Page 84 of Daughter of the Serpent

Her hands rose instinctively to her face, seeking refuge from his penetrating gaze as tears streamed down her cheeks, unbidden.

Immediately she berated herself for her weakness.

This was the last thing she wanted him to see - a girl, crumpling under the weight, shattering beneath the strain. She wanted to be seen as strong, an equal in his eyes. But the mask she’d carefully constructed crumbled before her, leaving only the raw, unfiltered truth.

Her heart twisted under the burden of guilt - guilt for Tara, for Hjalmarr, for her own failures.

How could she ever measure up? How could she possibly survive this?

She flinched when his hand reached for hers, expecting a reprimand, but instead, his fingers intertwined with hers, his grip firm yet gentle, pulling her hands away from her tear - stained cheeks.

"Look at me," he commanded, his voice carrying a surprising note of gentleness that cut through her. “Sylvie...”

She wanted to retreat, to disappear behind her defenses, to deny him the sight of her in this state, raw and vulnerable. Yet every time he said her name, it struck a chord within her, a strange and undeniable pull that unsettled her further. Against her own will, she met his gaze, blinking through the tears that blurred her vision.

“You can’t afford to fall apart now,” he murmured, his thumb brushing away a fresh tear from her cheek, lingering there with an unexpected tenderness.

“It’s nothing,” she lied, her voice brittle as she tried to turn away, heat flooding her cheeks with shame. She could feel the weight of his stare, probing for the truth beneath her words.

“You’re a terrible liar.” Axel said flatly, and the corner of his mouth tightened in something that might have been a grim smile.

Sylvie bit down on the inside of her cheek, fighting back the urge to spill everything - her fear, her doubt, the crippling thought that maybe she truly was as weak as everyone believed. She kept silent,afraid her voice would betray the tangled mess of emotions wriggling inside her.

His expression hardened, the softness evaporating as he leaned closer. "What is the cause of this?" he pressed, his voice carrying an edge now. "Or should I say,who?"

Her jaw tightened, and she tried to hold his gaze, but the intensity in his eyes was too much. He saw through her like glass, and she hated that about him.

"While I train you, you are under my protection. I will not tolerate anyone or anything disrupting your focus. Do you understand?"

Sylvie swallowed hard, her voice barely a whisper. "It's not that, it’s - " Her breath hitched.

He froze, his expression shifting from stern resolve to something unreadable. "What?" he demanded.

“I can’t shake this doubt, this feeling inside me that all of this is for nothing. That I’ll never be found worthy by the gods, byanyone…” she confessed, the words tumbling out before she could stop them.

Axel’s eyes flared with a sharp intensity that made her flinch. He studied her face, his gaze probing deeper.

"Is that what you truly believe?" His challenge seemed to hang in the air between them, unforgiving. “Or is that what they’ve told you?"

Surprise flickered across her face, her mouth falling open, words suddenly failing her. She hunched her shoulders, curling inward, as if she could make herself small enough to escape the moment. Her silence was answer enough, and Axel's expression shifted.

His voice dropped to a murmur. "I see more in you than you realize, Sylvie. I see fire, even if it’s buried deep." His breath grazed her cheek, and for a moment, the tension between them shifted, twisting into something new, something unfamiliar. “You’ve just been told it wasn’t there.”

Sylvie’s pulse quickened, her chest tightening with a confusing rush of emotions. She didn’t know if she wanted to pull away or leanin closer, to embrace the warmth of his words or shove them away. But she knew one thing for certain - this moment, this strange connection between them, had stripped away her pretenses and left her bare. And somehow, she wasn’t sure whether that terrified her or made her feel seen.

"You need to make a choice, and you need to make it now." His tone was devoid of empathy as he straightened. "Who doyouwant to be?" he demanded, his voice rising in intensity. "The person they say you are? Or the person youtrulyare? Will you have the courage to claim your own truth and forge your own fate?”

For a moment the words hung in the air, and silence stretched between them as they landed.

"Why are you saying these things?" Sylvie asked, searching his eyes. "I didn't think you cared."

"I don't," Axel replied bluntly, and she could see his armor had been fastened back into place. "Ultimately, whether you choose to live or die is up to you. But you need to make a decision, and I need to know if I'm wasting my time on a lost cause."

She stiffened.

“Whether you want to admit it or not, you’ve been given a gift.” His gaze held hers, unflinching. “The sword isn’t your only weapon. Your power goes beyond that. But you’ve caged yourself with their lies - the ones they told you, and the ones you’ve told yourself.”

Sylvie stiffened, her pulse quickening. She fought the urge to look away, to avoid the way his words seemed to strip her down to her very core. No one had ever spoken to her like this - like he could see right through her armor, straight to the truths she kept buried.