Silence finally prevailed when the door closed behind Kristoff, leaving behind the echo of his long-winded reprimands and warnings that only added weight to my shoulders.
That calm smile that played on his lips before he left seemed like an olive branch I no longer had the energy to pick up.
Damn everything; I had never felt this much exhaustion and fatigue in my entire life. I felt as if my soul had been completely drained, leaving nothing but a body yearning for tranquility.
I muttered to myself as I dragged my heavy feet:
"A warm bath and a deep sleep, that's all I need right now."
But when I stood under the spray of water, I changed my mind at the last moment; the heat surging through my body and boiling in my veins seemed terrifying, like a fever coming to finish off what was left of my resilience.
So, I surrendered to the cold water that struck my skin like thousands of icy needles.
I gasped sharply at first, but then I felt those fires burning in my chest fade slightly under the weight of the cold, washing away the worries of an arduous day.
Immediately after finishing, I stepped out with a body trembling slightly from the water's effect and headed straight for the closet, looking for anything that would grant me a sense of freedom.
I pulled out a pair of short, wide shorts and a light top that revealed my chest and stomach, allowing my skin space to breathe away from the constraints of suffocating formal clothing.
With an uncontrolled movement, I threw myself onto the plush bed, letting my body sink into its folds as if I were falling into a deep well of fatigue.
I closed my eyes tightly while the image of that "despicable prince" loomed on the horizon of my imagination, increasing my sense of resentment; for tomorrow, a long and exhausting day awaited me by his side.
But now, I only wanted to drown in nothingness, away from Kristoff's warnings and the prince's arrogance.
I opened my eyes with great difficulty, my eyelids feeling as if they were cast from heavy lead, refusing to rise.
Light filters through the glass like a silent visitor, quietly erasing the darkness of the room until it settles on that bed.
Its light caresses Aria's face, surrendered to sleep, as if the sun is trying to tame those sharp words with its warmth before she wakes up to return the usual noise to the universe.
The sound of the alarm pierced the silence of the room like a sharp dagger, striking my head which was still heavy with the remains of an incomplete sleep.
"A cursed curse upon whoever invented this stupid machine!"
I muttered a faint curse as I reached out blindly to strike that wretched device and silence its provocative shouting.
I sat up slowly, my body swaying right and left as if I were drunk from extreme exhaustion, then dragged myself toward the bathroom with stumbling steps, trying to gather the fragments of my mind to prepare myself for this eventful day.
Inwardly, I repeated a silent prayer not to lose control again, and that the beast of my anger would not break its leash in front of that prince.
I stood before my closet summoning my manufactured dignity and put on the official academy uniform: that jacket that gives me a sharp look, and the short skirt that adds a touch of hidden rebellion.
After putting on my shoes, I headed toward the large mirror, and there I stopped for a moment to contemplate my pale face.
I raised my hand to caress the strands of my rebellious red hair and combed it quietly, letting it flow freely over my shoulders like a waterfall of fire, then added simple touches of mascara to highlight the sharpness of my gaze and applied lip balm smoothly.
I picked up the bottle of my favorite perfume and sprayed the air with a refreshing mist that surrounded me like an invisible shield.
At that moment, despite all the fatigue and distress, a smile of confidence appeared on my lips as I looked at my reflection in the mirror.
I turned with a slight pride and left the room with confident steps, ready to face the world... and face that arrogant prince.
I roamed the long corridors back and forth as if I were in a maze designed specifically to test what remained of my frayed nerves.
Searching for that wretched spiral staircase leading to the lower floor, with every wrong turn I felt my patience running out like rising smoke.
"My God, finally! I almost went crazy circling around myself like a fool."
I muttered it in a resentful tone when my eyes finally fell on its winding steps.
I descended them quickly, as if escaping from walls that were about to close in on me.
Once my feet touched the bridge extending over the grand plaza, the restless magic of the place greeted me.
The magical fountain was sparkling in the center, its spray shining under the light like diamonds, while glowing butterflies danced over rare flowers in the garden as if in an eternal celebration.
But the magic of nature did not last long in my eyes, for my gaze froze when I spotted him there.
Leaning with a provocative coldness against the wall of the corridor leading to the classrooms, placing one foot over the other in a position that suggested absolute sovereignty over the place.
He wasn't looking at me; instead, he was occupied with a gold coin that he passed between his fingers with amazing flexibility and lightning speed, the metal moving over his joints as if it were part of his body.
Even though I was only steps away, and despite my certainty that he sensed my presence—for his kind possesses the senses of stray dogs in tracking movement—he did not bother to turn around.
