A step and a shift in the air.
A step fell lightly a few feet from them and they reacted fast.
Their laughter died instantly. They sprang to their feet, hands flying to weapons that weren’t there.
"Who’s..." Taria began, only to stop as her eyes fell on Thalso and Chef.
She relaxed, and she could feel the others doing the same.
Kaedros and Rauk moved to stand beside her, forming a subtle line between themselves and the figures approaching. Their new instructors.
"So, you’re awake." It wasn’t a question, this was Chef’s garden, after all. She’d known the exact moment they stirred, had watched as they struggled to their feet and found the tree stumps placed there for them.
"We are," Kaedros replied, voice even though tinged with restrained irritation. "Thanks to you."
"Of course you’re welcome," Chef replied breezily, as if she hadn’t missed the sarcasm. "It was my lake you bathed and healed in, after all." Her eyes narrowed. "You should be grateful."
They didn’t get a chance to reply.
Because a wave of pressure slammed into them without warning, an overwhelming aura exploding outward from Chef like a tidal wave of malice and weight. It was suffocating.
Kaedros, Taria, and Rauk stumbled back, choking. The air itself had become solid. Oppressive. Dark energy wrapped around them in invisible coils, dragging them to their knees. Their hands clawed at their throats as though trying to peel away the pressure.
"Enough," Thalso said calmly.
Just like that, the pressure vanished as Chef cut off her aura.
The three gasped for breath, their eyes red, lungs burning. Kaedros remained frozen in place, his gaze fixed on Chef.
Who are these people...?
"They should know their place," Chef said with a snort, tipping her bottle to her mouth without a hint of remorse.
"Just say you’re looking for someone to flex on," Nyra purred from above. She lay sprawled across a branch, tail lazily flicking as she watched them. "Why don’t you pick on someone your size? I’d be happy to entertain you."
"You stinky cat!" Chef snapped. "You think you can talk to me any way you like? I’ll fry you in a pot!"
She pointed her bottle at Nyra. "And I am ready to take you on, anytime."
"Enough, both of you," Thalso growled.
Then he turned to Kaedros and the others.
"And you three should really thank them. Cook and Nyra took care of you."
The trio had risen by now, still wary, still tense.
Kaedros bowed, stiff but sincere. "Thank you."
Rauk and Taria followed suit.
"You’re welcome!" Nyra chirped. "You have no idea how hard it is to wash three unconscious warriors with telekinesis! And then dress them without snapping a limb or making things... awkward. You’re lucky I’m a skilled mage, or you’d still be naked and filthy."
Kaedros cleared his throat, cheeks flushing with sudden heat.
"Really?" Taria said, eyes narrowing. "You were the one who washed us? I’ve been wondering. At first, I thought it might have been..." Her eyes flicked briefly to Thalso.
Nyra purred a laugh. "Please. He wouldn’t know what to do if he tried."
"Enough of that," Thalso said, voice shifting. "How do you feel?"
There was a brief pause.
They exchanged glances, and then Kaedros stepped forward.
"We’re feeling okay. Well... aside from a few unexpected changes."
"Changes?" Thalso asked, though he already knew.
"We’re lighter. Faster," Taria said. She hadn’t tested her limits yet, but her movements felt seamless, her mind and body aligned like never before.
"Stronger too," Rauk added. "I feel like I could crush stone."
"And?" Thalso pressed, a small gleam of anticipation flickering in his eyes.
Kaedros answered, his voice steady. "And we can feel mana now. Every breath carries it, so thick it feels like we’re drinking it."
Thalso nodded. ’...that’s what I wanted to hear..’
No surprise there, given the amount of filth that had seeped from their bodies.
"Exactly as expected," he said. "Your bodies expelled impurities. Waste. Mana couldn’t reach parts of your system before. Now it can. We need that, especially since we’re training you to be warriors and mages."
"Impurities?" Taria echoed.
"Your body cleanses itself so that mana can flow freely," Thalso explained. "That’s why it felt like hell. The pain forced the change."
Taria wrinkled her nose. She remembered the rotting scent during her blackout. At the time, it had been nothing compared to the pain but now, it made more sense.
’..so the mana can reach all the way through me now?..’ Kaedros thought. Not even in the Dragon City had he trained . No one there had ever mentioned "impurities" .
"Maybe that’s why I’m not hungry," Taria mused. "I feel refreshed... maybe."
Her stomach grumbled loudly.
"Nope. Still hungry."
Chef smirked. "You know what to do."
"We have to fight for food again?" Taria groaned. "After what we just survived?"
"You know the rules," Chef said. "You earn everything here. That’s how the Castle works."
"And what do you mean, what we just survived?" Her smile twisted. "You were in pain, yes. But that wasn’t just a night."
Taria’s eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, my dear." Chef’s grin widened. "You were out for three days."
A sick feeling bloomed inside Kaedros, and he swallowed against a throat that was now painfully dry.
"What do you mean we spent more than a night?" he asked.
"Exactly what she said," Thalso replied calmly. "Maybe one night would’ve been better. But our goal is to forge warriors strong enough to survive where survival is almost impossible."
Rauk shuddered. Taria flinched, a cold shiver passing through her spine. More than one night?
It seemed impossible. From their perspective, it had been nighttime when the attacks began, and now... the garden was bright. Morning? Noon?
Kaedros frowned. "If it wasn’t one night, then how long were we in that room?"
Thalso folded his arms. "Time works differently here. We haven’t measured it the way you know in a long while, but since I overheard your earlier conversation, yes, I heard it, you were close. You spent seven nights in that room."