CHAPTER 48: NOVA

"Where were you all this time?" Nova finally spoke, moving her gaze from her bloodstained hand back to Razeal. Her voice was steady, even carrying a touch of strictness, as if trying to ignore the blood trickling down his cheeks and focus instead on the storm of questions that had plagued her for so long.

There was no softness, no tremor of vulnerability in her tone, only the cold authority of a Virelan noble who demanded answers.

Razeal wiped at the blood with the back of his hand, his expression as cold as ice as his eyes locked onto hers. "Why do you even care where I was? And why should I tell you anything at all?"

Nova’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Why did you run? You received your punishment harsh, but deserved. We paid the price for your wrongdoings. It doesn’t make sense..." Her voice softened just slightly at the end, as if she were voicing a question that had haunted her endlessly, one she’d never had the chance to ask.

But tone was cold, precise, as if she were reciting facts that disgusted her to speak aloud.

For a brief moment, a flicker of pure anger flashed through Razeal’s eyes at her words. But he drew in a slow breath, forcing himself to calm, to keep the rage from spilling over. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.

"Why does it matter?" His voice was low, bitter. "I did what I wanted. You gave me punishment because you thought I deserved it. Fine. And I did what I thought I deserved. But tell me did I run off with anything of yours? Did I take something that belonged to you? No... because I never had anything from you people in the first place." He shrugged, as if the weight of it all meant nothing.

Nova went quiet, her violet eyes searching his face as if trying to find the boy she had once known somewhere beneath that cold mask. His eyes told her one thing clearly: He just hate me only.

"You’re being childish. Unmature and overly dramatic. This hate you carryit’s over your own mistake. You can hate me, hate Mother if you want, Fine. but don’t twist what happened and don’t stand here pretending you were some noble victim. We did what was right." Her voice was firm and cold to say the least. "Also remember... we did what was right. You tried something heinous... disgusting. You know our family’s laws. Kicking you out was necessary. The other punishments? They were necessary too. And don’t you forget we paid for your sins. Do you have any idea how much the family sacrificed for you?" she was very cold with her words.

She took a small breath, steadying herself, then continued in that cold, Icy explaining tone as if hoping he would finally listen. "And in the end... what did you do? You ran away. Not a word. Not even a thank you to Mother... or to me? And don’t you dare act like we abandoned you. yes. No ties to the family. But that didn’t mean we wouldn’t have cared for you. We had power enough to ensure your food, your clothes... at the very least. You chose to disappear, Yourself." Nova’s tone was strict, almost lecturing but beneath it all, it was an explanation as if trying to make him understand them.

Her words echoed, hanging heavy in the silent coliseum. Razeal stared at her, expression unreadable until suddenly

"Pffft..."

He snorted, the sound breaking the tension like glass shattering. And then came the laughter.

"Haha... HAHAHAHAHA!"

It started low, but grew louder, sharper, almost mad. He pressed his palm to his face, laughter spilling from between his fingers. His voice rang out, filling the vast space, echoing across the walls of the coliseum. It was the laugh of someone who’d long since given up understanding, a sound full of bitterness and pain.

Nova just stood there, watching him. Her face was calm, face expressionless just silent. The more he laughed, the deeper the disappointment carved into her. He hasn’t learned anything, she thought, shaking her head, the weight of regret settling heavily on her shoulders.

Selena flinched at the sound, instinct urging her to reach out, to grab his arm, to do something but she stopped herself. Her hand hovered for a second before she drew it back, fingers curling into a fist. She turned her gaze aside, unable to bear the sight of him like this. She closed her eyes tightly, as if that might block out the sound, as if that might make it all go away.

If only she could close her ears, too.

Razeal laughed in his head, the sound mocking and hollow even a little like funny. Childish? Dramatic? The words echoed, and he almost pitied their stupidity. Thank them? Thank the people who judged me without a shred of faith, who punished me like I was some animal? Do I not even have the right to hate them? He thought his laughter finally broke, spilling out into the silent coliseum, sharp and mocking.

The sound rang out, but then he stopped just as abruptly, his smile curling into something cold, Icy. Slowly, he clasped his hands together and made a small, mocking bow toward Nova.

"Just leave me alone. I’m good on my own. I don’t have parents. I don’t have any family. And as someone just kindly pointed out I’m homeless, Also." His voice dripped with venom, but his smile stayed, wide and chilly but looking happy in weird way.

"Oh, and consider this whoever you were looking for? He’s dead. Consider me an orphan now. A very happy one, at that. Best decision I ever made, really." He spread his arms as if inviting the world to witness his freedom.

"I’m a rapist, a despicable, disgusting person, right? I’m not even worthy of saying thank you to the people who helped me." His voice twisted the word with cruel sarcasm. "it’s better if everyone stays far, far away from someone like me. Isn’t that what you want?" He shrugged, the smile fixed on his face like a mask, both hands raised in false cheer.

Nova stood there, staring at him. His words, his smile they weren’t Razeal’s. Not the boy she had once known. It was like the person she’d grown up with, the person she’d tried to protect, had truly died. Only a bitter ghost remained. She let out a slow sigh, shoulders heavy with disappointment. His voice, the way he called himself an orphan it made her fingers twitch involuntarily. And that tone... that tone he was using felt very weird to her.

If it had been anyone else, she thought, anyone else speaking to me like that, They’d be eight feet under the ground by now, or fed to the ravens. But here she stood, doing nothing. She didn’t even threaten him. She didn’t silence his mocking tongue. And that, more than anything, showed just how much she still cared. Why can’t he see that? Even a little?

Her voice, when it came, was quieter. Strained.

"Where were you all this time?" she asked, eyes still fixed on him, trying to hold together her cold mask. "Mother.. and I... we tried so hard to find you..."

But before she could say more...

It was Selena who stepped forward then, eyes full of conflict, wanting to stop this harsh exchange. "Sister Nova..." she whispered, uncertain. She looked between them, helpless. She knew better than anyone better than Razeal could know how much Nova had changed after he disappeared, how much she had tried, how hard she had carried this burden. Her relationship with Nova was like that of a younger sister to an elder sister, and Selena could see the hurt behind Nova’s harsh words.

But Nova raised a hand, stopping her. Her gaze never left Razeal.

"It’s alright, Selena. I know what I need to say. And what I need to do." Her tone was cold, strict the Raven Princess speaking now but inside she was holding back an ache she couldn’t show.

"I think it’s time you showed a little sincerity, Razeal. A little maturity. Just look at what’s happening. If I hated you if I truly wanted you gone do you think we’d be standing here? Do you think I’d have bothered?"

She pointed at Selena suddenly, her finger sharp like a blade.

"Look at her. She was your best friend once, wasn’t she? Or have you forgotten? The one who stood by you, who believed in you. And you tried to force yourself on her. Do you even understand what she’s been through since you ran away? After what you did, she still remembered what you were to her. She still cared. And do you know what it was like for Mother? For me? Picking up the pieces? Keeping her safe, Care for her. Help her heal from that kind of truama?

Nova shook her head slowly, disappointment shadowing her face. Her voice stayed cold, but cracks formed beneath that icy surface.

"And even after all that... she tried to help you just moments ago. And all you can show is hate for her, for me? Tell me, Razeal. Tell me how this isn’t childish. How this isn’t disgusting. What do you see when you look at yourself in mirror?"

Razeal said nothing. His smile stayed, hollow as ever. He stared at her as if none of her words mattered, as if her disappointment meant nothing. As for selena ? He didn’t spare even a glance at her, didn’t give her a second of his attention. He just stood there, his hatred like a shield, his scorn his only weapon.

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