"I found the cure to my empty physique."
One second
Two seconds
Three seconds
A whole fucking minute.
And yet, Ma refused to open her mouth.
If not for her pink hair swaying along the morning air because of my open window, I doubt I would have recognised if she was even alive or not.
"She's not gonna kill me… is she?"
Her lips parted as if to speak, but no sound came out. She stared at me like I'd just declared I'd found a way to turn lead into gold.
"What did you just say?" She finally managed to utter a word, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I said I might've found a way," I repeated, trying to keep my tone steady despite the turmoil inside me. "To fix myself. To get rid of this… curse."
Sylvie's expression hardened, her earlier panic replaced by something sharper—something protective.
"Noah, you're not cursed," she said firmly, though her voice wavered slightly. "You're just… different."
"Different?" I chuckled bitterly, gesturing at myself. "Different doesn't cut it in this world, Ma. You always say this yourself—that if you're weak, it's your own fault."
Grandma flinched at my words, her shoulders stiffening. "That's not—" she began, but I cut her off.
"Do you know what it's like to live like this?" I said, finally trying to express my bottled thoughts. "To know that no matter how hard you try, you'll never be enough? That you will never be able to become a mage?
To watch everyone else grow stronger while you're stuck in the same place?"
Ma opened her mouth to argue, but I wasn't done.
"That book…" I said, my voice softening. "It might be the answer… I just need to find it."
Sylvie Grandma's eyes narrowed, her suspicion returning. "Noah, what did you do?"
I hesitated, the memory of the book's glow and the blood it had drawn from me flashing through my mind.
"Nothing. Yet," I said carefully.
Her gaze bore into me, deep and unyielding. "Don't lie to me, boy. You're playing with fire, and you know it."
"Maybe," I admitted, meeting her gaze head-on. "But sometimes, fire is the only way to survive."
Sylvie let out a frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're going to be the death of me, you know that?"
Despite the tension, a small, grim smile tugged at my lips. "Not if I can help it."
As we stared each other down, the air in the room seemed to grow heavier, charged with unspoken words and lingering doubts.
Ughhh
"It doesn't matter," I said, more to myself than to her.
"Even if the book just somehow vanished into thin air… I remember everything—"
Sylvie raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"
She was practically begging me to spill put the beans but I stopped her.
"Ma…I'll tell you everything that happens to me but please, never again ask how it happened.
I dont think I can explain it to you even if I wanted to—"
There was a long silence between us before Grandma Sylvie let out a deep breath and closed her eyes.
And when she opened them, there were no signs or her being suspicious or the heavy atmosphere between us.
She patiently tied her hair into a bun while quietly staring at me, as if to start speaking.
"The book," I said, my voice steadier now. "Even if it's gone, I already know how to fix this."
She stared at me for a long moment, her usual demeanor softening into something more vulnerable. "Are you sure?" she asked quietly. "Do you need my help?"
For a split second, I considered accepting her offer. The process that had been described in the book wasn't exactly… pleasant.
Having someone there, someone who cared, might make it easier.
But then I remembered the details—the pain, and most importantly the risk.
No.
This wasn't something she needed to see.
"I'll be fine," I said, shaking my head. "Just… wait outside in the living room, okay?"
Ma didn't look convinced, but she nodded anyway. "Alright," she said, turning towards the door.
"But if you pass out, I'm not letting you do your little experiment again, whether you like it or not."
I managed a weak smile, realising that the reason she had come up so strong to wake me in the first place was because she had kmown that I wasn't just sleeping.
I had passed out.
"Noted."
With my final word of reassurance, she reached the doorway, her hand resting on the frame as she turned back to look at me.
Her expression had shifted again, her eyes filled with a seriousness that made my chest tighten.
"Noah," she said, her voice low. "Whatever you're planning, I hope it works. Because…" She hesitated, glancing over her shoulder as if someone might overhear.
"I just received a cryptic message from our clan. The Patriarch summons us… or should I say that your Grandpa summons us?"
Her words sent a chill down my spine.
Shit.
Not him.
Anyone but him—
I groaned out loud, wanting to complain when another detail from my memories shook me.
The Romero Patriarch.
That name had been in the book.
This—this had happened before.
In the book of sin…
I froze, my mind racing as I tried to piece together the fragments of information I'd read.
The pages had been cryptic and hazy, but now it all felt too real.
Sylvie must have noticed the change in my expression because she frowned. "What's wrong?"
I couldn't hide the truth—not from her, right?
I was about to meet her gaze, but right before I could.
I realised something.
I was still naked.
Almost…butt naked.
***