Page 87 of Daughter of the Serpent

“You don’t ever need to hide from me.”

His gaze seemed to pour into hers, and for a fleeting moment, she believed him.

Her heart began to swell in her chest.

A moment of silence passed, a wordless stretch of time where she allowed the empty space to fill between them.

Turning his gaze back to the sea, he finally broke the silence.

“Is that why you want to give up so easily?”

“It’s not that I want to give up,” She admitted. “I just don’t know if I can really do this. It seems all the odds are stacked against me.”

“If you had a choice,” His fingers came to his beard thoughtfully. “If you weren't being forced to face the trials, and prove your innocence - would you choose this?” His eyes held hers, “Or would you choose to live out your days as you always have?”

She closed her eyes, the answer obvious.

“I couldn’t go back to how things were.” She said, as hard as it felt to admit aloud. “I would choose this. I would face the trials willingly. I need to know if I am worthy - to put my questions to rest.”

“The gods’ and the people’s favor means much to you.”

“Does it not for everyone?” She shook her head. “Doesn’t it mean something to you?”

He nodded slowly, his eyes pinned on the horizon. “But it is not everything.”

Sylvie turned to him, her interest peaked. “The temple of the light would disagree with you.”

“Well it is a good thing that it is not to them that I am bound.” He huffed. “There are too many rules for my liking.”

She grinned.

“I think they would take your head for that.”

He licked his lips. “Let them try.”

Though he was a promise of violence, a certain softness now lingered under the brim of his long dark lashes. The ocean murmuredsoftly in the distance, waves crashing rhythmically against the shore as the breeze tousled their hair.

"I’ve never met anyone like you, Axel of the Hazier." she said quietly.

Axel turned to her, his eyes catching the light, glinting like polished gold. His gaze was steady, searching, as if he were trying to unravel the thoughts that swirled just beneath her surface. For a moment, neither spoke. The air between them seemed charged, seeming to vibrate in the space they shared.

“Maybe it’s because you’ve never had the chance to know anything outside those temple walls,” he said at last, his voice low but carrying an edge of challenge. His eyes held hers. “Tell me, Sylvie - when was the last time you ventured beyond Mardova’s borders? Or beyond its gates?”

A bitter laugh slipped from her lips. She dropped her gaze, her fingers trailing over the hilt of the blade strapped to her side.

The blade of Hallva - the blade that had seen so many adventures, so many lives lived.

“Never.” She admitted, her voice quieter now, almost swallowed by the crash of the waves behind them.

He nodded, a flicker of understanding crossing his face. “One day very soon, you will.”

Sylvie let out a breath, her shoulders sinking under an invisible weight. She turned her head toward the horizon, where the ocean stretched endlessly, wild and reckless. Her voice softened, taking on a wistful quality as she spoke. “Do you know why this is my favorite spot?”

Axel shrugged, his expression unreadable.

“Because when I stand here, looking out at the sea, I can pretend - just for a moment - that I’m just like it,” she whispered, her voice laced with longing. “Wild. Free.”

She paused, her fingers curling into fists at her sides. Her gaze stayed fixed on the rolling waves, their ceaseless rhythm a painful contrast to the life she’d lived. “I can’t count the number of times I’vecome here, watching the men set sail each spring and return every winter. Every time, I’d feel this ache, this burn of envy in my chest. I’d give anything to have my own adventure - to see new lands, to meet new faces, to carve out a life that’s mine, and mine alone.”