Chapter 6-1: The Howling Winds

A flash of mana illuminated the room, followed by a misty figure suddenly appearing. As he felt his body solidify, Ren breathed out in relief. No matter how many times he'd gone through this, he could never get used to it. The feeling of his body turning into mist and being carried to a far away place was simply too unnatural.

With a quiet sigh, he shook his head and turned, only to see Aiden fallen asleep sitting on his chair. His head was resting on his arm, leaning on the desk. His skin was pale, the dark circles underneath his eyes were amplified by the moonlight shining through the windows.

Ren hesitated. What was he still doing here? He'd hoped to get some time for himself. It didn't seem like he was going to get that time. His annoyance disappeared as he noticed how worried the young noble must have been. With dropped shoulders, Ren quietly opened the wardrobe and took some clean clothes.

As he got dressed, he couldn't stop his hands from shaking. His chest – the mark on his heart specifically – still hurt like hell. With clenched teeth, he forced himself to be quiet. He didn't want to wake the young noble up, both because he didn't want to deal with his questions right now and because Aiden was probably also exhausted.

He slowly made his way to the bed. He lay down, watching the dark night sky through the windows. He felt… filthy. He couldn't sleep, he couldn't relax. With a silent sigh, he forced himself to get up. Taking his towel with him, he quietly left the room. With unsteady, slow steps, he made his way to the bath.

He usually refrained from using this place since it was always crowded. Under normal circumstances, the shower in his room would be more than enough, but not this time. Since it was a few short hours before dawn, the whole dorm was asleep. He had the whole bath to himself.

He slowly pushed the wooden door open. As the mist of the hot bath hit his face, he quickly undressed and put his clothes into one of the lockers. As he submerged himself into the hot water, he could feel his muscles relax a little.

He scrubbed his skin until it was red. He could still feel their mana crawling up his skin, it was disgusting. It was painful. Even Prince Aon was unable to keep them in check this time – they all wanted to see if they could unlock the secrets of the mark on his heart.

With a deep breath, he submerged his head. The hot water burned his eyelids and lips, but he forced himself to stay there. Only when he started running out of breath did he lift his head out of the water. He reached for the soap and washed his hair.

He wasn't actually dirty, and it wasn't like the councilmembers' mana was going to stick to him. Still, the warm water and lavender scented soap made him feel much better. He remained in the bath for a while longer, he didn't want to get out of the false safety of the warm water.

A while later, he finally convinced himself to get out. As he made his way back to his room with unsteady steps, he prayed to the moon that Aiden was still asleep.

To his surprise – and relief – the young noble was still asleep. Though, he surely wouldn't remain so much longer, as Ren could spy the first rays of sunlight through the windows as they hit the barrier. Exhausted, he climbed onto the bed and fell into a shallow, restless sleep.

Something shook him awake. "Ren!" Aiden's voice sounded. "When did you come back? Are you ok? What happened?"

Ren opened his eyes to see the young noble's worry filled face. The dark circles under his eyes weren't as visible as they were before, and he seemed at least somewhat rested.

"I'm fine," He mumbled, slowly pushing himself to a sitting position. His head throbbed with an annoying headache, probably due to his lack of sleep and sensory overload. "I'm just tired." He quietly said, massaging his temples. "What time is it?"

"Dawn." Aiden answered, then shook his head. "You don't get to just say 'You're fine' and end it there. What in the moon's name happened?" Ren caught a glimpse of Aiden's clenched fists under his cloak. Was he… angry?

With a sigh, he shook his head. "I'm alive. I'll be fine once this headache stops." He made sure to hide his still unsteady hands under the cloth of his robes. "It's not the first time the council has summoned me, Aiden. You don't have to panic."

The young noble sprung to his feet. "The hell I don't!" He shouted. Re flinched. "What happened, Ren? Why did they call you? What did they do? What did you do?"

Ren sighed. "I made a deal with them." He quietly said. He placed his hand on his heart and, with a bitter smile, clenched his fist. "But it's fine now. They won't come after you, not now, not when you graduate, not ever." He turned to his back to his friend. "You don't need to worry about this anymore." He whispered with a catch in his voice. It was worth it; what was a little more pain and discomfort in exchange for the freedom of his friend?

Nothing.

"What in the moon are you talking about?" Aiden said with an ice-cold voice. Ren felt the young noble's cool mana touch his back. He flinched and instinctively moved away. "You never acted like this before!" Aiden shouted; his mana disappeared again. "I never saw you escape someone's mana like that!"

Ren flinched. "Sorry," He mumbled. "I've been in the same room with a lot of very powerful people." He made a gesture, trying to show the air around him. "It's difficult to even breathe properly when so much mana fills the air."

"They didn't hide it, even though they knew it hurts you?" Aiden asked in confusion and shock. "Why?"

Ren shrugged. "Because it doesn't serve their purpose. I exist as a research subject to them." He glared at the young noble. "Nothing more."

Aiden clenched his fists as his mana once again burst out. His face was twisted in anger, confusion, shock, and a heap of other emotions. He opened his mouth, but wordlessly closed it again.

"It's fine, Aiden." Ren gently reached out and squeezed the young man's shoulder. "It's fine. I'm fine."

"How can you say that?" He asked with a shaky voice. "The High Council exists to protect humanity, to ensure the ongoing prosperity of Arkon. They're supposed to be out protectors!"

Ren flinched. What Aiden said was still technically true. "They are, Aiden. But they're not all powerful and they're not perfect." He shook his head. "They make the tough choices no one else wants to make. They can't afford to look out for any one person."

"But-"

"It's fine." Ren said with a forced smile. "I don't like them, and I don't trust them. But I'd never call them traitors. They do exactly what they're meant to do." Besides, he thought to himself, they weren't all bad. Prince Aon had been looking out for him for a while now. Though, Ren didn't trust or like him either.

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. Who could it be, this early in the morning?