As Maya recounted her lunchtime adventures, she discovered that conversation with Erik came surprisingly naturally, easing the tight knot of nerves in her chest. Before today, his quiet confidence, striking features, and slight seniority—not to mention her own inconvenient crush—had left her perpetually self-conscious, stumbling over her words and second-guessing every sentence.

Unlike her chats with Elena, which had no organic progression, she appreciated the natural flow he brought.

Also, she was relieved Leo wasn't present to add to her anxiety. The gentle smile Erik was giving her made her want to do everything she could to keep it on his face. She felt Leo would be able to see right through her and make her feel awkward.

Soon after, Elena emerged from the direction of the academy, carrying an unfamiliar bag over her shoulder.

"I've got the requested materials," Elena announced, having fulfilled Maya's request to bring the manuscripts.

Knowing she would protest, Maya hadn't told her, but she intended to leave them in Erik's care. It would be much safer there, away from the risk of being found if their room were ever searched again. Conveniently giving them a reason to visit often.

However, an alarming sight caught Maya's attention. There was a noticeable bump on Elena's forehead.

"What happened to your head?!" she blurted out with concern.

Unexpectedly, Elena flicked a subtle glance in Erik's direction before responding with a playful lilt in her voice, "I've decided to finally grow a horn. Do you like it?" A jesting smile painted her face.

But this quick, almost imperceptible glance unsettled Maya—though Erik didn't seem to react.

'Have those two seen each other already? And… why would Elena cover for him if they got into a disagreement?'

Before Maya could voice her concerns, Erik chimed in with a smirk, "It truly fills up the space on that big forehead of yours."

Elena pierced him with an unsubtle glare, unappreciative of his glib insults. "Where's your agent k-9?" she asked.

Knowing there was a wolf with hatred for vampires roaming these woods made Elena justifiably cautious.

"Hmm…" Rather than responding, Erik used his fingers to whistle sharply into the air.

Maya's eyes widened in alarm. 'Did he just call for the wolf?' she thought, ghastly recollections of the massive beast jumping from the darkness a few nights ago flashing in her mind. Her eyes flickered to Elena, concerned.

A distant howl echoed back, rippling through the quiet woods.

"He's still occupied," Erik shrugged nonchalantly. "He received quite a treat."

"Gluttonous beast…" Elena grumbled to herself.

A wave of relief swept through Maya. She had been anxious that the wolf might react to Elena the same way Erik had on their first meeting. It was one thing to reason with humans, but a ferocious animal was a different matter altogether.

Without a prompt, they began walking, following Erik's lead.

"Um, what's his name?" Maya was curious.

"He doesn't have one," Erik replied casually.

"Why not?"

"I never gave him one."

Maya felt pity for the wolf. Despite being referred to as a companion by Erik, he had never been bestowed a name. Feeling a surge of empathy, she proclaimed, "I think he should have a name."

"Then the honour of choosing a name is yours," Erik smiled softly, offering her a hand to help her climb over some rocks.

Maya automatically accepted help while pondering. Due to her indecisive nature, she felt a bit of pressure as she was never good at naming things. Situations like this tend to make her overthink.

"Well… I once had a goldfish named Winston," she thought aloud.

"You want to name a wolf after your dead goldfish?" Elena chimed in.

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"Ah… I'll think of something better." Maya shook her head.

"Like Wendy," Elena proposed energetically. "We should call him Wendy." Her suggestion was clearly a jab.

"That's a girl's name," Maya retorted.

"Does that really matter to a wolf?" Elena countered, casually crossing her arms.

Erik stayed quiet during their playful discussion. He likely found their dynamic interesting. Maya knew Elena was just playfully challenging her, and she enjoyed the light-hearted topic. Their trip didn't feel long due to their banter.

Arriving at the vine-entwined tree, it looked different in daylight. The towering cliff wall, standing almost perfectly vertical, was reminiscent of a building façade. But as Maya lifted her gaze skywards, something was amiss.

"Are you sure this is the right cliff?"

Erik didn't seem like a person who would forget where he lived, but Maya still couldn't hold herself back from blurting out.

