Chapter 51: Shadow Perception

"Hold onto me," I said, catching Isolde by the waist as her knees buckled near the gateway.

Isolde’s hand tightened over my left wrist, her fingers cool against my skin as her eyes blurred in the dim shade.

"I have you," Seraphina said, stepping to her other side and supporting her arm as we moved fast toward the East Annex.

We got her inside our dorm suite, and the heavy wooden door clicked shut behind us.

Outside the window, the sun had set behind the western mountains, leaving the living room in deep gray shade.

Her grip was firm, her fingers cool against my skin.

She didn’t try to look up at my face.

With her vision blurred in the dim light, she relied entirely on her other senses.

First was touch.

Her thumb pressed lightly against my inner wrist, counting the steady beat of my pulse.

Second was sound.

She listened to the slow, calm rhythm of my breathing as I pulled her closer to my side.

Third was scent.

She leaned her head against my chest, taking in the familiar smell of cedar wood and cold iron that always clung to my coat.

Fourth was heat.

My body heat warmed her cold cheeks, contrasting with the chilly night draft coming through the window.

Vision was last.

To her eyes, my outline was just a dark shape surrounded by a soft golden halo.

"It’s getting dim again," Isolde murmured, her voice soft and low.

Seraphina walked over from the inner hallway, her posture calm and regal.

She carried a small iron burner and a small leather pouch filled with dark shadow incense.

"I bought five gold coins worth of shadow incense from the shop near the gate this morning," Seraphina said, setting the burner on the low wooden table.

We had earned twenty gold coins from defeating Cedric in the fight.

That left us with fifteen gold coins in our pouch.

’Good incense costs real money.’

’Rook can barely buy simple sword oil.’

’We need to win more school tokens in the fight next week to buy better incense.’

Seraphina lit the incense with a small spark of Phoenix fire.

A thick, sweet cloud of dark purple smoke rose from the iron burner, smelling like crushed juniper, cold mountain air, and fresh pine.

"Sit," I said softly, leading Isolde to the soft soft cloth sofa.

Seraphina sat on her left, while I sat on her right.

We both reached out, taking Isolde’s hands in ours.

I focused on the dark secondary reservoir inside my chest.

I sent a gentle thread of Abyssal mana through our link, weaving it together with Seraphina’s warm Phoenix heat and Isolde’s cool shadow power.

Hummm.

The dark purple smoke in the room swirled toward us, drawn into Isolde’s chest as the core ritual began.

The smoke carried the high-grade shadow incense straight into her mana channels.

Isolde let out a quiet exhale, her shoulders dropping as the warm pulse reached her core.

Her skin flushed with a soft, healthy color.

"How do your eyes feel?" Seraphina asked softly, tucking a loose piece of gold hair behind her ear.

Isolde didn’t answer right away.

She blinked slowly, looking at the stone wall across from the sofa.

Her pale eyes narrowed slightly as she stared into the dim corner.

"My eyes cannot see normal things right now," Isolde whispered softly. "But I can see dark magic threads glowing inside the stone walls."

"What do you see?" I asked, leaning closer.

Isolde pointed her finger toward the stone wall near the door.

"Dark threads," Isolde said softly. "Black lines of shadow magic are moving inside the stone seams."

I looked at the wall.

I saw nothing.

To my normal eyes, it was just plain gray stone.

"People with good eyes cannot see them," Isolde said, her black shadow spreading over the floor. "My blurry eyes turn off normal light. It lets me see the hidden magic lines under the stone."

Seraphina stood up, walking over to the wall Isolde pointed to.

She touched the cold stone.

"Secret spy lines," Seraphina said, her eyes wide. "The school built magic pipes inside the walls to spy on us in our rooms."

Isolde stood up next to her, her back straight and proud.

A sharp smile touched her lips.

"My blur is not just bad," Isolde said softly. "It gives me shadow eyes that no one else has."

I stood up and put my arm around Isolde’s waist, pulling her close.

"That makes you even more scary to our enemies," I smiled.

Isolde closed her eyes, humming a small low sound of joy as she leaned into my side.

Her dark shadow moved happily around my boots.

`[Isolde Shadow Perception Unlocked]`

`[Hidden Academy Spy Lines Found]`

`[Financial Balance: 15 Gold Crowns Remaining]`

`[SP Earned: +150 SP]`

`[Current SP Balance: 3,450 SP]`

Suddenly, a loud scratching sound came from the stone floor in the hallway outside our dorm door.

Scratch! Scratch!

I froze, sliding my left hand into my coat pocket as my face turned cold.

Seraphina stepped in front of Isolde, her hand resting on her leather belt.

Isolde’s dark shadow expanded across the rug, creeping toward the wooden door latch.

Someone was standing right outside our threshold in the dark, scraping something heavy against the stone.

Whoever was out there had bypassed the outer hall guards.

I took one step toward the wooden latch, my Abyssal core humming with quiet power.

My hand rested on the door handle.

Whoever was outside was about to find out what happens when you disturb our home.

I was ready to fight.

My wives stood right behind me.

We were going to protect our room together.

No one was going to push us around anymore.