“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?”
There was a long silence. By now, Renlo’s eyes were wide open in shock.
Him? Against Malakai?
But from her eyes and tone, Renlo could tell that she was speaking the truth. He clenched his fist so hard his knuckles cracked.
“I-I’m with him.” He said.
Nyx’s icy gaze didn’t change.
“Then stop avoiding him. You’re making it seem like he made the wrong decision.”
She suddenly turned and made towards the door.
“You’re his friend. Your actions unfortunately have the power to make him doubt himself.” She glanced towards Renlo from the door, and he felt a cold wave wash over him.
“I will never forgive that.”
As Nyx left, Renlo let out a deep breath the moment her oppressive weight vanished.
‘She will never stop being scary.’
He soon settled onto a seat and began pondering the matter deeply. A few seconds later, he reached a conclusion.
The next morning, Malakai woke up with muddled thoughts. Last evening was… confusing. He had only just told Renlo his plans, and the next thing the boy was storming off.
‘Was it too much for him?’
He found himself asking. It wasn’t a secret that his path was filled with danger and blood. Considering who Renlo was, he wouldn’t be surprised if he was just scared.
But this was what made him feel conflicted.
‘Should I move forward without him?’
Malakai had no intention of abandoning his goal, even if his friend wasn’t up for it. Though he had no intention of abandoning Renlo, he could simply chase his goal without involving him.
Malakai freshened up in the bathroom, left his room, and wandered towards the kitchen. The scent of delicious food already engulfed the whole manor.
Renlo greeted excitedly the moment he entered the kitchen.
“How was your night?” He flashed Malakai a wide smile and gestured for him to sit. “Have a seat, breakfast will be ready soon!”
‘He stopped avoiding me?’
It went without saying that ‘pretending to sleep’ did not work on Malakai. His perception was just too good to be fooled. Renlo had been avoiding him, but had just stopped.
‘I can’t sense any pretense.’
Renlo wasn’t the best at hiding his emotions, Malakai knew this well. It meant that all this was actually true.
Which begged the question. What changed in the span of a night? How did his behavior suddenly flip?
As Renlo declared, Malakai allowed the others to join him at the table. From their intense gazes alone, Malakai could tell that one night without Renlo’s food had been hell for them. And though he would never admit it, he wasn’t an exception.
The meal went on as usual, silently, with the occasional sound of pleasure. During it, Malakai caught sight of Renlo glancing at Nyx multiple times.
He couldn’t help but imagine what both of them possibly have together.
As breakfast ended, and as the others began to clear the table, Malakai felt Renlo’s eyes on him and turned to him.
“Training course.” Renlo whispered, and slipped out of the kitchen the next moment. Malakai followed almost instantly, looking a little eager. He might finally be able to get to the bottom of all this.
A few seconds later, he reached the training course, and stood across from Renlo.
Malakai decided to break the tense silence.
“You’re not going to res-”
“I want to say something!”
Malakai paused, scanned Renlo for a moment. He saw his clenched fist, and determined expression.
‘He’s mustering up the courage to speak.’
“Yesterday,” Renlo began, “when you told me you were joining the Crucible, I was sad…” he lowered his gaze but forced himself to look at Malakai. “I was sad and scared that you would leave me behind. I didn’t feel like I had what it takes to join the Crucible. This was why I avoided you.”
Though a bit shocked, Malakai still listened silently.
“But… I realized how foolish my actions were. I’m here to apologize, and to also tell you that I won’t be left behind.” Renlo took a deep breath and raised his fist.
“I’ll also join the Crucible, no matter how hard I have to train.”
Without knowing, a smile appeared on Malakai’s face.
“Are you up for it? I’ll have to double your training. Possibly triple it.”
“Tr-triple?” Renlo stammered, eyes wide.
He looked at the cold smile on Malakai’s face and felt horror. Had he just made a terrible mistake?
Malakai shook his head, smiling.
“Training will come later. Get ready, we’re reporting to the Sovereign soon.”
“The Sovereign…” Renlo muttered, and his eyes almost popped open when he remembered what today was.
It was exactly one week since they received the Sovereign’s letter! Which meant today was the day they had to report to him.
As Renlo imagined being in the presence of the Sovereign, he found himself shaking profusely.
Minutes later, and after Malakai was able to calm Renlo down, they both went back to the manor to get ready.
Following the delivery of the letter and rewards, the Sovereign had also sent one more item. Two apprentice blood knight jackets. Pure white, with crimson drops splattered on it.
But unlike Renlo, Malakai had received one more attire that made him confused.
‘Why did he send this?’
He fixed his eyes on the crimson jacket resting on his bed. A jacket this red could only be a blood knight captain’s. Why would the Sovereign give him this?
It was a question Malakai found it hard to answer. Still, he decided to leave it for later. Picking and putting on the white jacket, he cross-checked his equipment, making sure all was intact.
Then with one final look at his reflection, Malakai left his room.
It was time to meet the Sovereign and discover the of his life.
Hey guys. This is just a calm reminder that I’m still here, and have zero intention of dropping any of my books. Update would start fully on first of October, and I’m resolved to making sure they’re no more breaks in the schedule. Thank you for reading once more. If you have any questions for me, feel free to ask in the comment section. Cheers.