Chapter 334: Quiet Fears Beneath Loud Steel

Chapter 333: Quiet Fears Beneath Loud Steel

Nia bumped her shoulder into Sophia’s with a grin so wide it almost hurt to look at.

Sophia staggered half a step, more from exhaustion than the shove itself, and shot her a look.

"What was that for?"

Nia gestured toward the spot where Orion had tapped Sophia’s head.

"You almost gave me an aneurysm with that fake glare," Nia told her.

"What?"

"Maybe to others that glare was real, but it lacked any real bite. You can’t fool me," Nia said, laughing.

Sophia lifted a hand and gestured pointedly at her own face, dragging her fingers down her cheeks. "Does my face," she asked dryly, "look like it’s singing praises right now?"

Nia burst out laughing. "Not really. It’s giving more of if you were locked in a room with him, your whole body would be singing his praises," Nia said with a sly grin.

Sophia’s lips twitched despite herself, a traitorous thing that gave her away far more than words ever could.

"You have a nasty brain," Sophia told Nia, who chuckled.

"I learned from Laia."

"You don’t share the same brain?" Sophia asked, eyes wide in shock.

Nia laughed. "Can you cope with two Laias?"

"I’m already coping, aren’t I? You guys are basically the same people with different hairstyles, different tastes—okay, you guys are different people," Sophia conceded with a laugh, making Nia laugh too.

Sophia exhaled and then let herself fall backward onto the ground, landing flat on her back with a dull thud. Snow fell softly around her as she stared at the sky, chest rising and falling heavily.

"How’s your preparation going?" Nia asked Sophia.

"I finally got everything about the monsters in the Forest of Nirvana down," Sophia said, voice slightly hoarse. "Their habits, their tells, their nests, the stupid tricks they use to lure prey... but Orion still won’t give me even a hint about what the placement test will be like."

She dragged a forearm across her eyes. "Not one."

A quiet snort came from nearby.

Micah sat on the ground a short distance away, legs crossed, his two axes laid carefully beside him like sleeping beasts. He hadn’t joined the conversation earlier, content to listen, but now he glanced at Sophia with something like knowing amusement.

"You wouldn’t like it," he said.

Sophia turned her head toward him. "Like what?"

"If Orion told you anything about the test," Micah replied. "You’d hate it. I can just see you telling him not to give you preferential treatment. Scolding him for even thinking you’d appreciate him telling you about the test."

She considered that, then sighed. "That’s... uncomfortably accurate."

"But," she added, sitting up slightly, "he didn’t even offer. Not even a fake hint. Not a ’maybe bring extra bandages’ or ’try not to die.’ Nothing."

Nia chuckled. "Probably because if he did, you’d tell him to take his precious information and get away from you."

Sophia glanced at her, then huffed. "I absolutely would."

They both laughed, the sound easy and unforced, cutting through the lingering tension in the training grounds.

Micah tilted his head. "Is the training too stressful on you?" he asked. "You only just recovered and all."

Sophia shook her head immediately. "No. It’s not that."

She pushed herself up into a seated position, legs bent, arms resting loosely on her knees. "I’m not going to push myself to the extreme. I know my limits."

She paused, then added quietly, "And I have someone who makes sure I don’t cross them."

Micah smiled softly. "Yeah," he said. "I figured." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Nia sighed softly, the sound heavier than the laughter that had come before.

The others were already approaching—Laia first, Cat beside her with dirt smeared along her jaw, Joren talking animatedly with Dren about something that sounded suspiciously like footwork techniques. They slowed as they reached the group, settling down in a loose circle around Sophia.

Nia picked at the grass beneath her fingers. "I’m scared," she admitted suddenly.

Sophia snapped her head toward her. "What?"

"Of the test. I don’t know if I’ll pass it."

Sophia stared at her as if she’d just spoken in another language. "Why?" she demanded. "You’re good. You’re fast. You adapt better than half the trainees out there."

Nia gave a weak smile. "I failed the last one. And I’ve failed two more before that."

"I know I boasted," she continued, shoulders lifting and falling. "I know I said I’d pass this time. And I have improved. I know I have." She swallowed. "But knowing that doesn’t stop the fear."

Laia nodded slowly. "I feel it too."

"So do I," Cat said quietly.

Dren shifted uncomfortably but nodded as well.

Sophia looked from one face to the next, something tight curling in her chest. These weren’t weak people. These weren’t careless trainees. They were fighters who had bled, stumbled, stood back up, and kept going.

Micah let out a long breath. "If there’s one person here who should really be scared," he said, "it’s me."

Everyone turned to him.

He scratched at the back of his neck, eyes flicking briefly to his axes before lifting again. "I’ve failed more times than any of you. I’ve failed all the placement tests."

"I’m also one of the oldest trainees," Micah continued calmly. "Which means at some point, I have to consider the possibility that maybe being a guard or a warrior just isn’t meant for me."

The words were quiet, but they cut deep.

"This will be my last test," he said.

Silence followed.

"If I fail this one," Micah went on, "I’m done."

Joren’s mouth fell open. "What?" he blurted. "You can’t just—what would you even do instead?"

Micah smiled, a small, tired thing. "Unlike Nia and Laia, I wasn’t terrible at the other departments."

Nia frowned. "Micah—"

"I’m decent at laundry work," he said. "And I can do some solid woodworking. Nothing fancy, but it’s not bad. I can learn and improve my skills."

He shrugged. "Maybe that’s where I belong."

No one spoke.

Sophia watched him carefully, seeing not defeat but resignation—and somehow, that scared her more.

The training grounds hummed quietly around them, steel still clashing in the distance, the future looming like a shadow none of them could quite shake.