Nightblade (Darkest night)-Chapter 221: Proposal

Talia stared at him for a few moments, her brows wrinkling in confusion.

Xander Gray wanted to talk to her. That alone was enough to pique her curiosity.

Knowing who the elusive youth was, she’d be a fool to refuse to listen to what he had to say.

"Of course, what would you like to talk about?"

Xander’s reputation certainly preceded Jim. Despite not hailing from any of the illustrious Great Houses, he’d become the student council president of one of the most prestigious assassin Academies in the world. And the Pyreptar academy no less.

That alone spoke volumes about his skill and Talent.

Very few other youths his age could boast of the same feats, even in the other Academies around the world.

As though that weren’t enough, he was also one of the youngest novices in history, at just sixteen years old.

The period of apprenticeship usually lasted several years, during which apprentices learned from their masters. Soon after, the apprentices returned from Tenebris.

Maestros would single out Talented aspirants that they considered worth their time and were bound to carry on their legacy from a batch of numerous returning aspirants. What followed was mind-wrecking, brutal training that pushed the apprentices past the limits of their bodies, forcing their bodies to adapt to the flow of umbralis within them. Reforging and reshaping them into literal weapons in human skin.

But despite the strenuous and hellish training, Xander Gray successfully managed to complete it in record time.

"While this may seem abrupt and most definitely out of the blue, I have a proposal for you."

Several of the youths in the courtyard were now focused on the two figures.

"The ice princess..."

" ...and the student council president..."

Despite the strict upbringing, the scions were the same as all other teenagers when it came to gossip.

"What do you think they’re talking about..."

"...do you think..."

Talia’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"What kind of proposal do you have?"

Xander leaned in slightly and whispered.

"I’m assembling a squad. I would like for you to be a part of my team for the upcoming academy Veilrend games."

"The Veilrend Games...what..."

The memory of that afternoon in the cafeteria quickly resurfaced in her mind. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"The games...While I wasn’t completely paying attention to what Emily said, I vaguely remember her mentioning them.

In the meantime, the whispers around them only grew louder.

"What is he doing?"

With his enhanced hearing, Xander could immediately hear what the whispers were about.

A slow, mischievous smirk spread across his face.

"Idiots..."

Tali, too, noticed the commotion but her poker face remained impeccably intact.

Choosing her words evenly, she spoke.

"I’m not so sure about these Veilrend games. Sure, I’ve heard of them, em but I think someone at your level would be better suited to deal with this kind of thing."

Xander’s smile only grew wider, his eyes gleaming with a mischievous light.

"No, I think you’re just perfect. In fact, I’ll personally prepare you for the games. What do you think?"

Talia stared at him for a few moments,nts then let out a sigh.

"Fine. I’ll—"

"Perfect!"

Xander beamed, his dark eyes sparkling with excitement.

Talia’s poker face almost cracked then.

"Is he supposed to be normal..."

The harsh intensity of the training often broke some of the apprentices, often fundamentally changing their minds and worldview.

So it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to think that the student council president was a little unhinged.

In fact, most assassins were a little mad. They were eerily adept at masking their insanity.

"I’ll take my leave then."

" Wait..."

There was a slight pause, Xander’s smile faltering briefly,efly then fading completely.

His expression became extremely serious.

"There’s one other person I’d like to persuade to join me. But I don’t think they’ll acquiesce to my request without your intervention."

Talia frowned in question.

" And who would that be?"

"Lucian Ash. The boy who was without you earlier."

Talia’s frown darkened.

" So he noticed Lucian..."

"And what makes you think he’ll listen to me?"

Xander frowned at her question.

" You’ve fought side by side before,efore yes? You, Lucian Ash, Morgan Thane, Cassius Wulfric, Emily Whizen, and Samantha Grenfell...there was one other...Amanda..."

Talia fought the urge to draw back.

"He’s remarkably well-informed,ormed," she thought, becoming even warmer of the now smiling youth.

Talia nodded, pursing her lips slightly.

" Then he’ll definitely agree to your request."

Talia’s eyes widened.

" What logic is that..."

Letting out a weary sigh, she nodded.

" Fine. I accept. I’ll try to convince him."

Xander offered her a slight bow.

"Thank you for your time, he said with a blinding smile.

Talia stared at him for a few moments, nodded, then promptly spun on her heel and strode off.

Several murmurs and gasps rippled through the students.

That’s the ice princess for you."

" Oh my God, what was that about..."

" Do you think..."

****

"No, I’m not interested.

The next day, when Talia approached Lucian with Xander’s proposal, he listened to her in silence for a few moments then rejected her outright.

"Predictable..."

But what was even more intriguing was how Xander had known that Lucjan would refuse.

Talia stared at the russet-eyed boy in front of her with an expression of utter exasperation.

" Please..."

"Nope."

Lucian lazily cupped his hands behind his head.

" I have nothing to gain from this, and that’s certainly suspicious. Why would he pick a bunch of second years? What are we even..."

Lucian was referring to the fact that the Survivors of the dark maestro incident were having special classes separately from the rest of the school, yet technically, they were second years.

He let out a sigh, shaking his head slightly.

"It’s too suspicious for me. He has several options; he’s better off picking those closer to becoming novices. Not to mention all the unwanted attention I would be getting."

"But—"

Lucian raised a hand.

"Listen, Talia, I’m not doing it and that’s that."

Talia let out an exasperated sigh,h leaning on the giant workbench.

" Won’t you at least consider it..."

" Shuuush.hh" Emily raised a hand to her lips. quietly gesturing towards Rundrik Ember’s muscular frame.

The professor was slowly approaching the table.

Rundrik’s eerie orange eyes focused on her completely, the air around him subtly humming with a faintly palpable heat.

"Miss Varas, is there anything you’d like to share with the rest of the class?"

Currently, their group was noticeably missing a member.

Rundrik was aware of the circumstances behind Morgan’s disappearance in Teneb,ris but he had not taken any action to replace Morgan and Amanda.

Fortunately, Talia had decided to study weaponsmithing, with rules being bent slightly because of the Dark Maestro incident allowing her to switch courses.