7. Rowan's worry

A shaky hand raked through green curls, the patter of footsteps the only sound breaking the silence of the room.

A week.

A week of watching. Waiting. Worrying over a girl he hardly knew.

Crow hadn’t stirred in all that time. The healer had returned after three days, examined her, and given a grim conclusion: she had burned through too much mana, leaving her body desperately trying to recover. There was nothing to do but wait.

So, Rowan did.

Every night was spent in the infirmary, searching desperately for answers. For what had happened to him. For what had happened to her.

For that vision.

Each time he visited, hope flared in his chest, just to be smothered by the unchanging sight of her still form. The only sound breaking the quiet was her slow, steady breathing.

Helplessness gnawed at him. The guild master’s reassurances were fleeting, even the old man seemed troubled himself.

So, Rowan did what he knew best: he buried himself in research, pushing off his other duties onto fellow aspect readers. His class made appraising mana stones and monster materials effortless, so he rushed through his assignments, spending every spare moment in the guild’s archives.

Still, no matter how many books he pored over, he found nothing but dead ends and half-truths.

Until he stumbled upon Crow’s daggers.

The sigil from his vision was carved into them. A clue. A direction. A chance.

His search led him to fragmented accounts—one referencing a fable about the Celestial Trinity, another a redacted article older than any living soul. The only surviving fragments spoke of the Eclipsed Reliquary and something called an Astral Keeper.

Then, a voice pierced the silence.

“She’s waking up!”

Myra’s excited squeak echoed from the hall. Rowan’s ears twitched at the sound. His pulse, steady moments before, now pounded with anticipation.

He gathered supplies with practiced efficiency—a fresh roll of gauze, healing balm, and provisions in case she was hungry. He hesitated, then poured a glass of water before heading for the room.

Myra and Garran dashed past, their urgency palpable, but Rowan barely spared them a glance. Once they disappeared around the corner, he slipped inside, hands steady despite the adrenaline coursing through him.

Then he saw her eyes—violet, hazy but open.

His breath caught.

“You’re awake,” he murmured, relief softening the tension that had gripped him for days.

She blinked at him, something distant in her expression. “Crow?” he repeated gently.

She shook her head, voice rasping as she whispered, “Sorry.”

He sighed, shoulders slumping. “Don’t apologize.”

Something shifted in her gaze—guilt, fear, maybe both. Rowan pulled a chair closer, catching her eye.

“Hey,” he breathed, a small, relieved smile tugging at his lips. "You gave us quite the scare."

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “I—I didn’t—” Panic flickered in her face.

“Here, let’s sit you up.” He cut in quickly, sensing her spiraling thoughts. He hesitated, then carefully slid an arm around her waist. Holding back the strength that still felt foreign to him, he lifted her as gently as he could. She felt too light, too fragile, and the realization tightened something deep in his chest.

“You must be thirsty,” he murmured, grabbing the water. “Small sips.”

He wanted to believe he’d do this for anyone. That the pull he felt toward her wasn’t terrifying in its intensity. But he knew better.

He busied himself with the bandages, setting the supplies beside her. Then her voice cut through the silence—

“I couldn’t stop it.” her voice was hollow as she spoke, “The magic—it felt like it was consuming everything.”

He heard the panic rising in her throat, hesitating before gently pulling her hand towards him.

Carefully unwrapping the bandages, his gaze met hers, gauging her reaction. “You’ve been out for almost a week.”

Pain crossed her violet eyes when hearing the news, her breath catching in her throat. She paused for only a moment before speaking again.

Pain flickered across her face. She swallowed hard before continuing, “A voice told me to use it. Said it would save them. But the mana… it wasn’t mine. It was too much—I thought it would consume me. If I hadn’t stopped… whatever spoke to me would have taken over. I was going to be burned away.”

His mind spun.

A voice. She had heard one too.

His own had taught him how to activate Arcane Instincts, a skill that felt as natural as breathing now. It had guided him, shaped him. Had it done the same to her?

He took a slow breath, choosing his words carefully. “Crow.” His voice was steady as he cleaned her palms. “You used a spell your body wasn’t ready for. It’s okay. You’ll just need to train your capacity. Relax, alright?”

