Chapter 34: Even Bloodborn Seek Long Years

Nathan's transformed human form was flawless—but he worried plenty about people who knew him noticing his changed look, so he used the Titan Godslayer Canon to fatten himself back up a bit. That's why he could still be called "the little chubby guy."

Primrose stared at Nathan a good while before suddenly realizing she'd been fixed on the boy for minutes on end; her cheeks flamed red all over again, and she spun around and ran off.

Secretly relieved to have cleared the hurdle, Nathan hurried off to get his story straight with Wren.

As for Leopold, Nathan had made up his mind: the guy was due one hard lesson—otherwise how would the raw deal he'd swallowed be avenged?

After school, Nathan and Wren met up at a coffee shop not far from Elderrow!

Wren stirred her latte with a coffee spoon, laughing so hard she trembled like a flower in the wind. Today she'd switched into a pale-purple denim outfit—skinny jeans that fit her like a glove, plus a short-waisted little jacket that gave the bloodborn girl an extra touch of playfulness.

Nathan couldn't resist getting flustered and snappish. "What's so funny about this?"

Wren pulled her laughter in at once, her expression going serious, and said, prim and precise: "I will not pose as your half-sister!"

Nathan grabbed at his hair in distress. "Then what? I already told Primrose, and there's no better story available!"

Wren tittered. "But I won't deny it either. You can keep running the scam."

Nathan breathed a small sigh of relief. Wren took a light sip of coffee, cracked up again, rolled her eyes at him, and said: "You just want a cute girl stuck calling you family! You think it's that easy? That has got to be the lamest excuse ever used to con a girl!"

Nathan hadn't expected her to take it that way; he hurried to explain he absolutely meant nothing of the sort—but Wren wasn't buying one word. The two of them bickered for a while, and when he realized there was no untangling it, his head just about exploded.

Nathan shut his mouth, pretty deflated, glumly drained his mocha in one go, and then ordered a mango smoothie and a pile of pastries.

Wren, elbow on the table, chin propped on her hand, grinned like a little fox and watched Nathan with great interest—but seeing how much he'd ordered, she couldn't resist reminding him: "Why'd you order all this? The pastries here are great, but they're pricey too!"

Nathan's family was ordinary, but he genuinely wasn't used to letting a girl pick up the check, so whenever he was with Wren, he mostly paid. Wren, sharp as a tack and considerate, naturally never let him overspend—she'd only ordered a single coffee herself.

Nathan's mouth twisted. "Came into a little money lately—treating you to snacks is no problem. Let's be clear, though! This is not me trying to butter you up or anything."

Wren's expression shifted slightly. "Did you take that money from Sebastian?"

Before Nathan could answer, she'd already rushed on anxiously: "That man is dangerous! I've seen you getting chummy with him lately—I've been wanting to warn you. From now on you'd best keep your distance."

Nathan was mildly surprised. "That's what I've been wanting to ask you—why does everyone on Elderrow seem to know him so well?"

Wren said: "Didn't Sebastian tell you? He grew up on Elderrow!"

Nathan was floored. "What? Isn't he the Order of the Deathless acolyte? How could he be an Elderrow resident? He's not a bloodborn!"

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Wren's eyes went round. "Who ever told you bloodborn can't be the Order of the Deathless acolytes?"

Nathan collected himself and thought it over—come to think of it, Wren really had never said any such thing. He'd just known the Eighteen Towers and bloodborn were enemies and naturally assumed the orders were all pureblooded humans.

Nathan asked, half disbelieving: "Bloodborn can join the Eighteen Towers? Aren't they human Art orders, set up specifically to fight bloodborn?"

Wren sighed. "Didn't I tell you ages ago that the overwhelming majority of humans carry dormant bloodborn genes? Human magi even believe humanity descends from the ancient bloodborn kindreds! The Eighteen Towers and the Hidden Order lineages would love for all their acolytes to be pureblooded humans—but they can only face reality. No other choice!"

Nathan blurted, shocked: "Bloodborn can actually join the Eighteen Towers!"

Wren sighed. "Just how behind the times are you? Among the various treaties between the Eighteen Towers and our Concord, there's literally a clause about helping train newly awakened bloodborn. If you ever feel ambitious down the road and want to learn more spells, you can sign up for those training classes. The Concord covers the tuition—not a penny out of your pocket."

Nathan was even more floored. "There are training classes?!"

Wren nodded. That left Nathan completely speechless; he sat blank for a good while before pressing on: "Why did you say Sebastian is dangerous?"

Wren's pretty face went stern, and she said seriously: "Back in the day, several deaths on Elderrow were connected to him. Nobody ever had proof, though—even Granny Rowan couldn't do anything about him."

Nathan had no reason to doubt her—he'd nearly been killed by Sebastian himself, and had watched with his own eyes as the man murdered two Raging Gale bloodborn and had the black beetles devour every trace. He clicked his tongue, marveling: "Never knew the guy was this vicious even as a kid. How did he ever get into the Order of the Deathless?"

Wren said: "He took the Order of the Deathless's training class, performed brilliantly, and got selected into the Order of the Deathless. He's been away from Elderrow for ten-odd years—who knew he'd suddenly come back. What exactly have you two been doing together?"

Nathan went quiet a moment, then said low: "I didn't get the money from Sebastian. I... picked up some starlings in the abandoned Between." He hesitated, but decided to tell the truth all the same.

Wren's eyes instantly went round, and she cried out in horror: "How did you get in there? Oh, I know—Sebastian forced you, right? Because you're Yggdrasil Line, the void fissures can't hurt you... How could he do that? The Yggdrasil Line can cross the Three Dominions and shrug off every sealing art, sure—but that's the old-timers in their mature stage! You only just awakened the Yggdrasil Line and never received the inborn lineage inheritance. Going in there is dangerous!"

Wren was so anxious she was nearly hopping in place, which touched Nathan deeply. He consoled the bloodborn girl: "I'm fine now, aren't I? Sebastian's gone—nobody's going to force me in there again."

The words had barely left Nathan's mouth when a familiar, loathed voice sounded at his ear, saying, coolly: "Who said I was gone?"