Chapter 43 — The Girl Who Didn't Blink
(Shadeblade POV)
Morning in the forest didn't arrive gently.
It stabbed its way in through the trees, sunlight cutting between branches like blades that had missed their targets by inches. Birds screamed instead of sang. Somewhere far off, something big cracked a tree in half.
I opened my eyes slowly, already regretting it.
My back hurt. My legs hurt. My pride—still recovering from yesterday—hurt the most.
I sat up near the dying embers of our campfire, adjusting my boney mask. The crack on the left side caught the light again. Good. Still intimidating. Still anonymous. Still hiding the fact that underneath it all, I was… tired.
Very tired.
Selia was already awake, sharpening a dagger with unnecessary enthusiasm.
She glanced at me. Grinned.
"Oh good. The skeleton lives. I was worried the forest finally claimed you in your sleep."
"I didn't trip," I muttered.
She blinked. "Yet."
Bran snored like a dying siege engine, sprawled half inside his bedroll, half outside. Vaelric sat upright against a tree, eyes half-open, clearly having slept exactly zero minutes. Korran stood a short distance away, facing the woods, arms folded, posture calm as ever.
Lysara was there too—quiet, cross-legged, cleaning her blade. She didn't look at me. She didn't need to.
Something was wrong.
I felt it before anyone said anything.
The forest was too still.
No birds now. No insects. No wind.
And then—
A voice.
"Your stance is unstable."
I was on my feet before my brain caught up, sword halfway drawn.
She stood at the edge of the clearing.
The hooded girl.
Aris.
Same cloak. Same calm. Same unreadable presence. She hadn't startled the birds when she arrived. She hadn't snapped a twig. It was like the forest had simply… allowed her to be there.
Selia nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Oh—NOPE. No. Absolutely not. People don't just appear like that."
Bran jolted awake. "WHAT—WHERE—WHY IS THERE A GIRL STARING AT THE SKELETON?"
Vaelric scowled. "I knew it. I knew yesterday wasn't finished."
Korran inclined his head slightly. "You returned."
Aris's gaze didn't leave me. Not my sword. Not my mask. Me.
"Your weight is too far forward," she continued calmly. "You compensate by tripping."
Selia burst out laughing.
"SHE SAID IT. EVEN THE MYSTERIOUS ONES SEE IT."
I tightened my grip on the hilt. "You've been watching."
"Yes."
No hesitation. No denial.
Lysara finally looked up, eyes sharp. "How long?"
Aris tilted her head slightly. "Long enough."
That was not comforting.
We didn't attack her.
Not because we trusted her—but because none of us could quite find the moment where she became an enemy.
She sat across from us as if she belonged there, hands resting calmly on her knees. No weapons drawn. Mana tightly controlled. Tier-2, maybe early mid. Defensive caster. Efficient.
Korran observed her like a chessboard. Vaelric like a problem he didn't want to solve. Selia like a mystery she desperately wanted to poke with a stick.
"So," Selia said, leaning forward, chin in her hands, "what's your deal, Quiet Girl? You stalking us? Planning to kill us? Join us? All three?"
Aris looked at her. Blinked once.
"I was following the summoning traces," she said. "You interfered."
Bran crossed his arms. "You're welcome."
She looked at him. "You are loud."
Bran beamed. "She gets me."
I cleared my throat. "Why us?"
Aris's gaze returned to me. "Because you didn't use magic."
The air shifted.
Vaelric's eyes narrowed. Selia froze. Lysara stiffened slightly.
I said nothing.
"You fight like someone who knows more than he shows," Aris continued. "You limit yourself. That's dangerous. And interesting."
I resisted the urge to adjust my mask.
Korran spoke evenly. "And you?"
"I observe," Aris replied. "And survive."
Fair enough.
We didn't stay long.
The forest didn't want us there anymore.
By midday, the ground trembled—not violently, but rhythmically. Something large was moving. Multiple somethings.
Selia climbed a tree and whistled. "Uh. Skeleton? We've got company."
I followed her gaze.
Monsters.
Not summoned ones. Natural. Twisted by mana seepage. Thick hides. Jagged bone growths. Eyes glowing with hunger rather than command.
Three of them.
Bran cracked his neck. "Finally. Something I can hit without it evaporating."
Aris stood. "They hunt by sound."
Bran froze. "…I hate this already."
The fight was chaos.
Not the funny kind.
The monsters charged through the trees, breaking cover, forcing us apart. One lunged at me—
I didn't trip.
I pivoted.
Volrag's voice echoed in my head. Balance before speed. Speed before power.
I slid under its swipe, blade carving along its leg. Not deep—but enough. Bran slammed into another with brute force. Selia danced between shadows. Lysara struck tendons. Korran repositioned us with sharp commands.
And Aris?
She raised her hand.
Mana flared—not explosively, but precisely.
A translucent barrier formed just long enough to redirect a charging monster into a tree. The impact shook the clearing.
Efficient. Controlled.
One beast roared and charged me again.
This time, I stepped forward.
Not back.
Sword angle adjusted. Weight centered.
I struck.
Clean.
The creature collapsed.
Silence followed—heavy, ringing silence.
Bran stared. "Did… did the Skeleton just not fall?"
Selia squinted. "Mark the day. Write it down."
I exhaled slowly.
Tier-2 mid.
Not because I was stronger.
Because I was learning.
That night, we feasted.
Actual food. Fire-roasted meat. Bread stolen from a merchant cart that "definitely didn't need it."
Laughter returned. Relief followed.
Aris sat with us.
Not fully inside the circle. Not fully outside.
Family adjacent.
Selia tossed her a drink. "So. You sticking around?"
Aris hesitated. Then nodded. "For now."
Bran raised his cup. "To now!"
Korran watched the fire. "Tomorrow, paths may diverge."
Vaelric scoffed. "They always do."
I stared into the flames, mask warm against my skin.
The academy waited.
Betrayal brewed somewhere ahead.
And my crew—this strange, loud, dangerous family—would not last forever.
But for tonight?
We ate.
We laughed.
We survived.
And for the first time since putting on the mask, I wondered how long I could keep hiding the boy underneath it.