Chapter 123: EEEEE!
"I don’t want the Haven to close," Rhea continued, her voice softer now, almost vulnerable. "Not after all the time I spent over there."
Freya’s gaze softened, her blue eyes meeting Rhea’s amber ones. "I don’t want that either," she admitted, her voice low, the confession carrying a weight she hadn’t expected.
Rhea chuckled again, the sound tinged with irony. "Weren’t you always itching to run from it? First chance you got, you’d be gone."
Freya’s lips curved into a rare, genuine smile. "Guess it wasn’t much different for you, was it?"
"Got me there," Rhea murmured, her smile widening, a shared truth binding them in the suffocating dark.
Their clothes were battered, scorched, and soaked, their bodies pushed to the brink, but in that fleeting pause, they were just two fighters, bound by shared struggle.
Then Rhea’s voice dropped, her tone shifting to something raw. "You know, I’ve always hated you... It got worse when you joined the Haven. You just... you walked in, and everything changed."
Freya raised an eyebrow, unfazed. "Because I was the third wheel between you and Kael?"
Rhea’s amber eyes widened, caught off guard. "How did you—? Yeah, that was... the biggest reason. That, and how you’re so damn confident. Tall, maybe a bit better looking, flawless skin, a better cook, not carrying the kind of baggage I do. You’re like some... real superhero potential, and I... I’m just me, I am afraid I will let Kael down."
"Rhea," Freya said, her voice steady, cutting through Rhea’s self-deprecation. Rhea looked at her, expectant. "Trust me... You are plenty strong, I have seen you today, and I am honestly impressed. If you were still the Flame-warden, you would have been a threat ranking A for sure."
Rhea laughed softly, "Thank you, you are flattering me."