Nikolai’s eyes snapped open, and he found himself looking up at an intricate ceiling with faded paintings, not unlike something you might find in old Catholic churches.

  For a few seconds he just lay there, feeling the rhythmic pounding of pain from his leg, and to a lesser degree his head. It wasn’t debilitating, but it was enough that he wasn’t all that keen on jumping to his feet just then.

  First, he activated Soothe in its passive state, keeping it to a low burn, just slightly blunting the sharp pain and, more importantly, calming his racing mind a bit. He breathed out slowly, forcing control over his own emotions.

  Memories of what had happened flooded his mind, and tears of built-up frustration and fear threatened to leak out. Soothe helped him stay in control, allowed him to think. He needed to heal—that was the first priority. He cast Lesser Heal, with just a wisp of mana to probe his injuries. The leg bone was set, and the wound was closed to a degree. His head wound wasn’t bad, but it still needed tending to.

  He focused on his injuries, then pumped more mana into the spell. A soothing feeling spread through his body, and while it would take a while to fully heal, he sighed in relief as the pain began to fade.

  “You’re awake then,” a voice said, and Nikolai recognised the distorted voice of the woman who had both almost killed and saved him just recently.

  Nikolai opened his eyes and looked over to find her sitting in a chair, book in hand, with a steaming cup of what he guessed was tea resting on an ornate table in front of her.

  The scene was so goddamn absurd compared to his experience of the dungeon up until that point that he couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

  “What the actual hell?” he gasped between laughs.

  She tilted her head in confusion, her face covered by a mask and completely unreadable. “What’s so funny?” she asked.

  It took a few seconds before he got control of himself and explained, which made her giggle—something that, to his astonishment, was kind of cute. How he could even think like that made him shake his head and chuckle some more, just more absurdity piled on top of all the other weird shit.

  Nikolai sat up, then tested his leg carefully. He felt like he had been out for a bit, but it was at least well enough to support him for a few steps.

  The woman stood and supported him. She was quite small, he realised then, the top of her head only coming up to just around his shoulder.

  She helped him sit down in a surprisingly comfortable chair across from her own. He stretched out his injured leg beneath the table and sighed.

  “Thank you,” he said, studying her closely.

  She nodded, then poured him a cup of tea from a very expensive-looking kettle. He raised an eyebrow at it, and she shrugged. “I like pretty things!”

  Nikolai smiled slightly, then shrugged himself before accepting the warm cup. The whole situation felt so damn cosy that it threw him off completely. Here he was, fighting for his life, and this woman was sitting quietly in a library reading?

  “So, where is that big bastard that almost killed me?” he asked nonchalantly.

  The woman flinched. “I am so sorry about that! I had asked him to guard the door, and I really didn’t expect to find anyone else down here! Lurk isn’t able to distinguish unless I instruct him to, and I was lax…” The words came out so fast and felt so heartfelt that Nikolai almost felt compelled to just wave it off. Of course, that would be taking things a bit too lightly—he had to be careful despite her seeming friendly.

  “Alright, I suppose I can somewhat understand that. Not sure I’m quite ready to forgive him just yet, though…” Her shoulders drooped slightly, and she seemed about to say something, so he quickly changed the subject. “I recognise you, I think. You two are part of the expedition, right?”

  Her eyes met his, and he was once again stunned by those purple, slightly glowing eyes. She nodded. “Yes, we are. Well, sort of. I kind of just tagged along, with permission from the guild of course, but I am not officially part of it all. My aim was this place, not the dungeon core,” she said, gesturing to the room.

  Nikolai glanced at the book in her hand. “Books? You were searching for the library?”

  She nodded energetically. “Yes, that was my aim. I am looking for something, and I was hoping I might find answers here. This library is extremely old, and not many have ventured this deep. The place is enchanted, you see, so books cannot be removed, and it also keeps everything from decaying. If you want to read what is here, you have to come down here.”

  Nikolai sipped his tea as he took in the information, then gestured to the book. “Can I ask what you are looking for specifically?”

  She hesitated, seeming to grow more guarded before answering. “That is kind of private, not something I usually talk to people I just met about… I’ll trade you, though. Information for information.”

  It was Nikolai’s turn to hesitate, and he carefully asked, “Okay… what would you like to know exactly?”

  The woman leaned forward. “Oh, I have a number of questions, but perhaps introductions first? I am Kaelith.”

  Nikolai smirked. “Nikolai. I can’t say it’s been much of a pleasure meeting you just yet, but the tea is working in your favour at least. That reminds me—do you have anything to eat?”

  Kaelith giggled, then reached into a pouch on her hip. She produced a surprising variety of things: cheese, still-warm bread, butter, and some type of meat similar to ham.

  Nikolai’s eyes widened at the feast. “You don’t mind giving me that much?”

  She shook her head. “It’s a poor apology, Nikolai, but please, go ahead.”