She hissed in pain as the antiseptic touched raw skin. He cast her an apologetic glance. “Sorry,” he murmured. “Something about your magic won’t let potions heal these. Until you can heal yourself, we’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.”

Her expression softened. “Have you been taking care of them this whole time?”

“The burns are pretty bad so they need to be cleaned and redressed daily. They might not look like it, but they’ve actually been healing nicely.” He spoke quickly, trying to change the topic.

She shook her head at him, “You’re too kind,” her soft voice made his heart skip a beat.

“You healed me,” He said, perhaps to convince himself that she deserved the attention. He absentmindedly rubbed his thumb against her hand, he went to speak again.

BANG

The door slammed open. Rowan tensed, instinctively pulling his hood lower. His stomach twisted as he saw who stood there.

Kael .

He’d woken up a few days ago, not saying a word to anyone before storming out of the infirmary.

“Good Riddance .” he had thought, now that he was back everything about him grated on his nerves. His scent alone, sharp like burnt ozone, was unbearably familiar.

“I didn’t ask you to heal me, got that?” Kael’s voice grated against Rowan’s nerves

Of course. The one and only Kael Ignis was probably the only person alive who would yell at the person who saved his life.

Before he had the chance to say anything Elowen–no Crow tilted her head, “Listen,” even though her voice was weak he could hear the humor behind it, “I just didn’t want you to stain the guild’s table, bleeding to death on one will do that, you know?”

Rowan couldn’t stop the quiet snort that escaped him. Even now, she was sharp.

A vein pulsed in Kael’s forehead. “I don’t know what you're on, but I did not almost bleed to death,” His voice was as much of a snarl as it had always been.

He stomped toward them, eyes locked onto Crow. Rowan took in the details—he was taller now, several inches above him, dressed in a loose shirt instead of his usual enchanted cloak, which had been damaged beyond repair.

According to Myra, he hardly wore anything more than the cloak, claiming it interfered with his magic.

“If you ask me though,” she whispered to Rowan as if Kael would hear even though he was nowhere to be found, “I think he does it because he likes the attention.”

“Oh, so you wanted me to let you die? I’ll keep that in mind for next time,” she nodded, tapping her forehead with her index finger.

Rowan did his best to stifle his laugh, his shoulders shaking in effort. This was the first time he’d ever seen someone so uncaring for who Kael was, and what he could do. The blond looked like he was on the edge of a conniption.

“There won’t be a next time, you damn idiot. I don’t need a backfire medic to be a liability around,” he growled and reached for his belt, slinging a pouch of gold coins into her lap.

Crow looked unimpressed, shoving the gold back in the bag and tossing it back at Kael.

“I wouldn’t be your healer even if the gods forced me,” her eyes rolled.

“I don’t work for feral cats.”

Laughter tore from Rowan’s throat. Never in all his days did he think he’d find someone who would go toe to toe with Kiki. The laughter was short-lived when he saw the man’s hand shoot forward and grab Crow’s collar.

“What did you call me?!”

Rowan snatched his hand away from her, he could feel a rage that had become all too familiar in the last few days bubbling in his veins. Something about the way he would grab someone, grab Crow, without hesitation made that darkness inside him rear it’s ugly head.

“You only know how to be ungrateful, don’t you?”

He could feel his mana swirl around inside, begging for a release.

It’d be so easy.

“Who do you think you are, loser?” he snatched his hand away from Rowan. He opened his mouth to say something, but Crow beat him to it.

“You should settle down, Kitty Cat.” Crow’s tone tired, her eyes showing her lack of patience.

Kael looked as if she had called him a slur, Rowan raised an eyebrow. A snicker escaped him.

“Kitty Cat?”

“You called him Kitty when you saw him bleeding to death,” she shrugged, raising her voice to make it clear he was in fact on the brink of death when she healed him.

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“And he seems to act like a feral cat, all hiss and no bite.”

Rowan pinched the bridge of his nose, “I called him Kiki Crow, not not ‘Kitty’,” he laughed.

“I think I like Kitty Cat better.” he saw the heat rise to her cheeks, embarrassed by the correction, though she still shrugged.

“Oh you idiots are just hilarious, aren’t you? I could kill you both right now if I wanted.” Kael snarled.

Rowan felt his face drop, rage threatening to spill over. Good old Kiki, always taking things so seriously.

