Once.
Twice.
Three times.
I didn’t want to be weak. But I didn’t want to die either. The stone was cold, unforgiving beneath my hand as I admitted defeat, not to Rory, but to my own fear. The match was over.
But Rory lunged again.
She would’ve reached me but Ugo stepped in, intercepting her mid-lunge. He caught Rory sharply by the arm and yanked her back, making her stumble away from me.
He caught her by the arm, yanking her back with enough force to make her stumble. “She tapped,” Ugo said, voice sharp. “It’s done.”
Soehl dropped to her knees beside me, arms already wrapping around my shoulders. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. Just breathe.”
My eyes were still on Lorik.
His fists had finally unclenched, arms rigid at his sides.
But his expression hadn’t changed, those same unreadable eyes locked on mine. And I understood, maybe for the first time, that the hate was real.
It didn’t matter what my family had done.
It didn’t matter that I tried to apologize.
To him, I would always wear my family’s sins.
I turned my head, just in time to glimpse Soehl, her hands hovering over me, her magic pressing against the agony clawing through my body. I was breathless, trembling, every nerve alight.
Somewhere behind me, Shakari’s voice rose in a sharp, reckless shout at Rory. I tried to speak but my throat seized. My vision swam.
And then everything went black.
I woke to darkness.
Soft sheets. The scent of chamomile and smoke. Moonlight spilling in from the window. I wasn’t in the Sky Terrace anymore. I wasn’t bleeding. I wasn’t dying.
I blinked. The ceiling above me was carved wood. This was my room.
“She’s awake.” Shakari’s voice cut through the quiet, relieved like she’d been holding her breath for hours.
I turned my head. She was perched on the edge of my bed, eyes red, her blond hair messier than I’d ever seen it.
Soehl stood beside her, hands glowing faintly at her sides. Her posture was straighter than usual, composed but her eyes were soft.
“You’ve been out for six hours,” Soehl said. “You were so heavily bruised, and your nose was broken.”
“Soehl’s insane. She healed you like it was nothing.” Shakari added.
I tried to sit up. My body responded. No pain. No bruising. Just exhaustion. “Thank you,” I said, still disoriented. “I mean it.”
Soehl gave me the faintest smile. “Anything for my roommate.”
Soehl barely knew me, and she already felt like someone I could count on. Since the first day I met her, I knew she didn’t have anything to hide. That I could count on, just like Shakari. And looking at recent events, there aren’t many people I can trust within these walls.
Shakari shook her head like she was still boiling. “I almost went for Rory myself. The twins had to hold me back.”
Her voice dropped. “They actually picked me up and pulled me away by force.”