Gracelynn’s dull blue eyes met with Yseult’s. The ice witch choked back her tears; even if Gracelynn had hurt her in the past, Yseult wasn’t heartless. She could see how much pain Gracelynn was in just by the expression on her pale face.

Trying to distract them with a sound different from Gracelynn’s groaning, Yseult opened her mouth and spoke.

“It’s been a while.”

She didn’t know what else to say. No words would comfort the desperate couple, and Yseult was still severely hurt from her old friends’ past actions. Even so, it made her feel almost guilty seeing just how much they were suffering.

Not that she was completely at fault.

Derych took a deep breath. “A-alright honey, Yseult and I need to talk. Holler if you need anything.” He whimpered. Gracelynn didn’t respond, but Derych and Yseult still left the room, closing the door behind them.

“I hate seeing her suffer,” Derych murmured.

Yseult sighed heavily. “Derych… why didn’t you take her to a magic hospital?” She questioned. “She seems to be in really bad shape… they can help her.”

She knew what she told him sounded rude, but it seemed like an obvious solution. There was no doubt magic hospitals dealt with demons before— maybe not one of this magnitude, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.

Derych furrowed his eyebrows. “You believe they’ll help her?” He growled. “I mean, this is a demon like none we’ve ever seen before. It—“ Derych stopped mid sentence, his shoulders slumping forward. Yseult knew what he meant. 

The man shook his head. “No. They’ll treat her like a demon vessel rather than a mother in trouble.” Derych responded. 

“I guess.”  Yseult was reluctant to agree with him, even though deep down, she knew he was right.

“We’ve thought about an abortion too,” Derych started. “But that won’t kill the demon. If we abort this baby and try for another one, it’ll only possess the next one.”

“Alright.” Yseult was afraid her minimal responses were upsetting Derych more, but she didn’t know what else to say.

Derych rubbed his temples, the large bags under his eyes growing even darker. “The only solution is Kassmeyer.” 

“And you’re sure she’ll be able to help?” Yseult questioned. 

“Please, just contact her immediately.” Derych grumbled, ignoring her question. Yseult knew he didn’t know whether their old professor would have the solution to the terrible situation they found themselves in, but at this point, she knew he was desperate.

Yseult hung her head and pushed a deep exhale out of her chest. “Alright,” Yseult whimpered. “Give me a moment.”

She turned and left Derych standing in the hallway, hoping he wouldn’t follow her. So many emotions clogged her mind, and her thoughts raced a million miles per second. In the living room sat the quartz, and she tentatively approached it.

Placing a hand on the stone, Yseult tried her hardest to focus. With the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions, she found it hard to recall the spell. She cussed under her breath.

“What was it…” 

She mentally scolded herself, despite the fact that she never imagined she’d ever be in the position to recite it. She figured she would never need help from Professor Kassmeyer again, that she would never see Professor Kassmeyer again. 

However, now she found herself needing the Professor more than ever, and not just for Derych and Gracelynn’s sake.

After a few mentally taxing minutes, the spell slowly unraveled itself in her head. Yseult traced her hand over the stone and recited the words in an ancient language: Latin. She focused what little energy she had on the spell, and when the spell came to an end, the rock began to glow.

She knew of communication stones, but had never seen one be used, much less used one herself. Her stomach churned with anxiety as she waited for what seemed like forever to get an answer on the other side. However, it was only a few moments before she heard a familiar voice.

“Yseult…” the voice was soft, full of sadness.

Yseult forced her next word out. “P-Professor.”

It hurt to hear the Professor’s voice. It had been over a decade since she last heard it, and despite how much comfort it used to bring her, now it only filled her with ice cold regret. Yseult felt the air grow around her chill as her magic slowly slipped out of her control.

“I-I thought I’d never hear from you again.” Professor Kassmeyer murmured. Although Yseult couldn’t see the Professor’s face, she could picture it as clear as day. Ten years couldn’t erase the Professor’s magnificent deep blue eyes from her memory.

“How have you been?” Professor Kassmeyer’s voice brought Yseult back to reality. 

“I’ve been okay,” Yseult replied, cringing at her lie. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been okay as well,” Kassmeyer answered. So both women were guilty of lying.