  He smiled and began lathering butter onto the bread, popping it into his mouth as quickly as he could without seeming quite as desperate for sustenance as he felt. He groaned in pleasure, and Kaelith let out that too-cute giggle again.

  “You must have been hungry,” she quipped.

  “You have no idea…”

  After he had at least sated himself a little, he paused in his eating and looked at her. “So, you had questions? You mentioned a trade.”

  Kaelith, who had turned back to her book as he ate, closed it and focused on him.

  “I do. A lot of them.” Her eyes grew intent. “You’re a healer, right? I am sure I remember you being the healer of your team.”

  Nikolai paused, considered whether there was any harm in answering that, then decided there wasn’t really. “I am, yes.”

  She nodded. “I thought so. So why is it that you can use Lesser Drain? That is a dark-affinity spell.”

  Nikolai froze with a piece of cheese halfway to his mouth. “What makes you think I can use Lesser Drain?” he asked carefully.

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  She tilted her head slightly. “Because you used it on Lurk. He is my minion, you know. I sense everything that happens to him, and I know you took some of his essence.”

  Nikolai glanced around for his cane and found it next to where he had woken up, too far away to reach. She obviously saw his barriers going up and held up her hands.

  “I am not going to hurt you, Nikolai! Please, I just want to know,” she said, her tone almost pleading.

  He frowned at her, then said, “A trade then. I will tell you, but you will have to swear to me that the information will not leave this room.”

  As he said it, something stirred inside of him. It was a feeling he had never sensed before, like whatever was about to happen was significant—more significant than a simple promise. It held weight. It had consequences. His eyes widened in realisation. This was no simple promise, because he was no simple human. He was part fae, and dealing with the fae had consequences.

  Kaelith began to speak, but Nikolai held up a hand desperately. “Wait! Don’t say anything!”

  Kaelith froze, sensing his urgency.

  Nikolai put a hand to his freshly healed temple and thought furiously. As he considered the deal he had proposed, it was as if a scale appeared in his soul, weighing the price of the information he was about to share. When he imagined her promise of secrecy, the scales evened out—but when he thought of her breaking that promise, they tipped, and an ominous feeling spread through him.

  Was this some kind of ingrained ability of the fae? To weigh any bargain and judge whether it was a fair trade or not? He couldn’t quite guess at the consequences if either of them broke the deal, but he had a strong feeling it wouldn’t be anything good.

  “Shit…” he mumbled. “I am not sure how to deal with this right now…”

  Kaelith looked more confused than ever. “What is going on?”

  Nikolai sighed, took a long sip of his tea, then set it down. “Alright… let’s try this. I will share the information, but you must not promise not to tell anyone about it. Instead, I will simply state that I hope you will not share my secrets.”

  He felt around his soul for the scales, but sensed no danger this time. Relieved, he nodded to himself and focused back on Kaelith.

  She studied him carefully. “That is a really strange way to put it, Nikolai…”

  Her eyes traced his face, then drifted to his ears for some reason, narrowing slightly. Then she whispered, “What are you exactly…?”

  It wasn’t really a question, he thought, but it still sent a chill down his spine.

  She nodded. “Alright. I will make no promises, then. Does that work for you?”

  Nikolai smiled in relief. “Yes, I suppose it will have to. I have two affinities—light and dark. That is how I can cast Lesser Drain.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “No, that isn’t possible! Really!? How!? No, wait—yes, how!?”

  Nikolai chuckled. “That is a lot of questions, Kaelith. What happened to trading?”

  Her shoulders drooped slightly. “Right, sorry… That was a pretty big secret, so I suppose I should reciprocate. I have a condition, something related to my class. I am looking for a cure for it and have been travelling for a long time to find one. This library might have answers—but it likely will not…”

  Nikolai was about to ask a follow-up question, but held back. Instead, he said, “Okay, I have more questions now than before…”

  Kaelith giggled. “So do I!”

  They looked at each other for a few seconds, then both laughed. Nikolai recovered first. “Right. Okay. How do you want to do this? Should we perhaps just have an open conversation—trust that we won’t share each other’s secrets? I know we just met, but honestly, I am so damn tired of all the secrecy and sneaking around…”

  Kaelith thought about it for a few seconds, then reached for the intricately carved mask on her face. It was matte black with golden inlaid carvings, only her eyes visible. She slowly removed it, and Nikolai’s eyes widened as he saw her face for the first time.

  The first thought that hit him was that she was beautiful—stunning even. The next was that she was definitely not human, although most of her features looked human. Her face had the same albeit petite proportions, but her skin was a light grey. When she smiled shyly he saw that her canines were longer and sharper than any human’s. Then there were her eyes: purple, with that slight glow, and perhaps just the tiniest bit larger than a normal human’s.

