The blade pressed harder. Not enough to break skin yet, but close enough that Cel could feel exactly where the edge would part flesh if she decided to finish this. Hestia’s weight settled more firmly across his chest, crimson eyes fixed on his with an intensity that suggested patience was not among her current virtues.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mmeFvKT2p
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZPIllHsrh
“Talk.”37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDolC3w1zKV
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡONl6GRfmc1
The word came flat. Final. A command rather than a request.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzF9UP0t3Ww
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5HUsqRM6B
Cel’s mind raced through options with the cold efficiency of someone who’d calculated survival odds more times than he cared to count. His body was strong - divinely forged, enhanced beyond normal human limits. Lunar Vigor coursed through him even now, the moon’s light filtering through his window providing constant reinforcement.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNJvgfY1Ao
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bdwUDrMPu
He could throw her off. Probably.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqox7jAwgM
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0aJUZstHYN
His strength exceeded hers by far. One explosive movement - bucking upward while simultaneously grabbing her wrist - and he could break her positioning. Pin her instead. Turn this confrontation around before she processed what had happened.
The problem was her sword.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYUdsgiot87
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnttCK3oMA
That crimson blade rested against his skin, cold and patient. If he moved wrong - if his timing was off by even a second - that blade would open his throat before he completed the motion.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxeu4BngR7X
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UVnrrWlqW
Could his enhanced body withstand it?37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYVmuc8yhQ
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxQ5oCi5BQ
The question gnawed at him. His flesh was more resilient than normal humans'. He'd taken a punch from a Hallowed that sent him skidding across the wasteland and gotten back up. He'd stood inside Esrin's World Creation while the pressure of it shredded rift-creatures around him into nothing, and walked away coughing blood rather than coming apart at the seams. 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wNPCwb5eW
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Dwxt1cU1m
But this was different.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVgic2R5h7
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1j9XWjC7uc
If her artifact was low-ranked - Blessed Grace like Cinderward - then maybe. Maybe his skin would resist the cut long enough for him to break free.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQywwJXqb1I
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpswZDU06z
But he was certain - absolutely certain - that her weapon was not of Blessed Grace.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaiFo27Ofi
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrb7HyTbHSe
The advantages nobles possessed extended far beyond their cultivation and training. Yes, they inherited larger Divine Essence pools from bloodlines carefully maintained over generations. And they received their Calling with near-certainty that the same deity who marked their parents would mark them.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLziXRFhK2T
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwJHOM9MzW
But the real advantage lay in artifacts.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkmr8xvJqp
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTNpBrz614
Most Chosen received a single artifact at their first blessing - a weapon or armor tied to their patron deity, manifested at a grade that reflected the god’s favor for them. For most, Blessed Grace was standard. Functional but unremarkable. 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAdMvgC7yBm
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAY6UIjYVI
Cel’s Silent Moon was special. A Heavenly-ranked artifact - third tier, exceptionally rare for a first blessing. That kind of weapon was a gift that came only with divine favor. Only with Selina’s direct involvement.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXo6C3QP7yi
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SCTIj8q63
But nobles didn’t need their deities' favor to access higher-tier artifacts.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8krUQCah2
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They could simply pass them on. 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSU9ERRfmOo
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If someone shared the same blood with each other and bore marks from the same deity, they could pass artifacts between them. A father’s old blade could become his daughter’s inheritance. A mother’s treasure could arm her son. Generations of accumulated power flowing through bloodlines like inherited wealth.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLx4mBSjJ0j
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFU60aHcc6O
Most noble children entered the Academy wielding artifacts their families had used for decades. Sometimes centuries.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttliPimYKY
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjecyxpsSiQ
Hestia was a Mortveil. The leading house of the Death Clan. A family whose hereditary gift came directly from their patron god.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSR22fZA3nM
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0dB27jSL7
That crimson longsword at his throat was almost certainly Heavenly-ranked at minimum. Possibly higher. The kind of weapon that would cut through his enhanced flesh like it was paper, divinely forged or not.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDoztsHTJy9
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcqMbc7dOFD
His survival instinct had done the calculation before his conscious mind caught up.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk058qoMfzU
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugRLKF3dtW
He had no safe option.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsLmBfeQlwC
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“Talk about what?” The words came out rougher than intended. The blade’s pressure made speaking difficult.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uuYlaLOqE
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWo8IyaMzU
