The hall grew quiet again after Asher spoke.
They explained everything to the king, from what happened in Velcrest to the dragon hunts, the way the system had manipulated people, and how Asher had begun to change things.
Tay and Zain helped fill in the blanks while Sinnett added so parts, mostly his observations. The king listened without interrupting.
When the story was over, the king let out a long sigh.
"I know," he said simply. "I was once part of Velcrest too. Before I ca here. Before I helped build this place."
He didn't say more, but his tone carried weight. It was clear he had seen the worst of it.
Maybe he too had lost soone, or maybe he had escaped sothing darker. Either way, he didn't doubt their story. Not fully.
He raised his glass. The others joined him.
"To better endings," he said.
They drank. Even Tay, who didn't usually drink, took a small sip.
As night ca, the tension faded. Laughter returned slowly. The food helped, the drinks more so. Everyone began to feel a little lighter.
Sinnett, as usual, didn't waste ti. He was already smiling at the maids, offering complints that made them blush.
He leaned close to one, brushing her fingers with his. "Your eyes are the most peaceful thing I've seen in this city," he said with a wink. She giggled.
Another maid brought more bread, and he offered to help her carry the tray, his hand resting a second too long on her waist.
It was going well for them, until Cinder walked in.
Still in her coat, she moved toward the table with her usual quiet grace.
Sinnett stood up, walked over to her, and without warning, kissed her deeply in front of the stunned maids. They froze. So looked hurt, others just surprised.
Cinder didn't pull away. She kissed him back briefly, then smacked his chest lightly with a "Next ti, warn ."
Tay narrowed his eyes. "You really are a whore," he muttered. "You do know Alya's in love with you, right?"
Sinnett shrugged, already pulling Cinder's chair out for her. "She knows how I am. She chose to stay. She'll get over it."
Tay didn't reply. He just looked away, annoyed.
Asher quietly stood and left the room. He hadn't touched his second drink. Sothing about Nova's condition earlier still bothered him.
He reached her room. The door was slightly open. Inside, she stood before a mirror, her back to him. She was in simple clothes now, her hair tied back, her face calm but focused.
In her hands, she held the pieces of an arrow. She was crafting.
Her tools were set out neatly on a small table, a black blade and candle. Energy flowed around her fingers as she tried to shape a glowing arrowhead.
She usually created first arrows with candles to make it easy, so the shadows could be absorbed, diluted and multiplied.
Blue flas flickered along its edge, ivy blue, soft but bright.
The sa type she had been trying to master. It held contrast to Zain's red, which were volatile and destructive, hers were silent killers, if only she could master it.
But sothing was off. Asher could feel it. The fla twisted unnaturally, then the whole arrow cracked. The head shattered like glass, fading into smoke.
"You should be resting," Asher said.
Nova didn't turn around. "I'm fine. I just need to focus."
"Sit. Now."
She didn't argue. She walked slowly to the bed and sat down. He pulled the chair over and sat in front of her.
"I know what you said earlier," he said, "about Zain. But this started after that, didn't it?"
Nova nodded. Her voice dropped. "Since the forest burning. I thought it would pass, but it got worse. I couldn't sleep. My heart races even when I'm calm. My hands tremble."
Asher tensed. He rembered that day clearly. The fire had been intense.
Zain wasn't even in the forest since he was in the dungeon, but it wasn't his attack that even affected her.
"Cinder's flas hit you, didn't they?"
Nova nodded. "Only a little. I healed from the burns... but it managed to stay."
Asher stood. His heart pounded now. Cinder's blood, her energy, they were poison. A slow, soul-consuming type.
"Did her fla have her blood in it?"
"I don't know," Nova said. "I think it always does, right? Isn't that what fuels it?"
He didn't speak. He grabbed her hand. "Open your mouth."
Nova frowned but obeyed. He checked. Her tongue was a strange purple shade, dull around the edges. Not normal.
"Switch to your half-form. Just for a second."
She hesitated. Then closed her eyes and shifted. Her eyes glowed faintly. Her horns appeared, and her skin shimred with light scales.
But her face was marked now. Purple veins spread under her eyes and around her jaw and they were swollen.
She gasped and returned to human form imdiately, sweating again.
"That's poison," Asher said.
He backed away a little, then summoned Zain without warning. The mark appeared at his palm, and Zain appeared in a flash of red light.
He still had a piece of bread in his mouth.
"Can I finish my food first?" he grumbled, then looked at Nova. His face dropped. He stepped closer.
"What did she do?"
"Nothing," Asher said. "But the fire from the forest got her. The one Cinder used."
Zain didn't need to know more. He walked up to Nova and placed a hand over her chest, near her heart. His red aura pulsed.
"You should've avoided that," he said calmly. "With your dragon side stronger, your human immune system can't fight it. This isn't sothing you can walk off."
Nova looked away. "It's been manageable."
"No, it's been growing dummy," Zain said. "This poison works slowly. It waits. Until the soul starts giving way. Then it finishes the job."
Asher stiffened. "Can you fix it?"
Zain didn't answer right away. He looked at Nova again, then at the tools on the table, then back at Asher.
"There might be one way," he said. "But she won't like it."
"Say it," Asher demanded.
"I can use a red arrow. One of mine. They kill quickly. If I hit her heart with it, just enough to make her die for a few seconds, the poison will fade. It treats death as the final point. The mont she 'dies,' the tir ends."
Asher stared at him. Nova was quiet.
"That's the only way?"
"Unless you want to watch her fade slowly," Zain said. "I don't want to do it either. But it's the only way that doesn't kill her for real."
Nova looked up finally. "Do it."
Asher turned. "No. We'll talk about it tomorrow."
Zain didn't argue. He simply nodded. "Tomorrow then. But not much longer I'm not sure her feisty tiny body can take that."
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