Page 103 of Trivium

She would recognize his voice anywhere, but the shock of it made her sway. Behind her, Park stood covered in blood.

“Park!” She rushed over to him, her hands touching his cheeks and arms, swiping blood with no indication of where it was from.

“Help,” he pleaded, his eyes bulging. “It’s killing me.” Blood oozed out of his tear ducts, his nose, his ears, as she frantically tried to stop it.

No. No. No.

“Park, I’m here.” She cupped his cheeks, warm fresh blood seeping down her wrists and arms. “I’m going to help you.”

There was so much blood. She couldn’t make it stop, and when he started convulsing it took all her strength just to hold him up.

Tears welled in her eyes as she screamed. “Make it stop!”

She tried to hang onto him, but he thrashed around so aggressively she could barely keep a hold of him. Park dropped to the ground in a heap, blood pooling around him. Loveleena screamed, dropping to her knees, shaking him to wake up.

“Enough.” Ren’s voice cut through whatever horror was escaping her throat, and she crawled backwards as Park disappeared.

She turned, frantic, to find the Tigress was gone. Ren hauled her back up to her feet. “It was an illusion. Breathe.”

Park.

He was here. He was real.

And he was dead.

The slick feel of his blood clung to her fingers, even as she stared at her shaking hands and found them clean. “It wasn’t real.” Ren’s voice sounded oddly apologetic, and she wiped the hot tears from her cheeks, gasping for air. The metallic smell still clung to her nostrils.

First-years stared in horror, some clutching their arms, and it occurred to her she had an audience. She couldn’t stay to watch how the rest of them did. The image of Park bloody and convulsing was seared into her mind. Was that what had happened to him? Was he being tortured somewhere? Suffering and alone?

Salty tears clinging to her cheeks, she escaped to the shower, burning her skin off with the scalding water to try and forget the look in his eyes.

69

LOVELEENA

Loveleena wrapped some cheese, crackers and hummus in a cloth, tucked it into her bag, and snuck it back to her dorm. Even though a full day had passed, Park’s bloody, ravaged body was seared in her mind, and it had taken everything in her not to fall apart.

Kumani was scheduled for evening rounds, and she thanked the Moon Goddess that she could be alone in her dorm for a while. Slamming the door behind her, she lit a candle and set it down on her night table then reached into her satchel and pulled out her food with shaky hands, letting out a heavy sigh.

“Sneaking food into your dorm I see,” Ren said, sitting casually on her bed.

“For fucks sake, Ren.” She jumped, heart pounding. “What are you doing in here?”

“You broke into my apartment. I’m just returning the favor.” He stood, towering over her. She threw her bookbag on her bed, careless of its contents, and indifferent to anything Ren had to say to her.

“And I wanted to check on you.”

“Why?” she muttered, testy.

He cleared his throat. “I know what you faced yesterday wasn’t easy.”

“You don’t need to pretend to care.”

Ren squared his shoulders. “About Park.”

Loveleena winced at the name.

“You’re going to need to be a better Defender than you are now to get him back. A better warrior. And you’re going to need to take your magic farther than what they teach you in Charming.”