“Explain what I saw.” Hestia’s voice carried no inflection. Just cold certainty. 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUjplYjybOL
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcU1WsLwOkJ
A pause. Her weight shifted slightly, and the blade pressed down another fraction.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9HCMRVljO9
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhpcgOJJ98
“And don’t even think about lying. I’ll know.”37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡteZZsWxJkW
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxwJ7PXDvH
The threat in those words wasn’t loud or dramatic. It didn’t need to be. Her position, her weapon, her absolute composure - all of it conveyed the message clearly enough.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMFeIzMDo6
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtfD2Neyeu
If he lied, she would end this in an instant.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0grgdFSjwF
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZ7QZhDiRs
Cel’s thoughts scrambled for purchase. A convincing explanation. Something that would satisfy her without revealing too much.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gUf2O77gk
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1WsEKV8ui
The vision she’d witnessed when he touched her wrist - him lying broken in ash, pierced by the Ashclaw Ravager, dying alone in the Hollow Realms. She’d seen his death. Seen him as he’d been in those final moments before resurrection.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡivAkFE4hqr
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaughhJ7q2M
He could claim it was someone else. A brother, maybe. The lie formed and dissolved in the same breath. Her trait would have felt the connection, knowing without a doubt that he wasn’t selling a story.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczamOVIs5A
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FUC6dIZcK
He could refuse to explain. Stay silent. Force her to either kill him or back down without getting answers.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWhIwSQ4Ak
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPKgUfcg0K
But that had its own problems. If she killed him, well. Dead. If she backed down, she’d stay suspicious. Watchful. Waiting for another opportunity to extract the truth.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5N5g7xGA6i
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And beneath all of it lay the real danger. 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡokIO4TtOt2
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYky2mg8Gv
She’d seen him dying. That alone wasn’t the crisis.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMccbDwtWLn
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfoop4lOhJf
The problem was that she’d somehow identified his noble birth, thus holding the power to ruin his entire revenge.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYXNWZdwvf
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡegxyZEqIzs
Cel’s jaw tightened. His eyes fixed on hers - crimson meeting glacial blue in the dim light filtering through his window.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBlrjOufdA
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoe5yqaMIoz
No convincing lie came.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVa7CLIsLL
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnz5xCm3MTB
So he told the truth. Part of it, at least.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9c0K9OMI3v
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFjiBOizTc
“The boy you saw dying...” His voice came quiet. Steady despite the blade at his throat.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJMxz0kCkMm
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObfVbN5EwI
“That was me.”37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvCFpdglIi
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzzgxMReBC
Hestia’s expression didn’t shift. No surprise. No satisfaction. Just that same clinical assessment.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudqJgI0zJc
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVIYRa7YJs
“How are you alive then?”37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WOzzRF3pM
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWlcZvaGG0
The question was reasonable. Logical. Anyone who’d seen what she’d seen would ask the same thing.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡptBPLsk7lQ
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAm4wkK7t6N
“A trait.” He kept his breathing even, controlled. “It resurrected me. Changed my appearance in the process.”37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCVfHmVn8GQ
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP64qk0VJux
Silence stretched between them.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL1sfuQUYeq
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Then Hestia’s lips curved slightly. 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstkcgi8J0g
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFm0fP0SDk
“You expect me to believe that?” Her tone carried disbelief wrapped in something sharper. “A resurrection trait that transforms your entire body? That’s extraordinarily convenient.”37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYAYLv4PxGp
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmtsEOfo9j
“It’s the truth.”37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡanpqY4zeB8
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgC6phrmyef
“Is it?”37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcn33FHuey8
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzT8YtOU53
Cel held her gaze without flinching. 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8dxF63Be17
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGGnA3xIn0
"Esrin vouched for me, didn't she? Last night. When you called me a demon. Doesn't that count for something?" 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIT1ycx1hDb
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWk5LeLLEp
The blade’s pressure eased slightly. Not removed - just a fractionally less immediate threat of death.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhn9Y4KJWD
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChg7cbTVOc
“What’s your relationship with her?” Hestia’s eyes narrowed. “The Hallowed doesn’t vouch for random students without reason.”37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdZCcmORLS
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnPubLqYUg
Cel’s mind worked through the answer. Truth and lie mixed carefully.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnA32X3kewx
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF270SlyPVV
