“Elric,” I said, stating the name in disbelief.

He’d told us his family had been in town at some point, but I guess he was hiding his identity.

But Lyra knew.

Was she a noble? Considering how close they were, I doubted she was royalty.

Drake nodded. "Yeah, he was pretty popular when he was a kid. But… his blessing, Common Hand? With no argument, he was removed from the line of succession."

His voice held a strange note of defeat.

Now, he was casually grilling something over the stove.

"He never really said anything about you," I admitted. "Just that royals are dangerous, and I'm lucky I ran into you."

Drake sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don’t mind. I doubt he wants anything to do with us."

We fell into silence as he cooked.

A few moments later, he placed a plate of grilled vegetables in front of me.

The fragrance of warm, refreshing food hit me instantly.

I dug in with a quick, “Thanks.”

We continued eating, neither of us speaking until I finished the meal.

"He’s a monster, by the way."

Drake chuckled. "I saw. I watch all his fights. A healer with the most basic of blessings, making his opponents beg for mercy… just for an end." His eyes seemed to light up as he spoke of Elric.

If the words weren’t so messed up, this would’ve been a sweet moment.

Drake looked genuinely proud of Elric. Whether or not Elric felt the same way, I had no idea.

After a moment, Drake leaned back in his chair. "You should head back. It’s late. When you return from your mission, we can talk about your friend."

I nodded and stood. “It was… actually nice coming here. Thanks.”

Drake didn’t say anything, just gave a small smirk.

I turned toward the spatial gate, stepping through just as his voice called out behind me.

"Raise your battle rank!"

Then I was back at the coliseum.

I collected my points, then froze.

Without thinking, I dove beneath the counter, making the attendant jump in surprise.

"What are you doing?" she asked, sternly. "Get away."

"Twenty points," I whispered. "Let me hide for a moment."

She stopped a moment then quietly called. "Fifty."

Her voice was suddenly a lot sweeter.

I sighed. "Fine."

A man approached the desk, signing up for a match.

I recognized him immediately.

His build. His voice. His face.

But mostly, I remembered what I did to his subordinates.

This was the guy who kidnapped me.

I held my breath behind the counter, waiting.

Then, the terminal called out:

"Ortra."

The man entered his gate.

I exhaled slowly.

Finally.

I stood, handing the attendant my orb. "Thanks."

She studied it for a second…longer than usual.

For the first time ever, an attendant actually spoke with something akin to concern.

"How does a bottom-rank get involved with that guy?" She raised an eyebrow. "You must be new, right? You shouldn’t need to hide from any third-year recruits."

I gave a half-smile. "I’m new, yeah. But it’s a long story."

She didn’t push.

Instead, she smiled slightly. "Watch out for yourself."

I took off running back toward town, moving at top speed. Only to run into an odd sight.

By now, I had assumed everyone was already in bed. But three people were stepping out of Greats.

They heard me approach and turned.

Sia immediately moved behind Elric, patting down her hair.

Lyra, meanwhile, just laughed softly at her, both of their hair was definitely not in its usual pristine condition.

I ignored it and focused on Elric.

"Heading to bed?" I asked casually.

Elric gave me a look, one I think was gratitude. Maybe he had expected me to pry.

"Yeah, we were just heading back," he said.

Then, he turned to Sia and Lyra. "I’ll be up in a bit. Why don’t you go ahead?"

"O-Okay… we’ll see you toni—tomorrow!" Sia blurted out, catching herself mid-sentence.

Lyra laughed again, the soft sound echoing in the quiet street, before she grabbed Sia’s wrist and pulled her through the inn’s front door.

I smirked at Elric. "I guess I’ll have a private room tonight?"

Elric shook his head, chuckling as he swiped his hair back with one hand.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Yeah, aren’t you happy? Some privacy with Thea."

"Yeah… sooo?" I looked at him expectantly.

He stared at me.

I stared back.

Then we both burst into laughter, the ridiculousness of the situation settling in.

After a few moments, we sat on the steps outside the inn, letting the night air cool us.

Elric leaned back slightly. "It just kind of happened," he admitted. "You two were getting close and kept leaving us alone. We got more time to chat, then…"

"Yep." I nodded knowingly. "Serious?"

He exhaled. "I hope so. I used to be surrounded by… well, not great people. It was hard to trust anyone. But they’re just easy to talk to. To be with."

I tilted my head back, taking in the night sky. Vast, endless, filled with more stars than I had ever seen back home.

The distant chirping of fantasy crickets filled the silence.

"I talked to your brother."

Elric froze.

A second later, he relaxed, though his voice held a hint of worry. "Yeah?"

I smirked. I didn’t care about his past. It’s not like I’m from here anyway.

Instead, I leaned in with mock suspicion. "So you’ve been working on Lyra for a while… but how’d you rope Sia in?"

"Idiot."

"Jerk." I shot back.

Elric sighed, rolling his shoulders. "Try not to go out alone. I’m tired of healing you." His voice dripped with fake annoyance.

"Yeah, sorry. It was an emergency, but I should have just waited."

I decided not to mention the identity of my kidnapper just yet.

No need to drag us into more trouble than necessary. When I remembered his strength, all thoughts of retaliation fled my mind.

Elric glanced at me. "What’d Drake tell you?"

I thought back. "Not much. Just some small history. He likes you a bunch, though."

Elric shook his head. "He's too kind for that house."

"And you’re not?"

"No." His voice was serious. "I was just too weak." His expression darkened slightly.

I punched his shoulder lightly trying to lighten his mood. "You should try that expression on the girls, might earn you even more points with them."