“Haven’t changed a bit, have you, Kiki?” he couldn’t stop from growling this time, clenching and unclenching his fists in his lap.

“Who do you think you are, runt?” He snapped again, this time grabbing Rowan and yanking him up. The hood slipped from his head and he felt the wolf-like ears pin backwards. Rowan let out a sound that was more animal than human,

“Flint?” Kael looked as if he’d seen a ghost, guilt writhing in his features just for a moment. Anger quickly covered the softer emotion and he shoved Rowan back.

“Stop it,” Crow’s firm voice was on edge.

“Shut it, Backfire Medic.” the blond snapped, his glare meeting Rowan’s. Something about the way he spoke to her made the anger burn hot in his veins. He could feel Kael’s intense aura but that didn’t stop him.

“Why can’t you just thank her for helping you, Kael? She saved your miserable life and you’re acting like that means she is trying to take away your manhood or something.” He snapped at the man.

“Oh, useless little Rowan thinks he's all big and bad now because he had an unveiling,” Kael’s voice was cold, calculating. “That will never change anything, you’ll always be weak –”

Rowan stood, moving closer, “Shut up,” He snapped. Kael smirked, his eyes darting to Crow.

“I guess you found someone just as useless as you.”

His codex chimed as he felt his instincts take over. Before Rowan could register what he was doing, his body moved on it’s own. He lunged at Kael, his fist connecting with his jaw as the pair went rolling. Nails quickly became claws as the blond’s fist collided with his sternum. He felt as if he was slammed into a table, hearing it crack from the force. He smashed Kael into a shelf; jars fell and shattered, eventually the taller of the two shoved Rowan so hard he hit the wall.

He felt his nails grow into claws, the rage blinding him. Everything he hated about the man bubbled to the surface; his superiority complex, his lack of tact, his willingness to bully someone he considered a friend once, everything. Every hurtful word, the way he spoke to Crow.

“Just let go,” that voice again. He tried to fight it, to not lose control, not now.

But it was so enticing.

His body moved on its own, rushing at Kael once more. When the blond saw him stand, he didn’t hesitate. Rowan braced for a collision that never came.

“Enough,” Crow spoke in a low tone, her breathing heavy. Black light flashed in her palms, her hands now bloody. She held Kael’s fist, catching Rowan’s wrist inches from his chest.

What was more puzzling than the speed she had managed was that the longer she held his wrist, the more he could feel the mana inside him scrambling. He blinked for a moment, head spinning.

Had she awakened a new skill?

Could she disrupt mana just by using her hands, or was it an effect that could travel through a blade, or even one she could cast out?

Rowan hardly heard when Kael yelled and snatched his hand away from her. But, he noticed when he looked up to her.

Kael staring. Looking her over like he was seeing her for the first time, a quiet admiration flashed through his eyes before he tampered it down.

“Crow–” Rowan was in disbelief but he saw it. Her eyes unfocused and her head lolled forward. He reached for her but Kael was quicker.

Something ugly twisted in his gut. His jaw clenched. He hated the way Kael touched her—possessive like he had a right to. But he forced himself to stay still, swallowing down the jealousy clawing at his throat.

“Tch. You really are a backfire medic, what healer is too stupid to realize they’ve already been pushed past their limitations.” he heard him mutter but he saw. He saw the firm grip he held her in, the fact he pulled her just a little too close.

“Sorry, Kitty Cat, next time I’ll let you both destroy the entire infirmary and whatever is below it.” Rowan held back a smile, even though sarcasm seeped into her voice, her breaths had become ragged.

He watched as the blond stooped his head lower, growling into her ear.

“I could throw you on the floor right now if I wanted, you do know that don’t you?”

He didn’t hear her retort, focusing on anything else but the way he was holding her. Even with her being so weak, she still managed to glare up at Kael, which eased his heart if even just a little.

“Are you okay?” Rowan’s voice was softer than he thought it’d be. He checked her hands, where they had once been healing nicely, it seemed the wound reopened. Blood seeped through the wrappings making him shutter. He had been at fault for this too.

“I’ll rewrap them later,” He whispered.

Worry flashed through his mind, and hearing Master Fujimura’s voice shook him out of it before it could wander too far.

