Chapter 185

Nyra didn’t remember falling.

She didn’t remember the moment her legs gave out, the moment her body collapsed, the moment the darkness swallowed her whole. All she remembered was the light the silver light that had exploded from her body, consuming the void, consuming the figure, consuming everything.

And then nothing.

When she opened her eyes, she was lying on a bed in a small room. The ceiling above her was wooden rough-hewn beams and thatched roof. The bed beneath her was soft. A fire crackled in the hearth, casting dancing shadows across the walls.

She was back in the seer’s village.

I passed, she thought. I passed the second test.

She tried to sit up, but her body screamed in protest. Every muscle ached. Every bone felt like it had been broken and put back together. Her head pounded. Her vision swam.

“Easy.”

Corvin was at her side in an instant, his hands gentle on her shoulders, easing her back down. His whiskey-dark eyes were filled with relief and something else. Something that looked almost like fear.

“You’ve been unconscious for two days,” he said. “We thought, we thought we lost you.”

“Two days?” Nyra’s voice was hoarse. “What happened?”

“You passed the second test. The Trial of Strength.” Corvin paused. “But it nearly killed you. The seer said you pushed yourself too hard. You used too much power. Your body couldn’t handle it.”

“I had to. The test—it was trying to break me. I couldn’t let it.”

“You almost died.”

“But I didn’t.” Nyra tried to smile. “I’m still here.”

Corvin didn’t smile back. “You’re still here,” he repeated. “But barely. The seer said you need to rest. Really rest. No training. No magic. No anything. Just sleep and food and time.”

“I don’t have time. I have one more test—”

“The third test can wait.” Corvin’s voice was firm. “The seer said so herself. She said the final test—the Trial of the Heart—is not a child’s play compared to the first two. It’s the most difficult of all. And if you go into it exhausted, you will fail.”

Nyra wanted to argue. She wanted to say that she couldn’t wait, that every moment mattered, that Soren was waiting for her. But the truth was, she was exhausted. More exhausted than she had ever been in her life.

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll rest.”

“Good.” Corvin squeezed her hand. “Now sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

The next two days were a blur of sleep and food and quiet conversations.

Nyra’s friends took turns sitting with her Corvin, Ragnar, Roderic, Marek, Maureen, Jasper. They brought her food and told her stories and made her laugh. They didn’t talk about the tests or Soren or the future. They just… were there.

Ragnar told her about his childhood,

growing up with Soren, about the adventures they had shared, about the trouble they had gotten into. He laughed as he recounted the time they had snuck into the palace kitchens and eaten an entire cake meant for the King’s birthday. He grew quiet when he talked about the time Soren had saved his life during a training accident how Soren had carried him for miles to get help, how he had refused to leave his side until the healers said he would live.

“He was always like that,” Ragnar said. “Always putting others before himself. Always protecting the people he loved.”

“I know,” Nyra said. “That’s why I have to bring him back.”

Roderic told her about his time away from the academy about the years he had spent tracking threats across the realm, about the things he had seen and the people he had met. He talked about the loneliness, the isolation, the way he had always felt like an outsider looking in.

“But then I came back,” he said. “And I found my friends again. I found my purpose. And I realized I was never really alone. I just thought I was.”

Maureen and Jasper sat with her together, their hands intertwined. They talked about the future about what they would do when everything was over, about the life they wanted to build together.

“I want a small house,” Maureen said. “With a garden. And a library. And maybe a few chickens.”

“A few chickens?” Jasper raised an eyebrow.

“They’re useful. They lay eggs.”

“I’m not arguing. I’m just surprised.”

“What did you think I wanted?”

“I don’t know. A castle? A throne?”

Maureen laughed. “I’ve had enough of thrones and castles. I want something simple. Something real.”

Jasper smiled a rare, genuine smile. “Then we’ll have something simple. Something real.”

Marek sat with her in silence, his presence steady and comforting. He didn’t need words. He never did. He just sat there, a quiet anchor in the storm of her thoughts.

