Liane had been stalking the idiot who had tried to muscle Trev. He didn’t know she saw it, but she saw everything, and no one would make a fool of her team like that.
She didn’t really have faith in the guild’s ability to punish him, and the fact he was sitting here in the guild hall drinking with his party right now did not bode well in their favour.
There was a temptation to deal with it herself—she could easily. She had already worked out what inn he was staying at, what room, and that he drank himself to sleep every night: the easiest of targets. But Hari had given her strict instructions when joining the party: no killing anyone unless they are a direct threat to the safety of the party.
She’d follow those rules for now, but if he made a single move against Trev, she’d know.
While she was watching him, there was a sudden shift as an incredibly powerful and angry aura flooded the guild hall. It was familiar, but also not; the anger and bloodlust in it were on a level she had never experienced in her entire life. It was pushing down on her very being to the point where even taking a breath was hard.
Everyone in the hall froze, with some of the weaker individuals falling to the ground, either passed out or close to it.
She looked around, trying to find the source, but almost everyone was crippled with fear and dread. A thought crossed her mind—was Trevor okay? He was upstairs cooking.
Just as she realised this might be Lily, the door to the staircase burst open as Hari and Milo ran into the room, looking around in horror.
Not seeing the need to hide anymore, she came out of stealth, appearing before them and getting noticed by Hari immediately.
Hari had to force the words out through gritted teeth. “Where is Trevor?”
She could barely talk, pointing upstairs and getting a nod. All three of them made their way towards the stairs, noticing both Joanne and Clive emerging from their offices and making eye contact with the three of them as they ran.
Upon reaching the third floor, it was unmistakable that this was the source. The aura shifted—it was difficult to put her finger on it, but it was anger, bloodlust… confusion, sorrow?
It had to be that. She didn’t know how she knew, but she’d bet her life it was sorrow she was feeling briefly.
Hari practically burst through the dining-room door, then likewise through the kitchen door, and stopped dead in his tracks.
She was not far behind, blinking past him and into the room to get a good view of the situation. What she saw made her heart drop. Trevor was on the floor—passed out? Or worse? She couldn’t tell. Above him was Lily, standing over his body and glaring at the three of them in turn. As the gaze landed on her, she felt her whole body freeze, as an ice-cold feeling flooded over her, like her very soul was being attacked.
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It was a pain she couldn’t even begin to describe, but it left as Lily’s gaze went back to Hari and Milo.
Next to Lily was Crisplet, flared up in a deep, volatile red. The heat was incredibly intense.
Did someone attack him?
“Lily, we want to help. What happened?” Liane tried to say, only getting a glare in response.
She was unable to speak while the glare persisted, but she heard Hari from beside her. “Lily, please—we can help him.”
Lily’s gaze shifted. Liane now saw Jen appear in the doorway and drop to a knee as the gaze landed on her too.
Not knowing what to do, she tried a different approach. “Crisplet, please—you know us. Let us help him.”
As Crisplet looked towards her, then to Lily, then to Trev, three small embers shot towards Milo, Hari, and Jen. They didn’t hurt—just bounced off their chests. She wasn’t sure what he wanted, but another ember flicked out into the dining hall.
“Hari, get Milo and Jen and step out of the room for a moment,” she said.
Hari looked ready to protest, but saw the look—an unspoken trust me—and took a step back with Milo, collecting Jen from the floor.
“There, they’re gone. Please let me he—” Her sentence was cut off as the gaze landed on her again, now being the only person in the room.
But embers from Crisplet—one passing through Lily’s side—seemed to carry some meaning. Lily moved from over Trevor to block the door to the dining room.
Liane rushed over, landing on the ground next to Trevor.
The first thing she checked was that he was still breathing, which was a good sign. There were no visible injuries on his body that she could see. So what happened?
“Crisplet, what happened?” she asked, looking up at him.
Crisplet shot an ember at something on the countertop, and looking up, she saw food there. Trevor couldn’t be poisoned…
That’s when it clicked: mana overload—badly overloaded.
Stupid kid! she screamed internally.
“Lily, he’ll be okay; his mana is overloaded. We need to get him help right now—he’s alive,” she pleaded to the cat that was currently blocking the door and the way out.
“Crisplet, we need to get him help as soon as possible,” she said, looking up at Crisplet, who seemed to be communicating with Lily.
A moment later, Lily moved from the door, and the pressure lessened only slightly. Now it felt like confusion and anger; gone were the bloodlust and sorrow. Progress…
“I’m going to call the others, okay? We need to help him now.” She looked at Lily and also at Crisplet, and when Lily moved further from the door, she took it as a sign Lily was on board.
“Hari! Milo! Jen! Come in here—he needs help,” Liane yelled.
A moment later, Hari burst through the door again, his eyes quickly scanning the room for Lily, but she was already off to the side, with whatever food that had done this in her mouth, and far away from Trevor, her eyes locked on the group.
“He’s overloaded his mana again—worse than last time,” she said to them.
“For fuck’s sake—did he eat dragon or something?” Milo said, dropping to the ground next to Trevor and pulling out potions.
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