Tears streamed down my face again. Why was I even crying right now? My own body kept working against me these past few days and I didn’t know what to do anymore. It was a loss of control that frustrated me more than it actually upset me. 

“Please, don’t cry alone like this,” Ivan's voice softly reached my ears, and I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking about my current state.

He shouldn’t be doing this.

The protagonist should not console a nobody like me, yet here he was, comforting me while I wallowed in self-pity. We had more important stuff to take care of.

I tightened the grip on my knees in frustration. Something in my mind finally snapped and I had a moment of clarity.

It was time to pull myself together and confront these feelings head-on instead of running away like I did the past few days. 

Unaware of any of this, Ivan continued to console me. “No matter what you think, I’m here for you.” His soothing words touched my heart and gave me the courage to push through.

If I wanted to change, I had to step out of my comfort zone and accept the things I’d usually avoid.

The tears gradually stopped flowing, and I lifted my head to look into Ivan's eyes. My vision was blurry from all the tears, but it didn’t matter, I felt like I could see clearly now. The haze of anxiety and doubts that had blinded me slowly cleared.

Ivan reached out to me and grazed my cheek as if he was trying to wipe the tears from my ghostly face. The simple ‘touch’ comforted me and I let myself bask in this moment in peace. 

Changing myself meant silencing the constant nagging voice of doubt. Instead of running away, I chose to accept my emotions, even if they were new and scary.

Ivan calmly waited for me to sort things out myself, and I was truly thankful to him for that.

After a few more seconds, I mustered the strength to speak. “Thank you, Ivan.” My voice was raw from crying and that was perfectly okay. 

Ivan drew back slightly, careful not to accidentally touch me, but his eyes remained fixed on me with a steely determination I intended to meet with my own. To show him that there is no need to worry for me. We exchanged gazes for a few moments, and a small smile returned to Ivan’s lips.

“You look better now, Rêve. I’m relieved.” Ivan exhaled, as if he had been holding his breath for the past few minutes and I almost chuckled. There was no denying that he cared for me a lot, even if I didn’t know where this sentiment came from. For the first time in the past few days, I allowed myself to feel genuine happiness about this. 

“I feel a lot better now. You won’t need to worry about me, so go to work now,” I said and offered Ivan a smile. I knew my anxiety may rear its ugly head again, but at the moment I felt at peace with myself.

The mage seemed surprised by my expression and almost as if spurred on by it, he eagerly stood up. 

“I’ll try to speed things up. Ideally, I’ll be finished with writing the concept for the spell by lunch, so I can start collecting ingredients today already.” 

I nodded in affirmation and stood up myself, feeling a lot lighter than I did before. My words came out naturally. “Try not to overdo it, okay? I can wait. What matters most right now is making sure Dragan stays safe!” Without meaning to, I raised a scolding finger and pointed it towards the living room. 

Ivan let out a small laugh when he saw me like this and brushed some dust off his pants. “Sure. I’ll be going now.” He turned around to leave and took a few steps, but stopped. 

“Call me if you feel lonely,” Ivan whispered, while looking back over his shoulder. The usual mischievousness was absent and instead replaced by a warm gaze. “I promise I won’t call you darling anymore~!” 

In the distance, the sound of a door opening signaled that it was time for Ivan to leave. He winked at me one more time and left, before Dragan came over to search for him. I put a hand on my beating heart and felt a surge of strength. Time to get to work myself!

When I left the hallway, both brother’s had left the house already. My sense of time still seemed more off than I expected, but I didn’t want to let this affect me. I knew my route and quickly headed the way to Dragan’s school. 

***

It was lunch break, when something unexpected happened. 

“Hey Dragan, did things with your brother get settled?” Mila, the blue haired girl from Dragan’s group of friends, spoke up, setting her fork down.

Shadowing Dragan for the past few days had the effect that I had grown accustomed to his friends and learned more about their personalities and relationship to him.

For instance, I knew that Mila often played matchmaker between her friends, and Ilija, their lazy looking friend, was far smarter and more observant than his looks suggested. I had long abandoned thinking that this world was somehow fake or a dream of mine, and seeing Dragan’s friends be normal teenagers with their own problems really reinforced this.

Filip, the calm boy with rose-hued hair, spoke up next, his gaze flipping between Mila and Dragan before settling on the latter. “You seem much more at ease now.”

“Yeah, now that you mentioned it, you’re right!” their last friend Iilja exclaimed, sharpness returning to his tired looking eyes. 

