Evaline:
My question landed between us like a stone dropped into still water.
I watched as Elion’s pen halted midair, hovering just above the paper he was about to sign.
For a brief, stretched-out second, nothing moved.
Then he looked up.
Not sharply. Not defensively.
Just... confused.
His brows drew together slightly as his eyes fixed on my face, studying in a way that felt far more searching than accusatory. It was the kind of look one gave when trying to decide whether they had misheard... or whether the other person knew sothing they didn’t.
And in that mont, I knew.
When he had told before that the Silver Wolf bloodline’s healing power was its deepest secret, he hadn’t been hiding anything else from .
If he had known of another power... another buried truth... his reaction would have been different. There would have been tension. Shock. Guarded calculation.
Instead, there was only genuine confusion.
Unless, of course, Elion Grey was the greatest actor to ever walk this realm.
Which... no. He wasn’t subtle enough for that. Or, at least, that’s what I had co to learn over the ti I had spent with him.
Several long seconds passed before he finally exhaled softly. His gaze dropped back to the docunt in front of him, and with deliberate calm, he signed his na at the bottom. Only then did he place the pen aside, close the file, and lean back into his chair.
Now, he gave his full attention.
"No," he said simply. Looking calm and certain. "There isn’t."
I hadn’t realized how tightly my body had been wound until that single word loosened sothing deep in my chest.
I breathed out quietly.
"Everything I know about our bloodline and its secrets," he continued, "had co from two sources - my father and Elder Will."
His gaze beca soft as he talked about the two.
"They were the n who guarded all the knowledge about Silver Wolf Bloodline like a blade held at the throat of history itself. And not once, in all the years of learning and preparation, had either of them ntioned any power beyond divine healing."
"There were no whispered exceptions," he added. "No footnotes. No ’what ifs.’ Just the healing."
That alone eased sothing heavy inside .
Then Elion leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, his fingers loosely interlaced as his sharp gaze found mine again.
"So," he said, his voice even but curious now, "why ask such a question out of the blue?"
I hesitated.
Before I could answer, he added, "Is there sothing in the record book?"
My head snapped up. "How do you know I already have the record book?"
That earned a slow, knowing smile.
"I’ll take that as your second question of the day," he said smoothly.
My mouth fell open.
"What-wait-no, that’s not-"
Too late.
He continued without missing a beat. "I was with River in his office when the record was delivered. Hard to miss sothing that old being carried in like it might bite."
I stared at him.
There went my second question.
Just... gone.
"You did that on purpose," I accused.
"I absolutely did," he replied, unapologetic.
I groaned softly and leaned back in my chair. "You are insufferable."
"And yet," he said lightly, "you keep coming back to know more."
"That’s because I don’t have anyone else to go and demand answers from." I threw back at him, glaring cold daggers that should have pierced him already if they had been real.
His smile only blood further as he snapped his fingers and pointed at as if I just gave the answer.
"Exactly why I love dragging these questions," he confessed. "Don’t you think it will beco boring once you have all the answers you need from and we will be left with nothing to talk about?"
I just let out a sigh and shook my head. Sotis, Elion Grey could really be childish.
"Don’t make it look like I’m taking advantage here. It’s not like I completely waste your questions and give you nothing at all."
That I couldn’t deny. No matter how much he loved dragging these questioning segnts, I never left his office empty-handed each Saturday.
Not even once.
"Are we good now?" He asked.
I nodded.
"Good. So now answer . Is there sothing in the book?"
I shook my head. "Not really. I have only read the first few pages. So far, it’s all about the origin of the healing power. Nothing about... anything else."
"Then why ask?" he pressed.
I tilted my head, studying him. "I don’t recall promising to answer your questions."
A faint smirk tugged at his lips. "You are dodging."
"I’m conserving," I corrected sweetly.
He snorted... actually snorted... and leaned back again, folding his arms across his chest. "You know, you are far more difficult than I expected."
I raised an eyebrow. "Funny. I was thinking the sa about you."
For a mont, we simply looked at each other.
And then, unexpectedly, we both laughed.
It wasn’t loud. Or dramatic. Just a quiet, shared sound that broke through the formality that usually wrapped around our conversations like armor.
"You didn’t trust at all when we first t," Elion said after a beat, amusent still lingering in his voice.
"I still don’t," I replied honestly.
That only made him laugh again.
"But," I added, softer now, "I trust you more than I did."
Sothing unreadable flickered in his eyes at that.
"Progress," he said. "I’ll take it."
Silence settled again... but this ti, it was comfortable.
The kind that ca when two people stopped circling each other like wary strangers and began standing on the sa ground.
I straightened slightly in my chair.
"So the last question," I said.
His gaze sharpened instantly. "Go ahead."
I drew in a breath, feeling the weight of it settle on my tongue.
"Do you know why," I asked carefully, "the record book ended up with my mother... before the council took it away?"
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