Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Hit me!! Rhian flexed his wings as Iris circled him, her earlier shock replaced by childlike excitement.
They’d fallen into an easy rhythm of joking and jabs, surprisingly natural considering they’d only really started talking today.
During their three days in the portal, they’d been on separated as a teams, so they got little to no time to interact.
Yet here they were, chatting like old friends.
A strange protectiveness warmed his chest as he watched her. Not attraction, just appreciation for her lively spirit. She was fun to be around, plain and simple.
’Is it weird to feel this strongly about people I’ve only known a month?’
The thought gave him pause. He never had close relationships other than Dr. Castilla, but he had grown attached to all of his new friends
Iris poked his wingtip. "So when’s my free flight lesson?"
Rhian smirked. "When you stop treating my wings like a petting zoo."
She stuck out her tongue, and he found himself laughing.
The door swung open with a sharp creak.
Rhian and Iris turned in unison. Nia stood in the doorway, one hand still on the doorknob.
She looked exhausted - dark circles under her eyes, her usual pristine uniform slightly rumpled.
"Hi," she said, voice flat.
Iris glanced sideways at Rhian before responding. "Hey."
Nia stepped inside, the door closing with a quiet click behind her. She studied Iris for a long moment before speaking again. "I heard about your teammates. I’m sorry."
Iris’ jaw tightened briefly before she forced a nod. "Thanks."
There was an awkward pause before Nia cleared her throat. "Can I talk to Rhian alone?"
Rhian felt Iris’ questioning glance but kept his eyes on Nia. He saw the way her fingers twisted together.
Iris hesitated, eyes darting between them. "Yeah, sure," she finally said, moving toward the door. As she passed Nia, she added, "Take care of yourself, okay?"
The second the door shut, Rhian crossed his arms. The silence between them was thick enough to choke on.
He waited.
Nia opened her mouth. Closed it. Swallowed hard.
She moved slowly across the mats, her fingers picking at her sleeves as she avoided his gaze.
The usually composed girl now looked small—tired shadows under her eyes, her shoulders slightly hunched.
Rhian blinked.
She took a sharp breath. "Rhian... I’m sorry," she said, finally meeting his eyes. Her voice wavered just enough to notice. "I shouldn’t have yelled at you."
He wasn’t angry. Hadn’t been. But the raw guilt on her face made his chest tighten.
Nia fumbled on, words tumbling out. "I don’t want to make excuses, I just—" A hitch in her throat. "I just..."
Rhian smirked, cutting her off gently. "It’s fine. Really." He shrugged, wings relaxing behind him. "You don’t have to apologize."
A beat.
Nia’s shoulders dropped—like she’d been holding her breath for weeks.
The training room lights buzzed overhead.
Nia sat down heavily on the mat beside Rhian. Her hands wouldn’t stay still - picking at her uniform sleeves, twisting the fabric.
"You good?" Rhian asked.
She shook her head. "It’s stupid."
He nudged her shoulder with his wing. "Try me."
A long silence stretched between them.
"My parents like i told you," she began, her voice low. "They’re hunters.. were hunters. They’ve always been good at it. I used to think that meant they’d always come back."
She blinked hard, eyes locked on the floor as if anything else would make her break.
"There was a portal job. Not far from home. I wasn’t allowed to go—I hadn’t awakened yet. They told me it was routine. Just another clean-u and I believed them."
Her hands twisted in her lap.
"They got ambushed. My mom... she took the worst of it. Her spine was damaged during the fight. She’s alive, but she can’t walk anymore. Everything below her waist is just... gone."
She swallowed thickly.
"They said if she could rank up again, absorb enough core energy, maybe her body could heal. But she can’t. She hit her limit years ago."
Her breath wavered.
"My dad won’t talk about it much, but I know he blames himself. He was there. He fought alongside her. But it wasn’t enough. And I wasn’t even there to try."
Tears welled up, but she didn’t wipe them away. She kept going.
"I should’ve been stronger. I should’ve been someone who could protect her. But I wasn’t. I was useless. And now she spends every day pretending like it doesn’t bother her. Pretending like I’m not the reason she has to."
Her voice cracked at the end, barely holding together.
He recognized that tone. That guilt.
"It’s not your fault," Rhian cut in. His own memories pressed at the back of his skull - his parents’ faces, the way they’d looked at him right before-
"You didn’t drag her out there. You didn’t make the monsters come." The words tasted like ash in his mouth.
Nia’s shoulders hunched. She didn’t answer.
Rhian let the quiet sit. Some wounds stayed open.
The air between them felt too thin.
Nia stared at the mats, her fingers digging into her knees. "I don’t want to h–"
Rhian didn’t hear the last part, but he didn’t answer for three breaths.
Then he was moved, he wasn’t good with emotions, if it wasn’t for Dr Castilla he would be worse, but the doctor was good with her either, so he did what he thought was best at the moment.
His wings curled around her in one rough motion, a prisoner’s embrace rather than a shelter.
"Stop," he growled against her temple. "You didn’t choose shit. Portals don’t ask permission." His hold tightened—not comforting. Angry. "You didn’t fail. The world just breaks people sometimes."
Nia tensed—then went still. Rhian could feel how fast her heart raced.
His own pulse pounded in his throat. (Images flickered behind his eyes: his mother’s hand slipping from his, his father’s last wet cough—"Run, Rhi—")
With a sharp exhale, he shoved back, wings snapping to his sides.
He looked at her finally, his voice flat but real. "So hit me again."
She blinked. "What?"
He stood and rolled his shoulders. "Just hit me. Let’s go."
Nia stared at him for a second, then stood. "You’re serious."
Rhian cracked his neck. "You need to vent. And I don’t know a better way, do you?."
She got on her feet before he finished rhe last part, Nia wiped her face with the back of her hand. Eyes red.
’Good.’
Rhian rolled his shoulders. "Hit me," he goaded.
𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞 She did.
Her first punch wasn’t skilled, just rage, pure and ugly and alive. Rhian took it square in the ribs, laughing through the pain.
"Again."
Nia moved—a blur of motion that made the air crack. Her fist slammed into Rhian’s forearm with a sound like a sledgehammer hitting steel.
The impact sent him skidding back, his boots screeching against the reinforced mats.
Rhian’s wings snapped out instinctively, feathers bristling. He forced them back with a sharp exhale, focusing on his footing.
He lunged, his speed inhuman. Nia sidestepped, her hand snapping out to grab his wrist.
She twisted, throwing him across the room. Rhian hit the wall with a dull thud, the reinforced structure holding firm.
He pushed off, wings flaring again to propel him forward. This time, he tucked them in mid-air, driving his shoulder into Nia’s chest.
She staggered, her feet digging into the mats but not breaking through.
Nia retaliated with a knee to his stomach, the force lifting him off the ground. Rhian’s wings burst out, halting his momentum.
He swung, his fist grazing her cheek—close enough to make her head snap back, not enough to land a clean hit.
Nia’s counter was immediate. A kick to his ribs sent him skidding, his wings snapping out to steady himself.
Rhian forced them back again, his breathing ragged. He charged, fists flying.
Nia blocked, dodged, and countered with precision.
Every hit they traded made the air shudder, the reinforced room absorbing the worst of their power.
Finally, Nia caught him mid-swing, her grip like iron. She twisted, slamming him into the mats.
The reinforced surface held, but the sound of the impact echoed like a gunshot.
Rhian groaned, his wings twitching but staying tucked in.
Nia stood over him, breathing hard but steady.
"Enough?" she asked.
Rhian smirked, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "Not even close."