The Gate of Shadows

Surprisingly, Fenris's presence in the library brought less than my usual unwanted glares. Unlike I usually did, he seemed to repel them instead of attracting them. Perhaps the other witches and warlocks didn’t want to anger the future headmaster.

I don’t know, but having you here makes everything oddly peaceful.

The silver wolf closed his eyes, laying his head on the shared table, patiently waiting for me to finish what I was doing. At no moment did he rush me to get everything done. It was peaceful even though he had to be bored out of his mind.

However, I could feel his gaze on me whenever I stood up to look for a book, watching me protectively.

Are you trying to shield me from everything around us? Or everyone from me?

Pushing aside those thoughts, I went for one of the shelves. This library was enchanted to have many different rows of books, though not all were accessible to its members. This made researching the realm within me almost impossible.

All the books with any factual information were out of my reach. Much to Fenris's displeasure, it wasn’t long until Cora came into the room looking for me. The moment she spotted me by the bookshelves, she closed the gap between us within seconds.

Her sudden approach startled me, prompting me to drop the books I held onto the floor.

"Lilith!" she beamed, radiantly as always, triggering me to take a few steps back.

A soft sigh left me, leaning to collect the books; however, before I could pick one up, she swiftly grabbed them and handed them to me, all with her smile on display.

How are you so full of energy all the time?

"Cora... What do you want this time?" I asked, grabbing onto the books from her hands.

She never knew when to give up; I couldn’t count the times this event happened.

"So cold! I missed you so much! I thought I did something good last time we saw each other!" She professed, grabbing hold of my hips and pulling me onto her.

I placed the books between her and me.

Handsy and pushy!

I still felt Fenris's warmth within me and on my lips—something I didn’t want her to wipe with her touch.

"I think you and I have two different versions of what happened," I shook my head, trying to figure out how to get out of this.

Sadly, she never quit, no matter how coldly I rejected her.

"How cruel to ignore the fireworks that happened?! You didn’t like my passionate k—" Fenris dropped a book on her head, interrupting Cora before she could finish.

She was too preoccupied with me to pay attention to Fenris, who walked over to us. His eyes were glowing and narrowed before pulling me away from her and towards him. I was a doll in a fight between two apex predators.

"Don’t get ahead of yourself, bloodsucker," he warned angrily.

Cora turned to face him, eyes glowing as well, nostrils flared, ready to tango with the wolf.

"Ouch! How dare you hit me?! You mongrel! Brute! Let go of Lilith right this instant!" Cora confronted him fearlessly.

He smirked, holding me tightly by my hip, bringing me a warmth that Cora didn’t.

"You’re out of line," Fenris answered, leaving her huffing cheeks puffed.

I had never seen anyone get under her skin before; I always thought she was more of a ditz than anything else.

"No! You are! Lilith, why’s this mutt here?! He’s never here!" she turned towards me for answers.

Is Fenris using me as an escape from Layla? Or is he here to watch over me since my bracelet no longer works?

I couldn’t even mention it if that was the case.

"Ah... I-I..." I tried to come up with something, but words escaped me.

Cora turned back to Fenris, who sighed in response to my hesitance.

"See? She can’t even speak with you around, you stupid mutt! How about you let her go now?! And leave! No one wants you here!" Cora deflected back onto Fenris, who shrugged.

"I don’t see how that’s possible. She lives with me. Where she is, I’m not far behind." He commented, rolling his eyes.

Cora continued to push forward, pouting, "I don’t care! Make yourself gone, wolf!"

Her red orbs were glowing more than usual, and her lips curled downward.

He laughed, shaking his head. "Hah! How about you do that instead?"

The wolf’s grip on me tightened, and my orbs glanced towards him. She gasped, placing her hands on her hips and leaning towards us.

"Fuck no! I found her first!" she shouted, narrowing her eyes.

Fenris rolled his amber orbs, shifting them towards me. The tension around us was one where kids fought over a piece of candy.

"Really now? She has been my charge for fourteen years. I doubt you know her more than I do. I probably know every nook and—" Fenris ranted, triggering me to stop him.

My cheeks flushed red from the embarrassment enough for me to grab onto his tail tightly, tugging on it to stop him from continuing his sentence. Instead of finishing that thought, a slight groan left his lips.

That was when I noticed Shade staring at us from the table and all the others trying to study. If eyes could kill, we would be dead where we stood.

"Well, well... I don’t care! She’ll be mine!" the vampire continued, ignoring our situation.

The humiliation was reaching its climax, pushing me to stop the two titans from clashing.

"Okay! Enough! Stop it, you two! It’s a library! If you both can’t be quiet, you can leave!" I snapped at them, causing them both to appear surprised by my outburst.

Especially Fenris, who had never heard me yell at anyone.

"Ah... Sorry..." Both bowed their heads.

Pulling away from the silver wolf, I walked past them and towards another lane of bookshelves.

How can both be so careless?! They don’t care what people see or hear! Cora has always been a firecracker! So, it doesn’t surprise me that she’s causing a scene, but you, Fenris! How can you let Cora play you to her tune?!

How can you say something like that where people could hear? Aren’t you afraid that others will find out about our relationship? Or is it a slip in the heat of the moment? Arg… Dummy…

Cora had her way of getting under one's skin; I knew how much she could dig into it. Perhaps I was reading too much into his words.

Or do you know that Cora saw us in the meadow, and you taunted her?

My mind exploded, unable to control itself, yet I attempted to push away these useless thoughts. Mindlessly, I walked through shelves without even looking at the books they contained. Before I knew it, I found myself lost in the enchanted library.

Throughout the years, I attempted to research my condition but never scratched the surface of the abundance of information within it. The library was full of grimoires from different witches throughout the ages.

It also had original books on every topic imaginable related to our world. All the knowledge, from good to bad, was in one spot. There was an enormous library in Lyari, but I would have to leave this building for that.

Anyone who wasn’t high ranking was restricted from most of the grimoires. They restricted me to anything related to the nether realm or combat spells. It didn’t appear any differently from the unrestricted areas.

Shade found me with ease while I, unaware, stepped toward the forbidden part of the library. They usually sealed it off for anyone without an access rune. It was so quiet; Fenris and Cora weren’t around anymore.

Where did everyone go?

Somehow, in my frustration with the two, I broke through the barriers to protect this part of the library. When I noticed what had happened, the crystals that suppressed my magic glowed brightly.

I pondered whether I should try to head back, but this would be my only chance to see something about the realm I held within my body. Lacking better judgment, I pressed forward into the unknown, following whispers guiding me through the arsenal of books.

I eventually found myself in front of a bookshelf covered in glass, a barrier spell. People with normal eyes would only see it as a simple reflecting wall, but I could also see the cracks within the incantation.

If I focus on the weak spots, I can make it shatter.

However, if I broke it, it would probably send an alarm blaring, alerting the library's keepers. Even so, the whispers continued to tell me to proceed. At this point, I was willing to risk any little information I could get.

"Discutio," I whispered, touching one of the weak points of the barrier.

It shattered in seconds after infusing my energy with it. With brief hesitation, I clasped onto the book that resonated blue. When it touched my fingertips, it felt like my soul was being torn from my body.

A blast from the past yanked me into its embrace.