"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...
It was a whim that led to Hyunjin sending a summons to your room.
He and the Ērmār had returned to Amaranthine Palace in the depths of the night and were immediately ushered to rest by fussing attendants. When he awakened the next day, the sun was still slumbering, but he was eager to start. Eager to feel the weight of his Kizāri in his hands, the force of it clashing with another's.
You burst through the doors of his training court, and Hyunjin's attention was on you before he could help it. You had been in a rush. Your overcoat was yet to be buttoned, your hair loosely styled, and a strange emotion unfurled in his heart at the sight of you.
"Welcome back, Sōrsānt," you said, sounding breathless as you offered him a formal bow. He had heard those words from staff, guards, and advisors alike since his return, but they resonated differently coming from you. Even though he knew that you were only saying them for the sake of formality.
The smallest of smiles tugged at Hyunjin's lips. "Good morning."
You fixed the leather braces around your wrist, sparing the sky a furtive glance before regarding him dubiously. "It is still dark outside."
"And yet, you are awake," he quipped, the words rolling easily off his tongue. It had been a while since he'd had an honest exchange with anyone, unwary of hidden motives and masked insults.
Your hands went to the buttons of your coat, working the strings around with ease. A shrug. "I was doing my drills."
A thought flickered in Hyunjin's mind, too quick for him to ponder.
"Drill with me, then," he was saying before he could stop himself, and your hands halted their movement in surprise.
Perhaps, he was feeling rather bold this day, he surmised when no apologies or excuses took shape in his head. He held your gaze, surprisingly at ease when yours was shocked.
You composed yourself, asking with an intrigued tilt of your head, "Is this the reason you summoned me so early?"
He hesitated for a beat. There was no cause he understood for his wish to see you, but he couldn't admit that aloud. "Yes."
"All right," you sighed, visibly relaxing before unsheathing the Kizāri at your back. Under the light of the lanterns, your weapons swiveled and gleamed, light steps in tandem as the two of you performed the basics. Precise jabs and steep swings, quick spins and swift retreat.
Hyunjin could hear you count the moves under your breath, a steady 'one, two, three' that soon made him falter to observe your movements. You were deeply focused, controlling your Kizāri with so much strength despite the early hour. You were not one to take Azāri lightly, were you?
He was suddenly filled with a desire for mischief. "I fear for the air from your wrath."
"I'm imagining it's you," you deadpanned, not looking his way, though the joke was obvious in the quirk of your lips.
"Oh?" Hyunjin stabbed the sand with his Kizāri and leaned on it. "I didn't know I was on your mind so often."
It seemed that many days away from the palace truly had emboldened him.
The points of a Kizāri flashed before his face, the deadly blades a whisper away from his skin. Your voice sounded behind the weapon, laden with teasing. "You wish."
That unfamiliar feeling erupted in Hyunjin's heart once more, and he understood it this time—he had missed you.
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