{Melisa}

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A little later, Melisa’s mind was racing faster than rabbit on steroids as she and Zephyra moved through the streets.

The sight of that nim, all pale and sickly, with veins that looked like they were about to burst out of their skin... it was enough to make even Melisa’s stomach do a little flip.

[This is seriously weird,] she thought, chewing on her lower lip. [I mean, I knew things were bad for nim here, but this? This is next level.]

Zephyra turned to her, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised.

"So, what do you make of it?" she asked, her voice as smooth as silk.

Melisa shrugged, trying to play it cool even though her brain was doing the Macarena.

"Honestly? I’m not too sure," she admitted. "But if I had to guess, I’d say Blood Magic is at the heart of it."

Zephyra’s other eyebrow shot up to join its twin, but she didn’t say anything. Melisa could practically see the gears turning behind those amethyst eyes, though.

[Shit, did I say too much, somehow?] she wondered, mentally kicking herself. [I mean, it’s not like Blood Magic is supposed to be some big secret, right? It’s just frowned upon. No sense in pretending like it doesn’t exist.]

Zephyra looked like she wanted to ask more, her lips parting slightly as if she was about to unleash a barrage of questions. But then, she seemed to think better of it, shaking her head slightly.

"Maybe. Anyway, perhaps we should get some actual tutoring done," she said instead, a hint of a smile on the corners of her mouth. "Wouldn’t want you to fall behind on your studies, now would we?"

Melisa perked up at that.

[Finally!] she thought with a grin. [I was starting to think she only accepted this whole ’tutoring’ thing was just an excuse to drag me around the city and show off how mysterious and cool she is.]

"Yes, please!" Melisa said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I’ve been dying to learn some new spells!"

"Very well. But, first, some basics!"

Aaaaand Melisa’s excitement just about deflated.

Zephyra chuckled, the sound low and throaty.

"Patience, young one," she said, reaching over and tapping Melisa on the nose with one perfectly manicured finger. "I’ll show you a few tricks. But first, we need to make sure you have a solid foundation. No use trying to build a tower if the base is made of sand, after all."

Melisa pouted, but she knew Zephyra was right. As much as she loved the thrill of learning new, explosive spells, she also knew that mastering the basics was just as important.

[Okay, fine,] she thought, straightening her shoulders. [Bring on the boring stuff. I can take it.]

---

A few hours later, Melisa trudged through the front door of Javir’s manor, her body heavy with exhaustion and her mind swirling with questions.

Zephyra had shown her a lot. Most of which she’d already figured out, but hadn’t mastered yet, which Melisa begrudgingly practiced with her. She recalled what Isabella had said, after all.

One mastered spell is better than a thousand spells you don’t understand properly.

Still, as she made her way indoors now, all she could think about was that nim she’d seen.

[That curse,] she thought, kicking off her shoes. [It was just... wrong.]

She couldn’t shake the image out of her mind, his body wracked with that magical sickness.

If her admittedly limited knowledge of curses was accurate, this was no ordinary illness.

Someone had deliberately targeted that poor bastard, hitting him with enough magic to kill him. To just end his life outright.

[But who would do such a thing?] Melisa wondered. [And more importantly, why?]

The questions chased each other around her skull, but no answers came. She wanted to keep researching it, though.

And, as if her day wasn’t already weird enough, Melisa could feel the all-too-familiar stirrings of arousal beginning to cloud her thoughts.

[Ugh, not again,] she groaned internally, feeling heat bubble up inside her. [Stupid Blood Magic, making me all hot and bothered at the most inconvenient times.]

She briefly entertained the idea of popping over to Isabella’s place for a quick fuck but she quickly dismissed the thought.

[Ugh, it’s a little late for that... I mean, not that she would mind, but still. She might be taking it up the ass from Kimiko right now and I don’t want to walk in on that... Again, not that she’d mind.]

Melisa was just about to walk straight to her room and rub one out when she noticed her Margaret sitting in an armchair with a rather peculiar expression on her face.

Melisa nearly laughed. She looked like she was a couple of minutes away from passing out, her eyes struggling to remain open as she read her book.

"Hey, Mom," Melisa called out with a smile, heaving herself up and plopping down next to her. "What’s with the face? They didn’t make chocolate illegal or something, did they?"

Margaret startled slightly, as if she’d been lost in thought, before breaking into a warm smile.

"Oh, Melisa! Welcome home, dear. I was just... well, to be honest, I was a bit bored. But nevermind that, how did everything go with the court sorceress?"

Melisa sighed, falling onto Margaret’s lap like she used to do when she was a kid, using it like a pillow.

"It was... intense," she admitted, closing her eyes as Margaret began to stroke her hair, almost automatically. "I saw some things that I’m still trying to wrap my head around. I, uh... Try not to stay out for too long, alright?" Melisa asked. "Something weird is happening."

Margaret hummed thoughtfully, her fingers never ceasing their soothing motions.

