50. Loveleena
LOVELEENA
Ever since her heart-to-heart with Kumani, things between them had shifted significantly. They eased into a familiar comfort with one another and spent more time together than they had previously. She hadn’t realized how much guilt she was carrying from the past or how tense it had made her.
Kumani had said Loveleena was running from her grief.
Maybe she was right. At least now, she was running toward something—transforming herself into a walking, breathing, lethal weapon that would avenge Park.
Even if he had gone mad, there was still someone responsible.
And she was going to find out who it was and make it right.
And when she did find them, she would be ready.
She rose to the top of her class in all subjects easily. But she found Combat the most enjoyable and had become the best weapons master in her squad.
Maybe she should feel guilty for having such natural talent when other students had to work three times as hard to be half as good.
But unlike the rest of the students, she grew up with the best of everything.
Physical training, education, and wellness routines—all taught at the highest level by the best in the city.
Not that she had paid that much attention in her lessons.
But admittedly, it had given her a solid foundation for her Defender work. She was grateful for that.
To be honest, she loved swinging a sword around, pinning men twice her size to the ground. It gave her immense satisfaction. Perhaps best of all, the words she uttered during sparring were so vulgar they made the taunts between Slayers sound cute.
For the first time in a long time, she felt truly alive.
“The much-anticipated shadow sessions are here,” Barrow announced as he stood at the front of their Trivium class. Now that their friendship had fallen into an easy flow, she sat beside Kumani, whispering about what the shadow sessions would entail.
“This is your only opportunity to see in real time what each chosen specialty does beyond the wall and how it will influence your life as a Defender. At the end of the year, your specialty will be given to you by the headmaster. Today’s activities are meant to give you a true look into the specialty you’re hoping for, and maybe even have the chance to prove why you should be chosen for that specialty.
You’ll accompany Defenders beyond the wall and be given their protection and guidance.
But don’t be fooled—your leads will challenge you.
This isn’t a free pass. When you step beyond the wall, anything can happen. ”
Loveleena knew she made the right choice to shadow the Slayers when she saw Ren standing in the Bloodring alongside two other graduate Slayers and Lennox. She hadn’t seen him since she had caught him sneaking off to the Moon Festival.
The two leading Defenders introduced themselves as Brin Sasha and Theron Ahman.
Loveleena recognized them from Defender’s Village but had never met them face-to-face before.
Studying them from a distance, she took in Sasha’s olive skin, white hair, and piercing blue eyes—a vibrant contrast next to her counterpart, a short, stalky, bushy-browed man.
Both were covered in tattoos and scars, and looked as if they might skewer a human and roast them for a single wrong glance.
“Defender’s Sasha and Ahman, some of our most experienced Slayers, are here today to show you what they do beyond the wall,” Barrow said as he stood beside them, sharpening his dagger.
“I’ll be here to support you as well, but they are your leaders.
” He strapped his dagger to his thigh in the traditional Slayer position and stood up tall.
“Today you will each be given extra weapons in case you need to defend yourself. As you know,” he said, dragging over a crate full of weapons.
“Slayers always keep a host of weapons on us when we travel beyond the wall. Daggers, swords, chakrams, bows, traps—take your pick. We hope there’s no need to use them, but you can never be too careful. Strap up.”
Loveleena had brought her sword and dagger, but she picked up an extra dagger just in case and strapped it tightly to her thigh.
“Sasha and I will lead you east, toward the river. As Slayers, it’s often our job to clear the path for the rest of our squad to do field work,” Ahman explained while Sasha handed out a small circular item to each of them.
“You’re holding a creature compass,” Sasha said, returning to her place beside Ahman. “It tells you which direction a creature is approaching from, to help prepare you.”
Loveleena studied the compass in the palm of her hand. It was carved from kempaswood with an inner wand that moved around sporadically, pointing in all directions.
“The Clever and Alchemist shadows will conduct research on the plant life and creatures to help us stay on top of their development. In order for Clevers to develop a defense strategy, and Alchemists to gather fresh supplies for their potions, they need up to date information on the creatures and the forest. That’s what field work is for,” Sasha explained. “It’s our job to keep them safe.”
“Do Slayers do any field work?” Loveleena asked. She wanted to know if she could get extra time beyond the wall. Field work could be the perfect cover for her to look for Park.
“Sometimes…” Sasha said slowly, as if studying Loveleena’s body language before answering. “We track creatures to understand their movement. Which is often done in collaboration with other squad members.”
“We better go,” Barrow cut in, urging them along. “The other squads are waiting.”
They followed Ahman, Sasha, and Barrow down to the outpost, Lennox and Ren bringing up the rear, before descending into the cool, dark depths of the earth.
It took a moment for Loveleena’s eyes to adjust to the light again once they surfaced on the other side.
Every other time she had been beyond the wall it was blanketed by formidable clouds or the darkness of night.
In the daylight, the forest was kind of…
magical. The sun shone down through the canopy of tangled branches and greenery, it’s golden light highlighting the array of colorful fauna.
And in front of the beautiful backdrop was a brooding Ren.
He always had a kind of detached and careless exterior. But somehow, out here beyond the wall, he looked even more commanding. She took him in before his eyes caught hers. She kept her gaze steady, challenging him.
“Clever shadows will follow behind us once we’ve cleared the path of any threats.
The Alchemy shadows will follow behind them.
Elmerian, you’re in the back with Lennox,” Ahman ordered, before aligning with Sasha and Barrow in the front.
The Clevers spoke in hushed voices behind them, whispering nervously, and Loveleena looked back to find Ahmina and Emerson among the Clever group.
They didn’t speak much during the journey, and as the trees grew taller and the flora thicker, they kept having to untangle vines from their boots so they wouldn’t trip. Loveleena found herself at the back along with Ren and Lennox, unable to take the silence any longer.
