Reborn as a Succubus: Time To Live My Best Life!

Chapter 417: Passing Grade

The days after the fight blurred together.Melisa gave her statement to the village guards. Then to the council. Then to Elder Yuna personally, who listened with a grave expression and thanked her for her service to Foxhollow. The words felt hollow.

The sick kitsune started recovering almost immediately once the draining stopped. Color returned to their cheeks. Their essences slowly refilled, like cups being topped off drop by drop. The healers were cautiously optimistic. No permanent damage, they said. Everyone would make a full recovery.

Good news. Melisa should have felt good about it.

She didn’t.

On the morning they were scheduled to leave, she found herself at the hot spring on the village outskirts. The same one where she and Zephyra had... well.

The water was warm. Steam rose around her. She sat on the edge with her feet in the pool, staring at nothing.

Footsteps behind her.

"I thought I’d find you here."

Zephyra settled beside her, lowering herself onto the stone with a sigh. She didn’t get in the water. Just sat there, close enough that their shoulders almost touched.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

"You knew," Melisa said finally.

It wasn’t a question.

"Yes."

"How long?"

Zephyra considered the question.

"I’d heard rumors about Foxhollow for months. Kitsune falling ill with no apparent cause. Essence depletion without any curse or disease to explain it. It didn’t take much digging to narrow down the source." She paused. "I confirmed it was Sylra about a week before we arrived."

A week before.

Which meant Zephyra had known the whole time. Every training session, every conversation about the sick kitsune, every time she’d brushed off Melisa’s concerns with vague non-answers. She’d known.

"You brought me here on purpose."

"Yes."

"As a test."

"Yes."

Melisa’s hands clenched on the stone.

"I slept with her, Zephyra. I told her things I don’t tell anyone. I trusted her."

"I know."

"And you just let that happen? You watched me fall for her bullshit and you didn’t say anything?"

Zephyra turned to look at her. Her grey eyes were calm, unreadable.

"I needed to know what kind of person you are."

"What?"

"If I’d told you about Sylra from the start, you would have confronted her immediately. Justice served, case closed, and I’d have learned nothing." Zephyra’s voice was measured, like she was explaining a simple concept to a slow student. "I needed to see what you’d do when you discovered the truth on your own. When you had to choose between justice and loyalty to your own race. When stopping her meant betraying someone who understood you."

The anger in Melisa’s chest burned hotter.

"You used me."

"I gave you a choice. You made it."

"That’s not—" Melisa stood up, water dripping from her feet. "You manipulated me. You let me walk into that situation blind because you wanted to see how I’d react. Like I was some kind of experiment."

Zephyra didn’t flinch.

"If you’d been willing to overlook what Sylra was doing because she was nim, I couldn’t recommend you for what comes next."

The words hit Melisa like a splash of cold water.

"What are you talking about?"

Zephyra stood as well, brushing off her robe.

"I’m retiring."

"You’re... what?"

"Retiring. Stepping down. Leaving my position as Court Sorceress of Syux." She said it casually, like she was discussing dinner plans. "I’d been thinking about it and I’ve decided. It’s time."

Melisa stared at her.

"But you’re... you’re the Court Sorceress. You’ve been the Court Sorceress for—"

"Not terribly long, but long enough for me." Zephyra smiled, but there was weariness behind it. "I became a mage because I loved magic. The discovery, the experimentation, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Somewhere along the way, I got trapped in a position that’s ninety percent politics and ten percent actual magical work. Council meetings. Guard rotations. Noble squabbles." She shook her head. "I’m bored, Melisa. It’s time to move on."

"Move on to what?"

"Travel. Research. Finding old magic in forgotten places." For a moment, Zephyra’s eyes lit up with genuine excitement. "There’s a whole world out there full of secrets I haven’t uncovered. I want to spend whatever years I have left actually discovering things, not babysitting aristocrats."

Melisa’s head was spinning.

"Okay, but what does that have to do with testing me? What comes next?"

Zephyra met her eyes.

"I’m recommending you as my replacement."

The words didn’t make sense at first. Melisa heard them, but her brain refused to process them.

"You’re... what?"

"Court Sorceress. Or Court Mage, whatever title Aria prefers. The position will need to be filled when I leave, and I’m recommending you."

"I’m twenty-one."

"And already more accomplished than most mages twice your age."

"I’m a nim."

"Which will make the appointment historic and send a powerful message about Aria’s commitment to reform."

"I—" Melisa’s mouth opened and closed. "Zephyra, I can’t—"

"You can." Zephyra stepped closer, her voice softening. "Queen Aria will need someone she trusts. Someone powerful enough to protect her and the kingdom. Someone principled enough to do the right thing even when it’s hard, even when it means standing against their own people." She gestured vaguely in the direction of the village. "You just proved you’re that person."

"By beating up a woman I was sleeping with?"

"By choosing justice over tribalism. By refusing power that would have come at others’ expense. By being exactly the kind of person Syux needs in that position."

Melisa sat back down on the stone, suddenly exhausted.

"I don’t know if I want it."

"That’s precisely why you should have it." Zephyra sat beside her again. "The people who desperately want power are usually the worst ones to wield it. You’ve never sought authority for its own sake. You just keep stumbling into positions of influence because you can’t stop yourself from doing the right thing."

Melisa laughed weakly.

"That’s not a qualification."

"It’s the most important qualification." Zephyra put a hand on her shoulder. "Think about it. Talk to Aria when we get back. But know that you have my recommendation, for whatever that’s worth."

They sat in silence for a while, the steam rising around them.

"I’m still angry at you," Melisa said eventually.

"I know."

"You should have told me about Sylra."

"Perhaps." Zephyra inclined her head, a small concession. "I made a judgment call. You can decide for yourself whether it was the right one." She stood, offering Melisa a hand. "Come on. The carriage is waiting. It’s time to go home."

Home.

Syux.

Melisa took Zephyra’s hand and let herself be pulled to her feet.

She still didn’t know how to feel about any of this. The test, the recommendation, the idea of becoming Court Mage. It was too much to process.

But Zephyra was right about one thing.

It was time to go home.