“That assumes you have one.” I counter back.
He laughs—genuine and annoyingly charming. “See? That’s what makes this fun. I don’t know how you do it. Your resistance. This sass you have. You’re a challenge.”
“Not fun for me.”
He leans in, lips brushing close to my ear. “Maybe… if you’re that worried about keeping your little secret... you should consider my offer.”
My stomach twists. “What offer?”
“I get what I want, you stay protected and in the academy. I have connections, Arwen.” His lips graze my ear as his hand skims down my back. His voice lowers.
I don’t know what he wants, but I can’t assume it's anything good if he’s using it as a bargaining chip.
“No,” I say, crossing my arms between us to get a little distance.
For a moment, his composure fails. I can tell he’s not used to hearing no regarding any of his wants.
His lip snarls as he leans closer to my ear. “I mean, if someone had to go… who do you think they’d keep? A sinless nobody? Or me — a power Lust hasn’t seen in a generation?”
I shove him. Hard. “Screw you.”
He lets me push past him without a fight, just watching with a glint of wicked amusement in his eye.
I tear down the hallway, vision blurring. No one sees me slip into my dorm room. No one hears the lock click.
And no one’s there when I collapse against the door, the sob ripping from my chest like something I’ve been holding in for too damn long.
I’m a Wrath. Weburn, we don’t break.
But right now?
Right now, I feel cracked straight through.
I swipe at my cheeks so fast it’s like I’m trying to erase the evidence, not tears. My breath still jerks in these embarrassing little hiccups, and my heart’s been sprinting a marathon ever since I slammed the door behind me like that could keep the whole world out.
“Arwen?”
I freeze.
My head snaps up—and Holly’s there. Standing at the foot of her bed, eyes wide, hands raised like she’s not sure if I’ll bolt or crumble.
“H-Holly—” The word stumbles out of me as I jerk upright, pretending I wasn’t just melting into a puddle on the floor. “I didn’t… I didn’t know you were here.”
“I was already here when you walked in,” she says, voice low and even. “You didn’t even see me.”
I open my mouth to give her some sort of harmless excuse. But all that comes out is, “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
“No,” she says, her voice sharp. “Don’t lie.”
I blink. My chest tightens.
“I mean it, Arwen.” Holly crosses the room in two quick steps and kneels in front of me like she’s grounding herself. “Don’t keep pushing away. You’ve been upset since you got here. I think I’ve proved you can trust me to tell me what’s going on with you.”
I want to speak, but I can’t. My throat has closed.
“I’ve been watching you,” she goes on. “We all have. I let it go because I figured you’d open up when you were ready, but this? This is different. This is not okay.”
She gestures to me—my red eyes, the tears I didn’t wipe away, the way I’m shaking just a little.
