Chapter 571: Happy Thoughts

Sophia looked at them for a long moment after she spoke.

No one said anything, and she exhaled slowly.

"I hate this," she said.

Every eye in the room turned to her immediately.

"I actually hate this," she repeated, her voice steady but firm. "I hate seeing all of you look like this. Like you’ve already lost something."

"Things happened during the test," she continued. "Things none of us planned for. Things none of us could control. And somehow you’re all sitting here acting like that erases everything you did."

Her gaze moved across each of them.

"You still put in effort. You still fought. You still tried. And that counts for something."

"And more importantly," Sophia added, leaning forward just a little, "we made a promise before the test."

"No one is giving up," she said. "Not one of us."

Sophia straightened slightly.

"And unlike all of you," she went on, "I actually believe we’re all—all of you—are going to pass. And that’s not because I’m trying to make you feel better, but because I mean it."

"And goddess knows, if the results come out and it turns out the judgment was unfair—that what happened during the test was held against you guys when it shouldn’t have been—then I’ll make sure Orion doesn’t rest until he corrects it. I may even take over, who knows."

There were small chuckles around the room.

"But I don’t think it’ll come to that," she added. "I don’t."

Then she turned to Dren directly.

"Pick up that chicken," she said.

Dren blinked.

"Pick it up," she repeated. "And finish it."

The corner of his mouth twitched. He reached down and picked up the chicken.

Sophia looked around the room.

"All of you," she said. "Turn those expressions around right now. Because if I see that look on any of your faces again, I’m going to hit you. And since I’ve just been told I’m badass, I’m not going to have pity on you when I hit you."

The tension cracked after that.

Laia pressed her lips together, shoulders shaking. Nia dropped her face into her hand. Cat made a sound that was clearly a suppressed laugh.

Micah shook his head slowly, but he was already smiling.

"That was a violent speech," he said.

"It was," Sophia agreed.

"Very violent," he said. "Threatening to hit us." He raised both hands. "But I’ll do what you asked. No point in sitting here frowning about something I can’t change right now." He lowered his hands and looked at her properly. "Whatever happens, happens. And I trust the examiners."

Sophia gave him a look.

He raised his hands again immediately. "I’m not frowning," he said. "See?" He told her, gesturing at his face. "There’s no frown. My face is completely neutral."

"Better," she said.

Nia sighed, long and dramatic, leaning back in her chair. "Happy thoughts," she announced. "That’s what we need. Happy thoughts." She looked around the room. "Like Cat turning gay for Sophia and Brynhild."

Cat pointed at her. "I said what I said."

"It’s a very specific kind of happy thought," Dren said, now eating his chicken again.

"It works, though," Nia said simply.

Joren, who had been quietly picking at his flatbread, looked up.

"Cat’s not the only one who’s thinking of turning gay for Sophia and Brynhild," he said. "I may just turn ga—"

He stopped when he realized what he was about to say, the realization arriving half a second too late.

"That would just make me straight, wouldn’t it?" he asked them.

They all stared at him for a while and then broke off, laughing hysterically.

Joren looked at the ceiling. Then he reached forward, picked up a slice of honey cake with quiet dignity, and took a large bite. He did not make eye contact with anyone.

The laughter continued.

He chewed and stared at the wall, choosing not to say anything.

Which only made it worse.

Sophia laughed until her side ached, one hand pressed against the bed for balance. Dren had tears at the corners of his eyes. Even Micah had abandoned his neutral expression entirely, shoulders shaking.

Joren took another bite of cake.

"I wish I could hate all of you," he said with a pout. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Not happening," they said, laughing.

---

They all stayed for a while after that, joking and eating until there was absolutely nothing left. A healer had come in to check on Joren while they were there and informed him he could leave.

Joren and the others left after that, but Sophia went to ask what room Tarin had been in. She had not seen him since the time they had been in the cave together, after all. But then she was informed he had been discharged and that he would likely be with Jarek now.

She was happy he had been discharged. She would visit him later.

---

The cold hit her face when she stepped outside, sharp and clean. She pulled her cloak tighter and started toward the office.

Orion had said he was going to look into the mark. She wanted to know if he had found anything. And beyond that, she just wanted to see him. There was no reason more complicated than that.

She was halfway there when she stopped.

Three figures stood together near the path ahead.

Ronan she recognized immediately—the easy stance, the blonde hair. Orion stood beside him, broad and still.

And the third was a woman.

Sophia’s gaze moved over her without meaning to. She was blonde, her hair catching the pale light. She was also taller than Sophia, which was almost always the case, given how short she was.

But what struck her was how full the woman was. She was wider at the hips, fuller at the back. She was beautiful—the sort of beauty that arrived without effort, the kind that just existed on a person’s face without asking for anything in return.

Sophia watched the woman with a frown as she approached Orion.

Orion didn’t turn as she approached. But his hands came out, and he drew her in, one arm pulling her into his side, pressing a kiss to the top of her hair.

She let herself settle against him for a moment.

The woman watched quietly.

Sophia straightened after a moment and turned to look at her properly.

She tilted her head slightly.

A small frown settled on her face.

"I don’t think we’ve met," she said.