Chapter 107: A Giant White Beast

Elara:

I might have lost my mind. There was honestly no other explanation for why I was currently sitting inside Esmeray’s dorm living room, watching him move around his kitchen as he prepared tea for me.

That’s right. I was sitting in the private dormitory of one of the Heir Regents as though this was the most normal thing in the world. If someone had told me a month ago that I would willingly follow a man I’d barely known into his room because he claimed he could help me sleep, I would have laughed in their face.

Yet here I was. And strangely enough, the situation wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as it should have been. Perhaps because Esmeray’s solution hadn’t been anything remotely scandalous or complicated. He wasn’t going to use his Dreamweaving magic on me. Instead, he’d grown a particular magical herb in the greenhouse, one known for its calming properties, and offered to brew it into a tea that would help relax my mind and make it easier for me to sleep.

Apparently, after watching me nearly murder his flowerbed while trying to pull weeds, he had decided I needed something stronger than another lecture about paying attention. So now I sat on one end of his sofa while he prepared the tea, occasionally glancing toward me as though making sure I hadn’t fallen asleep already.

While he worked, I found myself taking in the room around me.

Esmeray’s dorm was surprisingly beautiful. There were potted plants everywhere - small ones sitting on shelves, larger ones occupying corners, and vines hanging gracefully from wooden stands near the windows. Some had delicate blue flowers while others had leaves that shimmered faintly whenever the light touched them. There were even a few plants I didn’t recognize, their strange shapes making them look almost magical.

The room had a calm, earthy atmosphere that somehow suited him. I smiled faintly when I realized that if someone had blindfolded me and brought me here, I probably could have guessed whose dorm it was without being told. Everything about it felt like Esmeray - quiet, peaceful, slightly mysterious, and beautifully organized. It was almost funny when I compared it to my own dorm.

Mine had looked so empty and unwelcoming when I first arrived that Myra and her mother eventually couldn’t stand it anymore and took it upon themselves to decorate it. I hadn’t cared enough to do it myself. At the time, I had been too busy trying to understand why my entire life had been ripped apart. Esmeray, however, had clearly taken the time to make this place his own, and he had done a surprisingly fabulous job.

I realized I’d been staring at one particularly pretty plant for far too long when Esmeray glanced in my direction. "You like it?" he asked, and I looked toward him.

"Your plants?" I clarified.

He nodded.

I shrugged lightly before admitting, "Your dorm. It’s nice."

A small smile appeared on his face as he turned back toward the tea. "I like having something alive around me."

Something about that answer made me look at the plants again. I didn’t know why, but the words stayed with me. Perhaps because lately I’d felt surrounded by death more than life. My family. My old home. My old identity. Everything I’d known had disappeared so quickly that sometimes I wondered whether there was anything left of the person I used to be.

Yet sitting there among all those plants, listening to the faint clinking of cups in the kitchen, I felt myself relaxing little by little. My shoulders weren’t as tense. My thoughts weren’t racing quite as violently. And for the first time in days, I wasn’t actively trying to figure out who wanted me dead or why my magic was behaving strangely. I was simply sitting somewhere peaceful.

Eventually, I’d inspected almost every visible detail of the living room and had absolutely nothing left to occupy my attention. Esmeray was still busy preparing the tea, so I stood and decided to join him in the kitchen. I had barely taken a few steps when I passed the bedroom. The door was closed. At least, it had been closed. But the moment I walked past it, the door suddenly swung open and something enormous stepped through.

I screamed.

There was no dignity involved whatsoever. One second I was standing upright, and the next my legs gave out beneath me, sending me crashing onto the cold floor. I stared upward with wide eyes at the gigantic white creature standing in front of me. For one horrifying second, my brain refused to process what I was seeing. Then it registered the enormous paws, the thick white mane, the muscular body, and the unmistakable feline face.

A lion.

A giant, absolutely enormous white lion was staring down at me.

The strangest part was that the creature didn’t look frightened by my screaming. It simply stared at me with calm, almost curious eyes as though it had seen far more ridiculous things in its lifetime.

"Elara!"

Esmeray’s voice came from the kitchen, and a second later he was beside me, offering his hand. He helped me back onto my feet while I continued staring at the lion.

"You shouldn’t scare her," he told the creature, his tone carrying the kind of mild reprimand one might use with a misbehaving pet. The lion merely stared at him. Esmeray sighed. "Go back to the room." The lion didn’t move.

I looked between them, still trying to understand what exactly was happening. Then something clicked in my head. "Wait." I looked at Esmeray. "That’s your familiar, isn’t it?"

He nodded. "Yes. This is Aureon."

My gaze immediately returned to the enormous lion. Suddenly, all those explanations about familiars being kept away from crowds made perfect sense. I had always thought the rule was unnecessarily secretive. Now I understood. If students regularly walked around the academy with creatures like this beside them, chaos would probably be unavoidable. I could already imagine Crazy encountering Aureon. My poor cat would probably die of a heart attack before he even finished insulting the lion.

Esmeray gestured toward the bedroom again. "Aureon, go inside." But instead of obeying, the enormous creature took a slow step toward me.

I froze.

Another step. Then Aureon lowered his massive head and gently nuzzled the back of my hand.

I didn’t move.

Then he nuzzled me again.

A surprised chuckle escaped my lips before I could stop it. "You are actually friendly?" I murmured, cautiously brushing my fingers against his thick mane.

Beside me, Esmeray had gone completely still.

I looked at him curiously. "What?"

He stared at Aureon, then at me, his expression one of complete disbelief. "He hates people."

I blinked.

He pointed at the lion as though he still couldn’t understand what he was witnessing. "He hates everyone. Students. Staff. Strangers." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Even me."

I looked down at Aureon, who was now calmly pressing his head against my hand again. Then I looked back at Esmeray. Seemed like his familiar had just decided I was the exception.