Chapter 146: How to Remove the Ring

Chapter 146: Chapter 146: How to Remove the Ring

Chapter 146: How to Remove the Ring

The break bell had barely finished ringing when Cyrus Calder stood from his seat.

Several girls had spent most of class sneaking looks toward the back corner, and one of them reacted the instant she saw him preparing to leave.

She got there first.

The girl stepped directly into Cyrus’s path with a worksheet already in her hands. She was attractive enough to be confident about approaching someone she had never really spoken to before, though the question she held up had obviously been prepared for this exact opportunity.

"Cyrus, could you help me with this problem?"

Several girls nearby watched the exchange and silently regretted being slower.

That excuse had been available to all of them.

Cyrus did not even glance at the problem.

"Sorry, but I have somewhere I need to be."

The girl recovered quickly.

"Then maybe after you finish whatever you’re doing, I could..."

Cyrus had already walked past her.

She stopped talking and turned to watch him leave the classroom.

Only after he disappeared into the hallway did she lower the worksheet with visible disappointment.

When she turned back, she happened to meet Audra Sloane’s eyes.

The contact lasted only an instant.

By the time the girl looked toward Audra again, Audra was sitting exactly as before, her expression composed and her attention seemingly elsewhere.

Conversation started almost immediately around the room.

"I seriously cannot believe Cyrus looked like that under all that hair."

"If I had known earlier, maybe the rest of us would have had a chance."

"Does anyone know if he is dating somebody?"

"I have no idea. Ask Owen."

A girl immediately crossed the room and stopped beside Owen Keats’s desk.

"Owen, you know Cyrus pretty well, right?"

Owen looked up.

The girl glanced toward Cyrus’s empty seat.

"Does he have a girlfriend?"

Owen genuinely had no idea.

He leaned back in his chair.

"What do you think?"

The girl paused.

That was not particularly helpful, but when she thought about Cyrus’s newly revealed appearance, the question did feel a little foolish.

Someone who looked like that being single might actually be the stranger possibility.

She returned to the small group of girls near the windows.

Another student who had missed Cyrus entering that morning listened to them for a while before asking, "Is he really that good-looking?"

The others turned toward her.

Their expressions made her look around in confusion.

Apparently she had asked something ridiculous.

If Cyrus Calder did not qualify as good-looking, what exactly were they supposed to use as the standard?

The girl received several looks that suggested her eyesight needed professional evaluation and wisely stopped asking questions.

Audra heard all of it.

Her face remained unchanged.

The temperature of her mood did not.

How shallow.

They had barely noticed Cyrus existed before today. One haircut and a clear view of his face had apparently transformed him into the most interesting person in the room.

Audra lowered her attention to the book in front of her.

The conversation continued anyway.

Cyrus, meanwhile, had already reached the school nurse’s office.

He did not hesitate before opening the door.

The sudden entrance interrupted a cluster of girls lounging inside with Vera Sable. Judging from the way the room went silent, none of them had been discussing anything medically important.

One of the students looked ready to complain about the interruption.

Vera stood before she could.

"Are you feeling sick, Cyrus?"

Cyrus glanced at the girls still occupying the room.

"Yes, I need to ask the nurse about something."

Vera understood immediately.

She turned toward the others with the pleasant professionalism she wore around students.

"I have to deal with an actual patient now. You can come bother me again when I am free."

One girl groaned.

"Fine, we will leave."

They gathered their things and headed toward the door.

Several looked Cyrus over on the way out.

His shorter haircut had apparently reached the nurse’s office before he did.

Cyrus ignored the attention.

Once the final student left, Vera closed the door.

Then she locked it.

Cyrus watched the motion without commenting.

Vera turned back toward him.

"What brings you here so urgently?"

Cyrus went straight to the point.

"How much do you know now?"

Vera tilted her head.

"I am afraid that question needs more context."

The faint amusement in her expression made the answer worthless.

Cyrus continued.

"The ring was made by the Bloodborn. So Bloodborn probably have abilities related to what the ring does."

Vera returned to her chair.

"I have no idea what you mean."

She smiled as she sat down.

"Besides, invading another person’s privacy can get you in trouble."

Cyrus said nothing.

That response only made him more certain.

