جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 40

The arena was too quiet.Not the usual tense silence before a fight. No. This was something heavier—like the entire academy was holding its breath, waiting for something to shatter.Kael stood at the center, blades resting loosely at his sides, but his body was anything but relaxed. Every muscle was coiled, ready. Waiting.Across from him… stood Ren.But not the Ren he knew.There was something wrong.Ren’s posture was stiff, unnatural, like a puppet held by invisible strings. His eyes—once sharp with wit and quiet defiance—were now hollow, glowing faintly with a cold, unfamiliar light.Kael’s chest tightened.“Ren,” he called, voice low.No response.The crowd murmured from the stands above, sensing it too. This wasn’t just another duel.This was dangerous.Professor Halvern stepped forward, his expression unreadable. “Begin.”The word barely left his lips before Ren moved.Fast.Too fast.Kael barely raised his blade in time as Ren’s strike crashed into him with brutal force. The im

The first clash shattered the silence. Kael moved like a storm breaking loose—fast, precise, relentless. His blade cut through the air with lethal intent, aimed straight for the figure standing between him and Ren. But it never landed. The moment steel should have met flesh— It met shadow. The figure dissolved, their body unraveling into a mass of dark tendrils that twisted away from Kael’s strike like smoke slipping through fingers. The blade passed harmlessly through, leaving nothing but rippling darkness in its wake. Kael didn’t stop. He pivoted instantly, dragging his blade back across the arc where the figure reformed. This time, he infused the strike with everything he had—speed, force, and a raw edge of fury that burned through his veins. The shadows recoiled. Not much. But enough. A faint ripple—like something real had been touched. “There you are,” Kael muttered. Behind him, Lira darted forward, her twin blades flashing as she slashed through the lingering tendr

The battle ended, but the tension refused to leave.Smoke lingered in the air, curling upward from shattered stone and splintered wood. The courtyard, once a place of discipline and order, now looked like a graveyard of steel and broken bodies. The metallic scent of blood hung thick, clinging to every breath.Kael stood at the center of it all, his sword still in his hand though the fighting had long stopped. His chest rose and fell too fast, his pulse refusing to slow. Around him, soldiers moved, some tending to the wounded, others collecting the fallen. Voices blurred into noise.None of it reached him.His eyes were fixed on one person.Riven.He was a few steps away, barely holding himself upright. His sword was planted into the ground, acting as a crutch more than a weapon. Blood soaked through his side, dark and spreading, staining his clothes in a way that made Kael’s stomach tighten.For a moment, Kael couldn’t move.Then the fear hit him properly.He crossed the distance in s

Morning came slowly.Light filtered through the narrow windows of the infirmary, soft and pale, stretching across the floor in long quiet lines. The air felt different now. Less urgent. Less suffocating.But not calm.Not yet.Kael hadn’t slept.He was still in the same chair, positioned too close to Riven’s bed to be considered casual. One arm rested on the edge of the mattress, his fingers loosely curled as if he’d forgotten to move them.At some point during the night, exhaustion had caught up with him. Not enough to drag him fully under, but enough to blur the edges of his awareness.Still, he didn’t leave.Didn’t move far.Didn’t let go.Riven stirred first.It was subtle. A shift in breathing. A faint tightening of muscles beneath the bandages. Then a quiet exhale, like he was surfacing from something deep and heavy.Kael noticed immediately.His eyes opened, sharp and alert despite the lack of rest.“Riven.”No response.But the movement continued.Slowly, Riven’s eyes opened,

Riven didn’t try to get out of bed again that day.That alone told Kael more than anything else.He noticed it the moment he walked in. Riven was awake, propped slightly against the pillows, one arm resting across his bandaged side. There was tension in his posture, the kind that came from holding still when every instinct told him not to.But he stayed.For once, he stayed.“You’ve been quiet,” Kael said, stepping inside.Riven didn’t look at him immediately. His gaze remained fixed on the window, where the fading light stretched across the stone wall.“Thinking,” he replied.“That’s new.”A faint breath of amusement escaped him. “Careful. I might take that personally.”Kael moved closer, pulling the chair into its usual place beside the bed. “You’d have to care first.”Riven finally looked at him.There was something different in his expression again. Not guarded exactly. Not open either. Something in between.“That’s the problem,” he said quietly. “I do.”The words settled heavily