"How did you know?" Adrian asked, sitting on a small piece of broken stone, both hands wrapped around a warm cup of tea.
The others were still on the far side of the site, deep in conversation.
Ruby shrugged lightly. "It was clear you didn’t want them to dig any deeper. Your eyes kept darting around, and you bit your lip—I could tell you were worried. That’s why I stepped in."
Adrian let out a quiet sigh. She really was more perceptive than he gave her credit for.
As she took a seat beside him, he said, "Thanks for that. You probably saved them from walking into sothing dangerous. Knowing how people are... they might’ve triggered sothing without even realizing it."
Ruby chuckled. "Well, I wouldn’t say we’re out of danger yet. Once Uncle Alfred shows up, he’ll either try to break the relic or take it for himself."
Adrian raised a brow. "You know Alfred Agatha well?"
She nodded with a small smile. "His father was close friends with my grandfather. Our families go way back. And when I was twelve, I trained under him for a few years."
"No wonder your basics are so solid," Adrian said with a genuine smile.
Ruby just smiled back and turned her gaze toward the distant crater, her expression softening.
After a short pause, Adrian spoke again, his voice quiet. "Aren’t you curious about what I saw? Or why I didn’t want them digging here?"
Ruby looked back at him with a playful smile. "Do you trust enough to tell ?"
Adrian froze for a second. He didn’t have an answer—not right away. She had taken his side, lied to the tower master... and yet, he’d kept her at arm’s length. Maybe he had been treating her like everyone else, even when she clearly wasn’t.
She stood up slowly. "It’s okay," she said gently. "You don’t have to explain anything—"
"That relic is protecting sothing," Adrian said suddenly, cutting her off.
Ruby blinked, caught off guard.
"I found two more layers of runes on it," Adrian continued, his eyes fixed on the ground. "One is gravity—earth elent. The other is a barrier—light elent." He looked up at her then, eyes steady. "I don’t think the box is what we should be worried about. I think it’s what’s buried underneath."
Ruby frowned, "No wonder you seem half-minded when sharing details about the box." Resting her hands on her hips she asked, "But how is it possible? You can see the runes but no one else can?"
Adrian didn’t tell her about the similarity he found between these runes and the notes he usually studies in his Ti Chamber. He trusts Ruby, but to reveal things about the Ti Chamber ans he would be exposing a lot more than he is prepared for anyone else to know.
"I have no clue. But I know for sure that whoever wrote those runes didn’t want anyone to reach what is hidden in there."
Ruby nodded, "That’s why, I want you to be careful with this. Don’t let your curiosity beco the reason for Ariana’s tears."
Adrian nodded, "I won’t."
....
Far away, inside the gymnasium, Ariana could be found doing so training.
Her chest was heaving, sweat clinging to her forehead. Wearing a body suit, she held batons tightly in her hands and waited for the last wave.
It ca not so long after
One baton swung low, cracking against the knee joint of the nearest doll. It staggered.
Another doll ca from behind, but Ariana twisted her body mid-air, spun once, and slamd both batons down onto its head. Splinter flew as it collapsed.
The third lunged with a punch—fast.
But she was faster.
She ducked under the arm, slid across the ground, and ca up behind it. Her baton struck its spine with a loud thud, followed by a quick second hit that sent it crashing forward.
Before the first doll could recover, Ariana dashed forward, leapt into the air, and kicked off its shoulder. Spinning mid-air, she brought both batons down in a sharp X-shape strike. The head of the doll snapped off, rolling across the ground.
The room fell still.
She stood at the center, breath steady, batons hanging loosely in her hands.
Not a single scratch on her.
Soon, she returned the weapons to the rack and decided to calm down a bit.
Taking a few sips of water she looked at the condition of the training dolls before her.
She had been training for the past two hours and yet she feels she could go for a few more rounds.
’My stamina had increased...and so had my magic control.’ She couldn’t discern how but recently her performance in battle training has shown significant growth.
Was it the diet? She hardly believes that since she was eating normally as she always does.
Then was it the weather? That sounded ridiculous.
Then...what had changed?
’Sex?’ She asked herself. The only new thing added to her routine is intense sex. She and Adrian don’t get ti regularly, but when they do...they go at it for hours.
She had heard that n usually go down after one or two rounds...but Adrian...he normally requires eight rounds to actually calm down.
’I should stop thinking about it...’ Unless she was ready to feel the sweat between her legs.
She soon decided to go back and rest.
Adrian was undoubtedly not returning today and he might miss his classes tomorrow as well.
She had already inford Gilbert to replace him but she was worried.
’Should I go check on him..’ Would that be considered as being too clingy? Ariana felt nervous.
Returning to her room, she threw away all her clothes and was heading towards the bathroom in her underwear...when suddenly she passed by the mirror and noticed sothing.
She blinked in surprise before stepping back to stand before the mirror.
Her eyes slightly widened to realize the long scar across her stomach...which she got years ago had faded.
’What the heck ....how did this happen?’ She had tried all kinds of things to erase the ugly mark...but nothing worked.
Then...how?
’I think I need to talk to Adrian about this.’
°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading.
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