“So, Ren, how was the Moon Festival?” she said once there was a bit of distance between them and the rest of the students ahead.
“What are you talking about?”
“Never pictured you as the dancing type.”
Lennox eyed them both, confused.
“I’m not.”
“Oh, because I could have sworn I saw—”
“—Hallucinating just like your friend. Careful or you’ll end up going mad, too.”
Speechless, Loveleena’s blood boiled. How dare he.
“Looks like we have company,” Lennox said, scanning the bush. To their right stood a giant black creature with crimson eyes, fixated on hers. She pulled out her sword, her heart racing.
“Soul Snatcher,” Lennox confirmed.
The rest of their group was farther ahead, and Loveleena watched them all collect behind the Defenders. It was then that she realized that Ren and Lennox had both stepped backwards, singling her out.
“Help me, you idiots!” she whisper-yelled to Ren and Lennox.
“This should be interesting,” Ren muttered.
“We will step in if needed,” Lennox said a little too casually for Loveleena’s liking.
The familiar hum rose up within her, ready to protect, once she realized no one would help her.
The creature let out a growl that vibrated the earth below them, its jowls dripping with saliva.
Part of becoming top of her class in Mastery was the result of her cramming The Creature Encyclopedia like her life depended on it.
She knew exactly what this creature was about to do to her if she made one wrong move.
The creature’s head hung low as it watched her.
“Be careful, L,” Kumani said from somewhere in the distance.
With everyone watching, and the creature staring intently at her, she moved in a semi-circle to her right, gripping the hilt of her sword with both hands.
“I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to,” she said to the creature, as if it understood her.
“You can’t kill me. I have to track down my best friend—” Thinking about what happened to him sent a surge of energy through her.
“And probably take out whoever was involved,” she added, because she felt like the creature would understand her plight.
The Soul Snatcher stood silently, watching her.
“But if you really need a tasty snack…” She nodded toward Ren, suddenly vengeful for the careless way he tossed her into this situation. Let the Soul Snatcher target him instead; at least he would know how to handle it. “That one would be prettyyyy tasty.”
For a moment, the Soul Snatcher stared at her, unflinching. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, but she refused to show fear. Then, a sharp, maternal voice filled Loveleena’s mind. I’m here to check up on something—someone.
For what felt like forever, she stared past Loveleena to where the rest of the group stood, and Loveleena didn’t dare move. Every muscle in her body was tense, ready for a fight. But the dark creature left without another word, sprinting into the forest as quickly and as silently as it appeared.
Loveleena let out a shaky breath and turned to see shock and terror on everyone’s faces.
Ren’s face was ghostly pale, his mouth a flat line, and Lennox studied her, brow furrowed.
She turned to the graduate Defenders, Sasha and Ahman, for some sort of direction, but they simply scowled at her, eyes wide.
It was Barrow who spoke first. “That’s never happened. The creature, it—” He stammered, trying to piece together what he just witnessed. “It was killing you. It lifted your soul from your body, and then it just… stopped.”
“Oh, so you were all just going to let me die?” Loveleena spat, annoyed.
“I’ve never seen that before,” Sasha said, shaking her head. “That’s impossible.”
“How did you do that?” Ahman approached her and fisted the collar of her shirt, lifting her off the ground. Ren and Lennox stepped forward, flanking her.
“I didn’t do anything.” She squirmed. “Let go of me!” Her senses were heightened, alert in a way she had never experienced before. Blood hummed in her veins; she could see and hear everything in sharp, clear focus.
“You stopped it from killing you without your weapon, without any sort of attack, without anything,” he growled, his grip tightening, strangling her.
The palm of her hand hit his nose with a crunch, splattering her face with blood.
“Agh! You broke my nose!” he shouted, letting go of her and covering his nose with his hand. It did very little to stop the blood from pouring down his chin.
“Oops,” she said, deadpan. “My bad.” Fuck him.
“I will kill you, you spoiled noble bitch—"
“She said she doesn’t know,” Ren said cooly. “Back off, Ahman. Let it go.” He pressed the tip of his dagger into Ahman’s sternum, stopping him from taking another step toward Loveleena, and Ahman’s dagger flew to Ren’s throat.
Ren cracked a chilling smile. “I’d love to see you try. Go on, big boy.”
“Watch how you speak to me, Elmerian,” Ahman said.
Lennox rolled his eyes and put an arm between them, his concern from moments ago vanished. “Alright, alright. I love a good Slayer fight as much as anyone but come on. We’re already behind on our mission. Let’s keep going.”
Annoyed, Ahman turned around and stalked forward to the front of the line. Loveleena watched as he cursed under his breath, complaining to Sasha and Professor Barrow.
Lennox turned to her, a lopsided grin spread on his face. “Slayers will be Slayers,” he said, tossing his dagger in the air and catching the handle in his palm. She watched as he sheathed it and turned to follow the rest of the group. Ren glared at her, before nodding for her to follow Lennox.
Everyone ventured forward in shock. The other students spoke in hushed voices, looking around the trees as if a creature would jump out at any second. Loveleena pulsed with adrenaline, and as much as she tried, she couldn’t stop her body from shaking.
To distract herself, she picked up her compass.
She should have been using this thing from the moment they stepped into the forest. The wand moved forward and backward frantically, as if to signal that creatures were ahead of them and behind them.
Loveleena shoved it back in her pocket. Not much good that would do if it couldn’t even settle on a direction.
When they finally returned to the castle, an excited buzz ran through the students. All eyes were on her as they gossiped and congratulated her for acing her first Soul Snatcher encounter. But all Loveleena could think about was how the creature spoke into her mind. And what it said:
I’m just here to check up on something—someone.