“Kael. Ignis,” His gaze burned into the blond. “Why is it always you in the middle of chaos? And why the hell is she out of bed?!”

Kael shot a glare down to Crow, his lips curled in a snarl.

“It’s not my fault your idiot medic doesn’t know her limits.”

“I’m not a medic,” her voice broke as her knees buckled beneath her, a hiss sounding from her. She looked exhausted.

Kael didn’t hesitate. His other arm quickly shot forward as he swooped her up into a bridal carry with ease. He muttered something to himself, but Rowan was far too focused on where his hands were, and how long he intended to hold her.

Rowan saw her shutter, and then Kael leaned in so close he was practically cheek-to-cheek with her. What he assumed was the new wolf instinct in him bristled, his mana thrumming under his skin like a warning growl, but he swallowed it down.

Now wasn’t the time.

His hold on her lingered—too long. The way he held her was too possessive.

Finally, he sat her down, shoving the bag of gold back into her hands before whispering something else to her, her whole face flushing as he did. She tried pushing him away but he caught her wrists.

“Your hands are hurt, moron.”

“You’re unbelievable.” Rowan was irritated with the blond, he was obviously putting on a front. Probably trying to prove he was better than Rowan once more. He met Rowan’s gaze, smugness written across his features. He heard him speak but wasn’t listening. Kael turned on his heel to head out, before stepping through the door, Rowan saw it. The brief glance he cast towards Crow.

And he knew that Kael wanted him to see it.

Rowan was shaken from his thoughts when he heard the other man who entered the room speak.

“Riven Duskbane,” the man muttered, his voice rough. “I’m from the adventuring guild’s central branch. There have been some... magical disturbances in the area. I’m here to investigate.”

He heard his master shut the door and mutter an apology. The dark-haired mean–Duskbane–looked both Rowan and Crow over. He knew this man, he couldn’t remember when but he had visited here in the last few years.

“Now, I need you two to explain what you’ve seen in the last few days, in detail.” His tone left no room for argument, and he sounded tired as he spoke.

Rowan shared a glance with Crow, not knowing what to say.

“Fine,” Duskbane’s voice sharp. "The Church is also interested in this. You can talk to me, or deal with them."

“Where do we even begin?” Rowan sighed.

“I can start but you. You can’t turn me into the church.” Crow’s voice shook as she spoke. She cleared her throat, appearing to try to center herself.

The weight of those words hung in the air

Turn her in?

Rowan’s chest tightened. He wanted to ask for an explanation. What had she gotten herself into to anger the church? Why was she so scared about it? What could she be hiding?

The earlier confrontation with Kael had left his emotions raw, leaving him unwilling to talk. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing.

“I can assure you, the church doesn’t want to get caught in guild business, so as long as you’re cooperative you have nothing to worry about.”

He heard her sigh in relief before the man spoke again.

“I need to examine your codex,” he said tiredly, “Then I’ll ask questions.”

Rowan tensed but nodded and handed both of their devices over. He wasn’t sure how an investigator from the adventures’ guild would feel knowing he had a meter to show how feral he was. Would they punish him for a curse he never asked for? Force him to be manaless again?

Duskbane scanned over his first, a questioning glance sent his way. He silently put his down and opened Crow’s. When he tapped through the magical runes, he flinched away from the device as if it had burned him. He caught it, but his face was unreadable as he looked up.

“Your name…” His spine stiffened, “You’re not Callister’s daughter, are you?”

Callister?

Rowan froze. Aurelia. Why hadn’t he placed it before? She’s a part of the Duke’s family. But, they hadn’t had a daughter named Elowen, had they?

Rowan racked his brain, Elowen. Then it hit him.

“If you’re the duke’s daughter,” he was still stunned, “They said you were killed by that other church. The Noctis something. And they retaliated for it.”

Meaning they killed innocent people, and for what? Because they didn’t have the same ideas? Because they didn’t believe in calling people like him–or rather who used to be–soulless?

She didn’t speak at all, but Rowan could see the pain in her eyes.

“Of course, I get such an irritating case,” Duskbane huffed, “I need to call my partners in, this is going to be a long night,” He turned to the guild master, and they shared a look before both leaving.

“You should rest soon too, Rowan.” Was all Fujimura said before opening the door and leaving with Duskbane.

