Something Immortal

11: Inadequacy is Evergreen Part Two

To say that Som didn't know anything about Kali would be an understatement because he knew him so well from the back of his hand. Kali happened to be his favorite protagonist of all Darren Pike's work. The same goes for all the characters here, including the Strigoi brothers. Yet, the slight transition in the story has left him uncertain of his confidence, and he even begins to question his skill now of ever remembering the next scene.

Therefore, he decided to be cautious of his actions and decided not to reveal much about what he knew in the story. Although he did contemplate telling Phet about Kali's "secret meeting," but didn't want to risk knowing that it was he who followed the Dragon Prince that night and not the Strigoi brothers. To tell the truth, Marko and Mica would've not gotten involved if not because of him. They only followed him because they were worried about his safety. And judging by how he threatened them this morning, the brothers might be right in warning him of how dangerous Kali could be.

On top of that, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen to him if he died in this world too.

And so, the second period started with him still sitting down beside Marko, Mica, and Saanvi, who didn't have a choice because they had invaded her space. The second subject was language. Communication was a vital part of the Peace Treaty. Each Clan has an ancient language or their native tongue. Som wanted to laugh because, in their world, this language was called "English."

Their teacher, this time, was the Strigoi female who hosted the welcome ceremony. She was tall with glasses, pale skin, and slim. Given her race, it was quite difficult to discern her age. But she didn't sound elderly, so Som guessed that her age might've been mid-thirties or early forties.

He quickly found out her name was Yoana Marinova, and she has been one of the scholars and lecturers of the Arcane Academy for twenty years now. So, that gave them an idea of her possible age, and although she looked stringent, she was quite friendly as a teacher and much less boring than Phet.

"Is she related to you?" Som happened to ask after the class ended, and they were given their homework.

They only have two lessons today, which means they could slack off the rest of the day. Som decided to hang out with Marko and Mica. Well, it wasn't like he had that many friends in this place, and Saanvi often disappeared even before he could bid her goodbye.

"Not all Strigoi are related to each other, alright?" Mica replied while Marko shook his head. "But she is a cousin to our previous Khan."

Khan. This was like the "King" of the Strigoi race. As far as Som could recall, their leader was the youngest character in the novel.

Both brothers gave him a long look, and Som felt this. "What?"

"Do you know anything about our Khan?" Marko arched his brows.

"No," he lied. "Why would I know?"

"You look like you're not surprised."

"Should I be?" Som finds their intrusiveness uncanny. Then again, he remembered that information about Strigoi was rare. For Som not to have a follow-up query left the brothers baffled and very curious. "My brother mentioned it."

The brothers exchanged glances and then shrugged. Som felt the relief deep inside. If he was going to pretend not to know anything, he should probably make an effort and not stand out as arrogant, all-knowing.

"So, where have you been?"

That was Mica, as usual. They reached the common room, where they decided to work on their homework together. Earlier, they were taught about the ancient language of the Strigoi Clan. So, Marko and Mica agreed to explain its history to Som and help him understand it as well.