novelraw Chapter 77 : Waking Breath
Chapter 77 : Waking Breath
Rooga’s POV
My eyelids felt like stone. My chest burned. But then—warmth.
“Rooga!”
The first thing I saw when I finally forced my eyes open was Maori’s tear-streaked face. She threw herself onto me, arms wrapping tight as if I might vanish. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I pushed you too hard! I told you to spoil me more, but you—” Her voice broke into hiccups.
I blinked slowly. “Maori… don’t cry…” My voice was raspy, but she only cried harder.
Then Mama’s arms encircled me, stronger, trembling. She pulled me into her chest, her breath ragged against my hair. “Don’t you ever do something that foolish again! Don’t push yourself like that, Rooga! I don’t care how strong you think you are, you’re still a child!”
I squeezed my eyes shut, guilt heavy in my stomach. “Mama… it wasn’t just the bloom…”
Both of them froze.
I swallowed. “I wasn’t drained from feeding the tree. I… I was attacked while casting it.”
Selene stiffened, pulling me back just enough to look into my face. Her eyes sharpened, the warm embrace instantly shifting into steel. “Attacked?”
I nodded weakly. “A sharp… wind. Like knives. It cut through the bloom. I had to shield myself. Again and again… until everything went dark.”
Her grip tightened, and for a second, I thought I saw fear flash across her eyes. Then she masked it with that calm expression she always wore.
“Don’t speak of this to anyone else,” she said firmly. “Not your father, not Elara. Not yet.”
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I nodded. “…Okay, Mama.”
Maori sniffled, wiping her cheeks, but her voice was small. “I should’ve noticed. I should’ve stopped it. I’m supposed to be your goddess, your protector…”
I reached out, patting her head with what little strength I had. “You’re family. That’s enough.”
Her lips quivered, but she nodded, hugging me again.
I let my eyes close, safe in their arms. But deep inside, one thought wouldn’t leave me:
If something could slip past Mama’s senses, hiding in the corrupted land… then I wasn’t safe. None of us were.
Selene’s POV
The night was silent. Too silent.
I moved alone beyond the tree’s glow, past the wards Darius and I had placed when we first arrived. My steps were soft, my mana cloaked tight around me — the same techniques I’d used countless times in war.
But this wasn’t war.
This was for my son.
Rooga’s words still echoed in my ears. “I was attacked.”
A blade of wind sharp enough to cut through his bloom, sharp enough to force him into shield after shield until he collapsed. And I had felt nothing.
That truth gnawed at me more than anything. I was supposed to be the empire’s strongest magician. If something slipped past my senses, then it wasn’t just Rooga in danger — it was all of us.
The corrupted land stretched before me, its air heavy and sour. My mana spread in careful waves, searching. Once, twice, three times. Nothing. Only the whispers of beasts too weak to approach the border.
Still, the hairs on the back of my neck prickled.
“Selene.”
I froze, hand instinctively flaring with flame.
The voice came low, steady — from behind.
Darius stepped out of the shadows, sword at his side. He looked thinner than before, the curse still gnawing at his strength, but his eyes were sharp.
“You’re hunting alone again.” His words weren’t a question.
I turned away, hiding my expression. “Go back. This isn’t your fight.”
He snorted softly. “My son is my fight.”
For a heartbeat, silence stretched between us. The only sound was the wind hissing through the broken trees.
I wanted to argue, to send him back, but the weight in his gaze made the words die in my throat. He knew. He always knew.
“…Something’s here,” I admitted finally. “Something cunning enough to slip past me. That’s what attacked Rooga.”
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t flinch. Instead, he stepped up beside me, resting a hand on his sword.
“Then we find it. Together.”