Elias was probably experienced with stakeout operations so he kept watch of the mine for quite some time. Luna was getting sleepy and he let her sleep, assuring that he could stay up on alert by himself.

Luna dozed off for about an hour or two and it was uncomfortable hiding behind trees and on low grounds so she was woken up. 

She rubbed her eyes and looked around. The dark night sky was still above her, with cold wind blowing occasionally. Luna turned to Elias, whose gaze was fixated on the entrance of the mine, a little further from their spying location. 

He noticed she was awake and glanced at her. ‘Did you have a good night's sleep?’ he asked.

Luna yawned and sat up next to him. ‘I did, thanks for watching them,’ she said.

‘I think another person is coming,’ he pointed.

True enough, although far where it seemed like a moving dot, a man in plain clothes was walking towards the mine entrance. Like his friend before, he did not have any sack seen with him. He probably hid it to avoid suspicion by passersby. 

After a while, the man approached the two officers and saluted them before entering the mine. 

Elias grabbed Luna’s hand urgently. ‘I saw his face, we can teleport inside!’ he whispered.

‘Nice–’ She didn’t even get to finish her compliment; suddenly she was in a very dark space. Luna couldn’t see anything even when she looked around. Her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness but it was pitch black.

‘Don’t move,’ Elias whispered. He sounded very close. 

She reached out and found his arm so she gripped it. ‘Okay,’ Luna replied nervously.

There was the echoing sound of footsteps from the area opposite them, and they gradually saw bright yellow light approaching with every step. Then, he appeared.

The man had clean-cut hair and sharp features with a tough physique. He was definitely one of the patrol officers disguising as a commoner. ‘Hey, who are–’ the man couldn’t finish his sentence as Elias raised his hand towards him and he fell to the ground unconscious. 

Luna ran to grab the fire torch that fell to the ground and held it up for them to see the path. 

‘What did you do to him?’ she asked as they continued walking further inside the mine.

‘I temporarily sealed his mana,’ he replied. Their footsteps were fast and silent. ‘He would wake up when the seal expired.’

‘How long would that be?’

‘Could take up to a week,’ he said.

‘A week!? That’s wild.’

‘You were able to directly absorb someone’s mana back then, Luna,’ he chuckled.

‘Evil. But I would love to try that someday,’ she replied.

‘When your power returns, you can even rule the whole world,’ he said.

Luna laughed. ‘If it returns.’

Then they went silent. It was quite a sensitive topic for Elias, it seemed. Luna tried to change the atmosphere so she swung the torch around to illuminate the walls and floor. 

‘Oh wow,’ she gasped and stopped in her tracks. What they saw embedded in the walls and scattered on the ground were weirdly shaped rocks of neon yellow colour, about the size of both Luna’s palms combined. 

She immediately knelt to the nearest stone on the ground and picked it up with her free hand. It wasn’t too heavy; weighed like a brick. Luna examined it, turning it over and back, up and down. 

‘So this is the magic stone,’ she said. ‘Looks peculiar enough.’

Elias was also looking around as he knelt, touching and knocking. ‘The Magus Obice,’ he muttered.

‘What’s that? What does it do?’ 

‘Magic barrier, enclosed in a stone form. Put these all together and they will form a strong barrier. We usually use this to strengthen the seal around the Sealed Island. We produce this in the Magus Turrim daily, but it takes a lot of time, and the process is tedious,’ said Elias.

‘Ah, and the Alshain had been transporting these stones in secret? Slick. I thought they don’t deal with magic matters. Why would they need this?’

‘Who knows? Perhaps they could sell it to the black market.’

 Hmm, Leonhardt has a trick up his sleeves too, huh. I thought he’d be the good guy with zero ill intentions, Luna thought.

‘This mine would be of great asset to Sirius,’ Elias added. He looked very intrigued with the stones. 

She glanced around. 

‘So, what do you think? Can you transport these?’ Luna asked. Elias exhaled sharply and turned to her.

‘Yes,’ he replied. 

‘What about those embedded in the walls?’

He reached for one nearest to him and tried to pull it out, but to no avail. The stones were deeply embedded. ‘I’ll figure something out. What about you? You’re going to Lorcan Forest?’ he queried.

Luna nodded. ‘I think he’ll be out there.’

‘Alright,’ Elias said, then held out his hand. She raised her brows questioningly. ‘The guy is supposed to exit any time now. If he’s late the guards would be suspicious. We have to leave.’

‘Oh.’ She touched his hand and instantly, she was back outside.