All three of them had a point; Dragan's sudden calmness had surprised me too after catching up to him. He had appeared more on edge in the preceding days, so something had certainly changed between yesterday and today, and I was left in the dark. What exactly had Ivan told him?

Finally, Dragan, who had been focused on meticulously eating his delicious-looking lunch, turned his eyes to his friends. He carefully wiped his mouth with a napkin and began to speak. “Ivo told me that he was working on something and that this something will be settled tomorrow. He promised to tell me the details then.”

“Good for you, man!” Iilja, who sat right beside Dragan, playfully slapped him on the shoulder. “Maybe your bro was preparing an early surprise for your 18th birthday or somethin’,” the blonde laughed, setting a joyous mood.

“Isn’t it a bit too early for that? It’s still a week away.” Filip chimed in, eyeing his friend with a face that was clearly unconvinced. 

…

My throat felt bone dry at this exchange. Dragan never made it to his 18th birthday, as I clearly remember that he was labeled as ‘17 years old’ in the novel. 

The synapses in my brain started to work and another horrible conclusion pressed itself into my mind. 

If the plot stayed similar to the novel, Dragan would be attacked within this week!

As horrifying and alarming as this conclusion was, the overwhelming emotion coursing through me while watching Dragan chat with his friends was sorrow. I had read about Ivan’s emotions regarding his brother's death and wept more than once, but now it stung even harder, knowing that Dragan was killed just a short time before his birthday. It was so vile and unfair!

My hands shook, and I balled them into fists, trying desperately to stop the trembling. I could feel my emotions spiraling out of control, and I needed to calm down. A few minutes of trying to clear my mind, I finally felt cooled down again. In a way, I had a feeling my emotional outburst earlier had a cathartic effect and helped me regain my focus quicker.

A gong rang out and Dragan and his friends left the table to go back to class.

I took this opportunity to call Ivan to tell him of my newfound knowledge. Since I still felt a bit nervous about being seen or heard by someone else, I went to the abandoned rooftop of the school to make my call. 

A good part of the city was sprawled right before my eyes,and I marveled once more at the different architecture from what I was used to back home. It was like a strange blend of fantasy medieval and modern elements with something else I couldn’t quite put into words. As a European, it was certainly a curious and fascinating sight.

Not wanting to delay any longer, I tapped my tattoo twice and called Ivan’s name. After a few seconds of nauseating silence, I heard his surprised voice.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” From the way he spoke, I could tell he sounded worried, which prompted me to answer quickly.

“Everything’s fine so far,” I breathed out, hesitating as I realized I had no idea how to explain where I acquired my new knowledge. “I just remembered something unpleasant. Dragan’s attackers will probably strike in the next few days.”

Long silence followed after my statement, which was only natural considering what we just discussed. I gave Ivan some time to process everything, hoping he wouldn't press me for more details.

“It’ll be fine.” Ivan’s calm words brought me back to reality. “We’ve prepared ourselves enough, and I trust in Dragan’s ability to protect himself until I arrive.”

His rational words should’ve had a calming effect on me, but I only grew more anxious, feeling a knot forming in the pit of my stomach. What if it wasn’t enough? What if I wasn’t there to tell him of the danger when the moment arose?

“But Dragan still has no way to contact you, right? What if they strike in a single moment, while I’m not around…?” I voiced my concerns, my words trailing off towards the end, unable to fully express my fears. The impending return to my normal human state would change our plan, and that uncertainty did unnerve me.

“I’ll talk to Dragan later and give him access to the communication spell, too. With that everything should be taken care of.” Ivan’s reassuring voice echoed through my mind and his words finally calmed my frazzled nerves. 

I had fallen into the trap of thinking that everything was perfectly planned before, only to have my mind uncover more potential weak spots in our strategy. However, this time, I truly believed that Ivan was right. There was nothing else we could do to prepare beyond this point.

“Like I said, try not to think too much about it. Everything will be fine….Oh?” Ivan's voice held a hint of surprise, and I wondered what had caught his attention.  

Before I could inquire further, he continued, “I’ve got some customers. Talk to you later.” With that, he quickly ended our 'call,' and his voice faded away, leaving me alone on the rooftop once more.

For a few more minutes, I stayed at the rooftop and watched the scenery, lost in my own thoughts. A cold breeze flew past me and for a split second, I felt reminded of the sensation of being watched, but there was no one here. 

Despite Ivan’s reassurance and my own regained vigor, I couldn’t shake this ominous feeling of impending danger. Many things I had taken for granted had proven as inconsistencies in this reality, which didn’t help me feel entirely comfortable. 

All I could do was hope that our preparations were enough to prevent the horrible tragedy from becoming a reality.