A soft chuckle escaped him. "Here. Show me your forearm."

When Maya obediently complied, he gently pulled up her sleeve and then grabbed a metallic pen-like object from his pocket. When he lightly blew on the tip, Maya noticed it had a dark, coal-like mineral end. It seemed more like an artefact than a standard writing instrument.

As Erik etched onto her skin, a series of neat glyphs began to form. The script was alien to her, yet Maya felt like she had seen it somewhere before. When the symbols started to tingle, it dawned on her that this was a spell in action.

Rather than being concerned that he was putting some spell directly on her skin, Maya was amazed to see a new type of magic.

'It's like the power of words!'

Though the language and script were foreign to her, she instinctively understood that it operated on the principle of written incantation.

"Try now," Erik instructed, once he finished writing.

As she lifted her gaze, her eyes widened in astonishment.

What was previously an unremarkable sight changed before her eyes. Now, the thick vines draping from the towering pine branches became ropes, and high up, there was a wooden structure jutting out of the cliff wall she had not seen previously.

Grabbing one of the nearby ropes for a closer inspection, she noticed that the strands were woven with symbols akin to the ones inked on her arm. In fact, these symbols were everywhere; etched into the cliff, the underside of the wooden deck, and even the surrounding tree trunks.

She was standing amidst an array of active magic that she had been entirely oblivious to.

"Oh, wow," she marvelled. "It reminds me of that well's markings," she said to Elena.

"A well?" Erik knitted his brow.

"Yes. In the Academy's back gardens, we discovered this book," she pointed at Elena's bag as her gaze continued to trail the rope's etchings.

"That book was found in a well?!" A genuine surprise flickered in Erik's eyes.

"Not in a well, per se. In Amanda's basement study room, which we accessed through that well."

"You broke into Amanda's mansion!?" he sounded a bit astonished.

"Not really. We only ventured into the room after it collapsed during an earthquake. We were simply following Anastasia," Maya clarified, and realized that she was nonchalantly revealing some startling information.

Erik's expression confirmed it.

He exhaled and smiled. "You've been busy. I'm impressed."

His genuine words were making Maya a little bashful.

"If you are going to make out now, please notify me so I can leave," Elena interjected, spoiling the mood.

"Elena!" Maya cried, her cheeks burning at the thought of Erik discovering her crush on him. Sighing, she gestured him toward Elena, "Show it to her."

Erik glanced at Elena with reluctance.

"Pretty please," Maya looked up at him with innocent eyes and a slight pout, knowing he would need extra persuasion when it came to Elena.

Her endearing attempt made him close his eyes and exhale in surrender. "Alright." He smiled and patted Maya on the head. However, his expression soured once he turned toward Elena.

Already extending her arm, Elena gave him an equally insincere smile. Maya watched in anticipation. His touch on Elena's arm was brisk, lacking the gentleness he had shown Maya. He kept his gaze on the newly-etched symbols for a moment longer, then he smirked.

Elena scanned the surroundings, her eyebrows furrowing. "Nothing changed."

"It'd be concerning if it did," Erik commented as he fumbled through his pockets.

Ignoring Elena's piercing glare, he produced a lighter and approached her with a flame. Elena instantly pulled back.

"Hold still. I need to activate it."

"You did no such thing with her," Elena retorted, her gaze deeply distrustful.

"She's not dead," he countered, looking at her so coldly that even Maya nearby felt a slight chill.

Elena's gaze seemed to look for affirmation from Maya before reluctantly allowing him to proceed.

Her eyes, however, remained cautiously fixed on him as he quickly passed the flame under her arm. It was too quick to burn her, but a hissed intake of breath signalled her surprise as the spell activated with a sting.

"Hmph." Although the spell seemed to have been successfully activated, Erik seemed displeased. His cold eyes met Elena's, and he narrowed them.

Elena rolled her eyes, uninterested in his moodiness and glanced around.

Finally, Maya held her breath, waiting for Elena's reaction. However, Elena's expression remained unimpressed as her eyes languidly darted from the ropes to the deck above their heads and the nearby tree trunks.

Her reaction was a mere, insincere "Oh."

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