His hand was throbbing with pain. His limbs felt weak, he didn't think he could walk, or even stand. The sun had set and with its warmth gone, he was cold. But above all else, he was terrified. Aiden – the first person he could call a friend – had seen that. And now, he stood right there, frozen. Glancing at the treeline. Just like everyone else, he wanted to run. Away from anger – away from Ren. He could see it in the young noble's eyes.
"What was that?"
Ren flinched as Aiden knelt beside him. Why wasn't he running away? Why was he still here? He was almost badly injured because of him. He had almost died! How could he let his guard down like this? As these thoughts raced in his head, he noticed Aiden's right hand, resting on the hilt of his sword. Seeing that hurt, no matter how justified it was. He hadn't let his guard down; it was Ren who was being naïve.
"Ren?" He let go of his sword and gently touched Ren's shoulder.
Ren felt the young noble's mana dissipate as he masked it again. What was he doing just now? He wasn't paying attention – why was he holding his conduit moments ago? Had he cast a spell? Why wasn't he ready to defend himself now?
"Hey!" Aiden snapped his fingers before Ren's face. "Ren?"
"Why are you still here?" Ren whispered. 'Why aren't you running away' was what he really wanted to ask.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Aiden smiled. "Can you stand?" Ren could hear the concern in his voice. It didn't make any sense. Anyone in their right mind would leave.
"I… Sorry." He whispered. How was he even going to start explaining this? How much could he tell? "You probably shouldn't touch me." He glanced at his tachi. The blood on its blade was gone. He took in in hand and sheathed it, then slowly got up. His knees trembled – the spell had taken its toll on his body.
"Just shut up and let me help." Aiden first took his tachi before Ren could protest, then helped him stand. "If it's the blood, don't worry about it, I can wash my clothes. Let's get you back to your room first."
Ren tried to protest – though it was slim, there was a chance that his blood might still have the effects of the spell on it and if that was the case, even a few drops of it could seal Aiden's mana. Yet, Aiden would hear none of it as he dragged Ren all the way back to his room after making sure his clothes were hidden under his cloak.
The young noble only let go of him once they were in his room. He shut the door and cast a simple spell on it to keep others from barging in. "That should do it." He mumbled, masking his mana again.
Ren took a deep breath. He felt weak, his thoughts were a mess and… He shook his head and leaned his back against the wall. He needed the support to be able to stand at all. "Aiden-"
"Wait." He gestured at Ren's sweaty and bloody clothes. "You should change first. Where are your clothes and towels? You need to wash the blood and sweat off." He didn't let Ren answer or protest. As Aiden provided him with a wet towel and some new clothes, Ren could no nothing but stare at him in disbelief.
"Stop zoning out. You'll get a cold if you stay like that." He suddenly stopped like he thought of something. "Do you need my help?"
Ren shook his head. "No, I'm fine." He was being a bit overbearing again. In a way, he reminded him of Daymon.
"Alright then," Aiden said as he turned to face the door.
With a sigh, Ren unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. He quickly wiped his sweat off, then changed into a simple robe. He was grateful to Aiden for turning away – This way he could hide the mark on his chest. He rolled up his sweaty and bloody clothes into a small pile and threw them aside. He took a clean black bandage from the wardrobe.
"Could you help me with this?" He asked timidly. He handed the cloth to Aiden.
"Of course, just…" Aiden looked around, then guided Ren to his bed. "Sit down, you're about to collapse."
As he carefully bandaged the rather deep cut on his palm, Ren flinched. "Why are you helping me?" He had to ask. Anyone else would have left – everyone else had left before. "I almost injured – maybe even killed you." His voice trembled. Yu had warned him to never show this side of him to anyone. It was difficult to even talk about it.
"I didn't expect to see what I saw." Aiden hesitated as he gently tied the bandages. "I didn't expect you to be that powerful." He pulled the only chair in the room and sat on it. "I'm not going to lie, Ren. When you told me to leave, I wanted to leave. I wanted to escape because you were so much stronger than anything I imagined." He sighed and released his mana.
