Chapter 1

“Be careful, Lindiriel.”

The parting words of my mentor still rang in my mind, even though many moons had passed since I left Nar-Alar and began my journey to prove my worth as a mage in this world. I knew that if she could, she would have kept me forever in those misty mountains just to keep an eye on me. But even she ran out of valid reasons to hold me there for longer. After all, I had learned all the spells an adept should know and a couple I shouldn’t, those times she didn’t lock the library at night, so I was ready long before she let me go.

And no, this isn’t one of those sad cautionary tales about an adept deeply regretting not listening to their mentor's words. I listened to them more than I wanted to, and at the end of the second year, I had learned most of her lectures by heart. I had been really careful anyway as I set out, and on those occasions when I wasn’t, everything somehow sorted out. So her anxious gaze that had followed me as I was finally allowed to leave was absolutely unnecessary.

The first few months of my journey were great, even if I pretty quickly ran out of funds. But I still believed my career choice had been the right one, and that learning offensive magic would lead me to a bright future. Admittedly, it hadn’t really got me a job yet. But who, in the right state of mind, would choose to spend their days making potions or learning spells that protected crops from pests when you could blast something with a fireball?

Of course, even I knew that the age of heroes had ended a long time ago, but if one of our eternal foes were to come back somehow, I would be the only one to stop it. Didn’t the great heroes of old also sacrifice everything to save our world?

So, with that in mind, what happened next definitely wasn’t my fault. I blamed it on the lack of funds and my mentor, Talinderiel, who had caught me one night with a book that I apparently shouldn’t read. It wasn’t my fault that she kicked me out of the library before I could read the full description of the spell.

Binding an elemental spirit had sounded like a good idea at the time. People in the area I stayed in had got pretty used to my fireworks shows by then, so they didn’t bring as much money as I needed for the next leg of my journey. So, I had to come up with something new.

Of course, I had been careful, and I crafted a talisman as good as I could remember from the illustration. I even waited for a cold, rainy night to prevent anyone from stumbling in as I cast my spell, just in case my assumption that “it shouldn’t work on people” would turn out not to be true.

Unfortunately, it did turn out not to be true, but how was I supposed to know that cold, rainy nights were also perfect for thieves to be out? I was a mage, not a rogue. Still, it shouldn’t have worked on people, but how could I have known that Tila had some weird ancestors? Even she didn’t know about it, since she was an orphan.

                                                            —------------------------------

2 weeks later

The rain drummed against the roof of our tent, and distant thunderclaps echoed in the air when the flap of the entrance flung open, and Tila crawled in with a bag full of food she’d ‘borrowed’ from a nearby farm. She didn’t hiss at me this time, so I took it as a good sign and carefully opened the bag she put between us.

Apples? I sighed. I had made a mistake by telling her what I didn't like to eat, and I was sure she put special effort into borrowing only things that were on my list. Still, it was better than when she got us a live chicken, and I tried to roast it with a fireball. I picked an apple and started to eat. At least we wouldn’t go to sleep hungry tonight.

“Thank you”, I tried again, but she only glared at me silently as her tail flicked from side to side.

“I.. I will find a way to undo it, okay?”, I mumbled with rising panic.

I still remember the scratches she had left on me after she had been foolish enough to pick up my talisman just as I finished casting my spell.

“I know a book that will help us.”

It wasn’t really a lie. I still remember hiding "Lagoon of Mermaids"inside the big, heavy "Transmutation and regressive genes" that Talinderie had wanted me to read, so I was sure it contained all the answers we needed. I gave her a quick glance, trying to judge her mood. Her ears weren't flattened against her head, so I assumed I was relatively safe from her claws.

She looked really cute, so I didn't quite get why she was so upset about it. Her ears and tail looked so fluffy that only the fear of her claws prevented me from checking if it was as soft as I imagined it to be. Even more, her nymph blood gave her skin a light blue hue, making her look almost like Kayah from "Sisterhood of Midnight".

I looked away, hoping she hadn’t noticed my blush, but I ran out of luck.

“What..?”, she asked.

“N-nothing..”

I shrank back, or at least I tried, until my back made contact with the cold, wet canvas of our tent, which forced my body back to its original position. Almost… Gravity had a different plan for me, and my face landed in the bag full of apples. It could be worse. At least apples didn’t have claws to defend their boundaries.

I tried to get up when she suddenly burst out laughing.

“What are you doing?”

I didn't really know how to answer it without compromising myself even further, but my instinct kicked in, and I gave her the answer that had always satisfied Talinderie whenever she asked me such a question.

“R-research!”, I mumbled, finally managing to sit up without realising that in the meantime, she had leaned towards me.

Our eyes met, and I choked, being sure she could hear my pounding heart.

“What research?”

I tried to lean back, bracing myself for another encounter with the cold, wet wall of our tent. Her tail flicked from side to side, and she followed me with her curious gaze, trapping me with my back against the wall. It was almost like the scene in which Kayah… I shut my eyes and braced myself for the inevitable conclusion, but it never came. When I dared to open my eyes again, I saw her lying on her side of our tent, wrapped in her, or rather, my blanket.

For the first time, I actually felt relieved by it. A cold night was probably what I really needed right now. I rolled myself into a ball next to her, hoping she would fall asleep first so I could hear her purr…