Chapter 2
1203 Words
2
Paedyn opened his eyes, and what he saw warmed his heart. Lilianya sat next to him, holding his hand. He squeezed her hand as he admired her beauty. How long had she been there? What had he done to deserve this? A warmth spread through him where he had once been so cold.
He felt… unnatural. His emotions couldn’t stabilize. He wasn’t good with his emotions. Never was. It was why he used humor to hide his true feelings. He hid his emotions deep. Now, they boiled, wanting to reach the surface. He felt his blood run cold, then warm again as he took in Lilianya’s beauty. This wasn’t normal for him. Sure, at times he would get warm or cold, but this was so much more. His skin burned or turned to ice. What had happened to him?
“Lilianya?”
She smiled at him, but quickly hid it. It was too late. He’d seen her smile. Genuine. Sincere. But like him, she hid her emotions. Had he really made such an impact on her?
“You’re awake,” she whispered.
“Have you been here the entire time?” he asked.
Her mouth parted, like she wanted to say something, but instead, she closed it and gulped. Her legs shifted slightly as she cleared her throat. “No. I just wanted to come check on you.”
A grin crept up the left side of Paedyn’s face. “Oh, is that so? Did I make that much of an impression on you?”
Her expression turned deadpan, and eyes sunk. “No, you did not.” She uncrossed her legs, leaning forward, prepared to stand up and leave.
“No, wait.” Paedyn’s mouth had got him into trouble again. He hated himself for it. He hated pushing people away. Yet, somehow, he couldn’t help it. “I’m sorry.”
Lilianya leaned back in her seat, raising her eyebrows with curious suspicion.
“How long have I been here?”
“Three and a half weeks.”
His jaw dropped. “What happened?”
Lilianya’s lips pressed tightly together. “I don’t know if I should be the one… Let me get Devarius.”
“No.” Paedyn firmed his grip on her hand. “I want to hear it from you.”
“What do you remember?”
“Fighting. Pyro and I were helping fight the empire. Then… just…”
“What?” She touched his arm.
“Cold. I remember cold.”
“Ice wyvern oil spilled onto you. Your entire body went cold. We didn’t know what to do.”
“Wyvern oil? How much?”
“An entire vial, or at least close enough.”
“How did I survive that?”
“You weren’t going to. But Zaviana had an idea. Fire oil.”
Paedyn’s eyebrows furrowed.
“You were given fire oil as an elixir.”
“Like the dragomen?”
Lilianya nodded. “It was the only way anyone could think of to save you.”
Paedyn licked his teeth as he considered her words. He couldn’t remember anything after feeling cold. He couldn’t even remember how it happened. Wyvern oil. One of their greatest saviors to fight against the empire was now his arch enemy. His body turned cold again.
“Your hands are freezing,” Lilianya gasped.
“I don’t feel so well.”
“You’ve been in a coma for weeks.”
Paedyn shook his head. “No, it’s not that. Here.”
He refocused his thoughts, and instead of loss and confusion, he focused on Lilianya. Her beauty and kindness. How he desperately craved her affection. His hands felt like fire.
“Now your hands are burning up.” Lilianya’s eyes widened.
“What have you done to me?” Paedyn’s body trembled.
“We—”
“The oil… it went into my bloodstream, didn’t it?”
Lilianya tensed. She avoided his gaze.
“What am I?”
“You’re Paedyn. Nothing will ever change that.”
He pulled his hand out of hers and focused on it in front of himself. Paedyn concentrated on it. Trying to keep his emotions in check, he locked eyes with Lilianya. His hand continued to burn. Hotter. Hotter. Unbearable. He focused on his hand, as if willing all the burning fire within to exit out of his fingertips. To let it get out of his body. He didn’t want it anymore.
Flames appeared in his hand. Small at first, then climbing up and up toward the ceiling. Lilianya jerked to her feet, stepping backwards. Her feet caught on the chair and she stumbled to the ground, crying out in fear.
The flames reached the ceiling before Paedyn clenched his hand into a fist. The fire disappeared.
“What am I?” Paedyn repeated.
“Paedyn.” Lilianya’s eyes grew wide.
She hated him. He was a monster. The way she looked at him. All his hopes shattered and his body grew cold. And yet, he couldn’t blame her.
“Behind you.”
Paedyn turned around. The curtain behind him on the window was aflame. He jumped out of the bed, but his strength was depleted. His knees buckled, and he crumpled to the floor. He rolled over to sit as he watched the fire spread throughout the room.
Stunned, he took a deep breath and tried to concentrate. He’d created fire. Fire was beautiful. He loved fire. No. He shook his head. He tried to concentrate again. His body had been injected with wyvern oil. Both fire and ice. He’d created fire. Surely he could create ice as well. He needed to concentrate.
Closing his eyes, he focused on his emotions. Love and passion filled him with fire. Loneliness and isolation filled him with ice. He needed to focus on that. Paedyn recalled his childhood. The bullies pushing him down. His parents calling him worthless and good for nothing. After setting one fire by accident, everyone in the town blamed every other fire on him. He fueled his shame with cold. Paedyn concentrated on it, then opened his eyes. He pushed his hand outward, and ice traveled from it.
The flames froze in place as ice crystals wrapped around them, suffocating the oxygen from around the flames and cooling the room off. It only took a few seconds, but the moment seemed to stretch on forever. The flames disappeared, and the room cooled.
He sat there for a quiet moment, not moving. The room was still. Only he and Lilianya were in the room, and neither moved, neither spoke. The shame continued to consume him. His entire body was colder than the southern border. Lilianya must be terrified of him. He was a monster. His parents were right.
“Paedyn?” Lilianya finally spoke through chattering teeth.
He lowered his head and stared at the floor, focusing on a small, unclear spot. Paedyn couldn’t look at her. He couldn’t meet her eyes. Paedyn refused to see her fear.
A hand entered his eyesight. Out of reflex, he glanced up and saw Lilianya’s face. Her eyes were hard. Determined. She didn’t look horrified. He paused, staring at her hand, but she didn’t falter. After a moment, he reached and grabbed her hand.
Lilianya leaned backward, leveraging all of her weight to help Paedyn up from the bed. He staggered a step before planting his butt on the sheets.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
Paedyn shrugged.
“I’m here for you,” Lilianya said. “I want you to know that. Whatever is going on with you… I’m here for you.”
Paedyn clenched his eyes shut, trying to stop the tears from falling. He couldn’t show weakness. The last time, when he was a child, he’d been ridiculed for years for showing weakness—for showing tears. A lump stuck in his throat as he shook his emotions off. He would be strong, like always.
A fake smile came across his lips. “Looks like I finally found a way to get you to spend more time with me.”
- Writer