"Oh, you don’t need to worry about that, unfortunately." Margaret sighed. "I used to go for tons of walks but, honestly, hearing ’ugh, look at that dirty nim’ for about the 50th time ruined it."

Melisa snorted out a laugh, feeling some of the tension drain from her body.

"Well, alright then."

Just then, a flicker of movement outside the window caught Melisa’s eye. She sat up, peering through the glass to see Jaylin in the garden, practicing some kind of spell with a look of fierce concentration on her face.

And there, sitting cross-legged on the grass a few feet away, was little Hazel, watching the human with rapt attention and a smile that could outshine the sun.

"Huh," Melisa said, nodding towards the scene outside. "Looks like Jaylin’s been busy. How long has she been at it?"

Margaret followed her gaze, a small frown tugging at her lips.

"Oh, hours now. Poor thing, she’s been working so hard. I tried to offer her some tea and biscuits earlier, but she wasn’t having it. I do wish she’d take a break every now and then."

Melisa watched as Jaylin finally lowered her hands, the spell fizzling out. She’d run out of Essence just now.

[Damn. Not often do the other races run out of Essence. She really must have been at it for ages.]

The older girl turned towards the house, and for a brief moment, her eyes locked with Melisa’s.

[Yikes. If looks could kill...]

Jaylin’s face twisted into a scowl, and she spun on her heel, marching back into the house without a word.

[Damn,] Melisa thought, sinking her head back onto Margaret’s lap. [Professor could not have paired me up with a worse partner, I swear.] Explore more at novelbuddy

Melisa lay there for a while, enjoying the feeling of her mother’s fingers running through her hair. It was a simple, familiar comfort, one that never failed to soothe her, no matter how chaotic her life became.

As she relaxed, she couldn’t help but notice the slight change in Margaret’s breathing, the way her hands seemed to tremble ever so slightly.

Melisa glanced up, a smirk tugging at her lips as she saw the unmistakable blush creeping across her mother’s cheeks.

"Mom? What’s up?" she teased, her voice low and playful. "Is it hot in here or something?"

Margaret let out a soft, breathless laugh, her eyes sparkling with a mix of embarrassment and amusement.

"I... Maybe," Margaret said quietly. "I think a walk might-"

Before Margaret could continue, the front door swung open, and Melistair strode in, his work clothes dusty and sweat-stained.

"There’s my girls!" he all but boomed, a grin splitting his face as he crossed the room in a few long strides.

He ruffled Melisa’s hair affectionately and gave Margaret a kiss before peeling off his shirt, revealing his toned chest and back, and heading straight for the kitchen.

"Hey, Dad," Melisa said, sitting up as Melistair gulped down a glass of water. "How was work?"

Melistair’s grin faded slightly, and he sighed, running a hand through his dark hair.

"Eh, same old, same old," he said, leaning against the kitchen counter. "Got everything unloaded on time, worked with the usual efficiency I like. But..."

He hesitated, glancing at Margaret before continuing.

"...something strange did happen. One of the other porters, a nim, just... collapsed. Out of nowhere."

Melisa felt a chill run down her spine, and she sat up straighter, her eyes widening.

"Collapsed? What do you mean?" she asked, trying to keep the urgency out of her voice.

Melistair shrugged, his brow furrowed.

"I don’t rightly know. One minute he was carrying a crate, same as always, and the next, he was on the ground, shaking. I have never seen anything like it."

Melisa’s mind raced as she processed this new information.

[Another nim struck down by a sudden illness? So, it’s not a coincidence, then. Damn.]

She chewed on her lip, her fingers tapping restlessly against her thigh as she tried to make sense of it all.

If this was some kind of curse, like she suspected, then it wasn’t an isolated incident. Someone, or something, was targeting nims specifically. But why? And how?

"Did... did the healer say anything?" Melisa asked, trying to keep her voice steady. "About what might have caused it?"

Melistair shook his head, his expression grim.

"Nah. I heard one of ’em mutter something about ’dark magic.’ Didn’t like the sound of that, not one bit."

Melisa’s heart sank, a cold, sickening dread settling in the pit of her stomach.

[Dark magic. So it is the same thing.]

"I... I need to look into this," Melisa said, she noted quietly. "This is weird..."

Margaret reached out, grasping Melisa’s hand tightly.

"Just be careful," Margaret said. "You have a target on you, Mel. Remember that."

Melisa squeezed her mother’s hand, trying to convey a confidence she didn’t quite feel.

"I will, Mom. I promise."

With a final nod to her parents, Melisa got up and headed for her room, her mind already spinning with the possibilities. She had to talk to Zephyra, gather more information, maybe hit the books and see if she could find anything about curses that targeted specific races.

[One way or another, I’ll get to the bottom of this... But, first...]

She pretty much ripped her clothes off and leaped into bed, one hand diving between her legs in an instant.

A lust-struck rookie blood mage nim had to do what a lust-struck rookie blood mage nim had to do, after all.