Lia copied him and leaned back on the tree as she told him her daily experience. She was in the middle of narrating her encounter with the neighboring kids when she noticed that Eldric had his eyes closed, but he still nodded his head and listened.

“You seem tired,” she noted.

His eyes flew open. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just… your voice relaxes me.”

“You mean, it makes you sleep?”

Eldric chuckled. “No, it makes me–how should I put this, it soothes me. It makes me feel at ease.” Lia waited, and after a while, he added, “I’m sorry I’m not good with words.”

“Is that how you seduce your women?”

“Are you being seduced?” Eldric smirked.

They both snorted at his failed pick-up line. The two of them stared at the night sky and settled in comfortable silence. After a while, she heard him took a deep breath.

“Something troubles you.”

“Yes and no. Yes because there’s still Unseen out there being, well, unseen and not much is still known. No, because this stillness is nice. If it can continue for a long time.”

Lia took it as the peace that they currently have. A sweet interlude before a big war against a powerful opponent.

“Why are you working so hard to catch the Unseen? Do you– do you want revenge?”

Eldric shook his head. “I just want them to stop. I don’t want more children to experience what I experienced. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. They are far more capable to do things that would put this country into peril. I need to do more. Work more.”

Lia almost reached out and took his hand. He looked so pained and weary, but there was also an inextinguishable fire in his eyes. Something in him makes her want to support him. In her own way, she wanted to help and ease his burden. She could only hope that a lot more people would do that and fight the Unseen.

“You’ve been working so hard. You’re doing enough. You don’t have to shoulder everything.” She did not know if her words would be of any help, though, she hoped it would be.

“Thank you.” He held her gaze to which she answered with a small smile.

***

A month of uneventful days passed, and it was almost time for the exam. Throughout this month, she extended her study hours, sacrificing sleep. She did not know if a month of preparation was enough when the other examinees spent more months, perhaps even years, studying.

Sometimes, Jeremiah would drop by and personally oversee her studies. He did not stay long for fear of bias. Lia understood that. To her surprise, though, Tim also dropped by and visited her. He gave her pointers that were extremely helpful for her studies.

Despite all the help that she had, her results still relied on her ability. Lia could not be more nervous about her exam. Nothing seemed to keep her at ease, not with all her tutors and all that studying she did.