Arden operated a lever as she slid her car seat backward to allow herself more room. She glanced at a button. Yes, the parking brake was on. She released her seatbelt, summoned a flat desk that floated above her lap, and snatched her lunchbox from the seat next to her. She sanitized her hands and then ate.

Her lunch was far less extravagant than her dinner: a sandwich filled with eggs, meats, and cheese; a cup of yogurt mixed with berries and cubed fruits; and a carton of milk and a bottle of water to rinse them down. It was a meager meal for someone of her workload—and status—but it could be consumed in a short time, which was far more important. Her midday break was only thirty minutes long. Sometimes she would even have to cut it short, for another guardian would call for backup and thus need her aid.

Arden finished eating her sandwich, which she had reheated using magic, and was now devouring her dessert. Her eye glanced at the clock on her dashboard. It had been seven minutes. She slowed a little. She paused to drink some milk, wiped her mouth with a napkin, then resumed eating her dessert. By the time she finished her lunch, she still had twenty minutes left till the end of her break.

With a swish of her right wrist, her car tidied itself. She slid the chair back into its proper position. Before she left to head to her next station, she retrieved her work phone from the compartment next to her.

Arden checked the database. She tapped on the search bar, typed "Edin," and pressed the search button. She filtered it by guardian name. She guessed that he would have slain at least a dozen monsters by now.

Only a single record showed up. He had killed only one beast so far.

Arden furrowed her brows. It could not be. Surely, he must have killed more than that. Was it a glitch in the system? Did he merely forget to record his encounters with beasts? She redid her search, yet it yielded the same result. Edin, surname unknown, had slain only one beast so far.

Perhaps there were only a few beasts that neared Stoll. She checked for any activity near the village. In stark contrast, there had been nearly two hundred reports coming from that area. Of those, nearly half of them occurred from nine o'clock in the morning till five o'clock in the afternoon—during Edin's shift.

She dug deeper into the database. All the beasts that neared Stoll during the day, except for one, were slaughtered by Edin's partner, Rowan Eolern, even when it was supposedly the latter's break time. The beasts he slew were relatively small, too: kleinhunds, ætterhunds, nagahunds, and other monsters of similar size. Meanwhile, the only beast that Edin had slain was the same one he fought during his first fray: a glæsseling.

Arden's mind raced for an explanation. Was Edin avoiding his duties? According to the records, he was never absent from his post during his shifts, even during his breaks. He could not be avoiding work. It puzzled her. Her former student was present at the post, capable of combat as far as she was concerned, yet the only creature he had killed during the past three months was the same one he faced during his first time. His younger partner was far more productive.

Arden supposed it was due to fear. After all, when she first told him that he was ready to be a guardian, he did not have an enthusiastic response. Even then, if it were truly due to fear, why would the one beast that he killed be the strongest one that neared Stoll? Would he not prefer to deal with the less threatening ones? It did not make sense. Arden made a mental note to inquire Edin about his work and get him to explain his activity—or lack of it, rather. He could be hiding something from her. He must be.

Arden glanced at the clock. She had spent ten minutes on her phone. She ought to put it away and get to her next station. Arden fastened her seatbelt, switched on the engine, and released the brake. The car left a cloud of dust as she sped towards her next post.

***

It had been a few hours since Edin slew a glæsseling for the second time. Silence filled the space between Edin and Rowan. It had often done so, but this time, it was tenser, as if it made the air around them quiver. The two exchanged no words. Not even a greeting. They simply exchanged glances, and though the two of them tried to hide their fear, the slightest downturn of the corners of their lips was enough to show it all.

Rowan retreated to the second floor and remained there. He watched from above, looking through the windows for any signs of wild beasts. Truth be told, those were not the only monsters he was wary of. Oh, as terrible as it may sound, there was one more terrifying lurking down below him. Rowan would never call Edin a monster to his face. He would not dare to call him a monster in his mind. Yet, in his heart, the man who lurked on the first floor had instilled more fear in him than any beast he had slain. He did not dare to descend. He did not dare to be in the same room as him—for now.

Down below, Edin remained still in his rolling chair. His eyes were looking at the screens, but they were not watching them. His vision was elsewhere. Edin curled his upper body as if half of him was trying to morph into a ball, hands clasped together and resting on his heart. His heartbeat was thumping loudly, but it was nothing compared to the voices in his head. He had dreamed about it. He had worried about it. He had dreaded it. It had happened: he lost control. The urges that had haunted him since his first clash had returned, and they were now stronger than ever. Goodness knows how far he would have gone had Rowan not stopped him. Rowan, what did he think of him? Edin was sure that Rowan feared him now. He gulped; he, too, feared himself.

