Arin Blackrune
1071 Words
Chapter 4
ELIANA
Three days had passed since I erupted in silver flames.
Mother had assigned Mr. Lucien to teach me how to control my earth magic. He had taught Lys how to control his gravity-bending abilities, but thankfully, he wasn’t stopping by today.
All the training over the past three days had left me exhausted.
My head ached as though I had been struck repeatedly.
I picked up a short pink dress and laid it on my bed. We weren’t allowed to wear dresses that didn’t touch our ankles—it was considered indecent—but I had no intention of leaving my room today.
The pink floral dress had a corset at the front, fitted and delicate.
I let my hair fall loose. It had been tied up constantly since my lessons began.
A knock came at the door.
One.
Two.
I ignored it.
The third knock came, and I called out, “I’m bathing!”
“You might want to hurry,” a voice I knew far too well replied. “I doubt your mother would appreciate finding me in here.”
What is wrong with him?
Leave before she comes, I thought sharply—fully aware he could hear me.
Another knock.
I had no choice.
I opened the door.
“You look like a mess,” he said, eyeing me. “And you smell like one too.”
I glared at him, grabbed my robe and dress, and headed straight for the bathroom.
How exactly was I supposed to bathe with him in my room?
“I can hear you, you know,” he said casually.
I rolled my eyes, hoping that translated clearly enough in my thoughts.
He must be obsessed with me.
“I told you I’d be back in a week,” he added.
It’s been three days.
“Time moves differently when you’re waiting for answers,” he replied. “Besides, I assumed you’d have figured things out by now.”
I forced my thoughts quiet.
Which was nearly impossible.
I turned on the water and focused on something simple—the scent of my apple soap, the soft lather, the warmth against my skin.
Anything but him.
I washed my hair, working through the grease and tension from the past few days, letting the water rinse it clean.
For a moment, I relaxed.
Until I realized—
I had forgotten my undergarments.
Of course I had.
“I could help with that,” Arin’s voice came through the door, laced with amusement. “You’ve been in there quite a while.”
I ignored him.
This was entirely his fault.
I wrapped my robe tightly around myself and stepped out, keeping my gaze fixed anywhere but him as I moved quickly to my dresser.
I grabbed what I needed and slipped back into the bathroom, locking the door.
A quiet laugh echoed from the other side.
My breath stilled.
That thought—
It hadn’t felt like mine.
Relax, Eliana. It’s nothing I haven’t seen.
I froze.
That was definitely not my thought.
A strange unease settled in my chest. I still didn’t fully understand what he could do—or how far his abilities reached.
I dressed quickly, fumbling slightly with the corset before managing to secure it.
When I stepped out, Arin was seated comfortably, reading a book I had taken from my grandmother’s collection—one about the founders of Bor.
Of course.
His eyes lifted to me.
They were lighter than I had noticed before—blue, but so pale they bordered on grey.
For a moment, he simply looked at me.
Then he returned to the book.
“It’s been over an hour,” he said.
“I didn’t invite you here,” I snapped. “I know you’re used to invading people’s minds and privacy, but you can’t just appear in my room whenever you please. You’ve ruined my entire plan for today.”
He raised a brow and picked up a sheet of paper from my desk.
“My schedule for tomorrow,” he read aloud. “Number one: do nothing.”
He dropped the paper, crossing one leg over the other as he sat on my bed.
“I assume today is that ‘tomorrow,’” he added. “So we have plenty of time.”
I frowned.
“You have ten minutes.”
He stood, a faint smile playing on his lips as he stepped closer.
“No, Eliana,” he said softly. “I’ll take as much time as I need.”
And then—
Everything disappeared.
---
When I opened my eyes, we were somewhere else.
Somewhere dark.
Not the kind of darkness that comes with night, but something heavier—thick, endless, suffocating.
My breath hitched.
“Who are you,” Arin said slowly, “or rather… what are you, Eliana?”
I swallowed, forcing my voice steady. “I told you before—I don’t have the answer to that question.”
He studied me for a moment.
Then, with a lazy flick of his hand, a chair appeared behind me.
Of course it did.
“Sit,” he said.
I didn’t move.
A small smile tugged at his lips.
“Now,” he continued, his tone calm—too calm, “we can do this the easy way… or the hard way.”
I folded my arms. “I’m not afraid of you.”
That earned me a quiet laugh.
“You should be.”
The air shifted.
“You can choose to tell me what you know,” he went on, taking a slow step closer, “or I can simply… find out myself.”
My chest tightened.
This wasn’t the teasing boy from the ball.
This was something else.
Something colder.
Something far more dangerous.
I lifted my chin, refusing to step back. “Then do it.”
His eyes darkened slightly, interest flickering through them.
“Careful,” he murmured. “You don’t fully understand what you’re offering.”
I didn’t.
But I wasn’t about to let him see that.
My pulse quickened, and I focused inward—on the faint, familiar tingle in my veins.
On the thing that had awakened in me.
If there was ever a time for my power to respond…
It was now.
Because I had just walked straight into the devil’s playground.
And I had no intention of leaving empty-handed.
- Writer
