The man was sitting on the edge of the bed.
His face was buried in his hands.
At first, I thought he was simply awake.
Perhaps he couldn’t sleep either.
Perhaps he was thinking, planning, trying to figure out how to escape this place.
Then I heard it.
His breathing.
Uneven.
Shallow and painful.
Every breath sounded like it hurt, like his lungs were filled with broken glass.
His shoulders shook with each exhale, his fingers digging into his hair.
My heart sank.
…Right.
I hadn’t treated his eyes today.
Every day since healing him, I’d been feeding a little of my divine power into his eyes.
Not enough to remove the corruption—that would take months, maybe years—but just enough to keep it from consuming them.
Without today’s treatment…
The corruption had started fighting back.
I tightened my grip on the door, my knuckles white against the wood.
Getting closer wasn’t exactly appealing.
For all I knew, he’d reward my kindness with another pen to the throat.
Again.
I should leave.
Pretend I hadn’t seen anything.
Go back to my uncomfortable bed on the cold floor and pretend I didn’t hear the sound of a grown man struggling to breathe.
Instead…
I walked inside.
“I can help you.” …
Seriously?
That was the best I could come up with?
His head snapped toward my voice, those black pits fixed on nothing.
He hadn’t realized I was standing there.
“Help me?” His voice was sharp, defensive.
“Weren’t you the one who did this to me?” I sighed, the sound heavy with exhaustion.
“I’ve already told you.” I stepped closer, my bare feet silent against the wooden floor.
“Theo found you half-dead on the mountain.” I stopped a few feet away from him, close enough to see the trembling in his hands.
“You’d been stabbed.” I could still remember the wound—the dark, pulsing hole beneath his ribs, the way the corruption had coiled around it like a living thing.
“You were bleeding so badly that you almost died.” I had poured so much of myself into him that day.
So much divine energy that I’d collapsed at his bedside.
“All I did was heal you.” Silence settled between us.
He lowered his head, his hands falling from his face to grip the edge of the bed.
His shoulders sagged, the tension slowly draining out of him.
“I know you’re in pain,” I said quietly, my voice softer than I intended.
“And pretending you aren’t won’t make it go away.” His jaw tightened.
“…Fine,” he said at last, the word forced out like it cost him something.
I walked over until I was standing in front of him, close enough to see the fine tremors running through his body.
“I need to touch your eyes.” He raised his head toward my voice, those black pits searching for something he couldn’t see.
Even though he couldn’t see me, I could see him.
The darkness surrounding his eyes had grown thicker since this morning.
It clung to his skin like black veins, writhing beneath the surface as though it were alive.
The corruption had spread to his temples, crawling across his cheekbones like cracks in drying clay.
It was getting worse.
“Close your eyes,” I said quietly.
Without arguing, he did.
The dark lids slid shut, but I could still see the corruption pulsing beneath them, desperate and hungry.
I placed both hands over his eyes and slowly let my divine power flow into them.
The moment my power met the corruption, I frowned.
His eyes were burning.
The demonic energy hissed against my holy power, refusing to retreat.
It lashed out like a wounded animal, coiling and snapping, trying to push my light back.
I could feel it fighting me, feel the resistance deep in my bones.
It felt as if two opposing forces were locked in a battle, each trying to devour the other.
Sweat beaded on my forehead.
Normally this treatment only took ten or twenty minutes.
Tonight…
It was taking much longer.
Because I’d skipped it this morning.
The corruption had used that opportunity to spread.
It had taken advantage of my absence, creeping into the spaces I’d left unguarded, rebuilding what I’d spent days tearing down.
I could feel it tearing apart the barriers I’d built over the past week, trying to consume his eyes all over again.
It was almost…
Alive.
My eyes widened.
Just what had stabbed this man?
This wasn’t ordinary demonic corruption.
I’d only ever read about something like this in ancient records.
The kind of corruption said to originate from the deepest parts of the Underworld.
The kind priests spent their entire lives hoping they’d never encounter.
It had a will of its own.
A purpose.
And it wanted his eyes.
No wonder it had been feeding on them.
I pushed more power into him, gritting my teeth against the strain.
Golden light wrapped around his face, bright and warm, as the black corruption slowly retreated, hissing like a cornered beast.
For now…
It would have to be enough.
I pulled my hands away with a quiet sigh, my arms dropping to my sides.
My vision swam for a second, the room tilting dangerously.
Any more, and I’d end up collapsing again.
He slowly opened his eyes, those black pits still sightless.
“…I still can’t see.” “You won’t.” I rubbed my aching temples, the pressure behind my eyes beginning to ease.
“Not yet.” He frowned, his brow furrowing.
“I thought you said you healed me.” “I healed the wounds that would’ve killed you.” I looked him straight in the face, even though he couldn’t see me.
“Your eyes are another matter.” “The corruption inside them is far stronger.” “It’ll take time.” He was quiet for a moment, his hands clenching and unclenching on his thighs.
“Aren’t you the Sol?” he asked finally.
“I am.” “Then shouldn’t you have enough holy power to cure them immediately?” I snorted, a short, humorless sound.
“I probably do.” Hope flickered across his face, a brief flash of light in the darkness.
“…But?” “But I’m not interested in killing myself for someone who thanked me by putting a pen to my neck.” His lips parted.
For once…
He didn’t have a response.
The words hung between.
I turned toward the door, my hand reaching for the handle.
“I’ll continue treating them every day.” I paused, glancing back at him over my shoulder.
“If you’re patient, you’ll see again.
And if you’re lucky…” I looked back at him, letting the words sink in.
“…Maybe you’ll even learn some manners before then.” With that, I walked out and shut the door behind me.
Not hard enough to slam it.
Just enough to let him know the conversation was over.
Honestly…
If I’d simply gone to sleep in the first place, none of this would’ve happened.
I would be warm and comfortable, drifting off to the sound of rain on the roof, oblivious to the drama unfolding in my own bedroom.
But no.
I just had to be a decent person.
I just had to check on him.
I just had to offer my help like some kind of saint.
“Arrogant alpha,” I muttered as I threw myself onto my makeshift bed.
The blankets barely cushioned the impact, the hard floor pressing against my back.
I pulled the blanket over my head with a huff, burrowing into the wool.
“Would saying ‘thank you’ have killed him?” Silence answered me.
The rain continued to fall, heavy and relentless, tapping against the roof in a steady rhythm.
I closed my eyes, willing sleep to come.
“…Definitely arrogant.” The word hung in the air, the last thing I said before sleep finally pulled me under.