WRATH - 3 AM

I tried to fill my lungs with air, my breaths chasing the oxygen. Water burnt at my eyes, filling my lungs. I beat down at the water with my hands, but the harder I fought, the deeper I seemed to sink.

I woke up in sweats in the middle of the night, with a name on my lips.

Patience.

With my breath still racing, I looked around me only to find my roommate staring at me from his bed on the other side of the room.

"What are you looking at?" I snapped. Even while shrouded in the dark, he was the most mundane-looking being I had ever seen. With his pale skin and brown eyes, he almost looked human.

He scoffed. "Weirdo."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You were talking in your sleep," he muttered, pulling his duvet up to lie back down. "Something about a chick called Patience. She your mate or something?"

"What's your name, again?"

He closed his eyes. "Lucas."

"Mind your own fucking business, Lucas."

Lucas grinned. "Keep your wet dreams quiet, and I'll try."

I threw a pillow at him and he let out an annoyed groan when it hit his face. He hurled the pillow back at me before turning around.

Idiot.

PATIENCE - 6 AM

It had been hours since last night. I had tried to sleep, tossing and turning, but struggled to get the image of Wrath's face out of my mind.

The bruises that had lined his skin.

His bare chest.

His stormy red eyes.

The veins extending down his neck.

"'Oof, kid," Zeen dropped her towel onto her bed, shaking her wet hair out. "Yous looks rough. Not rougher than that disgusting bathroom, though." She grimaced, eyeing the door. "Sleep bad?"

"Very bad."

Our room came with a bathroom — or, at least, that was what it was supposed to be. A bare metal bathtub lay in the middle of the room, with cracked grey tiles extending along the floor and the walls. The sink was lopsided, hanging onto the wall from one edge. I washed my hands in its cold water, rubbing at my wrists as though I could remove the memory of Wrath's skin on mine. His hold had felt like a brandishing stick — it had scorched through me.

And yet I yearned for more of him.

I stepped out of my clothes, sitting on the edge of the bathtub as the water began to rise.

His eyes always followed my every move, tracing my figure with a dark gaze. It had always been hard separating my mind from my body around him. My Virtue betrayed me whenever he was near, seeking out his touch.

Inhaling sharply at the iciness of the water, I grabbed onto the sides of the bath, lowering myself slowly into its cold embrace.

And I had a feeling seeing him train at the camp would only make it harder for me.

I sunk deeper into the water.

Something inside me needed to be close to him. But the closer he was to me, the more I hurt.

The cold water reached my chin, edging up to the rest of my face.

And I had had enough of that feeling.

I let the water take over — I let it pull me under until I was completely submerged in it.

My chest began to burn as I fought the urge to rise for air. Seconds passed, and then minutes. The silence that I found beneath the water was the only peace I had experienced for days. I let that peace, that quiet fill my head like a dense cloud.

I was disgusted with myself. Disgusted with the way I wanted him. He was bad for me. He was venomous. Wrath was danger incarnate. And all he did was burn me.

I had to find a way to hold onto the hate I had for him; I would hold onto it for dear life until I could get out of this camp. And then I would leave — away from him and away from all of the pain.

A distant muffled sound met my ears before I was yanked roughly out of the water.

"Woman, you mad?" Her frame was blurry as I cleared my eyes of the water. Zeen stood in front of me, her eyes panicked. "What the fuck yous doing?"

"I was," I cleared my throat. "I was just...trying to see something."

Zeen blinked at me. "Yeah, yous crazy," she muttered under her breath. Her voice shook slightly. "Don't ever do anything stupid like that again. Not here. Not ever."

I nodded.

"And go get ready," she added quietly, "we have training. I'll wait for you outside."

The care in her eyes had been unmistakable. But her worry was unfounded. Sins and Virtues were immortal — un-killable even by our own hands.

Which meant an eternity of misery for me.

WRATH

I rolled my shoulders, my back still sore from my wings last night.

Grey, grey, grey. Everything in this fucking camp was grey. The sky loomed above as the beings began to warm up, preparing for the first day of training. We were on the grounds surrounding the main building. The rocky concrete was dizzying to walk on and as I began to stretch, my eyes traced the grounds for Patience of their own accord.

Wherever I went the first thing I did was look for her.

And it was a habit I would die trying to get rid of.

Lucas jogged on the spot next to me, panting. "What the fuck happened to him?" he asked, gesturing with his chin.

I followed his sign and the sight of the being I'd thrown against the wall last night made my fists clench by my side. His green skin was torn in places, his nose bent at the bridge.

I wish I'd broken a few more bones. The bastard had already started to heal.

Lucas shrugged, elbowing at me. I cursed, glaring at him. "Race you to the end of the tracks!" he shouted, running off into the distance.

"What are you, five?" I shouted back.

He flipped me off.

I caught up to Lucas rapidly, my legs eating up the ground beneath me. My breaths rushed in and out of my lungs as I passed by him, a sweet burn cascading over my muscles.

"Alright!" I came to a stop as a booming voice travelled over the grounds. Lucas shoved me playfully, cursing lowly under his breath as he bent over his knees to catch his breath. "I'm your Captain and I look forward to training your abilities at this camp." The Captain's three eyes swivelled in all directions, his pink skin sagging around his lips as he spoke.

Whatever he was saying went right over my head. I looked around a final time for her, tensing when I didn't spot that familiar spark of ice-blond hair.

It wasn't care that made me seek her out. I didn't give a fuck about Patience. It was my Sin. The Sin that flowed within my veins reacted to her like she was a magnet, pulling me forever in her direction.

She was addictive, and my Sin was hooked.

I reacted to her scent like it was my personal brand of drugs. Normally, her presence was intoxicating. Maddening. I struggled to keep my Sin hinged around her.

Today, her presence made me see red.

One of the trainers had Patience scooped up in his arms. She clung to him as he walked to the Captain, her gaze flickering around the crowd of people staring at her. The reason I hadn't been able to smell her was that she reeked of another man. I watched as her fist tangled in the man's collar. He cast her a glance, his attention lingering on her for a little too long.

"The virtue," the trainer cleared his throat, "I mean Patience is badly injured. It's unlikely she'll be able to participate."

The Captain nodded. "Well, in that case—"

"She's fine," I interrupted. I was fuming and I hated every second of it. Patience had every right to do whatever she wanted — she could touch, hold, kiss whoever she wanted.

I had no right to be jealous.

And yet my Sin rattled against my skin, raging to get out and claim her.

The Captain's eyes narrowed on me. "It's best if you leave that judgement to me, Wrath."

"No," a soft voice spoke. "He's right. I'm fine."

PATIENCE

I'd tripped almost immediately on the rocky pavement after I'd begun to jog around the tracks with Zeen. She'd called for help while my ankle throbbed and my legs threatened to cave out beneath my weight.

But it didn't matter that I was injured. I couldn't let go of this opportunity.

Because Wrath and I both knew what was coming next.

A fight.

And it was my only way to reignite my hate for him.

There was only so much I would be able to do against him in a fight.

He was bigger than me. Stronger than me. Faster than me.

Luckily for me, all I needed to do was get him furious. I needed his Sin to clamber free and rage.

I needed him to make me lose. And I needed him to make it hurt.

It would put all my dreams and desires and hopes and stupidity to sleep. My Virtue would finally see that Wrath would never be my missing puzzle piece, for he was a monster.

This was the one game I refused to play nice in.

No. I would play red.

•••

Catch the link between Wrath's dream and Patience's bath?

This chapter took me soooo long to write. Writer's block is painful :(

Leave a vote if you enjoyed!!

Love,
Laila.