Page 46 of Of Shadow and Moon

She thrashes against me; her nails catching my arm and drawing blood, but I don’t let go. “Nasarea!” I scream again, louder this time, my voice cutting through the cacophony. “Look at me! It’s over!”

Her movements slow, her screams fading into ragged sobs. Her wide eyes finally meet mine, filled withconfusion and terror. “Selestina?” she whispers, her voice trembling. Her chest rising and falling in desperate breaths.

“Breathe with me, Nasarea.” I mimic what Rhyker did with me. Having Nasarea breathe with me.

Her breathing finally becomes normal again. “How…how are you okay? That was Forrizia mist.” Forrizia mist makes you face your worst fears, but I’ve been in it many times before. If one just focuses hard enough and trains against the magic of the mist, it’s easy to pull yourself out of it.

I shrug, my breath still coming in shallow gasps. “I’ve already faced my worst fears,” I say simply, helping her to her feet. My voice is steady, but the weight of my words lingers in the air. I don’t elaborate. I don’t need to.

Nasarea looks at me like she’s seeing me for the first time, her expression a mix of sadness and disbelief. “You… you really are something else,” she mutters, brushing dirt from her clothes.

“Come on,” I say, ignoring the comment. “We need to get back before something else finds us.”

She nods, still shaky, but the determination in her eyes has returned. Together, we make our way back to the edge of the river; the mist receding as we move farther from its source. The forest is eerily quiet now, the angry energy dissipating, replaced by the hum of insects and the rustle of leaves.

The flags, one clutched in my hand, the other tucked into Nasarea’s belt, are tangible proof of our success. We’ve survived the first trial. Somehow, against all odds, we’ve made it.

The campus gates loom ahead, the sight of them bringing a rush of relief I hadn’t realized I needed. Nasarea and I exchange a glance as we step through, both of usbattered, exhausted, but alive. The weight of what we’ve just endured hangs between us, unspoken but undeniable.

For the first time, I see something different in Nasarea’s gaze. Respect. Gratitude. Maybe even a hint of fear. She doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t have to. I know what I did back there, and I know what it means. She saw me at full strength. A nobody human going against one of the fiercest creatures in existence while also walking through Forrizia mist not affected.

Together, we walk toward Combat Hall, the flags in hand and our first trial behind us. The day isn’t over, but we’ve proven one thing; we make one hell of a team.

Chapter 27

Selestina

Sitting on my bed, I find myself face to face with Nasarea, an odd and rare occurrence in this strange shared space we call a dorm room.

Both our heads are bowed, as if this conversation, this almost truce, is something too delicate to look at directly. I can’t help but think that, for once, it feels like we’re both fighting the same battle, though gods know we’d never admit it.

Nasarea clears her throat, still looking down, her fingers tracing some invisible pattern on her lap, a nervous habit I’ve never seen from her. “Thank you,” she says, her voice barely more than a murmur. The words seem to scrape out of her, as if she’s forced each syllable to climb over the walls she’s built. “For saving my life.”

I blink, the ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. This is Nasarea, cold, calculating Nasarea, offering gratitude as if it’s a rare and precious thing she’s had to dig out from under layers of armor.

I almost want to laugh, but I keep it in check, my expression just a touch softer than usual. “I would neverhave let you die, Nasarea,” I say, half smiling. “I don’t hate you, you know. Annoying as you are, I’d miss our fights.” I smirk, letting just a hint of mischief slip into my voice. “Who else would piss me off every day?”

That earns me a glance—no, a glare—but it softens after a heartbeat, her eyes finally lifting to meet mine. Nasarea’s gaze is as piercing as ever, but there’s something beneath it, something fragile. Vulnerability, maybe, like a crack in a wall that’s stood for years. She looks away almost immediately, a sigh escaping her lips. “I just… I can’t trust anyone,” she murmurs, voice tinged with bitterness. “I only trust my brother.” She clenches her fists, a shadow darkening her face. “But… only trusting him…” She hesitates, and I can see the struggle as she forces herself to finish. “It gets… lonely.”

It’s the smallest admission, but it lands with surprising weight. I study her, really study her, and I feel something shift inside me. There’s a mirror here, a reflection I’d ignored or refused to see until now. Nasarea, in her quiet, guarded way, is just as trapped as I am. We’re both prisoners of our own walls, our own silence.

“I know exactly what that feels like,” I say softly, meeting her gaze with an honesty that surprises even me. There’s no mockery, no smirk, just a simple truth. I want her to know I mean it, that I understand.

She squirms, clearly uncomfortable, her expression somewhere between a scowl and surrender. “I… I want a friend,” she blurts out, looking like she’d rather swallow a knife than admit this. Her voice is hesitant, unsure, and it almost makes me want to laugh again, though not unkindly. “But I’ve never… I don’t even know where to begin.” She pauses, fidgeting with the sleeve of her shirt, her eyes flicking to the side as if she’s embarrassed to even be seen wanting something as simple as a friend.

And I can’t help it. I laugh. It bubbles up, unexpected, and it’s so freeing, so ridiculous, that she stares at me, wide eyed, like she’s just realized I might actually be mad. “You’re not the only one who doesn’t know how to do this, Nasarea,” I say, grinning. “I have no idea how to ‘have friends’ either.” I shrug, still chuckling. “Guess we could start by not trying to kill each other, maybe?”

For a split second, she’s silent, and then, by some miracle, she laughs too, a sharp, reluctant sound that’s more genuine than anything I’ve ever heard from her. There’s a small, guarded smile tugging at her lips, a little glint of amusement in her usually cold eyes. It’s like watching ice crack, just a tiny fissure, but it’s there.

She looks at me, more openly now, her shoulders relaxing, and there’s a softness to her voice I’ve never heard. “My brother… he’s a dick,” she mutters, and I raise an eyebrow, suspicious of this sudden honesty. “I know we can be… alike,” she adds, rolling her eyes, a bit of her usual bite slipping back in. “But I’m not him. Just… just know that.” She crosses her arms defiantly, like she’s challenging me to argue, her eyes narrowing. “But if he finds out… if he sees us as friends, he’ll do everything in his power to make sure it doesn’t last.” She shrugs, forcing a nonchalant expression, but I can see the worry in her eyes, the fear she’s trying so hard to mask. “So if you can’t handle that, then… maybe we shouldn’t start this… whatever thisfriendshipis.”

She says “friendship” like it’s a foreign word, something distasteful yet unavoidable.

I roll my eyes, laughing again, but there’s warmth in it. “Please. I can handle your brother,” I say, still chuckling. Littledoes she know howwellI can handle her brother. “I welcome it, actually. I need some extra banter in my life.” I wave a hand, dismissing her concerns with a grin. “Besides, I didn’t ask for a room change for a reason. Fighting with you is fun.”

Nasarea’s lips twitch into a grin, and this time, there’s no mask, no shield, a small glimpse of the woman beneath all the layers she’s built around herself. “I do enjoy our fights,” she admits, almost reluctantly, her eyes glinting with a mischievous spark that mirrors my own.

For a moment, there’s silence, but it’s not uncomfortable. It’s the kind of quiet that feels shared, like a tentative understanding, fragile but real. I can feel the walls between us shifting, just a little, like cracks in stone. I don’t know what this “friendship” will look like, or if it’ll survive whatever trials lie ahead, but in this moment, it feels like two souls who are battling different but similar wars, and needing someone to lean on when it feels too heavy.

---