Curse

Chapter 8: He Cares

The room above the library was quiet except for the rain tapping softly against the windows.

A single lamp near the desk filled the room with dim golden light, leaving the corners wrapped in shadow.

Irene stood near the doorway stiffly, arms crossed over herself.

She still did not understand why she agreed to come here.

Maybe because her body was too exhausted to argue anymore.

Or maybe because part of her still feared collapsing again in front of him.

Zayn closed the door behind them.

The sound felt strangely loud.

The librarian lingered near the entrance for a moment before speaking carefully.

“My lord, her mana is still unstable. She should rest before any questioning.”

Zayn glanced toward him briefly.

“I know.”

The librarian hesitated.

Then his eyes shifted toward Irene with visible concern.

“If the seal reacts again, call for me immediately.”

Zayn gave a small nod.

The old man finally left the room.vThe door shut softly behind him. Silence followed almost instantly.

Now they were alone.

Irene hated how aware she suddenly became of that fact. She looked away quickly.

“I already told you,” she said quietly, “I don’t know anything.”

Zayn did not answer right away. Instead, he walked toward the shelf near the desk and pulled open a drawer.

Irene frowned slightly.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re injured.”

“I’m fine.”

“You keep saying that.”

He finally turned around.

There was a small medical kit in his hand.

Irene blinked.

“…What?”

Zayn set the kit down on the table calmly.

“When was the last time those wounds were treated properly?”

Irene immediately stiffened.

“I don’t need your help.”

“That was not my question.”

His tone remained frustratingly calm.

Irene looked away.

Zayn noticed the hesitation immediately. Then his eyes lowered toward her leg.

“Sit down.”

“I said I’m fin—”

“You almost collapsed downstairs.”

That shut her up for a moment.

Zayn pulled a chair slightly closer.

“Sit.”

Irene hesitated before finally lowering herself into the chair slowly.

The moment pressure hit her injured leg, pain shot upward sharply enough to make her flinch.

Zayn noticed.

Of course he noticed.

Without another word, he crouched in front of her.

Irene’s eyes widened slightly.

“What are you doing?”

“Treating the injury.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I know.”

That answer caught her off guard.

For some reason, that made it worse.

Zayn carefully pulled back the fabric near her ankle. The bruising had darkened badly.

There were faint marks along her skin where something had struck repeatedly.

His expression hardened slightly.

“…Who did this?”

Irene immediately looked away.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It clearly does.”

“It’s nothing new.”

The words slipped out before she could stop them.

Silence filled the room.

Zayn’s hands paused briefly.

Then he spoke more quietly.

“…Nothing new?”

Irene realized too late what she had admitted. She quickly tried to pull her leg back.

“It was my fault anyway.”

Zayn’s grip tightened slightly to stop her from moving.

“Stop saying that.”

His voice was lower now.

Sharper.

Irene frowned.

“Why do you suddenly care?”

That made him pause.

Finally.

Zayn slowly looked up at her.

Rain continued tapping softly against the windows behind them.

“You think I’m pretending?”

Irene laughed weakly.

“Aren’t you?”

Zayn held her gaze silently.

Irene looked away first.

“You used to ignore it,” she whispered. “Every time.”

The room suddenly felt colder.

“You saw what they did.”

Zayn said nothing.

Irene’s fingers tightened against her sleeve.

“And now suddenly you’re acting like this?”

A long silence followed.

Zayn lowered his gaze briefly before continuing to apply medicine carefully over the bruises.

His movements were slower now.

More careful.

“I never touched you,” he said quietly.

Irene stared at him in disbelief.

“That doesn’t make it better.”

Those words hit harder than she expected.

Because Zayn actually went still for a second.

Just one second.

But she noticed.

He continued wrapping the bandage afterward without speaking.

The silence between them no longer felt sharp.

It felt heavy.

Complicated.

Then suddenly, Irene flinched softly.

The burning sensation beneath her sleeve returned again.

Weak.

But noticeable.

Zayn looked up immediately.

“…Your wrist.”

Irene’s heart dropped. Instinctively, she pulled her sleeve down further.

“Don’t.”

But Zayn had already noticed the faint black lines beneath her skin.

Not fully visible.

Just barely there.

Like cracks hidden underneath pale flesh.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“The seal didn’t erase it completely.”

Irene immediately stood up.

“Stop looking at it.”

Too fast.

Pain shot through her injured leg instantly.

Her balance weakened again.

Zayn reacted before she could fall.

One hand caught her wrist.

The other steadied her shoulder.

The moment his fingers touched her skin

The burning stopped.

Completely.

Irene froze.

So did Zayn.

The whisper inside her head vanished into silence.

For the first time in days, her mind felt quiet.

No voices.

No darkness scratching at the edges of her thoughts.

Nothing.

Her breathing became uneven.

Zayn noticed immediately.

“…What just happened?”

Irene quickly pulled her hand away.

“I don’t know.”

But her voice sounded shaken.

Because she did know.

At least partially.

Something inside her reacted differently to him.

And that terrified her.

Zayn remained silent for several seconds.

Then he spoke quietly.

“When I touched your wrist downstairs, your mana stabilized too.”

Irene looked at him sharply.

“You noticed?”

“I notice more than you think.”

That answer made her chest tighten strangely.

Zayn’s gaze lowered briefly toward her wrist again.

Then back to her face.

“What exactly are you?”

Irene froze.

The question hurt more than it should have.

Not because of fear.

Because she did not know the answer herself.

Silence filled the room once more.

Then quietly, almost bitterly, Irene whispered,

“I think that’s what scares me the most.”