Steam still clung to my skin as we stepped out of the bathhouse, towels wrapped tight and hair damp from the rinse. The others stayed behind—Sara arguing with Selena over who used up the last of the citrus shampoo—but Nyx lingered at my side, silent.
We padded through the hall barefoot, the floor cool beneath our feet. I was halfway to my room when I heard her speak.
"Ren," Nyx said quietly.
I paused, turning to glance over my shoulder. Her expression wasn't exactly hard, but there was a sharp focus in her eyes. Measured.
"Can we talk?" she asked.
I nodded slowly. "Sure. My room?"
She gave a single nod in return, then followed me down the hall.
It wasn't like I didn't notice the tension in her posture or the way her fingers fidgeted with the edge of her towel. Whatever this was, it wasn't casual.
Inside my room, I tossed a shirt over my head and sat on the edge of the bed, a towel draped over my shoulders. She didn't sit. She simply stood near the doorway, her arms crossed, her eyes fixed on me.
"So," I said, tilting my head. "You wanted to talk?"
She shut the door behind her.
"Yeah. I've got a question." she said, gaze sharp. "What will your siblings say when they learn you were a soldier?"
I raised an eyebrow, curious. "Hmm."
"It wasn't that hard to figure out," she continued. "You received dragon blood and underwent a transformation. No average halfling survives that."
'Didn't she already know I was human? Her father definitely did... He played along with Leah's cover story, but he'd figured me out before we even met. Selena probably knows too. The only one who doesn't is Julia.'
"But no human should survive a transformation like that," I said, watching her reaction.
"True. But not long ago, the royal family received a very... special human. He was rumored to be the strongest of his kind. Killed demons. Alone. Repeatedly."
I scoffed. "Still human. Doesn't matter how strong."
"Like I said—special." She leaned in slightly. "So who should I start with? Sara likely already knows. Selena also likes you, despite her minor issue with halflings. But Julia... well, you did kill her lover, after all."
Nyx smiled.
"Are you threatening me?" I asked, still calmly raising an eyebrow.
"Does it sound like I am? I don't know," she said, sarcastic as ever.
"Honestly? With you, I can't tell yet. I haven't known you for long. But if you are trying to threaten me, you'll have to do better than that."
"Oh?" she said with mock innocence. "Then I guess I could just inform the human societies that you're alive."
I sighed. "That's more like it. But you missed something."
"Oh? What's that, Ren Bell?"
"You always threaten someone weaker than yourself."
I moved.
Three blades flashed out—fast, precise. Before Nyx could blink, she was impaled through the stomach and hands, pinned in place like a doll.
"Wh—agh! Kyaaa!"
She passed out.
"Tsk. Not even a second," I muttered, crouching next to her. "Guess that's why generals have ranks."
I checked the wounds. Clean entry. Nothing vital. I'd aimed for control, not death.
"Right. I'm late for dinner," I added, bandaging her carefully—leaving the weapons in—and teleporting out of the room.
At the table, Leah glanced up. "Ren, you're late."
"Sorry, sorry. Nyx wasn't feeling well, so I took her to her room."
"Is she alright? Should I check on her after dinner?"
"Yeah, that'd be good," I said, wearing a grin too wide to be honest. "Just in case."
[After Dinner]
The scream echoed down the hall.
"Ugh! I'll never get used to that—Ren, what did you do to her?! It hasn't even been a full day!"
"She threatened me."
"With what?!"
"She figured out who I was. She said she'd tell everyone. I don't mind the others knowing, eventually. But she also said she'd tell the humans I'm alive. I'd like to avoid that."
Leah crouched by Nyx, inspecting her wounds. "Sigh. At least you missed all the vital stuff. That was intentional, I assume?"
"Of course."
"But why would she even say that? Nyx doesn't work with humans."
I frowned. "Traitor?"
"Never. She's a dragon-kin. They don't betray their kind. It's in their blood."
"So... instinct?"
"Exactly."
I crossed my arms. "Still, she said it."
"Maybe she was trying to look after you," Leah offered.
"She's following her father's orders, not mine."
"True. But still—you were a bit wild today," Leah said, giving me a look.
"We were just having fun."
"Running around the city like unsupervised brats. Again."
"We are kids."
"Dragons don't see it that way. She likely doesn't either."
"She joined in."
"Ugh... I'm awake, you two," Nyx groaned from the floor. "And I can answer that myself."
Leah and I both turned.
"I was jealous," Nyx said softly, staring at the floor.
"Jealous?" we echoed, confused.
