book that is cryptic and without diagrams, before he resumes his task, handing a worksheet to Rion on my right.
“Why is that good?” Rion interjects as Grimm pauses in front of him. He must understand what he's referring to, because his gaze darts back to me.
It'sRion's question he's answering, but he directs it as if it were me.
“Oh, you know, just because so many magical beings like yourself have struggled with adapting to this world, and no sooner do they arrive do they tend to disappear.”
“Where to?” I blurt, my chest tightening as he shrugs with a sigh.
“Who knows? But I'm glad you're not one of them. The world seems to need someone like you.” He turns on the spot, carrying on down the line without a backward glance, and my attention darts to Rion.
“What does that mean?” I ask, blinking at him, and he lifts his hands in surrender. He’s no wiser than me.
When my stomach aches this time, my mind reels with the idea of sharing my riddle with him, but something restrains me from indulging him, and I have to trust in that. At least not until I've made sense of why he would say those things.
Other magical beings… gone?
Where?
Why?
None of this makes sense.
Another layer of frustration weighs down on meas I struggle to understand his batshit crazy comments on top of everything else I’m dealing with, even as my cell phone vibrates in my pocket.
Excitement zips through me at the hope that it's Kael or Thorne, but as I retrieve the device, I find a message from Jude, suckerpunching the air from my lungs.
