Chapter 18: Those red eyes...
Two days later, on Mount Sandalphon, snow was falling in light flakes. Inside the cabin, the fire crackled in the fireplace, warming the small room.
Daemon was lying on his bed, arms crossed behind his head, eyes fixed on the ceiling. He had no intention of moving.
"Get up." said Luna as she entered the room, hands on her hips. "You have to make up for the two hours you skipped yesterday."
"Today, there is no training."
Luna blinked. "And who decided that?"
"It is my birthday." Daemon turned onto his side. "and we do not train on our birthday. It is a well-known rule."
Luna looked at him with an indifferent expression. "Last week was my birthday and I trained."
Daemon turned to look at her. "Really?" He paused. "Well, you are stronger than me. I am going on strike."
"You are going on strike?" Luna crossed her arms. "Do you think Conrad will postpone the duel because it is your birthday?"
Daemon shrugged. "Maybe. If I send him a letter, despite his goody-two-shoes look, he is quite understanding..."
"Do not be ridiculous." Luna grabbed Daemon by the arm and pulled him out of bed. He landed on the wooden floor with a thud. "Get your ass out of bed and go do some push-ups!"
Daemon grumbled but obeyed. He put on his tunic, his boots, grabbed his sword, and went out into the cold.
...
Luna began chaining graceful movements, fluid sequences that left Daemon gaping. Her body spun on itself, her blade sliced through the air with a whistle, and the snow around her rose in small whirlwinds.
’It was magnificent but undoubtedly deadly.’
"I want to learn that." said Daemon when she finished.
Luna threw him a wooden training sword. "Stick to Blade Perception for now."
"The Sword Sense?"
"The ability to read the trajectory of your opponent’s blades and your own." Luna got into position. "Before you can strike, you must know where your blow is going. Before you can parry, you must know where the attack is coming from."
Daemon nodded. "Okay and how do I do that?"
Luna taught him the basic sequences. Daemon followed them scrupulously, repeating each movement again and again until it became fluid. His muscle memory was good, but there was a problem.
"Use your chi to predict where your blows will go based on the movement you are making in the present." said Luna as she watched him train. "In close combat, you do not have time to think. You must know how to anticipate the blade..."
Daemon tried. He activated his sight, that luminous world he had discovered a few days earlier. But as soon as he did, a discomfort settled behind his eyes. His vision blurred, the colors mixed, and a pain pulsed in his temples.
"I cannot do it." he said, dropping his sword. "It hurts."
Luna approached him. She placed two fingers on his wrist to feel his pulse.
"It is your mother’s chi." she said finally. "It is still present in your body, and it interferes with your own perception." She withdrew her hand. "Plus your own chi is extremely weak. Almost undetectable if you do not pay attention."
Daemon sat down on a rock. "So, I am stuck."
"No, I might have a solution." Luna sheathed her sword. "For now, take a break. I will prepare dinner."
Daemon nodded. He went back into the cabin, lay down on his bed, and closed his eyes. Fatigue quickly overtook him, and he sank into a semi-conscious state, lulled by the sound of the wind outside.
Luna stayed outside. She hung a cast iron pot over the campfire she had just lit, then took out the ingredients: a wild chicken she had hunted the day before, root vegetables, a bunch of aromatic herbs, salt and pepper...
She cut the chicken with precision, browned it in a little fat, then added water and the vegetables. The pot began to boil, and a comforting smell spread through the cold air.
"Why do I feel like his nanny now?" she sighed while stirring the soup.
She shook her head. She had not signed up for this... She was Blood Moon, the most feared assassin in Hundun. Yet here she was preparing chicken soup for a capricious kid because it was his birthday.
"He would not stop saying it was his favorite dish... I should have ignored him. Now he is going to expect it every day."
She tasted the soup, added a pinch of salt, and was about to go back to her tasks when a silhouette appeared in the snowy field.
The silhouette walked calmly, hands in the pockets of a long black coat. His blond hair floated in the wind, and his blue eyes were cold: Kristian Snowfall Dagon.
Luna froze... Her hand instinctively moved closer to the sword hidden under her coat.
Kristian stopped a few meters from her. He looked at her with a strange intensity, his eyes scanning her face, her white hair, her silhouette.
’Does he recognize me?’ thought Luna, her heart beating fast. ’No. It is impossible. My Blood Moon identity is well hidden, and everyone thinks it is a man. He cannot know it was me.’
But Kristian said nothing. He just stood there, looking at her.
’Those eyes,’ thought Kristian. ’Those red eyes... It has to be her. The one who saved me in the desert all those years ago.’
He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. He had not prepared what he was going to say. He had come to see Daemon.
Inside the cabin, Daemon woke up. Strangely, it made him uneasy not to hear Luna’s annoyed voice yelling at him.
’She is not calling me,’ he thought. ’That is suspicious.’
He put on his boots, grabbed his coat, and went outside.
’Huh?’
Luna and Kristian were facing each other. Luna had a frozen face, her red eyes fixed on Kristian. Kristian had a strange, almost dreamy look, his blue eyes locked into Luna’s.
’What is this?’ thought Daemon. ’Why is Master looking at Kristian with that languid expression? She has never looked at me like that.’
He observed Kristian in turn. His cousin had a gleam in his eyes that he had never seen before.
"Is this what they call love at first sight?" Daemon narrowed his eyes. "Whatever. Kristian suddenly shows up with his charming pretty face and tries to seduce my master?"
He stepped forward between them, breaking their awkward face-to-face.
"Oh, Kristian." he said in a voice he wanted to sound casual but carried a hint of jealousy. "What are you doing here?"