The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon (Celine and Bastian) novel Chapter 196

Chapter 196

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Mbreathing slowly begins to return to its normal rhythm as I keep my eyes on Erebus. I can still feel my heart pounding against my ribs and the heat lingering in my muscles after the fight. A thin layer of sweat covers my skin, and several strands of hair have come loose from my braid, sticking to my forehead and cheeks.

The room is still warm from the burning fireplaces, and the air smells of charred wood, but now I can also distinguish the metallic scent of the swords and our heavy breathing after so many minutes of combat.

The blade continues to vibrate softly between my fingers, as if it were still awake after the fight. I run my thumb over the balt and once again feel that warmth spreading across my palm and slowly traveling up my arm. It isn’t an unpleasant sensation. Quite the opposite. It is warm, steady, and strangely familiar, as if Erebus had been waiting for my touch for a very long

time.

I raise my eyes toward Helel. Zharzel holds it with one hand, and the blade seems completely calm now, although a faint glow still moves across its surface. I watch it for a few seconds before looking back at Erebus.

Two swords.

Two powers.

And a history I still cannot understand.

Zharzel slowly approaches and stops in front of me. He no longer has the mocking expression he wore a few minutes ago. His chest is still rising and falling rapidly, and his dark hair remains disheveled, with several damp strands stuck to his forehead. The small red mark on his cheek has become a little more visible, and that makes me smile.

He notices my gaze.

“Don’t even think about bragging about that mark.”

“Why?” I ask, trying to hide my smile. “It’s the first time I’ve managed to hit you.”

“The first and probably the last.”

“Let me enjoy it.”

Zharzel snorts and finally turns his attention back to my swords. He reaches a hand toward Erebus but stops before touching it. His eyes move over the blade with a caution he hadn’t shown during the fight.

“Be careful with them, little wolf. They’re powerful. They have souls, they’re alive, and they can be quite temperamental.”

The smile slowly disappears from my face.

“Temperamental?”

“Very. More than you can imagine. They were testing each other throughout our entire fight.”

I look at Erebus and slightly turn the hilt between my fingers. The blade responds with another soft vibration, almost imperceptible, as if it had heard our words. The movement sends a shiver down my spine.

“Why?”

Zharzel points first at Helel and then at Erebus.

“Because now that they’re together, I have no idea what they can do.”

His tone no longer has anything playful about it. That makes me look at both swords more carefully. They were separated

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The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon

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for hundreds of years, and now they rest once again in the hands of the same person. There is something about that thought that unsettles me, especially after feeling what happened during the fight.

“Nither do I.”

Zharzel tilts his head, and a smile slowly returns to his lips.

“Then I suppose we’ll have to find out.”

I look toward Oana. The green barrier continues to surround her small body, and my daughter sleeps peacefully, complete unaware of the fight we just had a few feet away from her. The fire from the fireplaces reflects off the surface of the barrier and casts small green and golden glimmers across her face. Seeing her like this manages to return some of the calm I had lost during the night.

Then I look back at my swords.

A warm current runs through my hand around Erebus, and the blade gives off a barely audible vibration. This time.A don’t pull my hand away or try to ignore it. I watch it carefully, feeling how that energy seems to respond to my presence.

Then I decide to try something. If these swords truly have a will of their own, perhaps I can communicate with them as well. I don’t know exactly how to do it, so I close my fingers around Erebus’s hilt and focus my attention on the blade. I’m not trying to move it or use it as a weapon. I want to give it an order and find out if it can actually hear me.

“Zharzel.”

The demon, who is standing with his back to me watching Oana inside the green barrier, immediately turns around. He raises one hand instinctively, and his dark eyes gleam in a way I haven’t seen before. His expression shifts from surprise to disbelief when he looks at the sword he is now holding.

I have just thrown Erebus at him, and he catches it without feeling as though an entire world were about to crush him. The sword lands in his hands with such ease that we both stare at it for several seconds. Zharzel slowly lowers his gaze toward the blade, as if he himself can’t quite believe that he can now hold it. His fingers close around the hilt, and he raises it in front of his face, turning it slightly as the orange light from the fireplaces slides across the dark metal. The surprised expression in his eyes makes me smile.

“How…?”

A smile slowly spreads across my face.

“I just ordered it to let you lift it.”

Zharzel looks at Erebus again and carefully moves his wrist. The sword seems to respond to the movement without resistance. He spins it once, then again, testing its weight, until he finally holds it naturally.

“And there you have it,” I add, crossing my arms. “Apparently, I also have the power to impose my will on them.”

Zharzel looks at me over the blade and then bursts out laughing. The sound echoes off the stone walls and makes me smile again.

“That explains a few things.”

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