The sky had shifted red—no, not turn red, but shifted to a warmer tone. Tangerine peeked from the edge of the horizon and was now creeping closer and closer to the peak of the cerulean sky to meet the setting sun. The clock's long hand was pointing at the number six. It was only a matter of time before it would reach the number twelve, and when that hand would reach twelve and the other on five, the two young men would leave, as they had been doing for the past three months. They would walk out the doors, head home, and be relieved of the other's presence. Time was once an airplane; now, it was a snail.

Edin glanced at the sky. Then the clock. Then the staircase. Then the clock. Then his watch. His eyes darted around in search of a distraction. He got up and walked around.

Another pair of footsteps rang from above him. He skulked towards the other side of the storage room.

"Edin, we need to talk."

Edin held his breath. He sidled into plain sight. Rowan was on the second-lowest step of the stairs. Edin did not near him.

He sighed. "I know, you're scared of me."

"How long have you been like this?"

"From about two weeks before I met you."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't tell anyone."

"Why not?"

"I didn't know it would come back!" Edin snapped, and then he brought his hand to his mouth as if to catch those words from the air and shove them back inside him. "Sorry."

Rowan did not go up a step, but his right foot shifted further behind him, and his hand slid higher up the railing.

Edin sighed. "I think it might be another curse."

"Another curse?" Rowan widened his eyes. "You're cursed?"

"I'm cursed with amnesia. That's why I don't remember my past."

"Oh. I didn't know you were cursed."

"I told you when we were in Norman's car."

"You did? Oh, I forgot."

Edin exhaled and looked away. He crossed his arms. There was a heavy feeling in his chest, and he could not pinpoint what it was. It was not fury, nor was it fright. Frustration, perhaps? Even if he had felt frustration before, it was probably before Arden found him, for frustration was known to him by name but foreign to him by feeling.

Rowan leaned forward. His voice was softer and slower when he said, "So, why do you think you have a second curse?"

Edin sighed once more. "I've never felt like this until I slew that glæsseling just outside of Irien. Its tongue shot towards me, so I stepped aside and sliced it out of reflex. As soon as I saw blood"—upon mentioning this word, he shuddered and clenched his hands into fists—"I... changed.

"It wasn't that bad the first time. I was able to stop myself, eventually, but I did cut the body up more than I needed to. And then when I took the test to join the Guild, they got me to fight an ætterhund, and I didn't feel that urge at all. I thought those urges were a one-time thing, or maybe they only happened because it was my first ever battle.

"And then during our first day here, when you slew that kleinhund, it returned. It was when I saw you cutting its tail. I didn't know why. Now I think I know why I didn't feel those urges when I fought the ætterhund but did during those other battles. I used lightning against the ætterhund; there was no blood involved. The other battles I saw had blood in them. I think I might be cursed with—"

"Bloodlust?"

Edin breathed deeply, his chest puffing very visibly, and then exhaled. He then nodded.

"Does Arden know about this?"

"I'm not sure. I've never told her, or anyone for that matter. I guess other people suspect that I have it, though. When Norman took us here, he was talking to me while you were changing in the storage room. He said that someone described me as 'bloodthirsty.' "

"What did you say?"

"I said nothing."

A tense quietness stood between them. Rowan looked at Edin, but Edin gave his gaze to the floor. They had many words in their heads, but for many moments none of them slipped through their lips.

Plonk. Rowan's sole met the floor. "So, if it's a curse, can't you get Arden to remove it?"

Something in Edin's mind flashed, and on his face was the look of someone who had realized his own stupidity or lack of thought—or both. Of course, why had he not thought of that! He had been living with one of the greatest magicians for the past two years. There was a good chance that she could break it.

But what if it were not a curse?

Edin lifted his hand to his chin and pondered. "I can, but I'm hesitant."

"Why?"

"Well first, I don't even know if it is a curse. It's not something that I can really control, so it might be. If it isn't, then what will she think of me?"

"She can help you to control it, can't she?"

"I guess so."

"Then you better tell her."

"I will. Eventually."

Edin lifted his chin and mustered enough courage to look Rowan in the eyes. His pools of dark brown were filled with another feeling that was not fear. It was something else, something more familiar to him. Concern. Arden had shown it to him sometimes, but only through her voice, touch, or gestures. Not her eyes.

"Rowan, can you please promise me to not tell anyone about this?"

"I promise."

"Thank you."

Rowan returned to the upper floor without responding to Edin's gratitude. The air was still once more.

Edin ambled around, circling the storage room. He had been sitting in his chair for quite a while and was feeling the urge to move around. Besides, if a threat were detected, the alarms would sound anyway. He did not need to watch the screens the whole time.

He glanced out one of the windows. Sand was spread as far as the eye could see. In the distance was a dark silhouette. He furrowed his brows. Why did the alarms not sound? Edin paced towards the panel and controlled the cameras. He zoomed in on the object. His heart sank.

A black sedan was heading towards them. On its hood: a silver pegasus.