“Professor,” Yseult started quietly, “I-I need you.” She cleared her throat. “The demon… it’s back.”

“It is?”

There was silence.

Yseult continued to explain the situation. “Derych and Gracelynn… it’s going to be born into flesh through their baby.”

“I see.” The Professor breathed. “Well, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Where are you?”

“Baden-Baden, Germany,” Yseult answered. She gave Kassmeyer the address.

“Alright. It’ll take me a few days to get there, but I promise I’m coming.” There was a pause. “It’s nice to hear from you again.”

Without saying anything else, Yseult ended the spell and the light faded from the stone. She stood, staring at the stone, her fists clenched.

“Are you done?” A deep voice came from the hallway. “It’s getting quite chilly in here.”

Derych stepped in the room, his eyes landing on Yseult. Ice flakes clung to Yseult’s hair and eyelashes, and Derych sighed and put his hands on his waist.

“Guess I’ll be turning up the heat tonight…”

Yseult’s lip quivered. “She’ll be here in a few days,” she murmured.

“A few days?” Derych let out an exasperated whine. “Well… I guess the best we can do is wait until she gets here.”

He shivered from the low temperature in the room as he directed Yseult’s attention down the hallway. “Come on; there’s a spare room for you to stay in.”

Yseult grabbed her belongings and followed Derych down the hallway past the couple’s room. At the end of the hallway was a room with a closed door. Derych opened the room and gestured Yseult inside. 

The room had a bed and a dresser, along with various decorations to make it feel more welcoming. Derych flipped on the lights as Yseult stepped inside.

“Well, see you in the morning,” he said awkwardly.

Yseult’s only response was a half-hearted nod.

Derych closed the door, and Yseult was left by herself. Despite the homey atmosphere, Yseult felt miserable. She wanted nothing more than to sleep.

Yseult changed into her nightgown and crawled under the sheets of the bed, closing her eyes. The room was quiet— the only sounds she could hear were the clock ticking and her own breathing. Both were rhythmic, and the sounds and her aching muscles combined pulled her into a deep sleep.

***

The sun was shining brightly down on Seithr Relic Academy. The morning fog had burned off, leaving the grass damp and green. The air was warm and slightly muggy, and the Scandinavian Mountains stood brilliantly in the distance.

It was the lunch break, where students had an hour to eat and mingle with other students. The courtyard was bustling with students, chatting about recent homework assignments and what they had planned for summer break.

“Man, I don’t know if I’ll be able to pass this test!” Gracelynn whined, flipping through her notes. “So many notes to study! So, so many…”

“Why don’t you swing by Professor Kassmeyer’s office with me sometime?” Yseult suggested, taking a bite of an apple. “I’m sure she’d love to help you!”

“Pfft, studying,” Derych rolled his eyes, sitting on his broom as it hovered above the ground. “Studying is overrated. Just wing it!”

Yseult glared unamused at Derych. “Didn’t you get a C minus on your last test?”

“That’s still passing,” Derych growled, putting his hands behind his head. “Besides, Professor Bakula is such an unfair grader!”

Gracelynn let out a disapproving huff, looking over her notes some more. Derych shook his head and jumped off his broom, ripping the notes from Gracelynn’s hands. 

“H-hey!” Gracelynn cried in indignation. 

“What the hell, Derych?!” Yseult shouted in Gracelynn’s defense.

Derych shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, gesturing to his broom. “Come on— you girls can study later. Why don’t we go for a ride?”

Yseult thought about it. She and Gracelynn had been studying during their free time almost nonstop the past week. Even though finals were right around the corner, some free time to refresh their minds might do them some good.

“Alright, Derych,” Yseult agreed. “A rise sounds fun!”

Gracelynn sighed in defeat, the majority vote out ruling her opinion. “Okay,” Gracelynn murmured, getting to her feet. “I’ll go with you. Just give me my notes back.”

Derych grinned in success and handed Gracelynn her notes back. She placed them in her bag, careful not to bend the pages, then grabbed her broom.

Derych hopped on his broom. With a wave of his hand, he shouted “Last one to the ruins is a rotten egg!” before taking off on his broom.

“You jerk!” Yseult snapped, realizing her disadvantage. She jumped on her broom and raced after him.

