Chapter Thirteen

Lyra's POV

I didn't know if it was me but did the people in the Lancaster estate never sleep?

Even in the quiet hours, I could feel it breathing, distant footsteps, the low whispers of the air like it was alive.

Wolves passed beneath my window like shadows with purpose, guardians who never truly rested and I couldn’t either.

My body still ached from the fight earlier, from being tested like a blade struck on an anvil. I laid on the bed for a while, staring at the ceiling, replaying the elders’ words.

Partially ready.

It sounded like mercy and felt like a warning.

Eventually, I pushed myself up and left the room heading out to the hall corridors. Maria’s presence was easy to find, green and warm, like moss after rain.

Her room smelled of herbs and smoke.

She stood barefoot in the center, sleeves rolled up, dark curls tied back loosely. Candles floated around her in a slow orbit, their flames bending and straightening as she murmured under her breath. Sigils bloomed briefly in the air, then dissolved like breath on glass.

I leaned against the doorframe, staring at a magic chant for the first time in my life.

“You know most people knock”

She didn’t look startled. Just smiled faintly. “You’re loud when you walk, even when you try not to be”

The candles settled. She turned, eyes sharp but kind, “You should be resting you know”

“I tried...” I said, “Didn’t stick”

She gestured me inside. “Sit, then, watching magic teaches more than sleeping sometimes”

I sat on the low wooden bench near her makeshift altar, eyes drawn to the jars lining the shelves, bones, roots, feathers, things that hummed softly when I focused too hard.

“You handled yourself well today” Maria said casually, wiping her hands on a cloth.

“I got thrown into an unprepared fight”

“You survived,” she countered. “Most don’t”

That earned a weak huff from me. “The elders didn’t look impressed”

“They rarely are” Her tone softened, “They nodded and that's what matters”

The silence stretched, not awkwardly but more thoughtful.

Then she said, “You exhaust yourself when you use too much power”

I looked up sharply. “I manage”

“No,” Maria said gently. “You endure and there’s a difference”

She sat across from me, folding her legs beneath her. Her gaze wasn’t judging, just observant, old in a way that made my chest tighten.

“When you cast,” she continued, “your magic burns outward instead of circulating back. You’re bleeding energy every time”

“I—” I hesitated. “—That’s how my mother taught me”

Her jaw tightened, just slightly.

“Your mother taught you survival,” Maria said. “Not longevity”

That landed heavier than I expected.

“Magic always takes something,” she went on, “The stronger it is, the heavier the price. Witches who ignore that don’t die young because they’re weak. They die because they push too hard”

I swallowed. “You talk like you’ve seen it”

Her eyes darkened. Memories passed through them, sharp, and painful.

“I have” she said simply. “... I wouldn't be at my age if I didn't”

I didn’t push her to continue saying more. Some truths demanded silence.

After a moment, she reached for a small bowl, tracing a finger through its ash dusted rim. “If you want to survive what’s coming, and if you want to find your mother, you’ll need guidance beyond me”

I frowned, “Beyond you?”

She smiled wryly. “I’m not arrogant enough to think one witch can teach another everything”

“Who, then?”

“I have… friends,” she said, and paused,“Though some of them are… eccentric”

That made me snort, “Define eccentric”

“One speaks exclusively to mirrors. Another refuses to teach before sunrise, one still thinks the war hasn’t ended, stuff like that”

I blinked “That’s not… eccentric, that’s alarming”

Maria laughed quietly. “They’re brilliant, dangerous and alive”

I considered it, then nodded slowly. “I’ll need that”

“Yes,” she agreed. “You will”

A knock suddenly interrupted us, not too loud or polite.

The door opened without waiting and Caspian stepped in.

The room seemed to tighten around him, shadows stretching subtly in his wake. He looked as he always did, composed, immaculate, and his dark eyes unreadable.

“You were asking about strigois earlier,” he said, gaze flicking briefly to me.

Maria leaned back, arms crossing, “She was”

“Good.” His voice was smooth, “Then you should understand what hunts you”

I straightened, “I thought strigois were just… feral vampires”

“They’re the end result,” Caspian replied. “When hunger replaces reasoning and when blood becomes the only law”

“And... The others? They are others right?” I asked.

“Blood mages,” he said. “Rare and dangerous vampires who manipulate blood itself, not just consume it”

Maria’s lips thinned but she didn't say anything.

“And dhampirs,” he continued, “Half-born. Neither fully alive nor dead and often underestimated”

I frowned. “What about you?”

The room went still.

For the first time since I’d met him, Caspian froze.

Not visibly or dramatically. But something in him locked, like a blade caught mid-swing.

I watched his jaw tighten, the smallest flare of tension at his throat.

“What are you Cassian?” I pressed further.

Silence.

Maria glanced between us and Caspian didn’t answer.

He turned away instead, shadows folding around him like a cloak. “You know enough”

Then he walked out.

The door closing softly behind him.

I stared at it, heart thudding. “That was… strange”

Maria exhaled slowly. “That’s one word for it.”

“You don’t know?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Not really. Caspian Noir is a collection of rumors stitched into a man”

“That doesn’t bother you?”

“It does,” she admitted, “But some truths resist being uncovered for a reason”

I leaned back, staring at the ceiling. “Everyone here knows what they are except me”

Maria met my gaze. “You’ll learn, just not all at once”

I nodded, unease curling in my chest.

Outside, the estate murmured on, wolves pacing, howling, and secrets settling deeper into stone.

And somewhere beyond the wards, I felt it.

That sense of being watched.

Not closely.

Not yet.... More like... patiently.

Like something counting down.