Before we knew it, Elle had made her way to Elira and laid down in front of her, receiving more petting from the giggling girl. Cellestra chuckled at the sight, and I was left smiling as I watched.

“Hey, Cellestra?” I asked after a while.

“Hm?”

“Should we tell her about what we discussed earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

“About teaching.”

“Oh.”

“What?” Elira curiously asked, looking at Cellestra and then me.

“Hmmm.” Cellestra thought aloud. “I don’t mind, but if we do, we better tell your parents about it first thing in the morning.”

“What is it?” Elira asked again.

I saw Cellestra staring and nodded.

“Elira,” She said softly. “Can you keep secrets well?”

“Huh?” She reacted confusedly.

“Elira, I’m serious,” She continued. “I can help teach you magic, but you cannot talk to anyone about it outside of us and your parents.”

“Woah!” The girl let out in amazement. “You can teach magic? Really?”

Cellestra nodded.

“I can, but again, don’t let anyone know about that. If you can promise me you won’t,” She looked at Elira with the most serious expression I’d ever seen. It sent shivers down my spine. “Then, and only then, can I teach you the basics.”

I could tell that her words had the desired effect. Her cold gaze had silenced Elira utterly. She had no idea how to react and stared into the purple eyes for several seconds, before she turned her head to Elle in front of her. It then took a little while longer before she finally nodded.

“Okay,” She said with a single word.

“We’re serious,” I added. At the same time, I tried to come up with some form of excuse to really hammer the severity of the consequences that would undoubtedly happen if she revealed this to outsiders. Something popped into my mind and I felt bad about using it as an excuse, but it could just do the trick. The only issue was that it involved Cellestra, and lying, two things I preferred not to do. I winced and opted not to tell her. I would have to discuss things first.

“If other people hear about it,” I continued. “We could get in a lot of trouble.”

“I promise I won’t tell anyone,” Elira said after a quick nod while continuing to stare in front of her.

“And we’ll talk to mom and dad about this tomorrow morning too, so they know.”

“Okay,” She said again.

“Good,” I said, running a leg through her hair. “Let’s go to sleep for now, though. We’ll continue about it when you’re home from school.”

“Now I won’t be able to sleep!” She said, her voice showing pure excitement now that we had the formalities out of the way.

Cellestra giggled before speaking,

“You’ll be fine. Kealyna’s super soft. You’ll fall asleep in no time.”

“That’s true,” I said in agreement. “Just close your eyes and think of nothing. Before you know it, it’s morning.” I petted her one last time with a leg before wishing the others good night.

“Good night,” She replied while petting Elle who’d placed her head on the girl’s lap, her legs spread out wide as she relaxed.

“Good night,” Cellestra called as well as she leaned back further against my abdomen, her eyes already closed.

I tried to make myself comfortable in the hay, but I just couldn’t manage to find a good spot so I ended up reverting back to my old method of sleeping on my back. It took a while but eventually, I was pulled into the world of dreams.

Both my minds awoke at the same time, and all was quiet. A few rays of light found their way into the shed through narrow crannies in the woodwork, indicating morning was already here. Shayla, Faerith, and Elle were the only ones awake, and they were still on guard, the latter being extremely happy I was awake. She showed it by jumping in front of me and hugging my arachnid head.

“Morning, Elle. Hope you slept well.”

She nodded with her pedipalps and then shook them when I asked if anything had happened.

“Well, I suppose it was better to be safe than sorry.”

I hoped all was well at our new home as well. I felt shivers run down my spine when I imagined what someone with wrong intentions could do to my nest. Burning was probably the biggest of my worries.

To think all my hard work could be undone in an instant was excruciatingly painful.

My talking had caused Cellestra and Elira to stir as well, and soon they were fully awake, ready to take on the day and get to school.

But first, we’d have breakfast.

We woke up the others and then left the shed, closing it with the padlock from the outside, the key of which I laid on the table where my parents were already seated and waiting.

“Good morning,” My mother said. “How was last night?”

“It was great!” Elira spoke cheerfully. “Sis is so soft!”

“You should have seen her,” I said. “Elle hugged her all night. It was adorable.”

“I can imagine,” She replied with the warmest of smiles. “But come, let’s get you some breakfast and tea and get you to school. There will be rain soon and we don’t want you to stay out and catch a cold.”

She was right. It was one of the first things I noticed when stepping outside. Even though the sun was bright, and the day was warm, it was also very humid and there was a large formation of dark clouds in the distance which was slowly creeping toward us. If the size was anything to go by, a heavy downpour was to be expected.

“Well, it does seem you got your wish,” I said with a chuckle. “Did you pray to Elysa for that?”

“Maybe,” My father said with a mischievous smile while my mother went inside in a hurry. “It seems it worked this time.”

“Dad! Kealyna said that Cellestra can teach me magic. Did you know that?”

My dad’s smile disappeared and he reverted back to his serious self as he took in the information and then nodded slowly, his eyes closed.

“Yes. We knew.”

“We decided to tell her,” I explained. “But also mentioned the serious part about it, and really tried to make her aware of how things stand. It’s probably for the best if you told her too.

“I see.”

He nodded once more before turning to his adopted daughter.

“Elira, I hope you are aware that with this comes great responsibility. I know you’re very smart and curious, but we need to be careful with this.”

“Kealyna told me. I understand. Don’t tell anyone.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Elira…” I let out, something coming to mind. “If you tell anyone, it will put Cellestra and me in danger, and we will have no choice but to run away,” I spoke the words with pain in my heart. “We…” I continued before needing to get air as my voice broke up as I felt a lump in my throat. “We may never see you again.”

She was shocked, horrified. I could see it in her eyes as she stopped moving and stood completely still. Seconds later, I saw a tear form in her eye before it fell down onto the gravel below.

“No,” She said softly, wiping her eyes with her sleeves. “No, I don’t want that.” She ran up to me and hugged me tightly around the waist. “I want you to stay. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

I petted her hair gently, trying to regain my own composure. The words I’d just spoken were harsh, I knew that, but they were also truthful. She deserved to know at least that little bit of truth, a grim reminder of Cellestra’s and my own fate as anomalies.

My mom returned and saw the sight. At first, there was a smile, but when she had a closer look, and then looked at my dad shaking his head, it disappeared. She placed her items and food on the table before my father took her by the hand, walked a few yards, and started whispering into her ears, explaining the situation.

“You okay?” I asked after a few more seconds had passed.

“Yeah. I think I am.” Elira’s voice was meek, but there was no more sadness in her voice. My mom and dad returned and the former called for us to eat.

Breakfast was eerily quiet as everyone took in their new responsibilities and processed them. We did agree that we would talk about this again later in the afternoon, and that perhaps Cellestra could start explaining a few more things before beginning Elira’s training.

When it was time for the little girl to go to school, Cellestra and I decided to head back into the dungeon, hoping not to encounter the menacing man from before again.