He remained watching his coin, leaving me standing in confusion. Was he waiting for me? No, no, impossible?!
Unless he wanted to continue the fight here, I had no objection...
Damn, what should I do now? Should I ignore him and pass as if I hadn't seen him, or wait for a word from him to open this miserable day?
I stood there, my red hair fluttering behind me with the breeze, watching the movement of his agile fingers and asking myself: How can someone be so arrogant and lethally beautiful at the same time?
The scene around me provoked my resentment as much as it provoked my mockery; students passed in the corridor like driven swarms, but the girls specifically were in a state of silent delirium.
Looks of admiration overflowed from their eyes, until I imagined their hearts would leap from their chests to throw themselves at his feet.
I sighed with annoyance as I watched this free show; I cannot deny the truth, the man explodes with handsomeness and an overwhelming charisma, but he is simply not my "type" in men; I am not attracted to those condescending auras.
I wrinkled my face in slight distaste as I stepped toward him with steady strides, pretending not to see him.
When I arrived exactly in front of him, about to pass him coldly, I saw him staring at that coin with extreme boredom, then he tossed it into the air in a slow, showy motion.
At that moment, I felt a spark of mischief ignite in my chest; my eyes glinted with a flash of victory, and before the coin began its journey back to his palm, I extended my hand with lightning speed—a speed that neither he nor the eyes of the admirers around me perceived.
I snatched the coin from the air while it was still at its peak and closed my fingers over it tightly.
I didn't stop, and I didn't look at him; instead, I continued my way with confident steps and my head held high, leaving him behind staring at the emptiness of his hand waiting for the return of its gold.
The silence of the corridor had become heavier now, and I felt his gaze piercing my back like whips.
Damn, I did it! I ignored him completely after I stole a moment of his pride.
I completed my path without turning back, putting the coin in my pocket with utter coldness, ignoring him completely as if he did not exist.
But the silence that hung over the corridor did not last long; it was broken by the sound of his calm and confident footsteps beginning to approach from behind me, followed by his deep voice carrying an amused tone I did not expect.
"Theft in broad daylight?"
He said it in a cold, velvety tone, followed by a faint laugh not devoid of challenge:
"I didn't know my new companion possessed sleight of hand skills... or did you just not resist the urge to catch my attention, Aria?"
I stopped in my tracks, feeling my blood boil from his coldness.
I turned slowly to find him standing two steps away, hands in his pockets, eyes shining with a provocative glint as if he had found a new toy to entertain himself with, waiting for a response from me to satisfy the hunger of his wounded pride.
My sarcastic smile widened to reach my eyes; I felt a strange thrill seeing the calm expression of shock on his face.
I stared directly into his eyes with a boldness he was not accustomed to from anyone, and said in a tone dripping with mockery:
"And who are you, exactly, for me to put effort into catching your attention?"
That smile gradually faded from my face, replaced by a lethal coldness, as if I had closed an iron door in his face.
I added in a decisive tone that accepted no argument:
"I don't care about your kind at all, so don't delude yourself too much."
At that moment, I saw something that made the blood freeze in my veins for a second before the challenge ignited within me again.
His eyes began to glow with a strange yellow color, a localized fire trapped behind glass bars.
His gaze sharpened until it became like a knife blade, and he took one step toward me that was enough to make the students around us retreat in utter silence.
His voice dropped to a terrifying hiss, but he maintained that provocative aristocratic tone:
"You don't care? Then let's see how long this coldness lasts when you realize that I am the only person who holds the power to keep you in this academy or execute you with one word."
He extended his hand slowly toward my face, his finger hovering near my cheek without touching it, and added as his yellow eyes increased in glow:
"The coin, Aria. Return it now, and kiss your hand because I haven't yet decided how I will punish you for this insolence."
I stood my ground firmly, though my heart was beating the drums of war in my chest.
I didn't even blink; instead, I raised my chin in blatant defiance, and slowly put my hand in my pocket to feel the cold texture of the coin, and said in a whisper that only he heard:
"If you want this coin, then come and take it... if you can."
Even though my body was groaning under the weight of exhaustion, and that wretched heat was still gnawing at my insides and throwing my energy into utter chaos, my pride was still as solid as steel.
When his patience completely ran out and he reached insolently toward my pocket, I didn't think twice.
My hand lunged onto his wrist like a metal trap, and I squeezed with all the suppressed anger I possessed until I heard the creaking of his wrist bones as they crowded and groaned under my grip.
