SOUL DORM

37

Goin' down to Lonesome Town
Where the broken hearts stay

***

CHAPTER 37:

PAWN

I felt like I was walking back to my room inside a cloud. Everything was blurry. I couldn't remember the details, the souls I encountered, or the paths I took. My brain was too busy processing everything Mars had told me to notice anything else. Despite his offer, I didn't want to return to the Dorm or go to the infirmary with him. I needed to be alone to absorb the information and decide what to do with the secret weapon I had obtained.

To be honest, the thought of running into Pam on the way back was unsettling. The moment I stepped out of the greenhouse, I regretted not going back with Mars. But the princess was nowhere to be seen, likely occupied with shedding fake tears over her soulmate, whom she had nearly killed. Besides, the garden and corridors were full of souls just out of class. Even Pam wouldn't dare to do anything to me in front of so many witnesses. I hoped...

It took me longer than usual to reach my room with my throbbing ribs, aching muscles, and weak limbs. The reason became clear when I made it to the bathroom and got rid of my clothes. I didn't think I had any broken bones, but the places where I had been hit were bruised. I had already learned that this realm was a reflection of real life, where we experienced all kinds of emotions. Apparently, that included injuries too.

I filled the bathtub, sank into the water, and closed my eyes. If I was in this bad shape, how was Pam's soulmate? What happened to a soul that died in limbo? Maybe it was like falling into the Void—an endless loss of a soul that belonged nowhere and to no realm. Wanting to drown the thought, I dunked my head under the water. No matter how hard I tried to clear my mind, fragments of the accident kept surfacing, pricking me like shards of glass.

At the center of those fragments was Mars, no doubt. I guessed he had realized Pam would do something to me the moment she stepped into the course. He knew that devil better than anyone. Preventing the accident was impossible. Still, he had pushed me just in time, stopping me from crashing to the ground with that boy. I owed my continued presence in limbo to him. And there was more. He had come after me to the greenhouse, stayed with me when I was on the verge of breaking down, and handed me the only leverage I could use to prevent something like this from happening again. Even though it would likely affect him and direct Pam's wrath towards him...

Was he helping me just so I could return to the living world and rid himself of me as quickly as possible? Probably. After all, he was still Mars. Selfish, arrogant, insincere... And yet... For the first time, a small voice inside me whispered that there might be another man beneath Mars's facade. Today, he had revealed a side of himself I never could have imagined. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't forget the kindness he had shown me.

A knock on the door pulled me back to the present. My first thought was Mars. No, he wouldn't have come to check on me. When the knock persisted, another possibility took precedence. Pam's face flashed in my mind, and I instantly tensed. I scrambled out of the tub, water sloshing everywhere, and hastily threw on my bathrobe.

As I entered the room, frantically searching for something to defend myself with, I realized my foolishness. Pam couldn't get in unless I opened the door. A wave of relief washed over me, followed by another realization. Amid the knocking, I recognized a familiar sound. I knew that voice. I rushed to the door and opened it to find Ursa standing there.

"Olive!" she shouted, throwing her arms around me. She didn't care about my wet hair or my bathrobe. She... was crying. My eyes met Diego's, who stood a step behind, watching us. His face was as white as a sheet.