The Forsaken Hero

Bethiv met my declaration with a broad smile and nodded firmly. "As you wish, my Lady. Your order is our command. Isn’t that right?" He turned his gaze to a less-than-enthusiastic Jackal, who reluctantly nodded. "Yes, Commander."

Korra pursed her lips, starting to shake her head before thinking better of it. "Fine, but only if you let me stay with you the whole time."

Before I could agree, Bethiv coughed pointedly. "Korra, you know that’s not going to work. We need you on standby to take out high-level threats. As powerful as Gayron is, his loyalty is... unreliable at best."

"There you are," Korra said, scowling at him. "Why didn’t you meet me this morning? I waited for like ten minutes!"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Eh, that demon wanted to test some of its new powers. Turned out to be pretty strong, actually."

"You’d rather spar with a demon than me?" Korra’s voice held a surprising edge, either hurt or anger. It was hard to tell amidst their constant bickering, but I was pretty sure she took no real offense.

A heavy hand landed on my shoulder, and I looked up to see Bethiv grinning. "Let’s get out of here before they start actually fighting. The gods know they do it enough."

I let the commander guide me away, casting a final glance over my shoulder. While they were undoubtedly arguing about something, Korra wore a faint smile, and Gayron’s disdainful expression felt hollow and insincere. Before we’d rounded the tent’s corner, their voices had softened, and Korra’s laughter filled the air.

"I give it a week," Jenna muttered just loud enough for me to hear.

"Jenna!" Luxxa scolded. "I doubt she’s as shallow as you."