Page 95 of Cursed Dreams
He nodded. “Very good. You’re learning.”
Thalia felt warmth bloom in her chest, but it didn’t erase the tingle of unease at the base of her spine.
As they left the room and began walking toward the next wing, Marand touched Thalia’s arm.
“You, okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said quickly, then softened at Marand’s worried look. “Really. Just thinking.”
“Thinking a lot lately,” Marand murmured with a small smile.
Thalia managed one in return. She liked Marand, quiet, gentle, observant. The kind of person who didn’t pry but always knew when something wasn’t quite right.
Ahead of them, Cellen was rambling to Nyla about how he accidentally ordered the wrong tincture from the stores and now had a surplus of extremely potent fae infused peppermint oil.
“What exactly do you plan to do with that?” Nyla asked flatly.
“Rub it on Elric’s door handles,” he replied with mock seriousness. “For science.”
Nyla just rolled her eyes, looking back at Thalia with an exasperated look. Thalia forced herself to chuckled and held on to Marand’s arm desperately trying to appear like she was enjoying herself with them, but the loneliness didn't abate. The four of them wandered into the courtyard where the sunlight had begun to soften into the deep amber of early evening. Cellen lay back arms sprawled behind his head. Nyla sat cross-legged beside him, pulling out her notes from the day’s rounds, while Marand nudged Thalia toward the stone bench beneath the climbing roses.
“I thought we could go over the half-fae lung case again tonight,” Nyla said, tapping the pages. “Elric is definitely going to bring it up in next week’s rotation.”
“And I thought we could take a break from academic death and despair,” Cellen chimed in. “But sure, let’s just crawl back into the library like good little healers.”
“I might skip the library tonight,” Thalia said quietly.
That earned three surprised glances.
“You?” Cellen asked, propping himself up on one elbow. “Skipping a library session? Someone alert the temple guard.”
Marand gave her a gentler look. “Are you feeling, okay?”
“Just… distracted,” Thalia admitted. “There’s something I need to think about. Alone.”
Nyla narrowed her eyes slightly. “Thalia.”
“I promise it’s nothing bad,” she added quickly, forcing a small smile. “I just… thought I might go to the temple tonight. Amara’s. Or maybe one of the others.”
She could feel the weight of their gazes, their concern simmering beneath quiet expressions.
“We’ve just noticed you’ve been a little more… distant,” Marand said carefully. “Especially lately.”
“Since the tavern night,” Cellen added bluntly, then winced. “Sorry. That sounded more tactful in my head.”
Thalia gave him a withering look but didn’t respond.
Nyla gave a soft sigh. “We’re only worried. That’s all.”
There was a brief silence before Cellen cleared his throat. “I, uh… actually saw Vaelith. A few nights ago. In town.”
Thalia’s stomach dipped.
“He was at that corner tavern, Sable’s Rest, I think? Talking to a woman. Incredibly beautiful,” he said, almost cautiously. “Didn’t seem overly interested in being social otherwise, but, yeah. They were alone.”
Marand’s lips thinned. “Typical.”
“Please don’t do this,” Thalia murmured, eyes on her hands. “Don’t make it a thing.”
