"The ravenous fire that crackled in your souls was one and the same, stoked by repressed fear and the overwhelming desire to survive in a world that only valued material power."
In their desperate battle to survive the harsh aristocracy, the desire...
Horror streaked his face as he stared at the flower that sprung amid the bleak sand.
He knew he made it bloom. In a surge of fear, he lost control of his idle magic. He felt it gush through his body, cold yet soothing, felt the lingering tingle on the tips of his fingers—the kiss of the flower's petals on his palm before he scrambled away, panicked.
You crouched down and pulled the stray bloom out of the sand. The small tangle of roots let up easily. Cupping it gently, you snapped your head up at Hyunjin, meeting his terrified gaze with wonder.
Some part of him faltered.
It screamed and shook with a violence so tremendous it snatched his breath away—a part that longed for acceptance and approval. He hated the way your simple expression seemed to rip him apart, hitting every brick he painstakingly stacked to build the fortress around his heart.
Your awe was sweetly revolting, your whisper too loud for his liking. "This is your magic."
The flower in your hands had unfurled like a rose, its wide petals curling outward in a shy blush. A single leaf padded the blossom, brilliant in its green sheen. It seemed to smile at the two of you, urging you to caress its soft petals.
It was beautifully horrible, Hyunjin thought. He had to discard it before his mother learned of his slip up.
But before that, there was the problem of you.
Deciding he could no longer look at his mistake lying prettily in your cupped palms, he diverted his gaze elsewhere. Only then did he find his voice. "You were not supposed to see that."
"Why?"
He'd asked himself the same question every day of his nineteen years. Why did he have to hide his Tilt? Why wasn't he allowed to practice his magic? His mother's voice sounded in his head, her words slipping out of his lips unthinkingly, "A Flowering Tilt is of no use to an Azārāhi."
"You have magic, and you're deeming it useless?"
Hyunjin fought back a sigh. He had already said too much. He shouldn't have been entertaining you in the first place, but you seemed to have a knack for making him act against his better judgment.
"It is useless to me."
Silence stretched between the two of you until you finally said, "You don't believe that."
What a feeble, feisty human soul.
He turned to face you again, avoiding looking at the glaring blossom in your hands. "When will you stop thinking that you know me?"
"I can identify a lie when I hear one," you only shrugged, and he almost admired your boldness. Surely, you understood the danger of speaking to him so freely.
Yet, you demanded answers and it was clear that you weren't leaving him alone until you acquired them.
Hyunjin huffed, the truth tasting sour on his tongue, "It doesn't matter what I believe. If the Ērmār thinks that my Tilt is useless, then it is."
You opened your mouth to retort, but he beat you to it, wanting to end this conversation before he did something he regretted. He'd give you the answers you wanted, and nothing more. "This House obeys her word, not mine.
"I couldn't object yesterday because I don't have the power to. I don't use my magic because I don't need to. And I didn't choose to be paired with you. I don't want to do this any more than you do. This was the Ērmār's decision alone." he crossed his arms, raising a brow. "There are your answers. Satisfied?"
You clamped your mouth shut then, and Hyunjin knew that that would be the end of it.
His heart was beating with a desire to indulge itself in the now distant memory of your fascination, but he ignored it. Picking up his Kizāri, he strode toward you and extended his hand. "Give me the flower."
You handed it to him wordlessly, and with an unreasonable pang, he realized it was for the better. Your silence was better for the both of you.
Hyunjin crushed the blossom in his fist, snapping its stem and forcing his emotional ramparts up. He had messed up enough for a thousand lifetimes. This mistake could not happen again.
He made his way to the double doors then halted with his free hand on one of the handles. "Oh, and, Y/n?"
He turned to find you looking at him, waiting with your expressionless mask back on. His warning was whispered, but the faint breeze carried its weight to your ears before buckling under. It settled bitter in the disrupted sand. "If word of my magic spreads around the palace, I'll finish what we started on our first duel."
Hyunjin didn't know if he truly believed those words, but you had claimed to be able to discern a lie upon hearing one. He hoped you would be able to tell him in due time.
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