Page 48 of Daughter of the Serpent

“It is not you that I doubt - it is all the odds stacked against you. I know the type of people you will be facing. I have been training my whole life for the trials, and with those who wish to compete for their fame. These are not warriors to be trifled with - they seek glory and the approval of the gods before anything else - and they will not hesitate to crush whoever stands in their way.”

“I am aware of who I will face, that the trials will be hard - ”

“Hard?” His eyes boiled over. “They aredeadly. They will test all of us to our limits and beyond. You need to wake up.”

Sylvie shook her head, her eyes closing as she tried to process his words, the frenzy of thoughts that invaded her mind.

“You need to get out of here as quickly as possible, and never look back.”

Sylvie swallowed, trying to suppress the sting of his words. Despite everything they had been through, even Haldor didn’t believe she could survive this.

The doubt in his eyes cut deeper than she expected.

“Why are you trying to scare me?” she shot back, her voice trembling despite her best efforts. “I’m already afraid.”

“Because you’re not scared enough,” he snapped, his fists clenching as his eyes darted to the ground in frustration. “And because… I cannot let anything happen to you.”

Silence hung between them, heavy and suffocating. She studied his face, searching for the warmth of the friendship they’d shared since childhood. As his eyes met hers, she found it there, but also a certain coldness she wasn’t used to. What he had said struck her with the harsh reality that he didn’t believe in her - couldn’t believe in her.The realization gnawed, and she bit down on her bottom lip.Was she a fool to even try?

Haldor sighed, the tension in his body loosening as he ran a hand through his sweat - slicked hair. His voice softened, almost pleading. “I’m sorry, Sylvie. I just don’t want to see you killed.”

Ocean blue depths met hers, and for a moment she couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed their intensity before, or how she had missed the full curve of his bottom lip, or the dimple that seemed to crease his left cheek. After spending years together in the temple service, it was almost as if she hadn’t realized how much he had changed, and how much more she had begun to desire a certain closeness - a closeness that went beyond their shared history. Even now, she found herself craving his touch, his warmth, to smile the same smile he used to when they were young.

As if he sensed the tension building and sought to dissolve it, he quickly shifted his expression. “You’re my closest friend, I wouldn’t be able to bear it if something happened to you.”

Haldor’s words slipped out in a breath as he stepped back from her. She blinked rapidly, shaking her head as if trying to clear the fog from her mind.

Friend.

The word echoed in her mind, sharp and unwelcome.

“Sylvie…” He looked at her, his hand then reaching outward, yet she pulled away.

“Haldor, I need tobelieve, even if I have no chance at all.” She bit back the sting of tears that had begun to push to the surface. “I have to hope.”

He gave a heavy nod.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, voice tight with regret. "I should have been there, should have protected you. I knew Tara had talked you into going, I knew how Baldr and the others felt about you. I should have turned you both back to the temple immediately….if I had, none of this would have happened." His gaze darted to his feet. "I’ll carry this regret for the rest of my life.”

Despite her frustration, her hand instinctively reached for his arm to settle him, her fingers lightly tracing his skin. After all this time, she knew him well enough that he would take on her mistakes and blame himself, even though it was not his burden to bear. “All is in the hands of the gods, is it not? None of this was your fault. The blame is mine - and mine alone. I have to face the consequences.”

He ran a hand over his face, before meeting her eyes. “I’m just glad you're okay.”

“For now.” She let loose her held breath, her body instantly filling with weariness. Silence stretched, their gazes interconnected as the weight of her reality settled in between them.

“What are you doing here anyway?” He asked, looking around them. “Shouldn’t you be back in the temple by now?”

“I’m about to have my first training lesson,” she sighed in an attempt to release the tension coiling in her belly, yet failed as she remembered what she was about to do. Her new training leathers suddenly felt constricting, clinging to her skin in all the wrong ways. She shifted uncomfortably, tugging at the hem as if trying to loosen the hold of the unfamiliar fit, the strange reality she now found herself in.

Haldor’s gaze sharpened. “The Hazier warrior is training you, then?”

“Yes.” She shifted uneasily.

“I don’t approve of it.” He said flatly. “We know nothing of him.”

“All I know is he’s the best chance I have. Perhaps my only chance.”

“It should have been me to train you. I should have been assigned…”