Illius slept very little—or, at least, he felt like he had barely closed his eyes before he heard Eric rummaging around in the room across the hall. He pulled his covers further over his head and let himself sink back into his pillow.
When he woke up again, he still felt sleepy. His body ached from Hireth’s constant training, and he had to haul himself out of bed. He’d shower first, then he’d make breakfast and take Eric his food.
Hireth had briefly explained how the pipes and everything worked in the old library, but he had tuned most of it out. Something about pulling water from the nearby stream and heating it with runes. She powered it with her magic, which meant that on some days it would scorch him, while on other days, he’d practically freeze. Today was an ice-cold day. It certainly woke him up. When he stepped out, he couldn’t stop shivering, even after he toweled off. He’d gotten to his last pair of clean clothes, so that probably meant Hireth would make them do laundry today. Or maybe not. He had his suspicions that she skipped showers on days when the water got so cold.
He stopped in the kitchen and stared at the spot he normally sat in. Someone had left a plate and silverware out, alongside a steaming mug of tea. A toasted, bisected biscuit and two eggs sat on his plate. The last two eggs. With narrowed eyes, he glanced around the room. It wasn’t his birthday. It wasn’t even close to his birthday, and he didn’t think he’d even told Hireth or Eric the date.
“Hmmm.” He made his way over to the food and sat down. There was a note above his plate, folded neatly to prop itself up. Meet me outside. That was Eric’s handwriting. He took a deep breath and let himself, just for the tiniest of seconds, feel a burst of joy. Eric had clearly made him breakfast. How had he even known when Illius would get up? The shower. His eyes stung as he put the card back down. Eric had noticed something so trivial? Why? Yes, Illius had memorized the rows of books Eric liked to visit, and he kept track of the runes Eric used most, even though he hated magic. Had Hireth said something? No. She wouldn’t. She was nosy and opinionated, but he somehow knew this was where her meddling ceased.
The tea burnt his tongue, and he set it back down and started on the food. What was Eric going to say? What was Illius going to say? Fuck. For a brief second, he thought about pretending he’d never seen the note.
The egg split apart as he cut into it, spilling its yolk all over the plate. Hireth was going to kill Eric if she needed those eggs for something. He could picture the smirk on Eric’s face—he’d probably say something along the lines of, “I regret nothing.”
It almost hurt. How could he not regret it? Illius buried his head in his hands. Eric popped into his mind again as the seconds ticked by and the food got colder. “What’s the matter? You don’t like my cooking?” he’d undoubtedly say.
Great. Now he had an inner Eric who was just as beautifully annoying as the one in real life. He finished up his breakfast, washed his dishes, and headed upstairs. Hireth was on the top levels from what he could tell, but Eric was nowhere in sight. Illius couldn’t feel the gentle pull of Eric’s blue magic, which meant he wasn’t working with it. Bundling up, Illius then headed outside.
He felt a little pull over by the river, so he headed over there first. Maybe Eric just wanted him to help with laundry. Illius snorted at the thought—Eric never did laundry until Hireth pushed him outside and threatened to not let him back in, saying he could just wear his clothes inside out.
He noticed Eric’s footsteps in the snow, and he stepped in them, using the stamped down snow to move faster. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but Eric skating on the frozen river, weaving in and out of the rocks, was not it.
As soon as Illius stepped out of the woods, Eric noticed him. “Hey!”
“H-hey,” Illius replied.
“Hireth said the river was frozen enough we could skate on it.” Eric pulled him out onto the ice.
Ah, so he hadn’t meant anything more.
“Oh,” was all he could say.
Eric studied his face, so Illius tried to school it into a neutral expression. He wasn’t disappointed. It was better this way. He missed some of what Eric said as he tried to convince himself it was fine.
“—and I wanted to talk to you, but not at the library because Hireth is a nosy witch.”
“Wait, what?”
“Well,” Eric hesitated. “I know… yesterday…”
Illius stared into those blue eyes, trying to make sense of them. Something snapped in the woods; Illius whirled toward the sound.
“Illius?” Eric looked in the same direction, alarmed.
He could feel magic activating, all around them. Orange, blue, green, and yellow.
Eric’s blue magic started to glow, and he materialized a staff. “Go get Hireth.”
“I… I—” don’t want to leave you.
The orange magic flashed first, and an inquisitor skulked out from the shadows, clad in a uniform with a stiff, white collar, his hair slicked back. He held two curved swords of fiery orange magic and sneered as a blue barrier swirled up from the snow and bubbled around him.
“You know, we wondered why a chosen kid who volunteered for the Allfather’s army would throw it all away for a therian.” The inquisitor twirled one of his swords. “I have to say, falling in love with him was not even on my list.”
