Chapter 259: Changing Weapons

Same time at the training grounds

It had been two days.

Two days since Sophia collapsed. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Two days since her fever turned vicious and unrelenting.

Two days since Orion had last heard her voice.

Two days since the scent of her skin had filled his mornings.

Two days since the training grounds had felt like anything other than a muted, hollow echo of themselves.

He knew why she hadn’t woken. Lysander had explained it with unsettling calm. Orion understood what Lysander had told him, but he just didn’t like it.

And even though he knew she was safe, knew she wasn’t dying, knew that her body was simply burning through a past she didn’t consent to remember, he still found himself inside her room more times than he was willing to admit.

Any free time he got, he spent it in her room. He would not be surprised at all if the pack members finally started taking note of how much he was paying attention to her and how he was always in her room.

Every day, she apologized. She apologized for being sick. She apologized for being under the rain. She apologized for everything, and Orion hated to see her this way.

Even Noctis was agitated, and the old wolf hardly got angry.

But even with everything going on and with how much he wanted to just spend all his time with Sophia, Orion still had things to do. Training continued.

He knew Sophia had trusted people with her. People who could watch over her. Lysander was also paying attention to her since he was in the medical facility. He and Marta had come up with various herbal mixtures to help bring the fever down, but that was even proving to be difficult too.

Orion could pretend that he was fine without her, but the truth was, he wasn’t. He missed her... a lot. He wanted to hear her voice and not the one apologizing—the one she used when she called him an ogre, the one she used when she laughed at him.

Orion shook his head, riding himself of the thoughts. He shouldn’t be behaving like this. He was sure that Sophia would come through. He hated how hurt she looked, but at least she was okay. She wasn’t dead. This would only go on for some time.

Orion did not feel like coming to the training grounds, but because he had made a promise, he came. And besides, Sophia would be annoyed with him if she found out that he skipped on training the others just because she was having a high fever.

Orion had to admit, though, the training grounds didn’t feel as alive as they did when she was around.

He didn’t waste time; training continued, and the trainees used real weapons this time. Micah was the first to notice that Sophia wasn’t with them.

"Do you have any idea where Sophia is?" he asked Cat.

Cat turned, taking in everyone present. Sophia was missing. "I’m not sure... she’s normally here by now."

"Didn’t you hear?" another trainee from their group asked them.

"Hear what?" Micah asked with a frown.

"She fell sick. I heard she ran under the storm to get to Brynhild, and that she is the reason that Brynhild and her baby are alive," the trainee told them.

"Oh!" Cat said with a nod. "I don’t know how I forgot; I heard my mother speaking about it."

Orion wasn’t even surprised that the rumor had already spread around. It seemed they were not dense when it came to stuff like that one.

"I heard she collapsed," another trainee spoke up.

Micah’s heart skipped a beat from the fear and tension gripping him. If she collapsed, then does that mean it’s serious?

"Is it that serious?" he asked.

"That’s what I heard. I haven’t seen her," the trainees told him.

The rumor spread around everywhere in the training grounds. There were various reactions: some calling Sophia a goddess for saving Brynhild and her baby, some wondering why she would risk herself to do something like that, and then there were those like her friends who were worried about her. The majority of the trainees shared the same opinion as Sophia’s friends. They were scared for her and wondered if she was okay.

Orion knew it was time to put a stop to the rumors so they could concentrate on what was happening right now. He clapped his hands once, and everyone turned to him at attention. Even Garron turned to him.

"I’m not surprised you all have heard the news about Sophia and that the majority of you are worried about her," Orion told them.

"Is it true, though? Did she really save Brynhild and her child?" a trainee asked him.

"Why don’t you ask Sophia herself when she wakes up? I’m not the one who did it," Orion told the trainee.

"Okay. But is that why she’s sick?" the trainees asked again.

"It’s a major factor, but that’s not the only reason. Training will continue even if Sophia isn’t here, and I know many of you see her as your savior, especially after the last test..."

Orion drew the words out as chuckles spread among the trainees.

"She’s a goddess!" one person spoke up.

"Let’s keep that to a minimum. I’m not sure where you got the idea that she’s a goddess, but we have work to do. You’ve not forgotten about the test at the end of the week, right? If you have the energy to talk about Sophia, who is better than the majority of you, then you’d also have the energy to train harder," Orion told them.

The trainees laughed at that.

"Let’s get down to business. Your mouths aren’t the only things you need to train after all," Orion told them.

Immediately after he said it, the trainees got into position. Training was a bit different now; he made them spar against each other because they were past training with dummies. At least he made those who had the capacity train with each other.