"The day was fun. I enjoyed watching the three of you play together like siblings, laughing as if you've known each other forever. I never had that. Not even with Artimus—and she's barely a few years older than me. I wanted to be closer to you all. You, especially."
"Me?"
"You're the leader. The glue." She kept her eyes down.
"The what?"
"She thinks she needs to be friends with you to be part of the group," Leah translated.
"...So you tried to make friends by threatening me?"
"That's how I've always done it. My father said, —If someone doesn't yield, pressure them until they do."
Leah and I were silent.
I sighed. "...You poor thing."
Both of them blinked at me.
"What? You pity me now?" Nyx asked, incredulous.
"Yeah. I understand what it feels like to be taught incorrectly.
"...So my father was wrong?"
"Yes," Leah said without hesitation.
"I thought so." Nyx's voice cracked slightly.
"Alright then. Let's fix that." I sat cross-legged on the floor in front of her. "We talk. We get to know each other."
"... Can you at least remove the blades first? They really hurt."
"Right, sorry." I snapped my fingers. The weapons vanished instantly.
"Ugh… I've heard stories about the run-and-gun maiden, but they don't do you justice."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"Sigh… And you're just going to ignore the fact you impaled me?"
"Just like I'll ignore the part where you threatened to expose me to humanity."
"...Fair."
Leah finished wrapping Nyx's bandages. "All done."
"Thanks, Leah. Should I take you back?"
"No, I'll return the pegasi. You two try not to stab each other again, please."
"Wasn't planning to," we both said in unison—and then laughed.
"Okay then," I said, offering my hand. "Let's start over. I'm Ren Diamon."
Nyx smiled and shook it. "Nyx White. I hope we can be friends."
"Good. So, do you have questions about how this mess came to be?"
"Not about the ending," she said. "Just… about why you did it."
My eyes narrowed, just a little.
"You saw it that way, huh?" I said quietly. "That's going to be quite the story."
"We've got the whole night."
"Alright then."
We sat cross-legged on the wooden floor of my half-finished room. The air was still thick with leftover tension, but it was softer now, broken, like a wound just beginning to scab over.
"Okay," I said. "You go first."
Nyx shifted slightly, still holding her side where the bandage was tight. "Why did you do it?"
"You'll have to be more specific."
"The betrayal," she clarified. "Why did you turn against the humans?"
I stared at her for a moment. "Straight to the hardest one, huh?"
"You said I could ask anything."
"I did." I exhaled. "Alright."
There was a long pause before I spoke again.
"I didn't want to."
Nyx tilted her head, confused. "But you did."
"Yeah." I met her gaze. "That's the difference between betrayal and survival. You choose to betray someone willingly. The other because everything else has already been taken from you."
She didn't interrupt, didn't press, and just waited.
"I'm not human anymore. I'm not Ren Bell anymore," I said. "If I went back, they wouldn't have accepted me anyway. They were already afraid of me before the transformation. Now? They'd panic. Especially the ones who used to be above me."
"You're stronger than them."
"Too strong, yeah. But back then, I had goals they could use to control me. They like power—but only if they own it. And when they can't…"
I trailed off.
Nyx nodded slowly. "They tried to kill you?"
"No," I said, a grin tugging at my mouth. "But they did capture me. Lost one of their strongest squads trying."
"And?"
"I killed them," I said quietly. My voice didn't shake, but something in my chest tightened. "Not all of them. I didn't get the last ones. I got captured."
Nyx didn't flinch. "So the trade was done like that, huh? I see why they think you're dead."
"Yeah. The transformation helps with that. I'm not exactly recognizable anymore."
She was quiet again. "Then, do you regret it?"
"No," I answered without hesitation. "I regret that it had to happen. But not that I became a half-demon."
Another silence passed. Not awkward. Just... full.
"I think I would've done the same," Nyx finally said.
I looked at her. "Even though I turned on my people?"
"Sometimes people stop being yours before you leave them," she said softly.
"…That's a good way to put it."
Nyx pulled her legs up and hugged her knees slightly. "My people never turned on me. But they didn't really see me either. I was strong. Obedient. "'Efficient.' So they kept me."
"Used you."
"Isn't that what loyalty is for?"
"No," I said firmly.
She looked up.
"Loyalty should be a choice," I told her. "Not a duty. If you never got to choose, it's not loyalty. It's just survival. Like mine."
Her mouth opened like she wanted to argue, then closed again. She looked down, thinking.
"…You don't talk about this with the others, do you?" she asked.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because they're soft."
"Selena?"
"She's seen things. But she tries to act like she hasn't. Sara… she's too bright. If I gave her too much darkness, she'd swallow it just to help me carry it."
