Loveless/ a POWERLESS fanfiction story

Chapter 37: Blair

As soon as the show in the Bowl ends, I head straight to my chambers, slamming the door behind me with a force that sends echoes through the corridor. Enough of this cursed dress. I tear it off and pull on a training outfit, the snug ties fitting familiarly against my body. My heart pounds in my chest as though I've run for miles.

"Take me to training," I say to Brian, appearing at the doorway. "I want to go to the shore."

He looks at me, his gaze assessing my state. His eyes linger on my hands, trembling despite my effort to steady them. He doesn't ask questions, just nods.

We ride out of the royal stables, swiftly navigating the winding paths around the palace's stone walls. The horses gallop across the field, kicking up clouds of dust. The wind lashes against my face, and I focus on the road, on the rhythm of my breathing, on the heavy thud of my thighs against the saddle—on anything but the memories of what I saw in the Bowl.

The shallows greet us with silence. This place is always desolate. The cold sea rolls in gray waves, occasionally tossing polished stones onto the shore. There are no prying eyes or unwelcome ears here—just the wind and the water.

I dismount, letting Brian tether the horse to a nearby tree, and stride toward the water's edge. The sand and pebbles beneath my feet are coarse and damp. I raise my hand, summoning the unseen force around me. Stones scattered along the shore begin to tremble, then rise one by one into the air.

"Liars!" I scream, hurling the stones into the water. They crash into the waves, sending up great sprays of water.

And again.

"Savages!"

Larger stones fly farther.

"Cowards!"

I hurl the words with my pain, each stone crashing into the water as if trying to drown the torment inside me. The waves thunder in response, as though sympathizing, carrying my cries into their cold, endless depths.

I don't notice his approach until Brian's hand rests gently on my shoulder. I turn to face him.

"Blair," he says softly, his voice firm but not harsh.

My arm drops limply. The stones still hovering in the air fall to the sand with a dull thud.

He watches me in silence, his expression unreadable. And then, to my own horror, I realize I wish someone would hold me. But not him. It can't be him. Because we're not friends. So why, then, do I feel such a desperate need to talk to him?

"You saw her die," I finally say, not lifting my gaze.

Brian looks out to the horizon, where the sea meets the pale sky.

"Yes," he replies.

"He killed her. Just like that. As if she was nothing," I choke out, feeling the lump rising in my throat. "And I pointed Braxton toward the Veil. And he killed her. But that was different. This wasn't a stranger, you understand? It was one of her own," I cry, my voice cracking. "I can't just..."

I let out a growl, swinging my hand sharply, and hurl a handful of stones into the sea with a surge of Tele. Then I take a few steps forward and flop down onto the ground. A moment later, Brian sits down beside me. I taste salt on my lips, and for the first time in days, it's not from my tears.

The silence stretches between us, but it doesn't press down.

"Do you want revenge?" he asks, tilting his head slightly to look at me.

I don't answer immediately. My gaze stays fixed on the water as it slowly swallows another wave of sand.

"I want to destroy him," I finally say, my voice low but steady. "I want to destroy them both."