The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon (Celine and Bastian) novel Chapter 194

Chapter 194

ཁ་པ

Zarzel returns to what he was doing, and I take Erebus. The moment my fingers close around the hilt, a warm current travels up my arm. The sword seems to come alive in my hand, and I spin it naturally, drawing precise circles through the air. My body remembers movements that my mind doesn’t even need to think about.

“One round?”

Zharzel nods immediately and pulls his hair into a high ponytail before positioning himself in front of me.

“I accept the challenge. Show-off.”

I smile at him.

We both take an attack stance, but before taking the first step, I look toward Oana. The thought of the metallic sounds our swords will make when they clash makes me stop.

“The baby is going to get scared.”

Zharzel snaps his fingers, and a green protective bubble appears around Oana. The transparent surface vibrates for a few seconds before closing completely.

“Don’t worry. With that barrier, she won’t hear anything and she’ll be able to breathe perfectly. It will only isolate her from any noise that could upset her.”

I move a little closer to make sure my daughter is still sleeping peacefully inside that strange glowing sphere. Her chest rises. and falls completely normally.

“Oh, that’s wonderful.”

I return to Zharzel and raise Erebus. He spins Helel one last time before taking his position. His eyes shine with amusement.

He attacks first.

The sound of our swords meeting echoes through the room, but the barrier around Oana completely absorbs the noise. Zharzel measures my strength and speed during the first few movements, testing me, trying to discover how far I can go.

I’m not here to play games.

I needed this. I needed to feel the weight of a sword in my hand again, to move without fear and discover what these two weapons that were separated for hundreds of years can really do. But this time, I’m not facing an ordinary enemy.

I’m facing Helel.

And Erebus has just awakened with me. This is also a game between sisters.

Zharzel moves first, and Helel cuts through the air with a sharp whistle. I spin on one foot to dodge the first strike, and the blade passes inches from my shoulder, sending a shiver across my skin. I respond immediately, bringing Erebus upward from below, but Zharzel blocks the attack with such precision that I’m forced to retreat. The clash of both swords sends a vibration through my arms and into my shoulders. The green barrier surrounding Oana completely absorbs the sound, but it cannot hide the flashes that appear every time the blades meet.

Zharzel smiles arrogantly.

“Is that all, little wolf?”

I grit my teeth and throw myself at him again. This time, he doesn’t wait for my attack. He advances at the same time, and our swords collide in the center of the room. I twist my wrist, forcing him to deflect the blade to one side, and use the

Mon, Aug 31

The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon

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momentum to spin around myself. Erebus passes behind my body and comes back toward him in a circular movement that Zharzel barely manages to block.

Hfoot slips half a step across the stone floor, and I take advantage of the opening to attack again: one strike toward his shoulder, another toward his side, and one more aimed at his legs. Zharzel blocks all three, but now he is the one forced to

retreat.

“Much better.”

I don’t answer. I keep my eyes on his body, his shoulders, the position of his feet, and the way he holds Helel. I don’t need t think about every movement. My body recognizes it before my mind does, and Erebus seems to move with it. The sword/ slides between my fingers with a strange ease, as if it were made for my hand. Every time I move it, I feel that warmth travel up my arm, an energy that increases with every strike.

Zharzel attacks again, and his speed suddenly changes. Until now, he had been playing with me, measuring my strength.but now he disappears from my field of vision for a fraction of a second and reappears on my left. I raise Erebus just in time. The impact forces me several steps backward, and my boots scrape against the stone. He spins around and attacks agai before I can fully regain my balance.

I’m not sure if we’re training or trying to make sure I don’t get killed by my own sword.

I block, retreat, and block again. The next strike manages to graze my side, and I feel the heat of the blade pass through the fabric of my clothes without touching my skin.

“Was that an attempt to kill me?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“If I wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead.”

He smiles.

Damn demon.

I attack with all my strength. Erebus strikes Helel, and this time the energy from the impact explodes between both blades in a burst that forces us apart. The floor vibrates beneath my feet. Zharzel is thrown several yards away and lands on his teet, although he has to slide one leg backward to regain his balance. I look at my sword, and something about it has changed The darkness I had always sensed in its blade now moves beneath the metallic surface like smoke trapped inside the steel. I don’t know if it’s really happening or if my senses are playing tricks on me, but I can feel it. It is responding to me. Zharzel notices it too, and his smile disappears.

“Interesting.”

“What?”

“Nothing”

He raises Helel and takes his position again. I’m not going to give him time to explain. I run toward him, and Zharzel does the same. The two swords clash once, twice, three times. Our movements become so fast that I stop being able to distinguish where one ends and the next begins. He tries to force me backward using his strength, but I turn my body and let the momentum pass by. My elbow strikes his ribs, and Zharzel grunts/Before he can recover, I raise Erebus, and he crosses Helel in front of his chest. The impact makes him drop to one knee.

“I’ve got you.”

“You think so.”

His eyes glow, and Helel emits an intense radiance. For a second, I feel something strange. It isn’t fear. It is a pressure that travels through my body and reaches directly into my mind. My muscles tense, and my breath catches. Zharzel’s sword seems to pull at something inside me, as if an invisible hand were trying to reach a part of my will. Then Erebus responds. A dark wave travels up my arm, and the pressure disappears.

16:13 Mon, Aug 31.

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