Serene’s POV

Ayrden and I headed down to the dining hall later and met the boys. They had saved us some lunch. I slipped into a chair beside Zeph. Zilver, Ziva and Alvene were there too. Ralph had his arms wrapped around Alvene.

They were also deeply concerned about me and I had to reassure them that I was alright.

"Serene..." I turned around to find Arlo standing at a distance from our table. He was here.

"Heya! Arlo," I greeted him.

"Hey," he said softly his eyes held tenderness. "Artins Sensei wants to see you in his office." He informed me.

"Right now?" I asked.

"Yes, I will take you." He replied in his serious voice.

"I will come along." Zeph stood up before me.

"He didn’t call you, only Serene," Arlo told him rather dryly.

"I didn’t ask you if he called me or not. I am going with her." Zeph glared at him while everyone watched them silently.

"Don’t worry, I won’t bite her if that’s what you are concerned about," Arlo replied ever so calmly.

"Ok, that’s enough you two. Zeph I am not going on a battlefield just going to Artins Sensei’s office and Arlo no need to act mean." I stood between the bickering boys and sighed.

I turned to Zeph: "Stay here, I will be right back." He kept glaring at Arlo not wanting me to go with him but he respected my decision and stayed.

"Lead the way Arlo," I told him calmly and we made our way out of the hall.

"Why do you feel the need to give him a hard time?" I side-eyed him. His hair looked longer than before, almost shoulder length and was falling in his eyes as usual.

"You really have to ask me that? How are you by the way? I heard what happened. Queen Vilarja is a cold-hearted tyrant. I am so glad you are safe." His voice held so much concern for me.

"Yes she tried to kill me, Kilamin anticipated their motives and was ready for her."

"That’s why he is here, I am guessing." He inquired and I nodded.

"Seems like you patched things up with him as well." He offered me a small smile.

"Yes..." I didn’t want to indulge in this topic with him so I kept the answer brief. Thankfully we reached Artins Sensei’s office by that time.

We knocked and entered the room after permission. I found Kilamin and Artins Sensei seated in the office.

"Good afternoon! Artins Sensei," I offered my greetings.

"Good afternoon! Serene, come on have a seat. He pointed to the seat next to Kilamin. I stepped forward and sat down.

" So Kilamin filled me in with all the details and my guess was right that the range of the possession attacks will increase. Keeping that in mind we have formulated plans to keep someone with you, turn by turn so you won’t feel suffocated by the same person. I will inform your friends but I trust Arlo, Kilamin and Ayrden the most. So I would prefer one of them to stay by your side at all times.

Plus you will have one extra lesson with Kilamin, daily. I approve of his training methods so make the most of them." Artins Sensei provided me with all the details. Of course, Kilamin spoke to him. He knew I respected Artins Sensei most and will never say no to anything he says.

"Yes Sensei, I understand," I replied.

"Good, if you face any problem you know my door is always open." I nodded at his words.

Arlo and I soon left the office and he dropped me back at Dinning Hall where I joined our little gang.

"Was everything alright?" Zeph inquired as I slipped into the sit next to him. "Yes, Sensei just wanted to inform me of my training schedule and advised me on staying with someone at all times. Same old you know." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The rest of the day was spent gossiping and playing games. All of us turned in early as we had classes the next morning.

The classes commenced, as usual, the next morning. First, we had Shumal Sensei, where we discussed the historical significance of different realms and how they were shaped.

After that, we had Mariela Sensei who taught us to make a nerve-damaging potion called "Trisite" which attacked the nervous system and rendered the enemy in a painful stupor state for half an hour.

Most of us were able to nail the potion in the allotted time, those who couldn’t do it were asked to stay back and practice.

Ayrden and Zeph stayed with me at all times and Kilamin checked on me every half an hour. As we sat down for lunch I saw Kilamin sitting at the opposite table from us. Although Senseis had a separate dining room, he sat there for my sake.

Next, we had Combat Class with Sarim Sensei. As we gathered around and waited for instructions on what we would practice today Sarim Sensei had an announcement to make.

"As you all know we are starting the second phase of your first-year training. We will be inviting some renowned Institutes from all other Realms for different contests between Institutes. Novices from each species will be selected to take part in the contest. There will be different battles spaced out over two days. It will be a test of your mental and physical abilities. So prepare yourselves and start practising." There was murmuring and excitement between us.

"I wonder which institute will be invited from Folkshel Realm." Ralph thought out aloud.

"I think it will be "Wanison High" they are the only institute in Folkshel Realm which trains novices and they are pretty famous." Zeph gave his opinion.

"I wonder if ’Fairy Enchantment Institute’ will be invited as well since I am the only Fae here," I added.

"Hopefully, they will be. It would be exciting to meet more Fae." Ayrden replied enthusiastically.

"Yes, it will be very exciting to see and meet new faces from all other realms. I wonder what kind of new werewolves and vampires we will meet." I had a twinkle in my eyes.

Just then Kilamin arrived at our table and said: "Serene you will practice with me today for two hours. I have taken permission from Sarim. Come on."

"But I have a Combat Class with my friends." Sadness fell over me thinking I won’t be able to practice with Zeph. I was looking forward to showing him the new sword techniques I had picked from Kilamin.

"Next time, right now you are with me. Let’s go." His voice was firm now. I shot a sad look at Zeph who mimed the words ’at night’ at me and I smiled before leaving with Kilamin. He took me to the training ground at the back and started our practice.

He put me through a strenuous training session for two hours. Firstly we did some fencing then we moved on to aerial training. Zeph and Ayrden had gathered on the ground below after finishing their Combat Class and watched us.

Kilamin was attacking me mercilessly with his projectile arrows. I mostly had my shield up to avoid being hit by them but it had a limit and once my energy got depleted I could no longer bring my shield up and got hit by his arrows. Although he was shooting blunted ones they still hurt when made contact and made me grimace. I was unable to hit him today, his lightning-fast reflexes gave him an edge.

By the time two hours were up, I felt like fainting from exhaustion.

"Take a break, we will continue in the evening," Kilamin announced before landing on his feet, folding his,wings and walking away. I landed after him and Zeph ran to my side.

"You alright?" Concern dripped from his words.

"I am fine just exhausted," I spoke while his eyes travelled to the bruises on my arms and his expression darkened. His jaw was clenched and I could see his neck muscles becoming taut.

"Did he need to hurt you while training?" His eyes turned dark as he spoke.

"He wants to make me tough and he is ruthless when it comes to training," I explained.

"Serene, let me." Ayrden extended her hand towards me and I placed both my arms in hers. She healed my wounds and in no time pain and marks were gone.

"Thank you so much." I hugged her and she beamed at me. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Serene, get some rest. He is going to make you train again. So energize your body." Zeph instructed me.

"Yes, I am going to sit here on the grass for a bit. Nature always helps me replenish my energy faster." I sat down with my legs stretched. Zeph sat beside me.

"I have some homework to complete so I will meet you guys later," Ayrden said and waved at us before leaving. We waved back.

I placed my head on Zeph’s shoulder and closed my eyes. I felt an instant relief wash over me. He placed his hand on my face and let me relax. His touch never failed to amaze and relax me.

"You did great, your range has significantly increased and so has the time limit of your shield. I am proud of you, Serene." His words of encouragement were music to my ears.