The silence that followed the Claimoor's defeat was almost as heavy as the battle itself.Fragments of ice were scattered everywhere. The air still hummed with residual magic, and the cold caused by my spell was slowly fading. My breathing was ragged, and my hands trembled from using the relic's power.
Eleonor turned to me and brushed off her clothes, as if nothing had happened."You took your time," she said dryly.
I took a step… then another.
Suddenly, the weight of the relic on my arm became unbearable. The magical pulse grew erratic, my breathing became irregular, and a buzzing filled my ears.
"Noah, listen to me," Eleonor said.
I couldn't answer. I struggled for breath and collapsed into Eleonor's arms.
In those moments, thousands of thoughts raced through my mind. I remembered the exact moment of my father's death, my mother bidding me farewell, wishing me a safe journey, and giving me the family's protective shield.
Then, I heard a voice I didn't recognize.
—Take a deep breath…Do it slowly. Stay calm, it was just a faint.
I blinked. A woman with black hair knelt beside me, holding my wrist while a small device emitted pulses of blue light.
—Who…? Who are you?—Sophie, —she replied with a smile—. I handle logistics, supplies, escape routes… and right now, your life support.
—You're still the same, —Eleonor whispered—. You never stop worrying me.
"I wasn't fully conscious," I said, still trying to catch my breath. "Tell me, how did you show up so conveniently? No… rather, what are you doing here?"
Eleonor looked around, tense."How long will he need?" she asked."He used the relic without preparation," Sophie answered. "He's exhausted, but he'll live."
Eleonor put my arm over her shoulder."My apartment is nearby. We should leave now."
"Your apartment?" I asked.
The cold still bit at my lungs, but something heavier weighed on me: the feeling that I didn't understand half of what was happening.
Halfway there, my legs gave out.
Eleonor caught me before I fell."Relax," she said. "You're not alone anymore."
"Hurry up!" Sophie shouted from the van, already waiting for us.
With Eleonor's help, I walked and got into the van of the girl I didn't know. We headed to Eleonor's apartment.
The apartment was quiet and orderly, protected by seals similar to those in the mansion.
"You need to rest. Even as the bearer, your body wasn't prepared to use the relic's power. I'll give you something to help you sleep for a couple of hours so you can regain your strength."
After that, I don't remember anything. I fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke up, Eleonor was sitting at her computer, elbows resting on the desk. Sophie spoke softly near the window, talking to someone on her phone. It seemed like she was making adjustments to some schedule.
"Cancel the old routes," she said. "Change the flight records. Yes… the bearer is alive."
She hung up and went to another room.
"Eleonor…" I murmured. "Why were you here?"
She paused, then sighed deeply."I've been secretly watching over you for a year."
I frowned."That doesn't make sense."
Eleonor looked me directly in the eyes."A year ago, Grandma Ciara gave me an order," she continued. "As your guardian, it was my duty to protect you… without you knowing."
"What do you mean, for a year? What have you been doing all this time?"
A knot formed in my stomach."The library…" I said slowly.
She didn't deny it."The girl who helped with the books, always on the afternoon shift, the one who always avoided you… that was me all along."
The silence was heavy.
I swallowed."I was fulfilling my responsibility."
"And what is that responsibility?"
"To make sure you stayed alive."
I closed my eyes."So I was never alone," I murmured."That's right. You never were," she repeated.
She looked me in the eyes, anger in her voice."Noah, you abandoned everything. After the Mark chose you, after everyone died… you left."
"I didn't run away, I distanced myself," I replied.
Eleonor let out a dry laugh."That's running away, Noah. You moved to Canada, hiding, pretending to be normal, while our family prepared for another war."
I clenched my fists. I wasn't ready."You never are," she retorted. "Not even when we were children."
Those words reminded me of the day I left my family for Canada.
FlashbackThe night I left the academy, no one tried to stop me. I walked down the corridors with a small backpack. The Mark burned on my back, as if it knew what I was about to do.
Eleonor waited at the entrance."If you cross that door," she said, "there's no turning back.""I can't be what everyone expects," I replied. "I'm not you.""You're right," she answered. "But you're the bearer, and that's worse."
I couldn't respond. I just kept walking.
"Are you listening to me?" she shouted.
Her voice pulled me out of my thoughts."Do you know what it was like to stay?" Eleonor said quietly. "To train knowing everything depended on someone who wasn't there. To defend a broken legacy."
I looked at her."Do you think it was easy for me?"
"No," she replied. "I think it was convenient."
Those words hurt more than I expected."Every time you failed at the academy," she continued, "I had to cover for you. Every time you hesitated, someone else paid the price."
"And yet the Mark chose you. And what did you do? You ran away."
"Because I was afraid. I couldn't bear your criticism anymore, the stares, the whispers. I broke down. I couldn't take it anymore."
Silence fell between us.
"Me too," she finally said, "but I didn't leave. I lived every day expecting the worst, remembering seeing my father lying on the ground, watching my mother die in that bed."
"Yes, your father died too, but what did you do? You ran away like a coward. You couldn't handle being reprimanded or asked for a little more from yourself. You're pathetic."
I clenched my fists, took a deep breath, and shouted:"Maybe I am pathetic! I don't have your strength or your magic, but I always wanted to be like you. Since we started at the academy, I admired you. I wanted to be as great as you were. That night, even as children, you stood in front of a Claimoor and protected us. You didn't hesitate. From that moment on, you weren't just my cool cousin; you were my hero, the one who risked her life to protect us. And when the Mark manifested in me, I was surprised. I didn't understand, and I still don't. But all these years, I tried to live up to it. And that night, your words broke me. I could endure the laughter, the indifference—but you… you humiliated me. I couldn't bear it."
Eleonor listened with her back turned.
Suddenly she turned to me."I'm sorry for what I said. I apologize for everything a few moments ago."