WHITE

I've been sitting blankly for the last hour in V's empty room, not being able to concentrate at all. After I'd possibly made the worst mistake of my life, he'd wordlessly pointed at the ground and had briskly walked out of the room.

The look on his face is still clear in my mind.

Sighing heavily, I fall back to the ground and close my eyes.

Why couldn't you just have controlled your damn temper? And he's always done that kind of stuff to you.

Disappointment clouds through my mind when I realize that he's probably never going to speak another word to me anymore. Why would he try to help me survive when I'd done that?

And my Test Trial—

I freeze.

Immediately jumping up from the ground, I rush out his room and practically sprint towards the window overlooking the Main Courtyard, where the Trials were always held.

What if there were Marks?

If he was going to take his Test Trial today, that meant he was going to have to fight. And that also meant the Marks I'd probably made— just not seen earlier— was going to give him pain.

What if the Marks were invisible?

My face pressed against the glass, I watch with my head clouded with worry as I see him already in battle. It looks like it had started just seconds earlier, with the both of them just standing and sizing each other up.

His green eyes are visible from all the way here, ringed with kohl. A white bandana is wrapped around his forehead, Winter's insignia marked in the center.

I squeeze the windowsill with my hands, afraid that he was going to break into painful spasms any moment.

But when the other Blessed— some man with pale blonde hair and wearing a weird insignia of flames— lunges at him, he doesn't show any signs of weakness.

It looks like he's almost gotten faster.

Fire.

That's what it was. Thanking Siren's lessons to get me to learn all the Houses and their Blessings, I recall House Hearth, and their ability with fire.

One touch, and you'll die burned to ashes.

And then I see V do the same thing he'd done to me. Scarlet flickers into white fire, surrounding the outline of his body with fierce flames.

Then the blonde Blessed screams.

The sound travels all the way to here, resounding through the glass and chilling my skin. I watch in horror as he crumples to the ground, body wracking with agonized screams and spasms.

I wince.

I knew exactly how that felt like.

But different from me, he keeps his eyes on the Blessed like he wasn't going to stop his mental torture anytime soon. Then I get a clear glance at the look he has in his dull green eyes, and run towards the Main Courtyard.

He's not focused.

_________________________

Thankfully it's just a flight of stairs down from Winter Wing to the Courtyard, so I don't have to end up running a mile and nearly blowing my lungs to ash.

There are the Blessed, crowded around and all sparkling with their jewels and stones. And in the middle of all that, I see flickers of V.

Without hesitating another moment, I rush between the people and push my way until I reach the railing that separates him and me.

He still has that look, his opponent pleading on the floor.

And then he sees me.

The moment our eyes meet, focus comes back to his gaze and his lips part in surprise. The man stops writhing, gasping and coughing for breath on the ground while V stares at me like I have three heads.

I quickly signal, pointing at the sputtering Blessed and making slicing motions on my neck. Then I cross my arms into a large X, and for a second I can see a small laugh escape his lips in disbelief.

When he pulls his Blessing back completely, a smile blooms on my features.

He'd actually listened to me.

Then he suddenly stumbles backwards, and I look on with wide eyes when I see the Empress' hand outstretched towards him. She has a knifelike stare fixed in my direction, and I realize everything.

She'd seen.

Dammit.

There's no hiding the distaste and jealousy she has in her stiff features as V stares at his hands, shock parting his heart lips. At that moment, I know exactly what her Blessing is.

Nullification.

And snatching this chance, the worn-out Blessed tackles V to the ground. His eyes are wild with rage as he wraps his hands around his neck, and my mouth drops open as the people around me explode in gasps.

The Empress still has her hand outstretched.

Smoke wisps from his hands, and an agonized sound echoes from V's throat as he reaches up with a weak hand, trying to get his fingers around the Blessed.

This is all my fault.

"Stop!" I yell, my fingers tight around the rails. My heart jumps violently in my chest as he shivers, green eyes turning a dull gray. "This is—"

"The Healer says to stop, Blight." She says in sarcastic amusement, withdrawing her hand as the blonde stumbles away from V's limp body. His neck is marred with marks of dark black, and I can see it spreading.

I never should've come here.

"Let me heal him." My voice is loud and clear unlike the vicious leaping in my chest. He was going to die— I could feel it. He was already dying, with the burns ripping through his body. "Let me."

"You do realize you will have to pay a price." She says, plucking at her fingertips. I want to rip her face off as I nod, knowing that she knew what overusing my Blessing led to. "And another you will pay for me."

"V will be your opponent in the Trials coming up the following month."

My breath stops.

What.....?!

"Choose now, Healer." She says with mocking laughter in her voice. The other Blessed all look at me, either with pitying or amused stares. "Your mentor doesn't have much time left."

"Fine."

The moment I give my consent, the railings swing open and I rush inside towards V. Pale silver flares to life on my hands, and I force back an apology when I see him breathing in short gasps.

Half of his pale face is marked with the burns I'd caused him.

He always got hurt because of me.

And if I have to die in the Trials because of this, I'll do it.

The ends of my white dress brush the ground as I touch his neck and face, cursing between my clenched teeth. I can't help but overhear the whispers running among the Blessed, some laughing, some curious.

I don't have stage fright, but this is traumatizing.

Focusing back on him, I pour my Blessing into the fire spreading through his figure. My face turns paler by the second, and I can slowly sense that I'm stepping over my limits.

But there was still some left.

Whatever— screw this.

Ignoring the warning signals pulling at my chest, I watch as the remaining marks fade away into smooth, pale skin. My huffy breath evens as my eyes linger on his face.

He looked so peaceful it looked like as if he was deep with sleep, not forced to unconsciousness.