“Explains why Heather’s so feral over him,” I say with a shrug, but I catch the faint tension tightening the elf’s jaw. She grins, eyes flickering with something she’s not saying.
“Funny, I’ve heard he’s the one who’s feral over you.” Her voice stays light, but there’s an edge in it. She mentioned once that she and Heather used to be best friends, but it’s clear there’s more beneath the surface.
“I know we talk a lot about me,” I say, resting my hand lightly on her arm, “but I’m here for you, too. You know that.”
Nalaka meets my gaze and smiles softly. “Maybe I’ll take you up on that.”
“You’d better… And he issonot,” I mutter, as we step inside. Nalaka only hums back, not believing my last statement.
The scent of essence wraps around us, thick and heavy. I clamp down my thoughts. Repeating the drills to shield my mindfrom the enchantment, but like in the assignment, it doesn’t hold. I really need to practice this spell.
Here it’s harmless, but in the real world, it could be fatal. No way I’m letting some demon pull my strings like a damn puppet, except monsters aren’t the only things to watch out for; not all evil hides in the shadows. People change when they taste power, and let's be real, Kvirr is one of its purest forms.
Sakura appears, wearing a pink apron smeared with an unidentifiable green goo. She wipes her hands on a black towel and grins. “Hey there! Sorry about the mess, someone had the hibbies." I blink, clearly not following.
She catches my look and explains, “It’s like the flu in the Mundane World. Only here, if you ignore it, you end up puking mucus.”
I grimace. “Great. I’m gonna be the one throwing up green if we keep talking about this.” Before I can protest, she waves a small bundle under my nose.
“Here. Breathe this, it’s ginger root.” I eagerly take the pouch while she changes her pink apron for a new one.
“So, can anyone just wear whatever colour they want?” I ask. Sakura laughs softly.
“No, silly. But my dad’s well respected, I’m his only child, and looking like my mom pretty much gets me whatever I want. Except for battlefield duty. That’s a hardNo.” She says ‘no’ with a deep voice, clearly mimicking her dad.
“Makes sense.” I’m starting to get used to Sakura’s habit of overexplaining. “But you do go on missions, right? That’s got to be just as dangerous.”
“Oh, a little dangerous, I guess… but not enough to keep me off the field. Gotta keep my skills sharp, I’m in the Legion, after all.”
“As a healer,” Nalaka adds, waiting for us in the lobby.
Sakura nods firmly. “Yes, but even in the healing department, at the end of the day, I’m still a Legion’s soldier .”
We step into the new wing where my dad’s being kept now. Sakura’s right there beside me, calm as ever, telling me she’s watching him closely. That everything’s stable, no sign of the virus spreading. He’s sealed inside a glass cylinder, vitals blinking steadily on the mirror panels. With Nalaka gone, I can’t hold it anymore.
“So… You know what I am.”
Sakura turns to me, slowly. “I do.”
“So why didn’t you tell me?”
Her voice drops, barely a whisper. “You weren’t ready.”
“Then why not tell someone else?”
She shoots me an outrageous look. “Patient privilege, remember?”
I smirk, dry and sarcastic. “Pretty sure they’d make an exception for a traitor.”
“Who says you’re a traitor?”
I shrug. “Everyone says valkyries are traitors.”
Her eyes narrow. “Just because everyone believes something doesn’t make it true.”
I look at Sakura. She’s so sure of what’s right and wrong, and she says it without expecting anyone to get it or agree. There’s something kind of freeing about that.
“Friends?” I ask.
