Chapter 23: We Only Have One Life

Blanche had eventually taken refuge in Eva’s room to put on a swimsuit.

Usually, she would have opted without hesitation for her classic black one-piece, simple and practical.

But this time, while Kiyan was accompanying his daughter to the pool—pretending he didn’t want to leave her alone with her boyfriend—Blanche felt like trying something different.

She tried to convince herself it wasn’t because of Fenrir and his words endlessly looping in her mind. But she was lying to herself, and she knew it.

For once, she wanted to feel beautiful.

Truly beautiful.

She chose a minimalistic cream bikini, so close to her skin that she felt almost naked. Over it, a lightweight, transparent sand-colored pareo. And to complete the look, she let her long hair flow freely—a rare thing for her.

Her reflection in the mirror struck her.

Gorgeous.

Damn right, she was.

She was no longer a kid, and she wanted that to be obvious.

Especially in front of him.

She was dead, resurrected, and determined to enjoy this second chance before it slipped away—before sleep could kill her again.

When she joined the pool, three pairs of eyes immediately locked onto her. Red-faced with embarrassment, Blanche quickly plunged into the warm water, seeking refuge in the heat.

A sigh of relief escaped her. How long had it been since she’d felt this warmth, after days shivering in the forest?

"Wow, Blanche! You look amazing!" exclaimed Eva as she joined her, abandoning her boyfriend without remorse.

Blanche gave a small smile. It was Eva’s way of reminding her that she always came first. Even before Sean.

It touched her. Until she thought of her mother—alone in the world, sure, but with a steady lover for fifteen years. She hurried to tell her best friend, laughing.

"Shows you anything’s possible, " she concluded, as Sean finally decided to join them, apparently tired of his solitude.

On his deck chair, Kiyan didn’t move, pretending to grade papers with a focused air while keeping one eye on the group.

Blanche finally approached the edge, water cascading down her shoulders.

"So, Professor, who’s the best? "she asked mischievously.

But he blatantly ignored her. Without a word, he grabbed his phone and left the room, already on a call before he even closed the door.

Stunned, she froze.

"Am I dreaming, or did he just give you the cold shoulder? "teased Sean.

Not wanting to discuss it, embarrassed to the core, she switched to another topic.

"Who’s Will?"

"My twin brother."

She tilted her head, intrigued.

"Seriously? There’s another one like you?"

Sean burst out laughing.

"Worse. He often dresses as a girl, loves cute things, and yet, he’s straight. A clingy guy, always wanting hugs. A daily nightmare. Want me to introduce you?"

Blanche laughed too.

" Why not? He seems nicer than you anyway."

He stared at her, bewildered, then smiled.

"Usually, people beg me never to introduce him. And you say yes… No wonder Eva adores you. She talks about you so much, you’d think you’re a living legend."

Eva, just then, got out of the pool and grabbed her father’s papers.

"Huh, that’s weird," she commented.

" What? " asked Blanche.

"He hasn’t graded your essay yet. He usually starts with yours."

" To get in a good mood, yeah, I know, "Blanche shrugged.

"I must be throwing him off," Sean guessed, falsely modest.

"Probably, "she replied with a polite smile, not really believing it.

Eva’s gaze confirmed her suspicion: her father had nothing against Sean. It was something else. But she didn’t press.

The morning passed peacefully. Blanche revised her judgment of Sean: he was less arrogant than he appeared, and above all, a real well of information. Eva and he revealed the secrets of Epsilon, magical world gossip, alliances, and rivalries between species.

The pizzas arrived in the middle of a heated discussion about the Ancient Gods. Still wet, they settled on the deck chairs to eat. When Eva went to fetch her father, Sean took the opportunity to tackle the thorny topic.

"Your priority is finding a Drakion."

"I know, my mother told me," Blanche cut in.

"No, you don’t understand. If you’re still… well, “innocent,”" he said, miming quotation marks, "your grandfather will face pressure from the noble families to marry you to one of their heirs. Whether you like it or not."

"By Babylon! "she exclaimed. "Luckily, I couldn’t care less about the Drakonic world."

Sean sighed.

"You’ll change your mind when they put a ring on your finger without asking."

Blanche sat up, a spark of defiance in her eyes.

"Let them try. They couldn’t break my mother, and I’m cut from the same cloth. The first person who tries to force me to do anything hasn’t been born yet."

A sly smile curved the young man’s lips.

"In our world, we say “by Sapphire,” in honor of the first Drakion. And by Sapphire, you’d make a formidable queen."

She nodded, amused by the compliment, when Eva returned, looking annoyed.

"He said to start without him," she muttered. "He’ll join us later."

But he never came back.

The afternoon stretched in a languid calm. Eva and Sean disappeared upstairs, enjoying the patriarch’s absence, while Blanche, true to her promise, decided to wait for Kiyan.

Lying on the deck chair, she immersed herself in her readings: survival in hostile environments, Norse myths, access to the Otherworld DarkWeb—graciously provided by Sean, with login credentials included.

She devoured everything.

The more she read, the more she realized she had only scratched the surface of a world far larger than she had imagined.

Exhausted, she eventually dozed off, lightly dressed, lulled by the gentle splash of water and the warm afternoon breeze.