I saw his handsome facial features distort with wrinkles of pain he didn't expect, his yellow eyes flashing sparks.
I said through my teeth in a tone dripping with poison:
"Do not touch me with that filthy hand of yours."
At that moment, I saw the veins of his hand bulge as he tried to pump massive bursts of his magical energy to push my hand away,
but I felt his magic fade and extinguish as soon as it touched my skin; for my body was simply the "black hole" for every spell, insulating and neutralizing all types of magic he might cast.
The shock faded from his face gradually, replaced by a sharp and provocative intelligence.
He seemed to remember the truth of my identity at that moment; he remembered that my exhausted body does not look for his magic to steal it, but to break and destroy it completely like a broken machine thirsting to wreck what is around it.
A slight, cold, and terrifying smile formed on his lips, as if he had found the loophole he was looking for.
He stopped resisting completely, and instead of pulling his hand, he relaxed his body to let me absorb more of his raw energy that was burning me from the inside.
He whispered in a deep voice that pierced the noise of the corridor:
"You are hungry then, Aria? Your body is burning and looking for an aura to break so it can calm down..."
He leaned his head closer to me until I felt his breath, and continued maliciously:
"Then take it... take all you want, but remember that drinking from a poisoned spring has a price. I will leave you to drown in my energy until you lose control completely in front of everyone, and we shall see then who will beg the other in the end."
He left his hand surrendered between my hands and began to pump his energy not with the intent to attack, but with the intent to drown, waiting for the moment when my exhausted body would collapse under the pressure of his destructive magical powers.
Even though hell was raging behind my ribs and the heat was gnawing at what remained of my stability, I did not budge.
I stood before him like a firm mountain unmoved by the winds of his arrogance, while my body absorbed his energy with a madness and hysteria beyond my control.
I felt his power break and shatter inside my veins as if it were broken glass, my body destroying it with an annihilating violence.
The pain was terrible, as if my tissues were being slashed by blades of fire, and my cells were being damaged one by one, but I decided that I would die standing rather than let his pride have the honor of seeing me defeated.
His confident smile gradually faded, replaced by amazement mixed with dread as he saw my legendary steadfastness despite his pumping of those massive amounts of energy.
While I was feigning strength and staring into his yellow eyes with a coldness that defied death, I felt something warm and sticky slowly sliding from my nose.
His eyes slid slowly toward my lips to watch the crimson drops of blood tracing their path on my pale face.
His features froze, and his voice dropped to become sharper and more disturbed:
"You are crazy... you will kill yourself just so you don't bow? Your body is collapsing, Aria, stop!"
His voice did not carry pity, but a mixture of anger and amazement at a being he could not subdue.
I tightened my grip on his wrist more, though my vision began to blur before me, and I whispered words wet with my blood:
"Death is easier... than seeing... your false victory."
I released his hand with force as if I were getting rid of a venomous snake and pushed him away from me with all the resolve I had left.
I pulled up the sleeve of my formal jacket coldly and wiped the warm blood sliding from my nose with a violent motion, trying to erase any trace of weakness that might feed his pride.
I stared at him with a gaze overflowing with loathing and disgust, a look sufficient to tell him that his touch only increased my revulsion, then I turned away from him without a single word.
I was walking down the corridor fighting my urge to fall; every cell in my body was screaming in pain, and the heat I had absorbed from his energy began to toss in my veins like raging waves seeking an exit.
I pressed my hands to my chest trying to restrain that internal tearing and rushed toward the nearby restroom with stumbling steps.
As soon as I entered, I threw myself in front of the sink and turned on the cold water tap to wash my face violently.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror: pale, miserable, but my eyes still flashing with defiance.
"Damn you and your magic."
I whispered to myself bitterly as I felt my chest which was about to explode, then I dragged my exhausted body to sit on one of the side benches, putting my head between
my hands while breathing with difficulty, trying to gather the fragments of my soul that had crumbled in that encounter.
He remained standing in his place for seconds, staring at the void of his hand which still carried the trace of her grip, and his wrist which turned blue and purple from the strength of her pressure.
He did not follow her, not because he couldn't, but because his pride was shocked by that silent strength.
He wiped his thumb which was stained with her blood and looked at it with amazement mixed with a mysterious and dangerous smile.
He muttered in a faint voice heard by no one else:
"What kind of human are you, Aria? You break from the inside and remain standing coldly as if you own the world... this game is starting to become more entertaining than I expected."
He also turned toward the classroom, but he was no longer just that cold prince; he had become a man haunted by a lethal curiosity toward that girl who burned his magic with her cold blood.