The thin darkness before dawn wrapped around the streets of the Star City, Lux. In her room at the Vanheim estate. Slumped over her desk, Vanheim Elise clutched a crumpled note in her hand. Rion's hasty scrawl—*The key to the curse lies outside the archives*. Her tear-swollen azure eyes stared at it, unfocused. (He's coming back—he really is.) Her eyelids grew heavy. She was just slipping into a shallow sleep—when it happened. *BANG, BANG, BANG!!* A violent pounding against the window. Elise shot up. Her hand went to the hilt of her sword on reflex. She tore the curtain open— "[whispers] Please, open up." Covered in blood and mud, Rion clung to the ivy on the outer wall. His left eye was swollen shut, his lip split and seeping blood. And yet, his golden eyes alone looked straight at her. "[angry] You—" She opened the window. "Saved." That was all he said—before tumbling headfirst into the room. *Thud.* He landed perfectly on her study cushion. Elise stared down at him, dumbfounded. "[angry] …How do you manage to land so cleanly right there, of all places?" "Luck's the one thing I've got." Rion gave a wry smile. But— He couldn't stand up. One hand braced against the floor, he was breathing heavily, his shoulders heaving. Magic burn marks seared his side and shoulder. Two fingers on his right hand were swollen purple. The laughter vanished completely from Elise's face. "[serious] Where were you? What were you doing?" Her voice trembled. It wasn't anger. It wasn't an interrogation. Rion lifted his head and looked at her through his swollen eye. "Sera's villa." — She pulled out the first-aid kit and took a healing salve in hand. As Elise applied the medicine to Rion's wounds, she heard everything. Sera had summoned him. She'd forced a choice: testify against Elise, or cooperate. He'd pretended to side with Sera, securing access to the villa. And in that opening—he'd snuck into Oswald Seraphis's study. "Used a shadow magic concealment formula." Rion looked down at his swollen right hand. "I stole this from a heavily locked safe." From inside his coat, he pulled out a single ancient document. "Read it." Elise opened the page. Old script. A date from three generations ago. —A record of the Seraphis family head forcibly applying the seal-key curse externally, into the blood of the Vanheim family. —The contract's brand was originally a sealing formula held by the Vanheim family, twisted into a curse by the Seraphis family to steal it. Her hands trembled. "[whispers] It wasn't… a seal designation." "It was stolen." Rion spoke flatly. "When I was pulling out, the study's security magic activated. Sera's guard mages chased me. I fled through the back alleys leading to the Lament Gorge." "[whispers] And that's how you ended up here." "I wanted to see your face." He tried to flash a flippant grin—and winced in pain. Something snapped deep in Elise's chest. "[whispers] I—" Her voice caught. "I saw you go into Sera's villa. I couldn't believe in you. I decided—you'd betrayed me." Rion listened in silence. "[crying] I'm sorry." The hand applying salve to his swollen fingers stopped. Elise wrapped both her hands around his. "Hurts." "[angry] Shut up." Silence. But—that silence said everything. "[serious] …Yeah. You're right." Rion replied with uncharacteristic directness. "It was my plan, but I couldn't tell you a thing." Elise kept holding his hand, silent. (I decided to believe in him.) She repeated it in her heart. — The light of dawn began to stream through the window. As Elise read deeper into the ancient document, heat raced through her body. From her collarbone to her shoulder blades—a pattern of light surfaced. A breadth she'd never seen before. The markings extended all the way down to her waist. "[serious] …It's spreading." Rion's expression turned grave. "You didn't treat it tonight?" "The powdered sealstone—you disposed of it, didn't you?" Rion pulled a small vial from his coat and placed it on the desk without a word. "[surprised] You still had it?" "Of course. For when you'd be in trouble." "An injured man carrying something like that around—" "Never mind that." With the fingertips of his left hand, Rion carefully traced the flow of the pattern. Clumsier than usual, and yet—his touch was deliberate. The heat of the curse mingled with Rion's body warmth. Elise let go of all the strength she'd been spending just to endure. "…Nn." A sweet sigh escaped her. "[whispers] I'm sorry." She murmured it quietly. "For what?" He asked without stopping his hands. "[whispers] For not believing in you." Rion continued his work in silence, erasing the last strand of the pattern. "I was short on words, too." The curse's heat receded completely. But—they stayed right where they were, at that same distance. "[serious] Without you, the curse can't be broken." She said it without turning around. "I know." "[whispers] It's not just that." Silence. Rion, of his own accord, filled that silence. For the first time—they touched not for the sake of the curse, but for each other. Elise buried her face in Rion's chest. "[whispers] I love you." Her voice trembled. Rion's arms gently wrapped around her back. — Night had fully broken into day. They sat across the desk, the ancient document spread open between them. That thing just now was—well—a temporary emotional disturbance caused by the curse's symptoms—right—I think so too—yes—yeah. A conversation carried on through awkward pauses. Both of their faces made it perfectly clear they didn't believe a word of it. "[serious] …We have a problem." Rion switched gears. "This document is stolen property. If we submit it as-is at the hearing, I'll be arrested for theft." "That's—" "If Oswald reports the theft before the inquiry, he can destroy the evidence and turn the accusation back on me." Elise gripped the ancient document tightly. "[angry] I won't let them charge you with a crime." "If you put it that way, I have no intention of letting you end up in a cell either." A moral dilemma. One of them would inevitably have to shoulder the danger. Rion spread out a map. "—The Veil Archives. The same record should still exist there." "The Veil Archives?" "The forced application of a sealing formula would be preserved as a state record. If we can summon that as testimony, we won't need to rely on stolen goods." "But—" "It can only be accessed through the top floor, which is off-limits to students." "We only have two days until the hearing." Silence fell. Elise looked out the window. The rooftops of the Star City, Lux, were dyed in the morning sun. "[serious] Is there a way into the Veil Archives?" "I know a hidden passage to the 13th floor." Rion answered. Elise took a deep breath. "[serious] At the hearing—I'm going to expose this curse's pattern. In front of the public." Rion looked up. "A secret I've kept hidden all this time for the sake of my family's honor. This time—I'll expose it myself. As a weapon to lay the truth bare." She finished and looked at Rion. —He was half-asleep. "[angry] …Were you listening?" "To all of it." "[sarcastic] I thought it was cool." "Why are you saying that with a sleepy face?" The tension in the air eased. As she redressed Rion's injuries, Elise spoke quietly. "[serious] Once the hearing is over—tell me everything. The truth." Rion's hands stopped. "Who you really are. Why you know so much about shadow magic." Rion's face finally turned serious. "…When it's over, I'll talk. I promise." Elise placed a copy of the ancient document into her bag. The two of them began to move, aiming for the hearing. But—Oswald Seraphis was undoubtedly already moving ahead of them. There was no time. The evidence was stolen property. The archives lay beyond the top floor. Elise clenched her fist. This time for sure—she would expose the truth. With her own hands.