Renlo ran as fast as he could. With his new limbs, he became nothing but a blur. He reached the mansion in under a few seconds.
As he entered his room, he jumped on his bed and buried his face into his pillow.
Renlo screamed, but only a muffled sound of it echoed. He rapidly slammed both fists on the bed, but it did little to calm his raging emotions.
Eventually, he stopped, taking a deep breath to calm himself.
He thought out loud, turned towards the ceiling, and simply stared.
Renlo took another deep breath, then glanced at his arm. ‘It’s shaking,’ he noted.
In all his fifteen years of living, when had he ever not been scared? Renlo clenched his fist.
‘I promised myself that I’ll change…’
After the incident at Sylvastein, where he had narrowly survived, Renlo had made a vow that he would never be caught helpless anymore. He would never cower, regardless of the situation.
Still, he couldn’t be blamed. Malakai’s news had been so abrupt that it caught him off guard.
“The Crucible.” Renlo muttered in a serious tone, as though the name itself held weight. It only went to show how well known and respected they were across the entire dome.
The Crucible was filled with the best the grand and great clans of the dome had to offer. While the clans dealt with the dangers of their respective fortresses, the Crucible dealt with the dangers of the dome.
The two couldn’t be compared. In significance and magnitude, the Crucible would come out on top.
This was the organization Malakai intended on joining, and it filled Renlo with a maelstrom of emotions.
Though he’d gotten stronger, Renlo wasn’t naive enough to believe that it was at the level of being able to join the Crucible.
There was only one outcome here should Malakai go through with it.
For Renlo, the night was long, but he barely paid it any heed. His thoughts had been consumed by the news of that evening.
Malakai had come to knock on his door earlier, but he’d pretended to sleep and didn’t answer.
Until now, Renlo still couldn’t understand why he was running away from Malakai. What would it accomplish?
Having just learned that their time together would soon come to an end, wouldn’t the best thing be to spend as much time together as they can?
Renlo bit his lip. Was it shame? Guilt? He couldn’t tell exactly which one. But being under those cold, crimson, all-seeing eyes of Malakai made his skin crawl.
Somehow he knew, if Malakai should see him now, he would be able to instantly tell what he was feeling.
Renlo needed to clear his mind off things, and so, he decided to do the only thing he could. Cook.
He left his room and wandered into the kitchen. The time was just past midnight, and Renlo had spent enough time in the manor to know Malakai’s schedule by heart. If he wasn’t sleeping, he was training.
As he entered the kitchen, he was a bit surprised to see some of his pots and pans in different locations from where they should have been.
‘Dinner.’ His eyes widened as he realized. He was supposed to cook dinner for the manor, but hadn’t due to his… situation.
He felt another pang of guilt. Taking a deep breath, Renlo set out to begin cooking, but a voice froze him in place.
“What are you doing?”
It was a familiar voice, but the coldness in it made him shiver.
Renlo slowly turned, and his heart sank the moment he saw the figure standing at the door. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel_fіre.net
‘What… what is she doing here?!’
Until now, being under Malakai’s gaze still frightened him. However, there was one person whose eyes made his heart pound faster than ever before.
Renlo failed to stop himself from shivering under her stare.
Though he had seen her numerous times due to being friends with Malakai, he always made sure to keep a large distance. This was the first time the two would ever be together.
“Why don’t you answer?”
Renlo blinked, then widened his eyes. Had he just ignored the Red Eclipse!?
“N-no n-no! S-sorry!” He managed to mutter, shaking his hands.
Nyx tilted her head slightly. She stared at Renlo as though gazing at an exotic creature.
“Why are you cooking in the middle of the night?”
“I…” Renlo began, but stopped. He glanced down, as though trying to escape from her heavy gaze. Had he been about to tell her about… that?
Though it currently hurt him, it was shameful. Malakai was trying hard for his revenge, and here he was whining about getting left behind. His feelings were his to bear, not anyone’s.
“N-nothing.” He finally said, clenching his fist and forcing himself to look at Nyx.
The uncomfortable silence that followed destroyed the little courage he had mustered.
Suddenly, Nyx took a step towards him. Renlo flinched and he took one back in response.
“Wh-what’s w-wrong?” He asked, panicked. But Nyx didn’t answer and simply took another step.
The more steps she took forward, the more he took backward, until there was no place to back up anymore.
He gulped as Nyx stood in front of him. Though she was shorter than him, he felt like he was standing in front of a giant.
“I want to say something. And you will listen.”
Renlo quickly nodded. From her tone, it didn’t seem like he had a choice.
“Malakai lost his parents, and the ability to evolve, when he was just seven. He was all alone in the clan, stripped of power, and even his potential. But he didn’t let that stop him. He trained every single day. He went on deadly missions no one believed he’d come back from. He kept pushing, no matter how impossible it seemed. And now, he’s gained the power and potential to reach for his goals.”
She stepped closer, close enough that Renlo could see his shivering reflection in her cold crimson eyes.
“I will burn down the entire clan before I let anything get in the way of that,” she said, her tone glacial. “So you need to decide. Are you going to hold him back… or are you with him?”