Chapter 26 #2
I raise an eyebrow. “Didn’t we say this was a casual session?”
“This is casual,” Nalaka replies, tapping her clipboard. “I didn’t even include Elgar’s history or tactical analysis.” Meanwhile, Sakura floats in and out of the room, bringing in plates of powdered pastries and golden croissants. She eventually returns with a delicate porcelain tea tray.
“To keep our mental energy strong and balanced,” she says, followed by the subtle scent of ginseng drifting through the air.
I catch myself smiling, despite the looming mountain of work.
So we study, focused, and occasionally interrupted by bursts of laughter.
They cheer me on when I nail a tricky formula, and in the quieter moments, I can’t help but look around and feel strangely. .. at peace.
Somewhere around midnight, Nalaka has a minor meltdown over Sakura’s chaotic notes. Which I can’t help but giggle at and find endearing, especially for someone like me who thought Elveron’s golden girl was flawless. Meanwhile, our healing witch starts braiding her hair with bits of dried flowers.
“As long as you have a natural element on you, you can cast just about any spell.” She tells me, with that faraway smile of hers.
The days went on, and if I wasn’t trapped in a nightmare, I was visualizing runes, seeing them seared behind my eyes. Over and over, until the words weren’t just memorized, they were part of me.
I have joined higher-level classes; desperate times call for desperate measures. They judged that I was a third-year student in all the training aspects of the curriculum, but a second-year student in magic and history. So that’s why visiting Skyfire is the exact type of self-care I need.
The trail is still foreign, my steps guided by my heart.
The trees stretch above, half-dressed in copper and gold, their branches swaying in the breeze, whispering secrets to each other.
Pixies stir as I pass, drawn out. They blink into view, glowing softly as dying embers.
Blooms stubborn in the cold trails at my feet, releasing other pixies wrapped in the last colours of the year.
I learned they live in the flowers, using their magic to harden the petals, making them resistant to the weather’s wrath.
The pixies drift ahead of me, weightless and drawn to the same place as me, the clearing.
Passing beneath the weeping willow is like crossing some invisible threshold.
The sensation of water rippling around me, momentarily weightless, before the world changes.
The air turns warmer, gentler, holding onto the last traces of summer like a memory it refuses to fade.
Time slows, stretching thin and quiet. Even the breeze seems hesitant, as if the whole clearing is exhaling in silence, Kvirr’s magic unfiltered, untouched.
This is what it feels like when the veil thins and the land remembers itself.
Some places are just closer to the Gods.
This time, Skyfire is not alone. Pegasus rest among the foliage, their wings folded neatly, their bodies half-draped in sunlight.
A few wade into the river, flicking water with casual grace, while others glide down from the treetops to land softly in the moss.
Magnificent.
They watch me with quiet curiosity, but it’s Skyfire who moves first. She steps forward with easy confidence, her movements slow and steady.
She stretches her wings wide, a friendly greeting, before she folds them back neatly against her sides.
Then, without a hint of hesitation, Skyfire nudges her nose right into my pocket, searching for what she knows is there.
I can’t help the small smile that tugs at my lips.
“Yes, it’s for you.” I laugh softly as I pull out the apples.
“Told you I’d bring you snacks.” Skyfire takes a fruit gently from my hand, eating it whole.
Her eyes are warm and gentle, as if she understands just how fragile I’m feeling, even if I’m doing everything to hide it.
In that quiet moment, I realize that’s what the bond means, being unable to hide what you’re feeling.
No matter how hard you try, without the fear of being rejected.
Sinking into the grass. Skyfire settles down beside me, dropping her head gently onto my lap, seeking quiet comfort. Her warmth spreads through me, familiar. She lets out a low, contented sigh, eyes half-closed, and then a soft purr vibrates from her chest.
I giggle.
There’s something about that quiet purring, so unexpected and tender, that it feels downright adorable.
For the first time in a long while, I let myself feel something close to peace.
Leaning back, I take in the scene around me.
It’s the kind of place you’d want to lose yourself in a book, or maybe have a picnic, even take a nap.
My fingers trail through the grass, letting the quiet pulse of magic settle under my skin. The energy hums here, stronger, alive. But you have to be still enough to feel it. With pegasus all around, finding a feather isn’t hard.
“Glao.” The plume shimmers, breaking apart and folding in on itself until Ruby’s face appears.
“Lyna, are you okay?” Her eyes search mine, concern lacing her voice. But when she takes in where I am, surprise flickers across her face.
“Pegasus?... I haven’t seen those in years.” She whispers the last part in awe, eyes glued on the flying horse, resting on my lap.
“I think I’m starting to remember,” I interrupt gently, drawing her attention back, then I spill all of it out.
Ruby takes a moment before replying, “That’s good, Lyna. You’re doing great. I’m still in Arvendal; there are complications. I won’t be back for at least another week. We’ve discovered the virus is turning mundanes into demons.” I bolt upright, heart pounding in my chest.
The pixies scatter in a flurry. Several pegasus take flight, wings beating the air, blending with the sky, turning invisible.
Skyfire lifts her head, wings flared wide, her tension a mirror of my own.
Every muscle taut with alertness, reflecting the storm inside me.
I reach out, sinking my hand into her mane, searching for something solid to hold onto, to steady my breath.
My heart races as if it’s trying to outrun me, my dad.
But Skyfire stays, and her soft coat slowly grounds me while the steady pressure of her head against my palm pulls me back to the present.
Slowly, I find my way back. That’s when I realize Ruby’s been calling my name.
“AVILYNA REY!”
“—Yes, yes! I’m here.”
“Sakura already put your dad into a permanent coma. The Elgarians’ immune system is stronger, and as long as they’re asleep, the parasite stays dormant.
The transformation doesn’t take hold.” Her words hit; stones sinking deep.
I exhale sharply, and a small wave of relief washes over me as the tension slips from my shoulders.
Giving me a fleeting sense that maybe, just maybe, I can handle this.
“So, what do I do?” My voice is on the edge of breaking, but I force it down, swallowing the lump in my throat. Because in the end, no one really wants to carry other people’s shit.
“You learn. You train. You get stronger,” Ruby says softly, trying to ease the gravity of it all. “Things are shifting, Lyna. History might be ready to repeat itself. Trust your instincts; they’ve kept you alive this far, but don’t be na?ve. This world is dangerous.”
Yeah, no shit.
“Those attacks we saw on the news back home… are they connected to this?” Ruby hesitates. And in that pause, the answer becomes painfully clear. “Is there anything that can protect us from turning into demons?”
“To avoid infection, based on what we’ve gathered, it’s triggered by a DNA exchange.
The only temporary safeguard we’ve found is induced sleep.
” Her voice softens. “But don’t worry, Lyna.
I’m doing everything I can to find a cure.
Theo might not be my brother by blood, but he is in every way that counts.
” I swallow hard, emotion tightening in my throat.
“Thank you,” I whisper, the words barely holding together.
The call ends, and Ruby’s face dissolves in the air. I glance at the time, fifteen minutes until class starts.
Just enough time to pull myself back together.