But this time she was in a thick forest. Dark and creepy, with only the sounds of crickets and katydids. Luna was able to see Elias’ face through the help of the dim moonlight. 

‘This is the Lorcan Forest,’ he said. ‘Will you really be okay on your own?’

She smiled. ‘Wasn’t I the greatest magician back then? Surely some greatness must have lingered.’

He nodded, but she saw the look in his eyes implying that he was unconvinced. Nevertheless, he said, ‘Then, be careful.’

‘I will,’ she replied. ‘You too.’

Elias bowed his head and disappeared without a sound.

Luna’s lips pursed into a thin line. What now?

As soon as she was left alone, she was aware of her breathing and realised she was probably scared. In a dark forest all alone, trying to distract someone she didn’t know if he would ever come––Luna wanted to puke. Heck, she didn’t even know what he looked like. But Crown Princes were usually surrounded by a group of soldiers so she was sure he would catch her eye. 

Luna bit her finger nervously. Okay, it’s okay, it’s okay. I’ll be fine…

She tried to calm herself down, and looked around. Where should I begin?

There was a fifty-fifty chance that she would never meet Leonhardt and that her plan would fail. But her instinct told her that it was the right time, so she began walking aimlessly. The rustles she made with her feet helped with the utter silence. Luna almost tripped on large twigs and sometimes heard an owl hooting from far, of which startled her each time. 

She must have walked for fifteen minutes or so and gone further and deeper into the forest; she was getting tired. After another minute of wandering around, she was hoping she could come across Leonhardt or it would mean her rotting to death in the forest. 

‘Hah, of course not,’ she murmured. ‘The Lorcan Forest has several indicators to mark certain places.’

Passed by a blue mark earlier and did not see any other anymore, so I’m still in the same area, Luna thought. Maybe I should just fake a scream and he’ll realise I’m here. Hopefully.

Luna neared a tree and rested her back against it then placed the back of her palm on her forehead. ‘Aaahh, ouch, I’ve been hit!’ she yelled dramatically. 

But only the crickets responded.

Luna bit the inside of my cheek then cleared her throat. ‘Aaaaaahh!!’ she screamed louder. ‘Helppp!!’

Suddenly, there was a rustle behind her. She stopped yelling and quickly stood properly, scanning the area. It didn’t sound distant so from her spot, she stood unmoving and kept searching for the source of the sound. 

And then she saw it. In the dark, a pair of glistening eyes staring at her, wide-eyed. Luna stared back at it quietly. It was a small deer: a little bigger than a fawn, looking scared and lost, hiding behind a large tree. Perhaps it heard her screaming.

‘I-I’m not going to hurt you, it’s okay you can pass,’ she whispered. The deer blinked and was about to move away when suddenly it got hit.

She could recall it vividly, like a slow-motioned film. Luna heard the wind zapped like a whistle by her ear, and from the corner of her eyes she saw the long and sharp arrow passed her and went straight for the deer’s neck. 

All air was sucked out of her as she gasped seeing it get thrown backwards due to the strong impact of the arrow. Luna’s legs wobbled and she had to crawl to the deer that was struggling for its life. 

‘Oh my God,’ she whispered in panic. The deer whimpered in pain, unable to do anything. Luna could see the fear in its eyes. ‘Oh gosh, it’s okay, I’m here. I can heal you!’

She didn’t know where she got the strength but with all her might, Luna grabbed the arrow and pulled it out in one try. The deer cried at the force.

Then, she heard somebody running towards their direction.

Shit, it’s Leonhardt–

Luna touched its wound and it closed up immediately, as she wished it would. She tapped it softly. ‘Go!’ she urged it, pushing the deer. But it laid there, blinking in confusion.

The footsteps were getting closer.

I don’t have time to let it run…!

The arrow was still in her other hand, so she quickly got up and ran away from the deer. About a few metres away, based on her non-qualified estimation, she dropped herself to the ground and stabbed her left shoulder with the arrow. Her sweaty palm slipped and hit the barb of the arrowhead as she did so, since stabbing someone actually—she found out right then—required a lot more force and strength. 

It didn’t look deep enough, considering that it was a fast-shooting arrow, so she had to push it further, yelling in pain in the process.

Which made her think, Cool, I didn’t need to fake that in the end.

The pain made her want to pee. She also thought it would be fun to exaggerate it a little. ‘AAAHH!’ Luna cried out, then looked around. 

Did he not hear me?

She couldn’t hear any footsteps. 

‘OW!’ She yelled again.

‘Hey, are you okay!?’ a male voice called out.

Finally–!