Ren flinched. Aiden had always masked his mana near him, so he wasn't used to it at all. It was a pale, purple-blueish colour. It smelled like clean, fresh water. It was cool, but not freezing cold like Princess Iris'. His control was incredible as always.
"I'm the strongest in our class. I've trained my mana for my entire life. I succeeded in my attunement when I was seven." He touched the hilt of his sword. "Until now, I believed that in an all-out battle, Princess Iris would be my only match in our class." His mana twisted and twirled around the two.
"But you're so much stronger. I couldn't even react when your mana erupted like that. I don't think I could have defended against a single attack. Not without suffering serious injuries." A bitter smile flashed across his face. "I… was scared. Terrified." He fell silent.
"I'm sorry." Ren finally gathered his courage to speak. "I never wanted to harm you." It felt like an uphill battle – with every word it became more difficult to speak. "I'm glad you're not hurt."
"What was that?" Aiden finally asked. Ren flinched. His hands trembled as he tightly grasped the thin cloth of his robe. "Can't you tell me?"
He hesitated. "I… can't tell you everything. Please don't ask why." He took a deep breath. "And… before I tell you, I want you to promise me. Don't tell any of this to Lena or the others – to anyone. Please."
"On my name as a Condor, you have my word." Aiden said with a serious tone, then cracked a smile.
Ren nodded. It was good enough for now. "I've always had an enormous amount of mana. Or, well, for as long as I can remember." He touched his chest. "I don't know how I came to have it, whether it was the result of training or some other reason. What I can say is that… I can't control it."
"What about your conduit?"
"I don't have one." He gestured to his tachi. "That is nothing more than a sword. Sure, it looks fancy and it was made to be a conduit. But I can't attune to it – my mana runs wild whenever I try." He sighed and leaned back. "That's what I was trying to do when you came. I had just failed attunement – again. It's not a big deal, I'm used to it. But when I saw you I…" He clenched his fist. "I panicked. I lost control of my feelings and with that, my mana. I was trying to contain it when you came closer. I failed and… you almost got injured."
Aiden silently listened. Ren gulped. How much more could he tell?
"I used the spell to calm it because you were there. If I were on my own, I could eventually tame it and control it again. I couldn't take that chance – you could get killed as I tried." He forced a smile. "You're right about one thing. If you got hit with the full force of my mana, you wouldn't survive."
Aiden's eyes widened. He clearly didn't expect such a direct answer. "I see. But… how do you even know that spell?"
"My master taught it to me. I didn't think it'd take such a huge toll though." Ren winced as he clenched his fist. The wound was still throbbing. His body still felt weak.
"About that, can't we go to the infirmary? You should get that looked at."
Ren shook his head. "No, sacrificial wounds can't be healed by magic." He sighed. "It'll heal just fine in a few days."
"Yeah, no, I don't think so. That's a deep cut Ren." Aiden gestured to the tachi. "Any wound that thing causes would take at least a week, maybe more to heal."
"I heal fast." Ren mumbled. It never took him more than a couple of days to heal from simple cuts – even if they were deep. "What will you do now?" He asked, glancing at Aiden.
"What? Me?" Aiden straightened his back as he pointed at himself. "What do you mean?" His confused look was almost amusing.
"Well, yeah." Ren shrugged. "Everyone else who saw my power – and lack of control – distanced themselves from me as much as they could. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to do the same." He hid his trembling hands under the cloth of his robe. He didn't want to lose another friend.
Aiden suddenly burst out in laughter. "You know Ren," He said after he pulled himself together. "You have a knack for making things awkward." He grinned and shuffled Ren's hair. "I'm not going to 'distance' myself from you – we're friends!" He leaned back in his chair. "I'm sure Lena and Mirielle wouldn't do that either. Honestly, you don't give us enough credit." He finally got up and stretched himself. "We don't have any classes tomorrow, so we're meeting up in the cafeteria again. Don't be late." He waved, then left Ren's room.
Speechless, Ren stared at the closed door. After a short time, the throbbing in his hand passed. "It'll be fine in a day or two." He mumbled as he laid on his back. His eyelids were heavy.