The great hall of Everhart was alive with whispers.
Its vaulted ceiling glittered with painted constellations, silver and gold catching the glow of hundreds of candles. Crystal chandeliers dripped light onto long tables heavy with untouched delicacies—platters of grapes, roasted meats, and gleaming goblets of wine. But no one came here to eat. The nobles gathered in clusters, their silken sleeves brushing, their jeweled fingers gesturing in half-hidden conversations. Their voices, though hushed, filled the chamber like the rustling of serpents in tall grass.
Andy stepped into that sea of whispers, Nia beside him. He could feel eyes slice toward him—calculating, wary, some openly disdainful.
"…impressive aura, yes, but unstable."
"…dragonblood is dangerous, always has been."
"…but the System acknowledged them… we cannot dismiss that."
Each murmur was a blade. Andy had faced monsters in shadowed caves, beasts whose roars shook stone. Yet this—this chamber of smiles and daggers—made his chest tighten worse than any battlefield. His hand twitched, aching for a blade, but Nia's fingers brushed his knuckles in quiet warning.
Not here. Not with steel.
At the center of the hall stood Lord Everhart. Cloaked in silver, his presence anchored the room like a mountain. He spoke softly with elder nobles, but Andy could feel his gaze, sharp and cold, weighing him like a pawn on a board.
Then, the air shifted.
Kayla entered.
She glided through the arched doorway as though the hall belonged to her. Draped in a gown of gold threaded with gemstones, she glittered like sunlight itself. Her beauty was disarming, her smile radiant, and nobles turned instinctively, their whispers softening.
"My lords, my ladies," Kayla said sweetly, her voice melodic. "What we witnessed today was remarkable. A bond blazing so bright, so fierce. Truly, passion incarnate."
Her words dripped with admiration, but her pause lingered long enough for unease to creep in. Her lashes lowered, her smile softening into sorrowful grace. "And yet, is it not true that fire, untamed, consumes? That a bond too fierce may strangle instead of strengthen?"
The murmurs flared instantly.
"She speaks wisdom."
"Passion makes leaders reckless."
"Can Everhart entrust itself to such instability?"
Andy's jaw clenched. He wanted to shout—but his voice would only feed her narrative. He bit it back, his nails digging into his palms.
Beside him, Nia stepped forward. The silver of her gown shimmered under the chandeliers, her staff a gleaming moon in her hand. When she spoke, her voice rang clear, cutting across the whispers.
"Our bond is not recklessness," she declared. "It is unity. Fire tempered by light, light strengthened by fire. You saw it today. You felt it. That was not destruction. That was strength."
Her aura pulsed faintly, light curling around her like a halo. A few nobles faltered, eyes caught by her certainty. But Kayla's golden gaze slid slyly across the hall, her tone dripping with faux concern.
"And yet…" She let the words hang before releasing them like poison. "Some of us saw something more, did we not? The fire inside him straining against its chains. His dragonblood nearly bursting loose, before her light restrained it."
A gasp rippled through the chamber. Andy froze, shock clawing through him. How did she—?
"She knows," a noble hissed. "He lost control."
"Unstable."
"What else is being hidden from us?"
Nia's staff flared, silver light cutting through the growing storm. "Enough," she said sharply, her voice a whip crack. "Kayla, whatever shadows you weave, they cannot change truth. The System itself bore witness. It chose us. To deny that is to deny Everhart's very legacy."
The words struck hard. Some nobles shifted uneasily, glancing at each other. A few even nodded faintly. But Kayla's smile did not falter.
She lowered her head demurely, golden light flickering faintly at her throat. "Perhaps you are right, Lady Nia. Perhaps time will prove it so."
But her eyes—golden, sharp as knives—flicked to Andy with mocking amusement. She had planted the seed, and she knew it.
The System chimed softly in Andy and Nia's minds, its voice cutting across the tension like the toll of a bell.
System Update: Public Resonance stabilized.
Bond Progression: Star 2 – 25%.
Andy's chest eased fractionally. Even here, in the den of whispers, the System itself affirmed them. He looked at Nia, her silver eyes blazing, and his resolve hardened.
Lord Everhart raised his hand. Silence fell instantly. His gaze swept the hall, cold as steel. He lingered on Andy for a long, heavy moment. And in that gaze, Andy swore he saw not contempt—but calculation, as if Everhart weighed him as both threat and tool.
"The Circle has spoken," Lord Everhart said at last. "Everhart watches. Time will tell."
The gathering dissolved, nobles peeling away in twos and threes, their whispers trailing like smoke. Some glanced at Andy with fear, others with suspicion, a few with wary admiration.
Andy exhaled, jaw tight. He leaned closer to Nia, muttering low. "Every step we take, someone's waiting to cut it out from under us."
Nia's silver eyes flicked toward Kayla, who lingered at the far end of the hall, her smile radiant as she charmed a cluster of lords. "Then we'll walk together," she whispered back. "And we'll make sure none succeed."
Andy nodded, though unease gnawed at him. He had faced beasts of shadow, fought guardians of forgotten caves, stood against hunters of dragons. But here, in this hall of smiles and whispers, he realized something chilling.
The doors of the great hall closed behind them with a weighty thud, sealing the storm of whispers inside. The torchlit corridor was hushed, the faint crackle of flame the only sound as Andy and Nia made their way toward her chambers.
Andy's jaw was tight, his fists clenched. At last, the words slipped free, low and bitter. "She knew, Nia. Kayla knew about the surge. She bared it in front of them all, and I… I couldn't say a damn thing."
Nia's gaze softened, her hand brushing lightly against his. "Because this battlefield isn't yours, Andy. Not yet. But it is mine. And you don't have to fight it alone."
They entered her chamber. Candles glowed in sconces, their light mingling with the silver wash of moonlight spilling through tall windows. The air smelled faintly of lavender, calm after the suffocating perfume of politics.
Andy dropped heavily into a chair, burying his face in his hands. "I can cut through beasts, I can fight hunters and shadows… but words? Words cut deeper than claws."
Nia crossed to him, lowering herself gracefully until she knelt before him. She drew his hands gently away, pressing them between hers. "Then let me be your shield here. That's why the bond exists. To stand where the other cannot."
He looked at her, guilt flickering in his eyes. "But you shouldn't have to carry me."
She smiled faintly, tender but unyielding. "And you shouldn't have to carry me either. That's the point—we carry each other."
For a moment, silence swelled. Andy reached for her, pulling her into his arms. She rose into the embrace, her arms circling his shoulders. Their bodies sank into one another, tension bleeding away under the warmth of closeness.
"You always know what to say," he murmured into her hair.
Her reply was a whisper, soft against his ear. "Not always. But for you, I'll always try."
The System stirred gently, like a breath across still water.
System Notice: Emotional stability increased.
Bond Progression: Star 2 – 25%.
Andy gave a shaky laugh. "Even the System agrees with you."
Nia leaned back just enough to smirk at him. "Of course it does. It knows better than to take your side against me."
He laughed, low and genuine this time, and for the first time since the hall, the weight on his chest lifted. He pressed his forehead against hers, holding her close, and whispered, "As long as you're here… I think I can survive even this."
She brushed her lips against his cheek, feather-light, a promise more than a kiss. "Then stop doubting. You're not alone, Andy. Not in battle, not in whispers, not ever."
And as the moonlight bathed them in silver, Andy believed her.
---