“G-guys! Wait up!” Gracelynn wailed, desperately closing up her bag and flying after them. 

The old Norse ruins laid on the north side of the campus, and the artifacts excavated at these ruins were the reason for the school’s name— “Seithr Relic Academy”. The ruins were off limits to students, unless accompanied by a professor, but Derych was never the one to follow rules.

Reckless broom racing was also against the rules, in order to keep students from getting injured, but Derych broke that rule as well. In fact, Derych loved to race. Yseult enjoyed it as well; she loved the adrenaline. Gracelynn, however, was much more reserved, and, despite playing an equally important part in the friend trio, mostly tagged along with Derych and Yseult’s antics.

Yseult could just barely make Derych ahead of her as they flew toward the ruins. The wind blew through her hair, and the ground far beneath her was a blur. The air this speed was much cooler, and up ahead, she could see the ruins.

Derych landed at the entrance to the ancient Seithr temple, and Yseult joined him. She had seen these ruins plenty of times before, but now, something about them seemed off. The way the fog settled around them seemed too unnatural and ominous. Yseult shivered, feeling uneasy.

She looked at her friends. Gracelynn was nowhere to be found, and Derych had his back to her. While she couldn’t see his face, Yseult could feel anger.

“D-Derych?” Yseult stammered nervously.

“How could you do this to us?” Derych snarled, turning his head to look at her.

“W-what?” Yseult replied breathlessly.

“How could you let her go? After what she did to everyone? To Gracelynn?!” Derych’s deep voice was growing louder, and Yseult took a step back. He towered over her, and Yseult felt herself shrink as Derych loomed above her. His eyes were fixated on her, smoldering green fire.

“I-I didn’t mean-“ Yseult started, trying to defend herself, but Derych cut her off.

“Look what you’ve done! People are dead, and you let her go!” Derych’s shout echoed throughout the valley, and now, he was taller than the mountains.

“Derych…” Tears formed in Yseult’s eyes.

“They’re dead, Yseult! They’re dead! They’re dead!”

Yseult’s eyes shot open. She exhaled deeply, her breath visible against the cold air. Her vision adjusted to the darkness, and she could feel just how cold the room really was. Despite Derych’s remark of turning up the heat, the room was still cold as ice.

“It was… just a dream?” Yseult whimpered. It felt so realistic, even knowing it was only a dream didn’t relieve her.

She closed her eyes again, trying to go back to sleep, but Derych’s voice still played maliciously in her mind.

“They’re dead!”

Yseult groaned. It was useless; even if she was able to fall back asleep, she feared what nightmares she would face. 

Maybe splashing her face with water would help calm her nerves.

Getting out of the bed, Yseult turned on the lights and opened the door, gently closing it behind her. She headed down the hallway to where the bathroom was, entering it and switching on the lights. The cold water she splashed on her face only helped to slightly wake her.

Something caught her attention. From the room next door- which was Gracelynn and Derych’s room- came a groaning.

Yseult immediately recognized it as Gracelynn. The sheer pain in her cry almost made Yseult feel sick, but what made it worse was Derych’s weeping.

“Gracelynn, darling,” Derych sobbed. “Please, how can I help? I hate to see you suffer.” 

Yseult couldn’t make out Gracelynn’s response, but her heart ached for the couple. She placed her fist at the door, ready to knock, but she hesitated. It may not be the best idea to disturb them.

Despite her reservations, Yseult proceeded to knock gently on the door. She wasn’t sure if they heard her over Gracelynn’s constant groaning, but then she heard the door handle jiggle.

The door opened, and there stood Derych, his eyes puffy and red. He looked too depressed to be angry with Yseult for disturbing them.

“What is it?” He asked, his voice cracking.  

“I…” Yseult started, not sure of how to answer. She cleared her throat. “H-how’s Gracelynn doing?”

“Not good,” Derych sighed heavily. “We need Kassmeyer.”

“It’ll be a few days—“

“I know.” Derych quickly cut Yseult off, an edge to his voice. Now Yseult could feel the tension radiating from him. She lowered her head slightly, feeling his intense glare on her skin. 

“Hopefully she’s here soon.” That was all Yseult could muster to help ease the heaviness in the air. Derych kept his cold gaze on her, and Yseult realized how much she dreaded these next few days.