"But—"
"No buts." He tightened the hug. "You don’t have to fight every ti sothing goes wrong. You’re still growing. Hell, I’m still growing. What matters is that you’re safe."
Her breath hitched, and he felt her nod slowly against him.
For a long mont, neither of them spoke.
The room was quiet, save for the occasional creak of wood and the faint wind outside the window.
Then, her voice ca again — small and full of uncertainty.
"Do you think... everything’s going to be okay?"
Zayn stiffened for half a second.
Because that — that — was the first ti she’d ever asked sothing like that.
Seren was many things.
Mischievous. Snarky. Tough. But not scared. Never scared.
This was the first ti he’d seen her voice tremble.
The first ti she’d asked for reassurance instead of giving it.
He pulled back slightly, cupping her cheek.
Her eyes were glossy, like she was trying not to cry.
His thumb brushed her cheek, and she blinked.
"Yeah," he said softly. "It’s going to be okay. You’ve got us, right? . Elisse. Bran. Kara. Tobias — when he decides to finally crawl back. We’re not letting this cult win."
She nodded again, swallowing hard.
"I had a dream," she whispered. "It was... weird. Dark. I was standing in this place with a red sky and... and everything felt wrong. I heard sothing calling my na."
Zayn’s breath caught in his throat.
"Calling your na?" he repeated carefully.
She nodded.
"I didn’t see anything. But I felt it. Like... like sothing was watching from behind the sky. I don’t know if it was just a nightmare or — " She broke off, clearly trying to play it down. "It was probably nothing. Just the stress."
Zayn’s brows furrowed.
The fragnt...?
Could it already be starting?
Was the demon core’s influence already brushing up against her subconscious?
He said nothing about it.
He just smiled softly and pulled her into another hug.
"You’re safe now," he whispered.
She smiled, just a little, and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I’m glad you’re here," she murmured.
They stayed like that for a while.
Eventually, she pulled back and wiped her eyes quickly. "You better rest too. You’re always taking care of everyone, but who takes care of you?"
Zayn smirked. "Elisse seems to be making a competition out of that."
Seren rolled her eyes but smiled. "I’ll bring you sothing sweet later. Don’t die until then, okay?"
"No promises," he teased.
She made a small face at him and turned to leave.
But at the door, she hesitated, glancing back. Her voice ca out quiet.
"...Thank you."
Then she was gone.
The door shut behind her with a soft click, and Zayn let out a long, heavy breath.
He leaned back against the bed again and stared at the ceiling before forcing himself to sleep.
...
The curtains fluttered slightly from the evening breeze, soft starlight casting pale silver hues across the room.
The low hum of crickets buzzed from outside, mixing with the occasional creak of wooden beams overhead.
Zayn slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few tis to adjust to the dim lighting.
The room was quiet. Peaceful, even.
The clock ticked on the wall — 9:02 PM.
He stretched out with a soft grunt, his body fully rested for the first ti in what felt like days.
Whatever fatigue he’d burned through during the day had been washed away by an afternoon nap that had bled into evening.
He rolled his shoulder once, then blinked down — and noticed the small figure beside him.
"Seren?" he muttered, voice still rough with sleep.
She was tugging lightly on his shirt, her eyes shut tight and face scrunched in distress.
Her body trembled slightly, caught in the throes of so dark dream.
Her small fists were clenched. Her breath was uneven.
And though she didn’t say anything, her body language scread discomfort.
Zayn frowned, imdiately concerned. He sat up slightly, pressing a hand to her forehead.
The mont his skin touched hers, the tension eased.
Her breathing steadied. Her fists unclenched.
Her body relaxed against him as if his presence alone was an anchor.
"Bad dream..." he whispered more to himself than her.
His brows furrowed.
The fragnt...
It was only a sliver, a shard of corrupted essence — barely a piece but even so, its presence was growing.
Its influence was leaking into her dreams and into her mind, especially with the exposure to dark magic.
And the worst part?
No one knew how she had gotten it in the first place.
She wasn’t part of the original plot. Not like this.
In the novel, the fragnt had simply appeared within her by the ti the second arc began — no explanation, no build-up.
It had been part of what twisted her path later on.
Now that he was here, though... he couldn’t ignore it.
It would need to be extracted. Soon.
The issue? There was only one person in the world capable of safely removing a demon core fragnt without killing the host.
A specialist. An enigmatic alchemist with cursed blood and holy hands.
And as fate would have it, she wasn’t supposed to appear until the Hero of Light’s party recruited her during the third of the novel’s countless arcs.
Zayn clenched his teeth lightly. "Of course it couldn’t be easy."
He reached up and gently massaged Seren’s scalp, his fingers weaving through her hair.
She responded with a soft sound, nestling closer.
"She really trusts this much, huh..." he murmured.
The door creaked open.
"Zayn?" Elisse’s voice drifted in softly.
He turned slightly, eting her eyes as she stepped in.
Her long hair was slightly damp — freshly washed — and she wore her usual nightwear, a loose white camisole and soft shorts.
The scent of lavender shampoo drifted in the air around her.
She smiled faintly as she saw he was awake. "Ah, you’re up. That’s good."
He nodded. "Did I sleep long?"
"Just a few hours," she replied, walking over to the edge of the bed. "Everyone else turned in early. The town’s calming down. GUILD Master made a speech earlier. Seems like the worst is over... for now."
He breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks for the update."
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