He let out a breath, untensing a bit as a small smile formed.

I shrugged. "I don’t know much about what happened between you and Lyra, but you guys are my family. I’ll stick by you all."

Then, after a pause, I added, "Drake also said you’re not a fan of your family… I’m guessing, other than him, you’re not close with your brothers either. So…"

I hesitated, feeling a little embarrassed about my next words.

"We can be brothers."

Elric shifted slightly. "Never had such a stupid brother." He paused. "Drake’s close, but…"

"Hey! I’m pouring my heart out here, man."

He broke out laughing. "Alright, brothers then… but who’s older?"

I thought about it and realized my mistake. "Who knows? I don’t even know how the years are divided here. But if you have four seasons, I was born in the cold one, late into it."

Elric smirked victoriously. "I was born early winter, the start of our year."

I sighed dramatically. "I shouldn’t have offered brotherhood without confirming this first."

Elric nodded with mock seriousness. "Dumber than Drake. But at least you’re my little brother."

I snorted, then laughed along with him.

"Come on, it’s freezing out here. Let’s head in."

We climbed the steps to the inn. Elric passed our room, giving me a wave before heading to his.

I stepped inside, shutting the door softly behind me.

The room was dimly lit, and although Thea was curled up in bed, I could tell from the way her breathing wasn’t totally even that she was still awake.

"Thea?"

A pause.

"…No."

I smiled. "Back to normal."

There was a faint crackle of electricity, and the room lit up slightly with a soft blue glow. I turned to see a fully cocooned mass of blankets and sleeping bags on the bed.

"Forget what happened," she muttered from inside her fabric fortress.

I didn’t answer. Instead, I walked over and wrapped my arms around the cocoon, giving it a big hug.

A small yelp of surprise came from within.

"I can’t."

She let out a long groan of embarrassment.

I laughed, settling against the cocoon.

"I’m cold, Thea."

"Too bad. Get your own blankets."

She squirmed against my hold. Not seriously enough to actually escape.

I pulled her back in. "One of those sleeping bags is mine… but you tangled it in this mess."

Her head poked out from the mass of blankets. My eyes had adjusted enough to see her outline, but not the details.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice quieter now. "I can’t remember anything before… I was acting weird. Just you screaming."

I let out a slow sigh. "Something’s up with the cultivation process. There’s another energy interfering, causing us to, well… pop, I guess."

I hugged the cocoon closer. "I don’t think you were far from it."

She went quiet for a moment. Then, "Oh. So what, we can’t continue?"

I shook my head. "I don’t know. I think we can… but the influence seems to get stronger the more we use Body Refinement. Seeing as it was deeper in you this time, that’s not a good sign."

I hesitated before adding, "I can isolate the energy’s influence myself for now, but maybe we should tread more carefully. If it gets bad enough, where even for a moment it’s hard to control, we should wait for Elric to advance as well."

"Okay. Let’s continue tomorrow on our way to the cave," Thea said. "We just have to be more careful."

A calm silence followed.

"How are you not hot in there?" I asked, breaking it.

"I run cold-blooded." She joked with a neutral tone.

Before I could respond, a brief blue flash flickered from beneath the blankets, illuminating the room for an instant. In that moment, her face peeked out from the mountain of fabric, her eyes locked onto mine. Stormy gray lit by the glow.

I snorted. "I know you were going for scary, but that was just cute."

She shuffled around.

"Did I make you blush?" I teased.

"No."

I smirked. Liar.

I spotted a seam in her blanket fortress, a break in the barrier.

Before she could react, I slipped under the covers in one quick movement, pressing close.

She gasped sharply and froze.

I paused. "Want me to leave?"

She didn’t answer, but after a moment, I felt her shake her head. Then, slowly, she relaxed.

"You did say I was warm earlier."

"Now you can leave." She playfully huffed.

I ignored her, adjusting my position until I was perfectly comfortable beside her.

"This is where I want to be."

She didn’t argue.

After a beat, she murmured, "Elric…? He’ll be back soon."

"No, he won’t."

Another silence followed, this one deeper, softer.

I stayed still, holding her close until her breathing evened out again.

At some point, I drifted off too.

When I woke, a soft orange glow slipped through the window, painting the room in early morning light.

I felt warm, comfortably so, buried beneath the tangled mess of blankets. Thea had shifted in her sleep, now curled up facing me, her head resting near my chest.

Her hair was a little frizzed from bedhead, strands sticking up in different directions.

And… oh.

She was lightly drooling.

I grinned. Never gonna let her live this down.

Strangely, despite staying up so late, I didn’t feel all that tired. Maybe it was the cultivation. Maybe it was just… being here.

Thea stirred not long after. Her breathing changed, and after a moment, she blinked up at me sleepily.

"Morning."

Her eyes met mine for half a second, then she immediately turned away, burying her face into the blankets.

I saw the tips of her ears reddening.

I chuckled. "You know, yo—"

"Don’t say it."

I was definitely saying it later.

Smirking, I decided to spare her…for now. "We should get ready. We’re heading out for the exploration today, right?"

She chirped out her response, muffled by the blanket. "Okay."

Honestly, I was probably red too, but something about being here, being around her, felt right.

So, I just nodded and slid out of bed, stretching.

"I’m gonna head downstairs for food," I said.

From beneath the blankets, her voice was soft but steady. "I’ll be done soon."

I paused for a moment at the door, glancing back at her small, bundled form.

Then, I stepped out, shutting the door gently behind me.

Today was the day.

We were leaving this brutal place.