Serene’s POV

"You, alright? Did you get a scratch or wound?" Zeph asked me as I went and sat beside him on the ground. "No, he barely attacked me. He only defended himself but he had some negative vibes. I didn’t feel comfortable around him." I replied honestly. Ralph and Ayrden patted my back to let me know I did well.

"Serene, he was mocking and testing us to see how we do in different situations and against different opponents. In my case, he pushed all my buttons and was very physical and abusive to make me react and make a mistake. In your case, he acted a bit lewd to see how you will react and respond. I hated the way he looked at you but I think it was only to test you. He is an extremely shrewd man, no wonder he holds such an esteem position." Zeph explained trying to calm me down his face looking even more swollen now.

"Right, but I didn’t like this style of exam one bit." I retorted. "The purpose is to get us out of our comfort zones and he clearly did that." What Zeph was saying made sense. I can’t always be in my comfort zone when fighting an opponent, I would need to keep a calm and clear head during battles.

Sarim Sensei told us that the exam was over and we were free to go, the result will be announced after our last exam. We had two exams left now, "Distinctive Historical Eras" and "Enlightening the ways of Enchantment". Tomorrow we had the exam for the latter but Zeph and Ralph were free.

I wanted to take Zeph to the infirmary, others decided to go to the dining hall and wait for us and then we will hit the Enchantment Room for practice. Zeph had no plan of going to the infirmary as he insisted on being perfectly fine. I had to drag him there.

" Why are you in a solemn mood today?" I asked him as I made him sit on a bed in the infirmary and waited for the nurse to look at his wounds. "I am not," He wasn’t making eye contact with me today. "Did I do or say something wrong? If you won’t tell me I won’t know." I was insistent. "I am not sure, still trying to figure out the reason myself." He was back to brooding, I sighed and stepped closer to him taking his wounded face in my hands I tipped his head up a bit so he would look at me.

"You don’t have to act all tough all the time, you can relax around me, lift your stony facade and let me see your vulnerable side."

"Ahem..." we were interrupted by the nurse so I let go of his face and stepped back. "What happened?" She asked Zeph. "Combat exam," Zeph shrugged. She didn’t dwell much into details as she healed him because we were going through exams so instant healing it was.

After she was done, we thanked her and made our way to the dining hall. Zeph’s face was back to normal, there was not even a blemish. She was extremely proficient at her job. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Our usual table was brimming with energy, Zilver, Alvene and Ziva were there too. "Hey, everyone." I greeted as we got closer to the table. "Heya, heya" they cheered as both of us settled down.

"I heard Rizar gave you a hard time, Zeph." Zilver inquired. "Yeah, he looked hellbent on embarrassing me today. He beat me to a bloody pulp, and appears to be lightyears ahead of me when it comes to combat." Zeph seemed so disappointed as a forlorn expression swept over his face.

"Don’t be so hard on yourself, that man is a beast and probably the best combat fighter we have right now. He has been training before you were even born. From what I heard you lasted longer than anyone else. So, I think you did a decent job." Zilver’s optimism never seized to surprise me.

"I spoke to him too and he was impressed with you guys, he didn’t show you though because he was testing you all as he did with us last year. After I pass out in six months, he is going to take me under his command." Alvene pitched in. So, she had made up her mind that she was going to become a ’Slayer’ after her graduation. With the amount of talent she had, I was sure she will be one remarkable Slayer.

"Yes, that brings back memories. He was extremely impressed with Alvene last year." Zilver told us. "Of course, he was, who wouldn’t be impressed by my queen." Ralph wrapped his arm around her kissing her on the head making her blush. Ralph had no filters on his personality, he always said what he wanted and openly professed his feelings. Their personalities complimented each other and they looked happy together.

We chatted for a while as we ate and then Ayrden and I went to Enchantment Hall for a practice session. Ralph and Zeph were headed for the library to study for the last exam.

As we were about to turn around a corner in the last corridor to Enchantment Hall, we heard loud noises. Ayrden and I looked at each other and stopped in our tracks. It was Mikasim and Tanzil and they were arguing. "I can’t hang around with you 24/9, I have other matters to attend to as well." Mikasim’s voice seemed agitated.

"Huh, Other matters to attend to? What are you this institute’s head? You barely want to hang out with that vapid team of yours." Tanzil mocked him, although after her return from suspension she had never given us trouble. She still nagged Mikasim who was becoming wary of her day by day.

"What if I do? Let’s see you stop me. I am tired of your bickering and jealousy Tanzil. It’s time you grow up and yes I know your father holds a strong position, so don’t threaten me with that because his hold won’t work here as we all saw before." I had never seen this side of Mikasim, he had always been an easy carefree laughing type of a guy. I was happy to finally see him stand up for himself.

"I am not stopping you from hanging out with them just that not all the time. I should be your priority as I am your mate." She took a complete turn on realizing she was losing her grip on him.

"You are, and if you don’t realize that there is not much I can do about it. Now let me go." And we heard his footsteps fading away in the opposite direction.

Ayrden and I looked at each other unsure of what to do. We waited for a minute before coming into view. She was leaning against the wall, sobbing. As we drew closer, she shot us an angry look, which was more sad than angry, in my opinion. Then she bowed her head and walked away in the other direction.

I felt sad for her, she was abandoned by everyone after she came back from suspension. No one wanted to be associated with her and avoided her like the plague. All she had was Mikasim and from the looks of it, they seemed to be growing apart as well. I needed to do something, she was our fellow novice. We shouldn’t abandon her like that, it could easily have been me in her place. I made up my mind to bring her into our circle of friends.