Kaara walked alongside Argo in comfortable silence for the rest of the way. When they got to Shiira’s tent, Kaara noticed how busy it was.

“There must be a lot of Malaki tonight,” She muttered to herself. She hoped everyone was still alright. The Siren Ceremony had not yet arrived and hunters were already showing up with injuries just to keep them at bay. Kaara could not remember a year this tent had been so full.

Not to mention, an Osazi had managed to slip past their defenses to torment Argo. What exactly was waiting for them beyond the bounds of the forest?

She looked at Argo as he set the nephilim girl down with the rest of his friends. Could she live with herself knowing they might die because of her curse? In a way, she felt an odd connection to Argo.

He too struggled with a curse that he could not tell anyone about. The difference, however, was that Argo was forced to keep his secret. Kaara could at least share her burden with her friends.

“Kaara!” Arik shouted, rushing over, “Are you hurt?”

“Hm? Nah, I’m fine.”

“They got your horns huh?”

“Ah, yeah, but I had fun!” Kaara said, poking at her severed horn stumps. With a bit of magic she might be able to grow them back quicker, but it would be at least a week or two.

“So who do you think is gonna win this year?” Rorik said, arms crossed.

“I dunno. I think it’ll be close, though. All the captains got their horns cut on both sides.”

“Really? How did that happen?”

She glanced at Argo, “There was a pretty big brawl at the end. Tadios fought Deka, Amaro, and Anitus at the same time. That nephilim girl jumped in to help as well. She got injured pretty badly. I was helping Vilka. She’s a real scary fighter you know!”

“Yeah? How so?”

Kaara recalled what she had seen. Vilka had a physicality and magical control that reminded her of her father. It did not matter whether it was captain or one of the other Tibur participating. She was clean, precise, and calculating in her approach. Among those who had fought in this final battle, Vilka had likely severed the most horns. Corvio and Orsika had not stood a single chance at beating her, even if they’d put up a good fight.

“I dunno how to describe it, really. She was just really really strong and merciless.”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“Leave it to her to be a threat I guess.” Arik said.

The fact that Argo had cut her horns along with everyone else’s was all the more impressive. It made Kaara sad that she could not talk about it. Especially not in this tent where several adult nobles now nursed their wounds.

“Still, all the captains got their horns severed? That’s a pretty crazy series of events. I wish I had been able to watch,” Arik grumbled.

“Sorry,” Kaara said.

“It’s fine. Shiira ended up needing our help. It’s actually pretty calm now compared to a couple hours ago if you can believe it.”

“I guess we’ll figure out who won tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow’s the first day of festivities, though!” Kaara said, excitement in her eyes, “Three days of food, dancing, and gift giving!”

Arik smirked, “I’m usually the type who enjoys the war games more, but this year I’m looking forward to the festival.”

“This year has been pretty chaotic as far as those war games go.” Rorik said, “There was a lot more nobility showing up this year than in past years too. That probably had something to do with it.”

“Probably because of Prince Dickhead,” Arik muttered.

“How is Sancta?”

“Despite everything, it looks like she’ll make a full recovery by the time the Siren Ceremony comes.” Rorik said, “She’s asleep right now.”

“I’m glad she didn’t hurt herself too much.”

“According to Shiira, she’s probably got a lot more magic than she’s used to using. She might’ve pushed her soul to the limit, but it didn’t end up injuring it too badly.”

“It’s kind of scary to think about how much magic she can summon,” Kaara giggled.

“Speak for yourself!” Arik said, “That halberd you summoned was insane. I could feel it when I was fighting Tadios. When did you learn how to do that?”

Kaara paused. When did she learn how to do that? “I dunno. It kinda just came to me.”

“Spoken like a fuckin’ prodigy,” Arik sighed.

“Speak for yourself!” Kaara echoed, grinning.

The three of them chatted for the rest of the night. Kaara occasionally stole glances at Argo and his group. She noticed Rixam only had one wing attached now. Argo had every right to be afraid of what the nobility would do if they discovered his secret. After all, they had already harmed his friends for doing nothing more than putting up a fight in a game.

She recalled the state Ezo had been in when she got to him. While no one would be punished if a pet or animal was killed during the games, it did not make it right. Had Argo not intervened, his friends would likely be dead. She wondered why he was so hard on himself. Why did he feel the need to save others on his own?

She had only met him twice now, and both times he was fighting to save the lives of his friends against a threat he could not defeat on his own. Even if she and Argo shared the same tent, Kaara felt like she lived in another world from him.

She felt a cold pit in her stomach. Even as she shared a warm conversation with her friends, that pit dug deeper and deeper. Kaara had brushed with death because of her stupidity and recklessness. Argo had brushed with death despite doing everything he could to stay alive.

She went to bed with a lot to think about that night. Tossing and turning on her furs wondering if she should tell him about her curse. Yet even as the next morning arose, she still had no answer.

Was it better to be blissfully ignorant?