Page 180 of Bitten & Burned

Twenty-Seven

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Caer Voss, Sol, Verdune

28 Ebry, Year 810

The streetsof Caer Voss were louder than I expected. People were yelling, talking to one another, bustling past on their way to wherever they were going. A fresh cool breeze blew in from the sea, bringing with it the salty air combined with the fried food that was sold up and down the boardwalk. It smelled like I was finally home. Maybe I could convince Vael to let me go down there, just for a bit. Even if Vael didn’t want to, I could get Quil to agree. The fried dough was calling to me.

Or maybe that was just because I hadn’t eaten breakfast.

It didn’t matter. I didn’t have to go far. Just eight blocks from my apartment to the wrought-iron gates of the Blackthorn Institute—a museum to most, but also the top research facility when it came to magical Verdunian artifacts.

It was my sanctuary, and I hadn’t been back in weeks.

My work lately had consisted mostly of trying to reverse the curseon my leg, but considering it was such an enigma to most of my colleagues, it was still considered research. My superiors had hoped I’d be able to publish a paper on the topic after a cure had been found.

Gods, I hoped I’d be able to. Not just for academic reasons, but for ‘me not having this godsforsaken blight on my leg anymore’ reasons.

I stepped through the gates, past the sandstone columns and climbing glasswork. The air here always smelled like old paper, polished stone, and lavender oil—a signature of the maintenance spells woven through the halls.

I made my way to my office on the third floor and nearly ran into Collette, one of the junior cursebreakers.

“Oh, Rowena!” She said, eyes wide as she reached out to steady me. “Gods, how are you?”

“Been better,” I said. “I’m really only here to go down to the archives and find a few books…”

“Books on what? I’ll go grab them for you.”

Collette was always like this: helpful to a fault. It used to annoy me, but now, seeing as my leg was already burning like mad from the short walk here, I was mostly just relieved.

“You don’t mind, do you?” I asked, reaching into my bag for the slip of paper my father had given me.

“Not at all,” she said, glancing down at the list. “Metalurgy, huh? Are you finally looking into the old family trade?” She grinned, and I knew she was joking, but it rubbed me wrong.

“Something like that,” I said. “Can you bring them to my office? Just drop them off on the desk if I’m not here, but I should be here until after lunch at least.”

“No problem, Ro. Listen… if these books help with that… thing… on your leg, can I have a mention in your paper after you publish? Just a footnote would help me out so much.”

Sighing, I nodded. “Of course, Collette.”

She grinned and made for the stairwell. “I’ll be back as soon as possible!”

“Thank you!” I called and turned to unlock the door to my office.

There were scrolls and letters piled into my incoming basket, but, otherwise, it looked much the way I’d left it. I hung my bag on the hook by the door.

I sat down, taking my weight off my leg. It wasn’t completely painless, but it was less noticeable now.

As I waited, I decided to start making my way through my incoming mail stack. I began at the top and started reading. I didn’t think I’d been reading long, but then came another knock at the door.

“Knock-knock! I have those books you needed!” Collette bustled in and placed the pile of books on my desk.

“That was…fast, thank you, Collette!”

“My pleasure! Anything I can do to help you out, Rowena?” She was practically bouncing on her toes.

“Yes, could you possibly send a Pulse to Thalia at her shop? Ask her to meet me here for lunch today?”