Chương 80: 080

Dura bit her lip. Her hand edged toward me, stopping just shy of contact, as if she wasn't sure she was allowed to close the distance.

"I'm more than happy to kill anything that looks at you funny," she said quietly, "but Nik… if you freeze in battle, you could die. There are monsters that can swallow you whole." Her jaw tightened.

"You can't rely on luck forever." Her words were careful. Measured. That almost made them worse. Heat prickled behind my ribs until it chewed at the bone. I wanted to snap. Wanted to shove the conversation into a box and bury it somewhere deep where I didn't have to look at it. Instead, I forced a breath into my lungs.

"I wasn't planning on ignoring it forever," I said.

"Just… for now." I stared into the fire, watching fat hiss and spit as it hit the coals.

"Between the tomes, Dawnmoor, and whatever fresh hell waits between here and there, the last thing I want to do is unpack this." Could we focus on one crisis at a time, please? I glanced at Time, hoping for backup. He shook his head.

"She is right. Freezing at the sight of blood is a liability you cannot afford. Especially with your luck. You may not wish to address this, but you must." The words landed like a verdict. I scowled.

"Remind me not to ask you for backup again." He didn't so much as blink.

"Be obstinate over something that does not risk lives, and I will gladly support you." Damn it, did he have to be right? Dura shifted closer, her pinky brushing mine. Not grabbing. Just there.

"I'm not saying it'll be easy," she murmured.

"But you won't be alone. I'll go with you. We'll take it slow-." Dominicus grimaced, shaking his head.

"You're treating him like a child. Whether he's a healer or a warrior, he will have to handle blood. We can't afford for him to take his time, not with this. It could cost someone their life." Dura rounded on him so fast the firelight caught sharp in her eyes.

"I'm treating him like someone who was stabbed and nearly died, prick. Someone who isn't a warrior and never planned to be. We are still going to work on it, so you can shut up and sit on a-." I touched her arm. She went still under my hand, coiled like a drawn bow. The defense was appreciated–more than I had words for–but this was a losing battle. Time, who despised Dominicus, hadn't torn into him. Which meant… I looked at Time again.

"You agree with him, don't you?" He sighed, grimacing as if the next words tasted sour.

"For once, yes. Your luck is abysmal. I have now witnessed that personally. We will face dozens of battles before this ends. One second of hesitation is all it takes for the tides to turn and someone to lose their life." His gaze locked onto mine, heavy and unyielding.

"And from our previous discussions, I can say confidently that if someone dies because you hesitated, you will carry that far longer than you carry this fear." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The air felt thinner. Damn him for knowing exactly where to aim. I dragged a hand through my hair.

"Can I at least finish dinner before you toss me ass over teakettle into my trauma?" Henry winced but wisely said nothing about the language, simply covering Maya's ears. Dominicus inclined his head.

"You will need your strength for fighting monsters." Dura blinked at him.

"Excuse you? I thought we were going to nick ourselves and have him heal us. Controlled exposure." She jabbed a finger toward him.

"You want to throw him into active combat? I think the fuck not."

"I am perfectly capable of preventing anything from killing him," Dominicus replied flatly.

"And before you say it, no, you are not coming. You'll destroy every threat the moment he falters. He won't improve if you fight his battles for him." Her fingers curled around the haft of her axe. The leather creaked.

"Cute that you think you can stop me, batboy. I trust you about as far as you can throw me. I'm not leaving my cleric alone with you for a damn second." He didn't flinch.

"He will perform better without distractions." The fire popped. For a heartbeat, I was certain Dura was going to vault it and test whether Dominicus could, in fact, stop her. Time's voice cut through the tension, cool and absolute.

"Nikolas will not be alone with you. I will accompany this exercise." He met Dura's glare without flinching.

"I dislike admitting this, but Dominicus is correct. You would eliminate all threats before Nikolas could confront them. That is normally commendable. It is not helpful here. I can intervene if necessary, this ensures he is not alone." Dura looked like she wanted to argue anyway. I would've let her… if not for our audience. Henry grimaced behind his daughter, hands drifting from her ears toward his sword, ready to intervene if necessary. And Maya…

Wide, nervous eyes watched Dura and Dominicus, the girl's hands gripping tight around her utensils. A faint tremor shook them, the tension not lost on her. Damn it, the kid had been through enough. She shouldn't have to deal with this. Especially not so I could avoid an inevitable thing for just a few more minutes. I caught Dura's arm and squeezed.

"Just let it go." I muttered reluctantly.

"They won't budge on this. Thomas will neuter Dominicus if he steps out of line. This is... the best outcome I'm getting." She still didn't budge and I added softly.

"And we're scaring Maya." That did it. Her glare lingered on Dominicus, calculating ways to disassemble him even as she forced her posture to ease, hand moving from her axe.

"Fine," she bit out with a false smile, brittle and sharp.

"But if he comes back missing more than five hit points, I'm carving that and more out of you."

"He'll be fine." He turned to me.

"Hurry and finish eating so we can set out." I flipped him off, not caring if that meant the same thing here as it did on Earth.

"I'm going to eat even slower now, just to spite you." He rolled his eyes again.

"You're being a child."

"And you're being an ass." I sniped.

"So we're even." But the banter felt thinner now. Soon, I'd be walking into the forest with two men I barely knew so they could force me to stand in front of blood and teeth and the memory of steel sliding into my ribs. With Dura or Karma I would've at least had the comfort of knowing they wouldn't ridicule me for whatever shitty progress I made. Dominicus would. Time… might. And while I could ignore the former, something told me the latter's judgement would sting.

I stared down at the last bite of food on my plate, the taste nothing but ash now. There was no avoiding this. Whether I liked it not, we were doing sink or swim.