CHAPTER 239: EXCURSION IV

I was more than surprised to see that the sky was dark when we emerged from the cave.

Shock seemed too mild a word; if there were a term more expressive than shock, I would gladly use it.

What the hell! Or perhaps, What in the heavens!

Beside and behind me, my friends all stood with their jaws dropped—well, except for Rachel and Raul.

"Can you see why I was hurrying us out of the library? It’s already late outside," Rachel stated matter-of-factly, as if that explained why it was night already when we had entered the cave at what felt like nine a.m.

Where had the hours gone? We had spent no more than two hours inside!

Our confusion must have shown on our faces because Raul raised a placating hand, as if expecting us to attack him if he didn’t speak. Maybe we would have.

"Time runs slower in the cave. Way slower."

It certainly hadn’t felt that way while we were in there.

"How did you two keep track of the time, then?" I asked, needing to know. If I was going to return to that place to read more books, I needed some answers.

"Honestly, I’m not sure. But as we visited in the company of our mother, we became accustomed to tracking the time. We come equipped with our watches too, making guesstimates that two hours inside would equal more than ten hours outside. Of course, that’s not a stable way of telling."

That didn’t matter much. I was determined to return with a watch next time.

"Wow," Sinclair finally spoke, shaking his head. "Are you really sure we won’t be allowed back again?"

Raul and Rachel exchanged glances. "We’ll talk about it with our mother. Hopefully, she’ll let us, thinking it’s our first request."

Sinclair nodded happily, as did Levina, and I knew that this excursion had been a successful one. Rachel and Raul were now fully integrated into our group.

"Could you translate the language?"

I snapped my neck to look down at Diana as she held my hands again while we followed the path leading us home. Noticing the absence of others staring at me, I realized that she had cloaked us with her protective veil. I nodded in response.

"However, not much. I can manage, with a lot of practice."

"You know what that means, right?" She pressed.

Do I?

"It solidifies the notion that you are of royal lineage, maybe even more than the Queen."

I remained silent, recalling how Raul had almost let slip that the Queen couldn’t read the languages. Did that mean she wasn’t true royalty?

"So, what did you all read about?" Raul asked, effectively breaking my concentration and the comfortable silence that had settled around us.

"Magic, what else?" Levina muttered, a smile brightening her face. "If I could be allowed in the library—and if more of us could be allowed—we’d be mighty mages in no time!"

Sinclair nodded. "That’s true. The magic in there was raw, the spells too. I get that some could be dangerous, but I think they can be filtered."

Raul smiled but remained silent. I noticed Rachel did the same. No opening to the commoners, then. I shrugged when Raul met my questioning gaze.

"I can’t believe you spent all those hours trying to translate a book... Surely you must have picked another book to read before being drawn to that one..." He stepped closer to me, oblivious to Sinclair’s attentive gaze on both of us.

I sighed and began walking faster, grateful for Diana’s perceptiveness.

But Raul wasn’t one to give up, not with his sister demanding answers and my friends looking at me expectantly.

"That was the only book I read," I replied curtly, knowing that wouldn’t sit well with them.

"Are you sad that you wasted your time checking out a book?" Levina asked gently, touching my shoulder and skillfully removing Raul from that position. I was glad. I nodded.

She immediately turned to Rachel, who nodded quickly. "I will definitely speak to my mother. However, next time you should focus on books written in English, so there won’t be a repeat of this issue."

"Okay, Rachel. Thank you."

Tsk. As if I would wait for that Queen, who bore grudges like it was her destiny.

The events of the contest had proven that to me, and no amount of attempts at friendship would change that notion.

However, they didn’t need to know that. Nor did they need to know that the reason for my somber mood was because I was trying to decipher the change in the energies of the forest—it felt like something was looming.

I was surprised the twins hadn’t noticed it yet, considering their magical abilities.

"What is that? Or rather, who is that?" Sinclair asked, pointing a trembling finger at a figure shrouded in black, approaching us diagonally, seemingly floating in the air.

"A flying witch?" Levina choked out, grabbing my arm tightly, her breaths shallow. Diana clung to me too, although the little one appeared to have a better grip on her emotions.

So, that was the cause of the change in energy. I mused, aware of Sinclair and the twins huddling closer around me.

Did they think I was a protector? Or did they believe we would fight better this way?

El remained calm, so I willed myself to stay calm, too. Whoever or whatever this was, we would leave this forest alive.

I waited until the black figure came to a stop before us, then asked the question that had been burning at the tip of my tongue.

"Who are you?" A protector of the forest? I wanted to add, but El’s amusement held me back. This wasn’t some fantasy imagination.

An eerie pause followed and Levina’s fingers dug deep into my skin. I almost shook her off, but the tense atmosphere kept me from doing so.

"I am a witch," The figure replied. Its voice was scratchy, like metal scraping against worn fabric. It didn’t help ease the nerves wracking my companions. I was practically drowning in their fear.

With my training intensifying each passing week, my magic and powers had increased, making me more sensitive to auras and energies. My sight was also sharpening. The downside was that I could only use a few abilities at a time—it depleted my energy too quickly.

"So, witch, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"