“After I came back. After resurrection.” He paused, letting the words settle. “Esrin found me and took me in.” 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeAhihTIlhf
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHXK5p06FZ
Another pause. This one more deliberate. 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG6VQdG1gMm
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZXOHCaBZo
“As her apprentice.” 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUyVLY1L0ga
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The addition came after a beat too quick. Unconvincing. A piece of information offered to fill the gap in his story. 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaXw0zKEkEa
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmOJfKkkRp
He was part of the Reckoning. She’d brought him into that organization. Vouched for him there too, in her own cold way. The apprentice framing wasn’t entirely inaccurate - he trained, he learned, he followed her orders.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJWSpK9QdF
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But it wasn’t the complete picture either.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡctj9Aqu2dg
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnThYQPWU0
Hestia’s crimson eyes studied him with renewed intensity. Searching for cracks in the story. Testing its weight against what she knew.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9vAGV5FWD
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRmyHHOgRHY
“You can ask her if you want,” Cel said. 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OPUkE0WMa
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhF5AK3aobE
He was betting everything on Esrin covering for him like she had before. 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpBXE1LgcC
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74CW291GxL
Seconds stretched.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtP7ZbQzRD
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The blade remained at his throat. Her weight still pinned him to the mattress. Crimson eyes boring into his without wavering.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6hsfNIprG
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Then she pulled the sword back.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHHu0C9sPS
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The movement was controlled - deliberate rather than sudden. The blade lifted away from his throat, and the cold pressure disappeared.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmh0QuMzXxZ
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9PKFPbLIA
“I’ll verify that.”37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBxCJDOQR2
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The words came flat. A statement of intent rather than a threat.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxTdc6E19I
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jX4bbdQsg
Hestia stood, her weight lifting off his chest. The release of pressure made breathing easier, though Cel hadn’t realized how much the constriction had affected him until it was gone.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tTORtE7jg
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He sat up slowly, one hand moving to his throat. His fingers came away red. She'd broken skin without him noticing. 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYu1162vWi5
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfhRA1ArB2
His eyes tracked Hestia as she dismissed her artifact and adjusted her clothing. The crimson longsword dissolved into darkness, fading like smoke. 37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRoylh2daD4
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0L9Gmra2d0
“Well.” Cel’s voice came dry. “This wasn’t how I imagined my first night with a woman.”37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4aDl4dZGS
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlL9T3wqK8
Hestia’s eyes cut toward him.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nDIVRygs4
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2ogUUbcZV
Sharp. Assessing. A look that could have drawn blood if looks possessed edges.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQk79a8jfY
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12WidK0isa
She held his gaze for one weighted moment. Then turned and left his room.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxa2DBtUsu
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26C6Po1xvL
Cel sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the closed door.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6TpbHMqKRe
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmZhuQsp3D
His heart hammered against his ribs. Adrenaline still coursed through his veins, making his hands shake slightly despite his best efforts to control them.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYf6ka2fMxn
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEiUFbLsxzb
She was going to ask Esrin.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QGZM0BPL3
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuiCOc8cmSr
Going to verify his story about being her apprentice. About resurrection and transformation. About all of it.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yDwlovdtC
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfs9LPCQYH
Would Esrin cover for him?37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbaJqvDns7
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaEtw4maah
She had to.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrb3vL0Z2M
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The alternative was exposure. The Reckoning’s connection to him revealed. His noble identity potentially uncovered. Everything he’d built since arriving at the Academy collapsing.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtG31ieZBz
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His jaw clenched.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRcLpglwMS
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He could do nothing about it now.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSxgPOd8eL
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvY3giSSb1J
Cel lay back down on the mattress, staring at the ceiling.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYa02pjsR2
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMJWDBJ1m0
Sleep wouldn’t come again tonight. Even exhaustion couldn’t override the tension thrumming through his body.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicVYsBKScg
37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydhrPrARNO
So he just lay there in the dark, listening to his own breathing, and wondered if he’d just made everything infinitely worse.
and then Add to home screen.