His mouth is a tight line as his nostrils flare, and I'm not sure whether he's in pain or not.

"They will be dead," he states in a rough voice. "They will be utterly dead."

I fit my hand to his cheek, brushing my thumb across his jaw and attempting a smile—more for his sake than mine.

"Let's leave. Please."

He breathes in and out, struggling to regain control of himself. His arms are around me, a protective cage as more bowls hit him, the flavored ice melting over his clothes, hair, and skin. He's thoroughly soaked and soiled, but he doesn't bat an eye at it. He might be out of his mind with anger, but his first thought is to protect me, not punish those who mocked him.

My heart squeezes in my chest, slow and steady, until my insides ignite with warmth.

"Take me back, Ze," I whisper.

He squeezes his eyes shut, and the purple mist around us starts dissipating.

FIFTY

Before I blink, we're back in my room at Thea's house.

A little dizzy, I take a step back.

"Oh, Ze..." I struggle not to laugh as I take a good look at him.

His black clothes are thoroughly stained by the melted ice, drops of it dripping down his body and onto the floor. His hair is utterly drenched in sweet ice, his black locks covered in a myriad of shades ranging from white to pink to brown—vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, and all the flavors in between. Smudges of chocolate sauce are on his face too, streaked across his forehead and his cheeks.

There's even a messy dot on his nose—though I have no idea how that got there.

I circle around him, quickly assessing the damage.

Though the front of his clothes is soiled, it's nothing compared to the back, where he took the brunt of the blows.

Those damn people!

Merely remembering that incident makes my blood boil again.

I reach out, brushing my hand over the back of his shirt and noticing the small cuts and tears in the material—he'd been hit. The bowls likely broke against his back and cut into his shirt...and his skin.

Of course, he's likely already healed from it. But that doesn't change the fact that it happened—that he couldn't even enjoy a simple dessert in public because people tried to kill him.

He might be the most hated man in Aperion but... There's just something utterly lonely and heartbreaking about him that makes me want to protect him—show him that he can live his life differently. Because no matter what he's said and done in the past, the undeniable truth is that...he doesn't know better.

He's lived his life as he was conditioned to, only existing, never truly living. For that alone, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt—give him a chance that no one else seemingly has.