Vera had not seemed surprised when he showed up in his normal school appearance. She had not asked why he was perfectly capable of attending class after the amount of blood she took yesterday either.

An ordinary human would not have recovered from that much blood loss and walked into school the next morning like nothing happened.

Vera knew that.

Which meant she had probably learned what he was.

Maybe she already knew he was Frostborn.

The part Cyrus could not determine was exactly how much she had seen.

Had she gotten only scattered images?

Did she know about Isolde?

The black room?

His missing memories?

His plans involving Audra, Daphne, and Rhea?

Vera gave him nothing useful to work with.

If she insisted on denying everything, Cyrus had no direct proof.

He changed the subject.

"You promised to tell me how to remove the ring."

Vera’s expression became mildly aggrieved.

"I was planning to tell you."

She rested her cheek against one hand.

"Unfortunately, I barely got a few drinks before you passed out."

Cyrus stared at her.

A few drinks?

She had nearly emptied him.

Vera continued before he could respond.

"And someone kept ignoring my friend request. I could not even send him a proper message afterward."

"You could have sent a text."

"What if I did not want to waste money on texts?"

Cyrus had no answer for that.

He looked at Vera for several seconds, trying to decide whether she was genuinely difficult or simply enjoyed making every conversation harder than necessary.

Probably both.

"You can tell me now."

Vera raised one eyebrow.

"Something this important should not be discussed carelessly."

"We are alone."

"Walls still have ears."

She said it with complete seriousness, despite the teasing smile that never quite left her face.

"Accept my friend request. Then I can send you the information privately."

Cyrus exhaled through his nose.

This woman was exhausting.

Still, arguing would take longer than giving her what she wanted.

He pulled out his phone.

The friend request he had noticed earlier was still waiting.

Cyrus accepted it.

Almost immediately, Vera’s phone chimed from the desk.

"There. I accepted it."

Vera picked up her phone.

"That was easier than you made it sound. Give me a second."

They were standing only a few feet apart.

Neither commented on the absurdity of messaging each other instead of speaking.

Cyrus’s phone vibrated.

The first thing Vera sent was a cat sticker.

He looked at her.

Vera looked completely innocent.

Before Cyrus could tell her to stop wasting time, another message arrived.

This one contained actual instructions.

Cyrus read them once.

Then he read them again.

His expression tightened.

"How do I know this actually works?"

Vera answered aloud this time.

"You find the person connected to the ring and test it."

Cyrus lifted his eyes.

"That is your proof?"

"It is the only proof that matters."

The confidence in her voice did not make the method sound any safer.

Cyrus looked down at the message again.

The instructions were specific enough to sound plausible.

They were also unpleasant enough that he immediately suspected Vera might be enjoying this far too much.

He locked his phone.

"Is this really the only way?"

Vera smiled.

"No, there is another method."

Cyrus’s attention sharpened.

He knew it.

Of course she had held something back.

"What is the other method?"

Vera straightened slightly in her chair.

Her answer was mercilessly simple.

"You cut off the finger."

Cyrus stared at her.

Vera pointed toward his ring hand.

"If the ring cannot come off the finger, removing the finger solves the problem."

Her tone became almost professionally thoughtful.

"I am also quite good with reattachment procedures. If you ever need the finger put back on afterward, I could probably give you a discount."

Cyrus continued staring.

Vera smiled brighter.

"I would even knock twenty percent off."

Cyrus turned toward the door.

"I think I have heard enough for today."

He unlocked it and left without hesitation.

Vera did not stop him.

The second method technically sounded possible.

That was the irritating part.

If the ring truly could not be removed by normal means, separating it from his body first might work.

But hearing the suggestion from Vera made the entire plan sound several times less reliable.

Cyrus walked down the hallway and pulled out his phone again.

He reopened the message she had sent.

The first method remained there on the screen.

He slowed his pace while reading it carefully.

Vera might be infuriating, but she had correctly identified the ring as a Bloodborn artifact. She had also known enough to approach him specifically after his memory problems started.

That gave her information more weight than Cyrus wanted to admit.

He could not simply dismiss what she had sent.

At the same time, testing it would mean approaching the person tied to the ring.

That part was the problem.

Cyrus stared at the instructions for another few seconds.

It might work.

It might also place him directly inside the situation he had spent so long escaping.

He lowered the phone.

This method was far too risky.