The Versatile Thief

Chapter 5: The Infirmary Interrogation

The clinical silence of the infirmary felt like a physical weight, heavier than the gravity spell that had nearly shattered Santiago’s ribs. He lay back against the stiff, starch-scented pillows, his chest rising and falling in shallow, measured hitches. Nadia didn't move from the doorway, her silhouette still etched against the dim, flickering corridor light like a shadow that refused to fade.

"You’re staring," Santiago said, his voice raspy and thin.

Nadia finally stepped back into the room, the heels of her boots clicking with a sharp, rhythmic precision that made his head ache. She pulled the chair closer to his bed, sitting down with a grace that felt entirely too calculated for the late hour.

"I’m observing," she corrected, her eyes scanning his face. "And I’m waiting for you to stop pretending that you don’t know exactly what you are."

Santiago forced a lopsided, tired grin, looking at the ceiling. "A student who got a bit too eager in the practice field? That’s the version the healers are buying. Why are you so invested in the 'extra' bits?"

"Because 'extra' is putting it mildly," Nadia said, her voice dropping into a low, sharp register. "You didn't just dump a spell. You redirected a high-level gravitational anchor. You used it as a kinetic cushion. That’s not a malfunction, Santiago. That’s a master-tier display of energy control, and you did it while your reservoirs were supposedly leaking like a sieve."

Santiago turned his head, his gaze meeting hers. "You’re romanticizing it. It was a reflex. A desperate, terrified reflex. My hands were burning, the kid was falling, and I just pushed."

"You don't get to 'just push' gravity," she countered, leaning in until the scent of peppermint and parchment filled his senses. "Not without a core to back it up. So, let’s talk about that 'dud' status. Is the whole school just blind, or are you the best actor at Aethelgard?"

Santiago chuckled, a dry, painful sound. "Look at me, Volkov. Does this look like a genius to you? I spend my classes under the desk trying not to cause a feedback loop. I’m a vacuum. I can take energy, sure, but I can’t produce a drop of my own. That’s the definition of a dud, no matter how many times I accidentally pull a rabbit out of a hat."

"A vacuum," she repeated, her eyes narrowing. "That’s what you call it. Do you have any idea how dangerous a vacuum is in a world built on overflowing mana?"

"I’m painfully aware," he muttered, shifting his weight. "That’s why I hide. That’s why I don't join the dueling clubs. I’m a walking liability. If I get too close to a high-level caster, I don't just 'steal' their work—I end their career. You saw what happened to Harth. The man is going to be second-guessing every spell he casts for the next three years because I was standing in the wrong place at the right time."

Nadia tapped her fingers against the side of the ledger. "And yet, you saved the boy. You chose to burn your own channels rather than let that energy dissipate in a way that might have hurt someone else. That wasn't a vacuum’s reaction. That was a choice."

"Maybe I just didn't want the paperwork of a dead first-year," he deflected, closing his eyes.

"Stop it," she hissed, though there was no malice in her tone, only a frantic sort of urgency. "Stop the 'poor me' routine. It’s boring, and it’s clearly not true. You’re holding back a tidal wave, Santiago. Do you think I don't see the way the air warps around you when you’re angry? Do you think I don't see the way you look at a spark of light like it’s a meal?"

Santiago opened his eyes, his expression sharpening. "And what if I am? What if I’m exactly what you think? What does that get you, Nadia? Are you going to turn me in to the Headmaster? Are you going to see if you can study me like one of your precious grimoires?"

Nadia went still. For a moment, the room was silent enough that he could hear the rhythmic ticking of a clock somewhere down the hall.

"I don't want to study you," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I want to survive. The Academy is changing, Santiago. The wards are thinning, the professors are getting sloppy, and the upper-years are playing with forces they don't understand. If you’re a vacuum, then you’re the only thing here that can actually clean up the mess."

"I’m not a janitor, and I’m not a hero," he snapped. "I’m just trying to graduate without exploding."

"You’re failing at that," she remarked, a thin smile touching her lips. "I was watching from the west tower window, you know."

Santiago froze. "The tower? That’s three floors up. You couldn't have seen the courtyard from there."

"I saw the flare," she said, her expression turning enigmatic. "I saw the way the energy didn't just disperse. I saw the way you shaped it into a net to catch him. Most people would have seen a blast of purple light. I saw the intent behind it. I saw the lines of your will, even from that distance."

Santiago felt a prickle of cold sweat on his neck. "You saw... the lines?"

"I’ve always been good at sensing things," she said, leaning back. "Most people call it talent. I call it an annoyance. It’s hard to ignore a lie when you can see the intent behind the words like a physical cord tied to someone’s throat."

"Wait," Santiago breathed, pushing himself up, his muscles screaming in protest. "Are you saying you can read intent? Like, you can see if someone is telling the truth?"

"I see the structure of what they’re trying to manifest," she replied, her tone chillingly calm. "Whether it’s a spell, a thought, or a lie. And when I looked at you in the courtyard, I didn't see a 'dud.' I saw someone who was trying to hold back the ocean with a single hand."

Santiago stared at her, his mind reeling. Everything he had hidden—the way he felt the mana, the way he calculated the flow—she had been watching it all with a lens he didn't even know existed.

"So that’s why you’ve been following me," he said, his voice low. "You weren't curious. You were testing me."

"I was verifying," she corrected. "I needed to know if I was the only one who felt like the ground was shifting beneath our feet. Turns out, I’m not. I’m just the only one who doesn't have to guess what you’re thinking anymore."

Santiago sank back into his pillows, the exhaustion hitting him like a physical blow. "Great. So I’ve been outed by someone who can see through my skin. What now? Is this where you tell me you’re going to expose me to Harth?"

Nadia stood up, her movements fluid and controlled. She walked to the foot of his bed, looking down at him with a gaze that felt far too old for her face.

"I’m not going to expose you," she said. "I’m going to help you."

"Help me what?" he asked, his voice cracking. "Destroy the school?"

"Help you learn how to handle that 'vacuum' of yours," she whispered, leaning over the bed. "Because if you keep going the way you are, you’re going to accidentally erase yourself. And I’d hate to lose the only interesting thing that’s happened at Aethelgard in the last century."

Santiago watched her, searching for the lie in her words, the intent that would betray her. But he felt nothing but a cold, steady resolve. It terrified him, and yet, for the first time since the bullies had cornered him in the hall, he didn't feel entirely alone.

"Why?" he asked, his voice barely a breath. "Why would you take that risk for me?"

Nadia turned toward the door, her hand resting on the frame. She didn't look back, but the way she held her shoulders told him everything he needed to know.

"Because," she said, "even a vacuum needs a place to store what it takes. And I’m curious to see what we can do together when we finally stop pretending."

She walked out, the soft click of her boots fading into the stillness of the night. Santiago lay there, staring at the ceiling, the echo of her words ringing in the hollow, empty, and terrifyingly vast space of his own soul. He realized then that the infirmary hadn't been his refuge—it had been his starting line. And for the first time in his life, he didn't want to hide from the void; he wanted to see what he could draw into it.