Riya’s gaze dropped to the page, guilt needling her.
Eventually, Kian broke the silence. “Is this what researching peri magic is always like? Old books, cryptic footnotes?”
“I’m not exactly working with a database,” Riya muttered. “Peris tend to keep knowledge to themselves.”
“You don’t have a peri mentor? A peri sensei?”
“My khala—aunt—used to teach me.” She adjusted her glasses. “But I stopped my lessons. A while ago.”
Kian raised his eyebrows. “Why would you stop? If I had magic powers, I’d use them every day. I’d be out here like Cupid. Matchmaking. Helping people.”
Riya didn’t answer at first. Her hand hovered near her notebook, as if hoping the right words might appear between the lines.
“It sounds harmless,” she said finally. “Giving people a push. But it’s not. Not if you’re steering someone else’s feelings.Makingthem feel something they never chose.”
Kian tilted his head. “But... isn’t that how most feelings work? You don’t exactly choose them. Doesn’t mean they’re not valid.”
“It’s not the same.”
“Sometimes it takes something outside you—a song or a poem or a movie—to unlock what’s already there. Doesn’t make it any less real.”
She blinked. “That’s... not the worst metaphor.”
Kian grinned. “I’ll take it.” They returned to their books. But a few minutes later, he let out a breath.
“Wait—I think I found something.”
Riya leaned over his shoulder. “What is it?”
“O-oh—uh—” His ears went pink. “You’re really close.”
“Oh. Sorry.” She stepped back. Cleared her throat. Together, they read:
Since the earliest records of peri culture took written form, scholars have debated the reversal of peri love curses. These manipulations do not merely affect emotions but disrupt one’s perception of events and memories. It is theorized that if a love curse is broken, the human afflicted may lose all memory of the caster. This may explain the scarcity of documented cases, as memory loss effectively erases the curse’s evidence.
Silence stretched.
“So... ,” Kian swallowed, “if we break the curse, I could lose my memories...?”
Riya’s stomach twisted. It was logical, in a way. Efficient. Merciful, even. But the look on his face—the fearful flicker in his eyes, the twitching at the corner of his mouth—made it clear it didn’t matter.
“You wouldn’t forget everything,” she said. “Just... whatever the curse touched. There might be gaps in the past few weeks. That’s all.”
“So all the time we’ve spent together would just be... gone?” His voice rose. “No. No. I—I don’t want to lose it.Anyof it.”
There it was again—that desperate edge. The curse responding, tugging at him, sharpening his ache.
Riya clenched her notebook tighter.
“Even if the memories fade,” she said quietly, not sure if it was true, “maybe the feelings don’t. Maybe something stays.”
Kian nodded too quickly.
“...Y-yeah. I—I like that.”
Riya gave him a small tight smile. “I should go.”
“Sure. Okay.” Kian stood. “Thanks. For—for coming here.”
