FIRST NIGHT WITH THE HOCKEY ALPHA のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 181 - チャプター 187

LyraMy chest was heaving. The air around me still shimmered from the heat that had erupted from my palms, and I could feel it lingering on my skin, crawling up my arms in faint, crackling waves.My hair stuck to my forehead, damp with sweat, and my entire body was trembling.I couldn’t stop myself. “Wow! I did it! I actually did it!” My voice cracked somewhere between a shout and a laugh. I spun around, arms raised, almost dancing in disbelief. “I… I did it!”Then I noticed him. The healer—no, not the old man I thought I knew, stood there, jaw tight, arms crossed, eyes boring into mine with a look so serious it grounded me immediately. My stomach twisted. “Uh… sorry?” I muttered. My heart was still racing. I hadn’t even realized I’d been shouting.“You shouldn’t get excited,” he said calmly, like he was discussing the weather. “You can’t summon your power by cheering for yourself.”I froze, blinking rapidly. “Wait… what? I… but I just summoned it!”“Yes,” he said, slowly uncrossing

LyraThe next few days didn’t blur, they burned.Morning bled into afternoon, afternoon into night, and I stayed in the clearing like it was the only place left on earth. I trained until my muscles shook, until my throat felt scraped raw from shouting, until the ground carried marks of where my power had hit.Again and a gain.I stopped counting after the second day.Food became optional. Sleep became background noise. The healer would place something near the edge of the clearing sometimes, bread, fruit or water.Sometimes I remembered to touch it. Most times I didn’t and the strangest part? I didn’t feel empty.I should have been dizzy, weak and starving, Instead, I felt full.Full of anger, full of grief that It felt like I had eaten.It felt like strength lived inside my bones.Even when my arms trembled, even when my legs almost gave out, the fire kept answering me. Every time I thought I couldn’t lift my fists again, I thought of Damien’s face and something inside me snapped upr

LyraI couldn't believe my esys…He was right in front of me breathing and alive, he was so close enough that I could see the faint shadows under his eyes, the way his chest rose slower than usual, like his body was still catching up with itself.My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might bruise my ribs.“Honey…” The word slipped out before I could stop it. My voice trembled. “Is it really you?”I stared at him like if I blinked too long, he would disappear.“Is this really you?” I whispered again, my throat tight.Because this didn’t feel real, not after everything, not after the healer’s warning, not after being told I was dangerous to him. Toxic. A walking threat to the person I loved most.Nick’s mouth curved slightly, soft and tired but real. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “It’s me.”My chest ached. I hadn’t expected to see him. I wasn’t prepared. I thought I would have more time to become strong enough before standing this close to him again, and now he was here, and all I cou