Chapter 87 A Father's Strange Refusal
Elara's POV
The morning training session had settled into its familiar rhythm, the kind of comfortable routine that usually made me feel centered and focused. Professor Eldwyn stood at the front of the outdoor practice arena, demonstrating the intricate hand movements required for advanced defensive magic while the rest of us watched with varying degrees of attention and comprehension.
"The key to the three-layer shield overlay technique," the professor explained, his voice carrying clearly across the training grounds, "is maintaining consistent magical flow while simultaneously building each protective barrier. Miss Sterling, would you demonstrate for the class?"
I stepped forward, feeling the weight of everyone's eyes on me as I moved to the center of the arena. I took a deep breath, centering myself and reaching for the magical energy that always hummed just beneath my skin, waiting to be called forth and shaped.
My hands moved through the complex pattern Professor Eldwyn had just shown us, fingers tracing invisible lines in the air as I channeled my power into three distinct layers of shimmering defensive barriers that materialized around me like translucent walls of light.
Without breaking my concentration, I extended my left hand and released a purification beam, the golden-white light streaming from my palm and striking the outermost shield layer. The barriers held firm, the magical energy rippling across their surfaces but maintaining their structural integrity exactly as they should.
"Excellent work, Elara," Professor Eldwyn said with an approving nod. "Now, the rest of you, pair up and practice the basic two-layer version. Remember, precision in your hand movements is absolutely crucial. Even a slight deviation can cause the entire structure to collapse."
I moved among my classmates as they began their attempts, offering corrections and guidance when I spotted mistakes. Most of them struggled with maintaining the proper magical flow, their shields flickering and failing after only a few seconds of stability.
I patiently demonstrated the correct finger positions and explained how to visualize the energy pathways, helping them adjust their techniques until they started showing improvement.
"Your wrist angle needs to be sharper here," I told one student, gently adjusting his hand position. "And don't try to force the magic out too quickly. Let it flow naturally, like water finding its own path."
The morning passed quickly in this manner, the training session proceeding without any unusual incidents or complications. By the time Professor Eldwyn called for a break, most of the students had managed at least a basic two-layer shield, though none of them could hold it for more than a few seconds before it destabilized and dissolved.
"Elara, I'd like you to lead the tracking exercise this afternoon," Professor Eldwyn said as the other students began dispersing in small groups, heading toward the dining hall with animated conversations about their progress. "Your sensing abilities are particularly well-developed, and I think the others would benefit from observing your technique."
"Of course, Professor," I replied, gathering my training materials and preparing to follow my classmates to lunch.
I had taken perhaps three steps toward the main building when a sudden, searing heat erupted from my jacket pocket, so intense and unexpected that I actually gasped aloud.
My hand flew to the source of the burning sensation, fingers closing around the small talismanI had tucked away there earlier this morning, the protective talisman I had given to my father just days ago.
My heart immediately began hammering against my ribs as I pulled out the talisman with trembling fingers, and what I saw made my blood run cold.
The once-pristine white talisman was now glowing with an angry red light, its edges scorched and blackened as if someone had held it too close to flames.
I closed my eyes and focused on the magical connection embedded in the talisman, reaching out with my senses to feel what was happening on the other end of that invisible thread.
What I sensed made my stomach clench with fear and anger. Dark pinkish energy, thick and cloying and fundamentally wrong, was actively attacking my father at this very moment.
I immediately pulled out my phone and immediately dialed my father's number. The phone rang three times before he finally answered, and when his voice came through the speaker, I could hear something in it that made my already racing heart beat even faster.
"Elara," he said, and his tone was carefully controlled in a way that immediately set off every alarm bell in my mind.
"Dad, what's happening?" I demanded without preamble, my voice sharper than I had intended.
"It's nothing serious," Dad replied, but his voice was slightly tighter than usual, the words coming just a fraction too quickly to be entirely natural. "Just a small complication that I'm handling. Nothing for you to worry about, sweetheart."
The Silverstone Pack possessed incredibly strong collective fortune, and as the Alpha, my father's personal luck and spiritual defenses were even more powerful than the average pack member's. For a malicious spell to actually trigger my protective talisman to this degree meant the attack was far more serious than any ordinary petty scheme.
"Dad, I'm coming to find you right now," I said firmly. "Just tell me where you are and I'll—"
"No!" The word exploded from the phone with such sudden force and panic that I actually jerked back slightly, startled by the intensity of his reaction. I had never, not once in my entire life, heard my father sound like that. Sebastian Sterling, Alpha of the Silverstone Pack, was always controlled, always measured, always composed. This desperate urgency in his voice was completely unlike him, and that frightened me more than anything else.
The silence that followed his outburst stretched for several long seconds, and I could practically hear him mentally scrambling to regain his composure. When he spoke again, his voice was softer, deliberately gentler, but I could still detect the underlying tension threading through every word.
"Elara, you need to focus on completing your training," he said, and I could hear him actively working to sound calm and paternal. "This situation here is something I can handle on my own. I don't want you getting involved or putting yourself at risk because you're worried about me."
He paused, and when he continued, his tone had shifted into something more coaxing. "After your training session ends this afternoon, I'll come pick you up myself. We can have dinner together, just the two of us, and talk about everything then. How does that sound?"
Every instinct I possessed was screaming at me that something was seriously wrong, that my father was in real danger and needed help immediately. But I also knew that if I pushed too hard right now, he might do something drastic to prevent me from finding him.
"All right, Dad," I said, forcing my voice to sound calm and accepting even though my mind was already racing ahead to what I would actually do the moment this phone call ended. "I'll finish my training. Just please be careful, okay?"
"I will, sweetheart," he replied, and I could hear the relief in his voice. "I love you. I'll see you this afternoon."
"Love you too," I said softly, and then ended the call before he could say anything else.
The moment the connection broke, I was already moving, striding quickly across the training grounds toward where I had last seen my friend. I found Iris near the edge of the arena, chatting with a couple of other students.
"Iris, I need your help," I said without preamble, grabbing her arm and pulling her aside. "Something's happened with my father. It's an emergency and I need to leave right now."
Iris's expression shifted instantly from casual friendliness to focused concern, her eyes searching my face and apparently finding whatever she needed to see there. "What do you need me to do?"
"Find Professor Eldwyn and tell him I had a family emergency and had to leave immediately," I said quickly, my words tumbling out in a rush. "I don't have time to explain everything to him myself—I need to go now."
Iris nodded without hesitation, her hand reaching out to squeeze my arm reassuringly. "I'll take care of it. Go. Be careful."
I squeezed her hand briefly in gratitude before turning and heading straight away from the training grounds. I pulled the scorched talisman from my pocket again, holding it carefully in both hands. The talisman was still warm to the touch, still glowing faintly with that angry red light.
I closed my eyes and focused all my attention on the magical connection embedded in the charm, the invisible thread that linked this piece of paper to my father's spiritual energy signature. The talisman would lead me directly to him, would guide me to wherever he was right now regardless of whether he wanted me to find him or not.
A grim determination settled over me as I felt the talisman's pull beginning to orient itself. The more desperately my father tried to keep me away, the more certain I became that I needed to see this for myself.
The more desperately my father tried to keep me away, the more determined I became to see this situation with my own eyes. Whatever this malicious romantic entanglement was, whoever this scheming person targeting him turned out to be, I was going to find out exactly who they were.