“Move.”
“Make me.”
I see. He wanted to piss me off enough to be the first to attack him so he could eventually get to what he wants.
“You are losing precious time to train,” I alerted him.
“Come on, Draven, she’s not worth the trouble,” the woman with blue-dyed hair beaconed him to leave me alone.
After a fleeting second of eye contact, he dismissed me with a shake of his head. “Whatever.”
With a sigh of relief, I attempted to side-step him, but his extended foot wedged my shoe between his leg and the floor, resulting in an ungraceful fall onto my face.
I cursed before I heard something snap at the impact. As I cautiously raised my head from the ground, beads of blood painted the dull, gray stone. The dust clung to them, as if it were a fresh breath of air. My nose throbbed with a dull ache, and the sharp, metallic tang had already begun to coat my tongue.
“Are you okay?” I heard Theo’s voice before I heard his rushing steps. Two hands gripped my arms tightly, pulling me upright onto my feet. I didn’t flinch, I didn’t even move a muscle on my face.
I wouldn’t give Draven the satisfaction. Even if it hurt like a motherfucker. It would be quite a shock if it wasn’t broken.
Theo searched my face as droplets of blood rolled down my lips and chin, landing on my shirt or the ground. And maybe, justmaybe,I was putting too much weight on him to hold me up.
My gaze met Draven’s as I gave a slight nod. “It’s nothing. Just a scratch,” I reassured, then turned to Theo. The scene before my eyes was somewhat hazy, yet I was able to conceal my struggle from the others. Or at least I thought so. “Thank you,” I said, and he smiled, as if sayingI should’ve come between you two sooner.
I shook my head. He didn’t owe me anything.
The sound of their taunting voices and laughter faded behind me as I walked away. I spotted 226688 just beyond the arena, and his eyes grew wide when he saw me.
“Oh my! Are you all right?”
My hands pressed firmly against my nose, trying to staunch the flow of blood. “Yes. Just get me to my room,” I pressed, then paused when I noticed his worried expression. “Please.”
Quicker than a lightning bolt, I landed on the bed, the room a dizzying blur.
It wasn’t that bad. I had a broken nose before; it happened when I tried to intervene in an argument between my parents. Or better saying, when I tried to stop my father from beating my mother to death. I was a collateral victim, he said.
My eyes clamped shut, a searing pain pulsing through me with every passing second.
“Do you have a napkin or something?” I asked, my hand cupped under my nose, trying to stop the blood from marring the floor and my clothes more than it already had.
“No.” He smiled. “But I have something better.” The fairy then clicked his fingers and a small tube appeared on his palm. “I might not be a healer, but I know a few tricks myself,” he declared proudly, then started applying the cream on my nose without asking.
I suppose I was in no position to fight him.
I hissed when he supported himself on the bridge of my nose to spread the balm.
“Sorry,” he added.
With every stroke of the cream, the bleeding on my nose decreased, the throbbing pain subsided, and then a sharp crack split the air as my nose snapped back, until…all sensation was gone.
“There.” He smiled, flying to the nightstand. “The wound is still visible, but it’s healed.”
I frowned. “If it’s so powerful to heal a broken nose, it’s not powerful enough to heal the swelling and bruising as well?”
“They can’t know I helped you, Charisma. This helps to raise no suspicion.”
“Why?” I peered at him from under my lashes.
“It’s against the rules, duh. But I’m new and smart enough not to be caught.” He beamed, and surprisingly, I returned the smile.
