Chapter 329: Maps of Flesh and Forest

Sophia lay with her back against Orion’s chest, warm and pliant, the steady rise and fall of his breathing grounding her as much as the arm draped loosely around her waist. His fingers traced idle patterns against her skin, unhurried, familiar.

He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder.

She sighed into it, the sound low and content, leaning back into him instinctively. "You know," she said lazily, "for someone who was very concerned about me not hurting myself again, it seems like all that concern flew right out the window."

Orion huffed a quiet laugh against her skin. "Can you blame me?"

She tilted her head slightly, glancing back at him from the corner of her eye.

He smiled anyway. "You’re tempting."

Sophia’s lips curved into a smug smile. "I know, right? Anyone that can resist me is—"

"Shorty, let’s not go too far," he told her.

"Well, whatever. As long as you just admitted that I’m tempting, that’s enough," she told him.

That earned him a full laugh, warm and unrestrained. His chest shook lightly against her back. "You’re impossible."

"And yet," she said sweetly, "here you are."

He pressed another kiss to her shoulder, then let his chin rest there. For a few moments, neither of them spoke. The silence was comfortable, stitched together by warmth and the quiet hum of being close without needing to be anything else.

Eventually, Sophia shifted slightly, her expression turning thoughtful.

"You know, my friends told me something when they visited," she said.

"Hm?" Orion murmured.

"They said the placement test is going to take place in the forest."

He paused, then looked down at her. "That’s an abrupt change of topic."

She shrugged, unapologetic. "I’m curious."

"Yes," he said after a moment. "It’s true. The test will be held in the forest."

She nodded slowly. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

His expression shifted, something more serious settling in. "Which reminds me," he added, "if you’re really going to take the test, then you need to learn more about Nirvana."

She turned slightly so she could see his face. "More than what I already know?"

"Yes," he said flatly.

She frowned.

"You’re already familiar with the Skylur," he continued, "and the Trihydra."

She nodded. "Painfully familiar."

"But those are only a fraction of what lives here," he said. "Some of the beasts in Nirvana are things we grew up hearing about in stories. Myths meant to scare children into behaving. And we thought they were myths too until we came face to face with them—granted, it was the scarier and more real version, but..." He trailed off.

Her brows lifted. "You’re telling me bedtime horror stories are real?"

"Very real, shorty," he told her.

Sophia tilted her head, trying to think of any bedtime horror stories she remembered, but no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t recall one.

He shifted, carefully disentangling himself just enough to stand. "Wait here."

She watched him move across the room, entirely unbothered, eyes following as he crouched by one of the shelves near his desk. He muttered something under his breath as he searched, fingers brushing over spines.

Sophia propped herself up on her elbows. "I’m still shocked you even have books in this house that aren’t mine."

He glanced over his shoulder. "Don’t start."

"I’m serious," she said. "I thought this shelf was purely decorative. Who would’ve thought your ogre brain even reads books?"

"Shut it, shorty."

She laughed softly as he straightened, a thick, tattered book in his hands. The cover was worn and faded, the edges softened by years of use. When he returned and handed it to her, she was surprised by the weight.

She accepted it carefully. "What is this?"

"A record," he said. "It lists every beast of Nirvana that members of the pack have encountered or documented."

She blinked. "Every?"

"That we know of," he corrected.

She flipped it open, eyes widening almost immediately. Page after page was filled—sketches, notes, annotations written in different hands. Some pages were crowded with detail; others bore only rough drawings and warnings scribbled in the margins.

"...It’s almost full," she said quietly.

Orion chuckled. "Yup. And the funny thing is, there are still beasts out there that we haven’t found."

She looked up at him. "I want to say you’re joking, but I know you’re not."

He nodded.

She flipped through more pages, fascination overtaking her initial shock. "How big is Nirvana, exactly?"

"Very big," he said simply. "The map we have of this place is still incomplete, and there are some places we can’t even venture into without being prepared to die. The place where Ronan and the others are exploring is what we refer to as the heart of Nirvana. We just call it that, but we may be wrong."

"Another thing you should note about Nirvana," Orion told her, "is that the roads don’t help anyone."

"You’re confusing me more here," she told him.

"What I’m trying to say is that the roads are confusing—extremely so. Gregory even joked once that the roads deliberately shift and curve by themselves, but we’ve debunked that claim. The roads are just confusing, and if one isn’t paying attention, they’d get lost. It’s very common with the road leading to the black market." Orion gave her a knowing look, and Sophia winced slightly.

She remembered how she had gotten lost when she first came to the pack, trying to find the road Tobias had taken to the black market. The only explanation she’d gotten then was that the roads were confusing—and now, in a way, it explained more.

He gave her a look. "Which is why," he continued, "you’re going to need to familiarize yourself with this book."

"And more than that," he said, tapping the page, "you’re going to learn the roads and cram every single one of them."

Her mouth fell open. "Cram them?"

"Yes."

"But why?"

"With your clumsiness, you’ll take a wrong turn and start looking for a way back instead of finishing the test. It’s better you know which way to take than to start moving around in circles and then encounter something even worse than a Trihydra," he told her.

That shut her up immediately.

She nodded. "Okay."

"And also," he continued, "even if you’re not aiming to become a guard or warrior, you can’t take the test lightly."

Her expression softened slightly, seriousness creeping in. "I know."

"You missed a week of training," he continued. "Once you fully recover—when swinging a sword doesn’t cause you pain—we’re doubling your training."

"The test is approaching fast," he said. "Your friends might be willing to wait forever, but the other trainees won’t have that patience."

She sighed, but there was resolve in her eyes. "Alright."

He reached out, brushing his thumb along her cheek. "This part you want to take—it’s not going to be easy, shorty."

She smiled at him. "I already know that. I’m still willing to take it," she told him.

And in two days, her training would start—one even more brutal than before.