Crow was staring blankly at the ceiling when they left, fear and pain subsiding in her expression, though it was placed with something else.

Rowan stared at her for a moment. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t know what to say. For the first time in days, he could feel the rage seeping out of him, exhaustion taking its place. He felt like him again.

“It’s not your fault,” His voice was gentle, “You didn’t know they were going to fake your death. You didn’t know that they would go after those people.”

“They demanded it, for my father to kick me out.” She finally spoke, her voice steadier now.

His chest tightened for her. Kicked her out? Why would they do that?

“We were the same you know, “ Her eyes met his, a small smile tugging on her lips, “Aethershades. Husks . Both apparently at the wrong place at the wrong time.” she let out a half-hearted chuckle as she looked back to the ceiling.

“I didn’t think nobility–” Nobility prided themselves on not only being the strongest unveiled, but the quickest to awaken, some children being as young as five when they unlocked their class for the first time.

“We’re not supposed to,” She responded, “My mother died having me, I never had an unveiling, I was a curse .” Her jaw tightened.

“None of that was within your control,” he wanted to find the right words but he couldn’t. His mother never treated him any differently when he never received a class, when he was found to be completely without mana in general. She never stopped encouraging him to follow his dreams. Hearing how a family could be so…so cold, so calloused, it brought tears to his eyes.

“You’re ridiculous,” She laughed, but he saw a tear roll down her cheek as well. She reached up and wiped the tears from his cheeks, “You shouldn’t be this worried over a stranger.”

She was right.

They were practically strangers.

Yet, he couldn’t help but feel for her. She had pushed past her limits for strangers, and ran through the woods on a full moon just because she had a bad feeling in her stomach.

“I wouldn’t say strangers,” He gave her a smile, “You saw me become whatever I am now, saved my life even, we're at least acquaintances at this point.”

She laughed, just like she did that night. Something about it made his muscles relax.

“Fine, acquaintance then. I take it Kitty Cat is also an acquaintance then,”

Rowan couldn’t hold back the laugh that erupted from him.

Kitty Cat.

“He’s going to kill you if you keep calling him that.”

“Pfft. I’d honestly like to see him try, considering the condition he was in I doubt he can be that strong.”

Rowan raised an eyebrow, “You’ve really never heard of him before now?”

“Should I have?” She sounded confused.

Rowan was surprised, Katsuki Kael was a name well-known by the outer kingdom at this point. He had more rumors surrounding his name than any other adventure Rowan could remember. He’d done significant work in keeping towns safe, but he was so–hateful that he was considered a demon.

“You’ve never heard the name ‘Incendiary Tyrant’ before?” He asked, her eyes snapping to him.

“No way.” She sounded surprised, but her tone was on the edge of laughter.

“Oh, so you have heard of one of the most infamous adventures in the kingdom.

“Of course I have,” She was biting back a laugh now, “He was almost imprisoned by my father the year before he disowned me. I hated my father so much that at that point I did whatever I could to make his life harder. So, when I heard he was picking on an adventure I–” She stopped to listen, making sure no one was around. She lowered her voice, “I forged a letter from the crowned prince telling him to drop it.”

Rowan’s eyes went wide. That was not only illegal but considered treason.

“How did you not get caught?! They have paper with special seals, a wax seal, not to mention having to copy his handwriting.” His eyes were so serious as he started going through all the things she’d need to pull that off.

“You need to lighten up,” She laughed at him, he stopped spiraling and looked at her, those violet eyes twinkling with mischief, “I can copy anyone's handwriting. The other things–let’s just say I used to have a friend in the palace.”

He rubbed his face, “You’re going to get me in a lot of trouble if I stay by your side.”

“Maybe,” her lips pulled into a small smirk.

“Wait.” It suddenly dawned on him, “That means Kiki–”

“I’ve apparently gotten him out of the woods twice now,” She chuckled, “Something tells me he’s not going to want to know that though, so it can be our secret.”

Rowan shook his head. She said she had done it because she hated her father, but something told him that wasn’t completely true. She could have gotten in major trouble, and having no credentials to get her out of it, she risked so much for one adventure.

What else had she done if she were willing to go that far?

“You’re definitely trouble.” He huffed out a laugh.

“That just makes life more exciting, no?”