Post Tenebras Lux

Anima Mea Periculosa

Ominis took a step closer to her. "Aelin. What spell did you just cast? The incantation didn't sound familiar to me..."

"Ominis...it's nothing. Just a spell I learned from a book I found in the library."

"Don't lie to me, Aelin. You've not been yourself lately. Have you been studying dark magic?"

She sighed heavily. "No, Ominis. I swear. No dark magic."

She hoped she sounded convincing enough that he wouldn't press the issue further.

Ominis furrowed his brow, but he dropped the topic of magic temporarily.

"He's really been having a hard time since you two fought."

Aelin looked up at him with a concerned expression. "What do you mean? He hasn't-"

"No, he hasn't fallen back into dark magic...as far as I know anyway. But he's been drinking a lot. He comes back to the dorm drunk at least three times a week."

"Ominis, I feel horrible about this, truly. But he's the one who wants nothing to do with me. I didn't choose this."

"I know. I'm not sure what it will take for him to come to his senses." Ominis let out a shaky breath. "Do you still love him?"

"Of course I do. I never stopped."

"Then I need you to help me help him. I can't bear to see him spiral like this, Aelin. He's my best friend."

Aelin sighed. "I don't know what you want me to do, Ominis."

As they continued their conversation, they failed to hear the entrance to the Undercroft creak open.

"Aelin...what is that?"

Aelin quickly turned around to see Anne standing behind her, staring at her like she'd just seen a ghost.

"Anne? What do you mean?"

"I...didn't know you had tattoos...that's all. I never noticed before." Anne responded hesitantly.

"Tattoos? I mean, I have the tattoo of my Azkaban inmate number on my chest, but that's the only one..."

Anne's expression changed to one of apprehension. "So you're telling me you don't have a black tattoo on your neck normally?"

Aelin's eyes widened. "No, I don't..." She rummaged through her bag to see if she had a mirror with her. Once she found the mirror in her bag, she held it to where she could have a clear look at her neck,

Sure enough, she had what looked to be a black marking that looked like swirls of smoke on the side of her neck. She pulled on the neckline of her blouse and looked into it, only to find that the swirls appeared to trail across her shoulder, but faded before it reached her upper arm.

Ominis's expression soured. "Is someone going to explain to me what's going on?"

"I think you do owe us an explanation, Aelin. You've been avoiding us for weeks." Anne's expression was one of genuine concern.

"It's a really long story, believe me." Aelin sighed.

"We have time."

~~~

The trio sat on the stone floor of the Undercroft and Aelin explained everything.

"When I was in Sharp's office for my two month check-in, I saw a book on one of his shelves. It talked about a rare form of magic that was no longer practiced. I guess it just piqued my interest enough that I decided to look into it further. I took a trip to the Restricted Section of the library and found a few books that mentioned it. I also had the displeasure of running into Evangeline while I was down there."