  Her hair was hidden beneath her deep hood, but he thought he might have spotted tiny horns right at the edge of her hairline, and her ears were definitely pointier than a human’s.

  For a long moment he just stared at her, mouth open, and she stared right back, never breaking eye contact.

  Nikolai gathered his wits, then cleared his throat. “Well… okay then. Not sure what you are exactly, but I have no idea why you would hide your face when you look like that.”

  “What?” she asked, clearly confused.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t usually say stuff like this, but in the spirit of being open—you are stunning, Kaelith. Shockingly so, in fact.” He kept his tone casual, though he cringed slightly at his own words. He was a warm-blooded man like any other, and she might just be the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. He couldn’t help himself.

  Kaelith looked shocked, then suspicious. “Are you mocking me?”

  It was Nikolai’s turn to be confused. “What? No! I am being extremely honest—embarrassingly so.”

  “You don’t find me repelling? Really?” she asked, her tone dripping with suspicion.

  “I’m not sure why you find that so surprising, but no! I mean, I admit I’m still woefully inexperienced with other races, and I have no idea what you are, but you are gorgeous, Kaelith. And I’m not trying to flirt—really I’m not! Well, maybe a little, but can you blame me? Please think nothing of it, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable and—shit, I am not doing well here, am I?”

  Kaelith stared at him for a long moment, then burst out laughing. That more than anything felt a bit hurtful, and Nikolai frowned as his face heated up. “You don’t have to laugh quite that hard, do you?”

  She wiped tears from her eyes and shook her head. “Sorry, it’s just… I am not used to humans seeing me like that. They only see the demonic ancestry and nothing else. Then again, you aren’t really human, are you?”

  Nikolai opened his mouth to say that of course he was human—then paused. No, he wasn’t. Not anymore. Things had moved so fast he’d almost forgotten. He sighed. “No, I am not. Wait… demonic ancestry? What does that mean exactly?”

  Kaelith looked surprised. “You don’t know? Did you grow up in a cave in the wilderness or something?” Her tone was slightly mocking, but playful.

  Nikolai rolled his eyes. “No, I didn’t. But I suppose, in regards to knowledge of the world and its cultures, I might as well have.”

  Kaelith smiled, her sharp canines peeking just slightly over her lower lip. “Fine. I am what humans refer to as a half-demon, but that isn’t quite right. We call ourselves the Dral’Banar, and we are a natural race like any other. We simply have a higher affinity with dark magic, usually. We are closer to elves than anything else, actually—though they would never admit as much.”

  Nikolai nodded slowly. “I suppose that makes sense… in a I have no idea how that works kind of way.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me, though. Everything I’ve experienced keeps getting stranger, and your appearance isn’t even in my top ten.”

  Kaelith smiled. “Thanks, I suppose… What are you, then? An elf? You don’t strike me as one, but you have the ears for it.”

  Nikolai froze, then reached up to his ears. She was right—they were pointy.

  “What the…” he muttered, and Kaelith raised an eyebrow.

  “You know, you are kind of strange, Nikolai. Did you hit your head or something?” she asked, clearly amused.

  “Yes! In fact, that big bastard Lurk cracked my bloody skull!” Nikolai shot back, though not angrily.

  Kaelith winced. “Right… sorry.”

  “It’s fine,” he sighed. “I suppose you shared yours, so I might as well share mine. I’m a demihuman, I think—that’s the term. I am faetouched.”

  Kaelith’s eyes widened in delight. “No! Really!? I have never met a fae before—no one has! Well, maybe someone has, but I have only heard stories of your kind!”

  Nikolai shrugged. “Yeah, well… stuff happened. I didn’t know about the bloody ears. That’s going to be a pain in the ass to explain.”

  She giggled. “A recent thing, then?”

  He nodded. “Hours, in fact.”

  Kaelith shook her head in disbelief. “You are an interesting man, Nikolai. How strange to find you down here. Wait—how did you end up down here?”

  Nikolai explained what had happened, and as he spoke her face darkened with anger and outrage. “She did what!? I don’t know this Azila, but that is not going unpunished, Nikolai. Attempted murder is bad enough, but doing so to an ally inside an expedition? She will be black-marked from the guild and handed over to the authorities. Prison will be the lightest punishment.”

  Nikolai waved a hand. “I can deal with her later. It isn’t important for now. Kaelith, would you tell me about your condition? I am a healer, and while inexperienced, I might be able to help you.”

  She gave him a gentle smile. “Thanks, Nikolai. That’s kind of you, but I don’t think you’re quite ready to do anything for me. Don’t get me wrong—I’ve talked to many healers, including that famous dwarf in the city. No one has been able to help.”

  Nikolai looked at her intently. “Try me. What do you have to lose?”

  She chuckled, then quickly sobered. “Not much, I suppose…”

  She hesitated, took a deep breath, then met his eyes firmly. “I am decaying, Nikolai. Becoming something else… dying.”