Chloe and Luna sat beside Ethan’s bed and watched the teenager who was currently asleep.
Ethan had a frown on his face, and he seemed to be having a bad dream. Suddenly, the young man groaned, and a desperate voice escaped his lips.
“N-No!” Ethan shouted. “Don’t take Luna away from me!”
Chloe, who was sitting right beside the bed, immediately stood up and pinched his right cheek, eliciting a scream of pain from the young man.
Ethan abruptly opened his eyes, and since he was still disoriented from his nightmare, the first words that came out of his lips were.
“Let go of me! You ugly monster!”
Chloe smiled sweetly before using her free hand to pinch her cousin’s other cheek, making the latter scream a second time.
“Wake up, you dum dum!” Chloe growled. “Who are you calling an ugly monster?!”
Ethan, who finally realized that everything he saw was just a dream, looked at his cousin with injustice.
“That hurts, Chloe,” Ethan complained as he massaged both of his cheeks. “Why are you being so mean, so early in the morning?”
“It’s no longer morning, you fool,” Chloe replied. “It’s already late in the afternoon. Classes had long ended.”
The young man glanced at the window and saw that the sky had already turned orange, which was a sign that the sun was about to set. 𝑶𝚟𝓵xt.𝑪𝔬𝗆
Then his gaze landed on Luna, making him remember the things that happened a few hours ago.
“Are you alright? Luna?” Ethan asked, momentarily forgetting the pain in his cheeks. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine, Ethan,” Luna replied with a smile. “It is you that we are worried about. How are you feeling?”
“Not so good.” Ethan glanced at his cousin, who just pinched both of his cheeks a while ago. “A gremlin bit me.”
Luna giggled, while Chloe raised her fist in a threatening manner.
It was at that moment Ethan realized that he wasn’t inside his room. His gaze then landed on a middle-aged lady, who was looking at them with a smile from her desk.
“Don’t mind me, little ones,” Professor Galena said. “Continue your public display of attention. It’s not everyday that I see a romantic comedy in the infirmary.”
Ethan blinked in confusion, while Luna and Chloe blushed in embarrassment. An awkward silence then descended inside the room, making the most proficient healer of Brynhildr Academy chuckle.
“Alright, let me do a quick inspection to make sure that your bones have healed properly,” Professor Galena said before approaching Ethan. “Raise your arms.”
Ethan obeyed and allowed the Professor to run a diagnostic spell on him to check if he had other injuries that she had missed.
“The Bone Mending Potion has done its work quite well,” Professor Galena commented. “Okay. You are free to go. Just remember this—I can fix broken bones, and even regenerate a limb or two. However, I can’t mend a broken heart. So do your best, okay?”
The Witch glanced at Chloe and Luna before winking at Ethan, which made the latter lower his gaze.
Half an hour later, the three of them walked back to the Dud Manor together.
Luna had already told Chloe everything that happened that night, which made the latter feel hurt, knowing that two of the most important people in her life had suffered under the Wendigo’s evil clutches.
Fortunately, the monster had already been dealt with, preventing any more attempts on Luna’s life.
“Hey, If that Wendigo abducted me too, would you come to my rescue?” Chloe asked as the three of them walked side by side.
“Why are you even asking this question?” Ethan asked back. “Of course, I will come to rescue you.”
This answer put a smile on the young lady’s face, making her hum a happy tune until they reached the Dud Manor.
“Do you think they will lift the curfew now that the threat to the academy is gone?” Chloe asked.
“I think they will,” Luna replied. “On a side note, your First Mission will start in two weeks time. Are both of you already ready to embark on your adventure outside of the academy?”
“I already made my preparations.” Chloe nodded. “I’m ready to go anytime. How about you, Ethan?”
Ethan didn’t answer the question right away, and simply looked in front of him in a daze, buried deep in thought.
After his battle with the Wendigo, he realized that his ability to protect himself and others were still lacking.
If Koko, the Broodmother, and the Professors didn’t arrive on time, he and Luna would probably not be here talking to his cousin right now.
After a few minutes of silence, he sighed and answered Chloe’s question.
“I’m still not done with my preparations,” Ethan answered after organizing his thoughts. “There are still a few things I need to do before we embark on our mission.”
Yes. Ethan needed to do a lot of things.
He had a lot of questions inside his head, and there were only two people that could give him the answers he was looking for.
The first one was Emma.
The second one was his other half, who was currently sleeping inside his consciousness.
Truth be told, when Ethan discovered that someone else was sharing his body, he started feeling anxious and confused.
However, his other half assured him that he was his ally and that he shouldn’t be wary of him.
This calmed him down a bit, but he still felt restless. He had only set it aside for the time being because rescuing Luna took precedence.
During that time, he didn’t mind letting his other half take control of his body to teleport to the Great Eagle Forest and launch the surprise attack on their enemy.
While Ethan was deep in his thoughts, Emma was busy writing a letter inside her room.
The young lady was making a report to her mother, informing the latter that she had found their Liege in the East Shire.
The report was encrypted in a way that even if the letter was intercepted, no one would be able to decipher the message that she had written.
“Go, Dawn,” Emma said as she placed the letter inside the magical cylinder of her Raven. “Fly swift, fly safe.”
The Raven cowed once before flying out of the window.
Emma sighed before placing her hand over her chest, where the mark of her Clan glowed faintly.
“I just hope I didn’t make the wrong decision in forcefully awakening him before he was ready to know the truth,” Emma muttered.
Ethan’s promised one sighed for the second time before looking out of the window of her room.
She knew that sooner or later, the handsome young man would look for her and ask her some questions.
Questions that she didn’t know if she had the authority to answer.