Chapter 126: She is alive

Chapter 126: Chapter 126: She is alive

The other recruits stared at Amy as if they had just watched something impossible happen.

A wave of murmurs swept through the combat area.

"She actually beat Amy?"

"That can’t be right."

"How did she even do that?"

"She was blindfolded!"

Caleb stood with his face carefully composed. Only the brief widening of his eyes betrayed his surprise before his expression settled again.

"The winner is Amelia," he announced. "That will be all for today."

The recruits slowly began to disperse, though most of them kept looking back at Amelia as if expecting her to reveal some trick they had missed.

Amelia walked over to Amy and held out her hand.

"Here."

Amy stared at the offered hand for a moment before turning her face away.

"I can get up myself."

She planted both palms against the ground and pushed herself upright, breathing heavily.

Several recruits immediately hurried over to her.

"Amy, are you okay?"

"Did she cheat somehow?"

"Tell us what happened. We’ll defend you if she did."

Amy rubbed her arm and frowned. "I lost. Just leave it."

The others fell silent, clearly surprised by her admission.

Amelia didn’t take offense to their suspicion. She had expected them to be protective of one of their own.

Her attention had already shifted elsewhere.

Swifty.

Amelia’s expression softened immediately.

She walked over and carefully gathered him into her arms, pressing him gently against her chest.

"I’ve gotten my memories back," she murmured, stroking the feathers along his head. "All of them."

Swifty gave a quiet chirp.

Amelia smiled faintly. "I know. I missed you too."

Then her knees suddenly weakened.

Her vision blurred.

"Amelia!"

Before she could fall, strong arms caught her. Enzo lifted her effortlessly, one arm beneath her knees and the other supporting her back.

She barely had enough strength to protest.

"I’m fine..."

"No, you’re not," Enzo said calmly.

Amelia sighed and let her head rest against his chest.

Reid, meanwhile, was staring at the silver bird still nestled in her arms.

His eyebrows lifted. "Wait. How did you end up with a divine beast?"

Amelia glanced at him. "Swifty found me. He’s been my companion across every past life."

Reid’s expression changed.

"Every past life?"

"Yes."

"And you never thought that was worth mentioning?"

Amelia gave him a tired look. Dean stepped closer, and Swifty suddenly hopped from Amelia’s arms onto his shoulder.

The bird settled comfortably against Dean’s neck before rubbing his head against the soft strands of Dean’s hair.

Dean went still. Then the corner of his mouth lifted. "He likes my hair."

Reid immediately reached toward Swifty.

"Let me hold him."

Swifty shifted closer to Dean.

Dean calmly moved his shoulder away from Reid’s hand.

"No."

Reid stared at him.

"Why not?"

"He prefers me."

"You’ve had him for five seconds."

"Apparently, that’s enough."

Enzo sighed. "We’re leaving. Amelia needs to recover her strength."

He started walking with Amelia still in his arms.

Dean followed with Swifty perched comfortably on his shoulder.

Reid trailed behind them, still trying to negotiate with the bird. "Come on, little guy. I’ll get you all the treats you want if you just let me pet you once."

Swifty turned his head away.

Reid looked offended. "You’re really going to reject me like that?"

Dean glanced back. "He has good judgment."

"Don’t encourage him."

Amelia closed her eyes, listening to them argue behind her.

**

Later that afternoon, Amelia sat quietly in Enzo’s room.

The brothers had left some time ago after making sure she was settled. She knew they were probably dealing with the fallout from everything that had happened on the training field.

She leaned back against the headboard and stared at the ceiling.

Won’t that just earn them more punishment?

A faint crease formed between her brows. They were already risking trouble for her, even though they hadn’t even fallen deeply in love with her yet.

They’re already acting like this...

Her gaze shifted toward Swifty.

The silver bird sat nearby, calmly eating to its fill. Amelia watched him for a moment before speaking.

"I need to find that woman."

Swifty paused.

"Zelda."

Her expression hardened. The brothers had told her what happened while she had been unconscious during the incident.

Zelda was one of the most powerful leaders controlling the Underworld Territory.

The land Amelia had once created in the hope of building a peaceful place had been turned into something completely different.

Endless war.

Suffering.

Bloodshed.

Her fingers slowly curled into the blanket.

As long as Zelda doesn’t know that my memories have returned, I still have an advantage.

If they met again, Amelia believed she could defeat her.

But there was one problem.

Her body. Her memories and experience had returned, but her current body still wasn’t strong enough to match what she remembered being capable of.

I need to get stronger before I face her.

A knock sounded at the door.

Amelia straightened.

"Come in."

The door opened.

Caleb stood outside, his expression as unreadable as ever. "Some people came to see you."

Amelia blinked.

"People?"

"They’re waiting in the lobby."

She wondered who they could be. Amelia followed him into the hallway and stepped into the elevator.

As the doors closed, Caleb remained beside her, his hands behind his back.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then Caleb broke the silence. "How did you come to know the Ellington brothers?"

Amelia glanced at him. "It wasn’t intentional."

Caleb turned his head slightly.

"I was a spy. They caught me."

"And they let you live?"

"Yep."

Caleb’s eyebrows moved slightly.

That answer seemed to confirm something he had already suspected. The Ellington brothers weren’t known for sparing people without a reason.

He looked forward again.

"Even though you fought the way you did today, your body still moved like an amateur’s."

Amelia frowned.

"Your technique, however, looked like the result of years of experience. The way you moved, the way you anticipated attacks..."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "That wasn’t something you learned recently."

Amelia remained quiet.

"From what I know," he continued, "you were wolfless and powerless before you met the Ellington brothers."

"I reawakened. That isn’t rare."

"I know. But people who reawaken don’t suddenly gain years of fighting experience."

The elevator doors opened.

Caleb stepped out and she followed. When they got to the lobby, she stopped o her tracks.

It was the abnormal crew.

And kate...was alive.

"Kate..."

Before Amelia could process what she was seeing, the twins spotted her. "Amelia!"

They rushed toward her.

Both threw their arms around her at the same time, nearly knocking the breath from her lungs.

Amelia stumbled back with a startled laugh. "Wait—what are you all doing here?"