Forbidden Love

Busted

My eyes stung, and my pillow felt weirdly damp against my face. Then I remembered - I'd cried myself to sleep last night. Pretty embarrassing for someone who's supposed to be an adventurer.

The evidence was all over my bed - wet pillow, damp sheets, everything gross and cold from my tears. Great. Just great.

"Some adventurer you are," I muttered to myself, my voice scratchy from all the crying. My throat hurt, and my chest felt heavy, like after running too many laps in gym class. The bruises from yesterday's fight with the Minotaur had turned purple overnight, spreading across my shoulder like spilled ink. But honestly? The bruises hurt way less than remembering what happened at the restaurant.

"The one who ran away like a scared rabbit!"

I pressed my hands against my eyes, trying not to start crying again.

I groaned and rolled over, my guilt about the restaurant hitting me like a punch to the gut. Those poor waitresses - I'd ordered food and just... left. Without paying. What kind of person does that? First a coward, now a thief. I was really racking up the failures.

My self-pity party got interrupted by another knock at the door. Maybe if I stayed quiet again...

"Bell Cranel, we know you're in there." Lira's voice, but this time with an edge of urgency. "Open up."

Something in her tone made me get up, despite every part of me wanting to stay buried in my shame-nest of tear-soaked blankets. I cracked open the door to find not just Lira, but Jax too. Both of them looked tense.

"Get ready," Jax said quietly. "Quickly. Lady Freya has summoned us."

My stomach dropped through the floor. "Lady... Lady Freya? But-"

"Yes, to her room here in Folkvangr," Lira cut me off. "Now isn't the time for questions."

"Wait, her room? Here?" I blinked in confusion. "I thought she stayed in-"

"The Tower of Babel, yes," Lira nodded, already pushing me toward the bathroom. "She has a room here too, though she rarely uses it. Usually stays in the tower. Now go - shower, change, and for heaven's sake try to look somewhat presentable."

My mind raced as I stumbled through the fastest shower of my life. Why would Freya want to see me? Did she know about the Minotaur? About the restaurant? About my pathetic display of cowardice? Of course she did - she was a goddess. She probably knew everything.

I threw on the most decent clothes I could find - a clean shirt and pants that didn't look too wrinkled. My hands shook as I tried to smooth down my still-damp hair. This was bad. This was really bad.

The walk to her room felt like marching to my execution. Lira and Jax flanked me like guards, their faces unreadable. When we reached the door, my knuckles barely made a sound against the wood, I knocked so softly.

"Enter."

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry as dust. This was it. I was about to face a goddess while looking like I'd been through an emotional warzone, which... well, I had.

My hand trembled as I reached for the doorknob. Whatever was waiting for me on the other side, I probably deserved it. But knowing that didn't make it any easier to turn that handle.

As the door creaked open, I was struck by the room's opulence—velvet drapes and intricately carved furniture. Yet, my gaze was drawn to Freya, a goddess among mortals, radiating beauty and danger from her plush chair. Beside her loomed Ottarl, a formidable figure who seemed to embody death itself.

My heart nearly stopped. Everyone knew about Ottarl, the King among adventurers. Level 7. Freya Familia's captain. The strongest adventurer in Orario. And right now, his expressionless face was turned toward my trainers.