Close Enough

"Anyway, you're coming with me," Serah said, and a gleam appeared in Noel's eyes at her abrupt shift in tone.

He watched as she turned to the other woman with her — the one whose expression had already twisted into something unnatural at what she had just witnessed.

"Elysia, come here and heal him."

Elysia, a mature woman on the shorter side, lacked the distinctive presence Serah carried — but had her own quiet charm.

At Serah's command, she gave a small nod and, with her elegant robe, obediently stepped forward to their side.

She extended her hand toward Noel, and as one of the rings on her fingers began to glow, he could feel his injuries begin to heal — far too quickly.

They itched as they closed, giving him a strange, uncomfortable sensation, but his expression didn't change, even as he silently sized up the woman before him.