And Corvin—Corvin was always there. Every time she woke, he was there. Every time she needed something, he was there. He didn’t push. He didn’t demand. He just… was.

I don’t deserve him, Nyra thought. I don’t deserve any of them.

But she was grateful. More grateful than she could ever express.

The seer came to see her on the second day.

The old woman sat by her bed, her ancient eyes studying Nyra’s face. She looked tired more tired than Nyra had ever seen her. The tests had taken a toll on her too.

“You are stronger than I thought,” the seer said. “Most who face the Trial of Strength do not survive. They break under the weight of their own fears. But you—you endured. You fought. You refused to give up.”

“I had to,” Nyra said. “For Soren.”

“For Soren. And for yourself.” The seer paused. “The final test, the Trial of the Heart will be the most difficult. It will not test your mind or your body. It will test your heart. Your love. Your willingness to sacrifice everything for the one you love.”

“I’ve already sacrificed everything.”

“Not everything.” The seer’s eyes were knowing. “There is always more to give. The question is will you?”

Nyra was silent for a long moment. Then she spoke.

“Yes. Whatever it takes.”

The seer nodded slowly. “Then rest. Tomorrow, you will face your final trial.”

At the palace, Freya was walking along the seaside.

The sun was warm on her face, the wind gentle in her hair. The sea stretched before her endless and blue and beautiful. Guards followed at a distance, their eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of danger.

But Freya didn’t notice them. She didn’t notice anything except the boy walking beside her.

Dain Blackfang.

He had come to the palace every day since their kiss bringing her flowers, telling her stories, making her laugh. He had been patient and kind and gentle. He had not pressured her. He had not demanded anything. He had just… been there.

And slowly, Freya had begun to heal.

“The sea is beautiful today,” Dain said.

“It’s always beautiful.” Freya looked at him. “I used to come here with Soren when we were children. He would chase me along the shore, and I would scream and laugh and run away. He always caught me, of course. He was faster than me.”

Dain was quiet for a moment. “You miss him.”

“Every day.” Freya’s eyes glistened. “But it’s getting easier. The pain is still there, but it’s… softer. Like an old wound that’s finally starting to heal.”

“That’s good.”

“I know.” She paused. “I used to think I would never be happy again. I used to think the grief would consume me. But then you came along, and—” She stopped. “I don’t know. You made me feel alive again.”

Dain stopped walking. He turned to face her, his gray eyes serious.

“Freya, I need to tell you something. Something I should have told you a long time ago.”

“What is it?”

He took a deep breath. “I love you.”

Freya’s heart stopped.

“I’ve loved you since we were children. Since the first time I saw you in the palace gardens, chasing butterflies and laughing. I loved you then, and I love you now. And I know—I know it’s not the right time. I know you’re still grieving. I know you have a lot to deal with. But I can’t keep pretending. I can’t keep pretending that you’re just a friend when you’re so much more.”

Dain paused, his eyes searching hers.

“I want to be with you. Not just as a friend—as something more. I want to be the one who makes you laugh. The one who holds you when you cry. The one who protects you and loves you and stands beside you no matter what.”

Freya stared at him. The tears were falling hot and silent.

“Dain—”

“I know it’s a lot to ask. I know you might not feel the same way. But I had to tell you. I had to—”

She kissed him.

It was not the gentle, tentative kiss they had shared before. This was something else something fierce and desperate and full of all the emotions she had been holding back. She kissed him like she was drowning and he was air. She kissed him like she had been waiting her whole life for this moment.

When they finally pulled apart, they were both breathless.

“Yes,” Freya whispered.

Dain blinked. “Yes?”

“Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend. Yes, I love you too. Yes, to all of it.”

Dain’s face broke into a smile a brilliant, radiant smile that transformed him completely.

“You mean it?”

“I mean it.”

He kissed her again soft and gentle this time, a kiss of promise and hope and new beginnings. The sea stretched before them, endless and blue and beautiful. The sun was warm on their faces. The wind was gentle in their hair.

And for the first time in weeks, Freya felt something she had thought she would never feel again.

Joy.