Nyx nodded slowly. "And you don't want that."
"I don't need someone to fix me. I can do that myself, eventually. I just need time. And new things to hold onto."
She looked at me. And for the first time since we met, I felt her really see me—not as a soldier, or the glue, or the girl who stabbed her through the stomach.
Just me.
"I think I get it now," she said.
"Get what?"
"Why do they follow you? Why do they stay?"
I raised an eyebrow, half-smirking. "Because I threaten them?"
Nyx smiled. "No. Because when you're quiet like this, it feels like the truth. And people stay where they feel the truth."
I blinked.
"…You're weird."
"I've been told."
"But not wrong," I muttered, lying back on the floor. "And that's the worst kind of weird."
Nyx followed, lying beside me, arms crossed behind her head.
"I meant what I said before," she said. "I do want to be friends."
"You tried to blackmail me."
"And you stabbed me multiple times."
"…Fair."
We lay there a while, watching the shadows shift across the ceiling. Quiet.
But not alone.
[The Next Morning]
I shuffled into the dining room, eyes half-closed, body stiff from lack of sleep. Nyx followed behind me, looking about the same—except she had the added bonus of still being bandaged.
Sara glanced up from her breakfast, her eyes immediately narrowing with amusement.
"You two look like you got hit by a carriage," she said, smirking.
"Good morning to you too," I muttered.
"Late night?" she asked sweetly.
"She was sick," I said quickly. "Didn't want to leave her alone."
"In your room?" Sara's smile grew devilish.
"Yes."
"Are you sure it was just that?" she teased, spoon pausing dramatically in midair.
"I don't work that fast!" I snapped, already flushing.
Nyx blinked. "I'm still sore," she said, rubbing her stomach absentmindedly.
Sara choked on her food and nearly fell out of her chair.
"...What?" Nyx asked, completely lost.
"Nothing," Sara wheezed, trying to recover. "Totally normal. Just… sore, huh?"
"From the stabbing," Nyx said earnestly. "You know, when Ren impaled me yesterday."
"Pfft—oh gods," Sara wiped tears from her eyes. "Please keep talking."
"Don't encourage her," I muttered, tugging Nyx's hand away before she rubbed anything else.
"Why not?" Nyx asked. "That's where you hit me the hardest."
Selena, who had been quietly sipping tea, froze mid-sip.
"…What exactly are we talking about right now?" she asked, slowly lowering her cup.
"Injuries," I said flatly.
"Are you sure?" Selena asked, eyeing me suspiciously.
"She also bandaged Nyx's hands," Sara pointed out, dramatically pointing her spoon. "In your room. All night."
"I hate both of you," I muttered.
"I mean, Ren," Sara said, shaking her head in mock disappointment. "Breaking her hands? That's pretty intense, even for you."
"I didn't break anything!"
"But you did stab her."
"That's not—ugh!"
Selena tilted her head. "Wait, is this a metaphor or—?"
"No!" I groaned. "She was injured. That's it. End of story."
"I feel like I'm missing something," Nyx said, frowning. "Was there another injury?"
"Oh no," Sara said, grinning ear to ear.
"Oh yes," Selena echoed under her breath.
"We're talking about sex," Sara said flatly.
"Hey!" I snapped. "She's pure!"
"Sex?" Nyx repeated, tilting her head. "But… we're both girls?"
The silence was immediate.
Selena blinked. Sara's face lit up like a festival lantern.
"…Oh my gods," Sara whispered. "She's actually pure."
"She's like an angel that wandered into a tavern," Selena murmured.
"I'm not that innocent," Nyx said defensively. "I've read things."
"Oh no," I muttered.
"Like what?" Sara asked gleefully.
Nyx thought for a moment. "There was this scroll about advanced team bonding and... flexibility training."
"Military or civilian?" Selena asked, deadpan.
"Military, of course," Nyx said proudly.
I stood up from the table, already done. "We're leaving. Now."
"But I haven't finished—" Nyx started.
"NOW."
Nyx stood up, clearly still confused, as I grabbed her arm and led her toward the door.
"…So what's a 'gluttonous saddle pin' supposed to mean?"
"DON'T LEARN THAT FROM SARA!"
Sara and Selena both howled with laughter behind us.
Back in my room, I sat on the edge of the bed, face buried in my hands, while the sound of running water drifted in from the bathroom.
Fuck, I can't do this, I thought, teeth clenched. Even Selena—the reserved one—joined in. Ugh.
I groaned into my palms and dropped my head lower, already regretting the day.
I was just waiting for Nyx to finish showering so I could help her put her bandages back on.
Hopefully in silence.