Ashren didn't say a word as he carried Tarin in his arms and laid him near us. But I noticed something. Every time he moved one of us—when we were unconscious, broken, half-aware—he always did it with care. Great care.
It improved my impression of him.
Darek and Erenai stood already in place.
He wore a blank expression, arms relaxed at his sides, but his faint, crooked smile gave away just how little he took this seriously. His eyes moved slowly, not really watching.
She looked uncomfortable. Her hands fidgeted near the grip of her sword, and her eyes stayed low, focused on the ground. She avoided everyone's gaze—clearly wanting to be somewhere else.
Ashren raised his hand. "Begin" he said. Then he dropped it.
The fight began.
Neither one of them activated their runes. They didn't even try.
They clashed. Their wooden blades connected with weak hits, more like drills than real strikes. Their movements lacked focus. Neither adjusted their stance or measured distance like they meant it. It wasn't a real fight. It was just something to get through, so they could say they did it.
I narrowed my eyes. Erenai had an excuse—healing abilities weren't useful here, and from her form, it was clear she hadn't trained much beyond the basics.
But Darek?
He moved well. His footing was solid. He had trained. He just didn't take this seriously.
He had Shared Sight.
He could have used it.
He could have linked his vision to hers, thrown off her balance, made her doubt where she stood.
That alone would've been enough to win.
But he didn't.
Couldn't handle it?
Didn't care? Hard to tell which was worse.
Eventually, he stepped in with a sudden burst of speed and landed a clean hit to her side. It wasn't elegant, but it was decisive. Erenai's stance broke instantly—her sword slipped from her grip as she dropped to her knees, then fell onto her back.
She didn't get up.
The blow had landed hard, and once she hit the ground, she stayed there.
Her breathing was shallow, her limbs slack.
Unconscious.
But for a split second, just as his sword descended on Erenai, I felt something. Something colder. As if for a moment, Darek hadn't wanted her to get up.
When I looked at him again, he looked unconcerned again.
Was it my imagination?
Ashren walked over, lifted her in his arms with steady care, and laid her beside Tarin.
No one said a word.
Then he dusted off his hands and turned to us.
"We'll continue once they wake up. Until then..." He smiled.
"You'll all do something I know you'll love—running."
A few groans followed.
But we obeyed.
As we started running, the group split just as expected. Neval and Darek kept their distance from everyone, each taking a separate loop. Both were quiet, focused on their pace. Kisaya fell into stride beside me.
"You look better" she said.
"I'm alright. Enough, at least. You?"
She puffed her cheeks out.
"I wanted to fight. They should've let me."
I chuckled.
"Better for everyone. I've never beaten you once. With Inanna behind you? You'd wipe the floor with all of us."
She opened her mouth to argue—then stopped. Her eyes fixed on mine, but her words didn't follow. Something shifted in her expression. She opened her mouth again, then closed it with a half-smirk. Her eyes narrowed, and I could almost see the gears turning.
She realized what I meant, and for once, she had nothing to fire back with.
I laughed harder.
Fifteen minutes passed.
Tarin stirred, then pushed himself to his feet and headed toward Ashren. From where I stood, the details were hard to make out, but I could see his arms moving quickly.
Frustrated—maybe angry about how the fight had gone.
Ashren barely reacted. He listened, then turned away.
Tarin paused, just for a moment, before jogging to catch up with the rest of us.
Another ten minutes.
Ilkar appeared.
From a distance, he looked fine. But something about him felt different. He looked smaller somehow, not in body but in presence. Less certain. A little fragile.
He stepped into the courtyard, eyes scanning. Spoke with Ashren briefly—a quiet exchange I couldn't hear. Then he began to run, falling into rhythm with the rest of us.
I told Kisaya I'd be back and caught up to him.
That's when I saw it—the flicker of fear in his eyes. A small hesitation in his pace.
Tension in his jaw.
He straightened as I came closer.
"Prince" he said.
His voice cracked.
"I came to apologize" I said. "I know your ability triggered it. But what I did was still wrong."
His eyes shifted, scanning my face quickly. He looked uncertain—like he didn't know what to expect from me.
"No... don't" he said. "I activated the rune too. I didn't know what I was doing either."
I shook my head.
"Doesn't matter. What happened, happened. I let it take over. So I apologize."
He blinked. Then nodded.
It wasn't quite forgiveness, and it wasn't fear either. But it was something in between—a quiet acknowledgment that things didn't have to stay broken between us.
I turned back.
Ten more minutes passed.
Erenai still hadn't moved. Something twisted in me.
She was unconscious. But by now, she should've woken up.
Could she be faking it?
No... I didn't think so. No one would let themselves lie there that long without a reason.
And then—she stirred.
She sat up slowly, blinking as if dragging herself back from the bottom of a river.
When Ashren saw her move, he stepped forward and raised his voice, calling us.
The order was calm, but it left no room for delay.
We gathered quickly. No one wanted to be late.
He scanned our faces—one by one, eyes sharp, focused, measuring something in each of us.
He waited until the silence was complete. Then he spoke.
"Now that everyone is here, let's talk about your fights."
He paused just long enough for the meaning to settle in, giving us a moment to realize he was serious.
"Tell me" he said. His voice remained calm, but it struck just the same.
"What did you all do wrong?"