Milo's POV

I freeze as I see Clio attacking Amon. She's one of the strongest sorcerers of the Onyx Coven and she can do spells I have never even heard of. Oh god.

I wanna get over to Amon so I can help him, but I'm dealing with two guys at the same time. I finally manage to blast them away a bit and turn around.

And then I see Clio attack Amon with a sword. Oh no.

"No!"

I rush over and try to stop her, but it's too late. The sword cuts into his arm and I hear him scream in pain. My heart drops. Oh no.

Sophia floats over to me and starts fighting her off with me. Suddenly, she stops attacking us. I see that Arran is attacking her, so he takes over the fight. I think they're about equally as strong.

Sophia turns to me. "Get him out of here and get him back to the headquarters", she says.

I nod and run over to Amon who seems to be unconscious by now. There's so much blood gushing out of the cut and his clothes are getting drenched in it. 

"Oh my god, no, no, no." I try to do a healing charm, but it doesn't really work. Then I just grab him and put him over my shoulder and then float away from the battlefield as fast as I can.

I reach the portal that's guarded by two of our sorcerers and they let me through. I go through and get to the other side. A few people are waiting there and one of them drives us back to the headquarters.

I do a few spells to reduce the bleeding because otherwise, he'd probably bleed out. It takes me a few tries, though, because it's so hard to focus.

I realize that I'm on the verge of tears. God, no, I need to keep myself together right now. I can't freak out, that would only make matters worse. I gulp, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat.

We finally arrive at the headquarters and people help me get Amon inside. Several healers levitate him inside to the healing rooms.

I don't know if my heart has ever beaten this fast before. I hope he's gonna be okay. God, how did I get so attached to him? I was just supposed to look after him and help him learn, but now I... I don't know, I have serious feelings for him, I-I might even be in love with him.

Our healers take care of him and start using spells, but the cut doesn't look a lot better.

"Why isn't it getting better?", I ask weakly, still on the verge of tears.

"Dark magic", Alvina, one of the healers, just says.

Fuck, I forgot about that. Dark magic is extremely difficult to heal. If it was a cut from a normal blade, we could have just done a healing spell and he would have been fine again. But now... it'll probably take weeks, or even months, to heal fully. And it'll leave a permanent scar. 

They use a few spells and then give him a potion so he won't be in as much pain. I'm not entirely sure how well it works against dark magic, but I really hope it works well enough. I don't want him to be in pain.

Then they step away from him, letting him rest. I get a chair and sit down next to him. I just look at him for a while. His face is a bit bruised up and has a few cuts and they put bandages over his arm so I don't know how bad it looks.

I take a trembling breath and, as much as I want to, I can't hold back a few tears. I quickly wipe them away.

At least he looks peaceful right now.

I just sit there in silence for a while until suddenly, I hear steps. I look up and see that it's Caspian.

Oh no, that can't be good.

I get up and walk up to him because I don't want Amon to wake up from the conversation. He needs to rest now.

"Milo, I expect an explanation", he says harshly.

"Sir, Clio attacked him and I had to get him out of there. That's why we left. He's injured very severely and he was unconscious."

Caspian raises his eyebrows. "Oh, really?", he says in an infuriatingly condescending tone and it makes me want to punch him in his stupid face. "I expected more from him. He's supposed to be gifted, right? He's the one that supposedly saves us all. Then why can't he even handle Clio?"

I bite down on my tongue for a second so I don't just call him a fucking asshole. "Sir, he's been training for a month and he's been doing great, we can't just expect him to be perfect already. He has a lot of pressure and he was torn out of his-"

"I don't care, Milo", Caspian cuts me off, "he needs to do better. He has to train more, starting tomorrow."

"He's severely injured!", I reply and now I don't care that I'm yelling at him.

"Change your tone", he says threateningly.

"Not if you talk about him that way! He's our only hope and you're treating him like shit and I will not just let this slide without saying anything."

A few blue sparks appear around my hands. I'm just so angry and it's hard to control myself right now.

"I'm just being honest", Caspian keeps going, "he's not gonna be able to withstand Azrael like that."

"He needs time!"

"Maybe we just need someone more qualified."

I stare at him furiously. "He is qualified, you're just expecting way too much. Give him a chance!"

"I suppose we'll have to, even though he had his chance today and failed miserably."

Okay, that was the last straw. I can't control my anger anymore. I shoot a few energy blasts at him, feeling enraged.

He deflects them. "Milo, stop", he says, but I don't listen and shoot another attack at him. Suddenly, he shoots one back, and it's a really powerful one.

I get flung through the air and hit the ground a few feet away. I groan, my head is pulsing. I feel numb and it takes me a few seconds to sit up again. I feel the back of my head, at least I'm not bleeding. 

"I hope you learned your lesson", Caspian says dryly and just walks away.

"Fuck", I mutter and take a deep breath.

"Are you okay?"

I look up and realize it was Amon who asked that. I get up and walk over to him, rubbing my head where I hit it on the floor.

"I'm fine, don't worry."

I sit down on the chair next to the bed again. "What about you?", I ask carefully.

"My arm hurts a bit, but it's okay."

I frown. He sounds weak and exhausted... and sad. "How long have you been awake?", I ask.

"The first thing I heard was Caspian saying that he doesn't care", he replies quietly.

"You heard all of that?"

He just nods. I sigh a little. 

"Listen... Don't let what he said get to you, please. Caspian has overwhelming expectations when it comes to everyone here. He treated Philo and Sophia the same way when they were training. He always treated me badly, too. It's not your fault. You did great, especially considering that you've only been training for a month."

He looks back at me, trying to smile, but he doesn't quite get there. "I'm just scared, you know", he says with a slightly shaky voice, "I'm scared I'm not strong enough for this."

I realize he's tearing up and it breaks my heart. I don't want him to feel this way. I want him to know that he's amazing and strong and loved. That he's good enough.

I consider taking his hand for a second but then decide against it. Too risky.

"Amon... You might not be ready yet, but you will be. I promise. And I will be here to support you through everything, okay?"

He looks at me, a tear rolling down his cheek. "Thank you for being so nice to me", he says softly and it feels like a punch in the guts.

I smile a little. "Of course."

It's quiet for a while.

"Can I ask you something?", he asks carefully.

"Sure", I reply, not really knowing where this is gonna go.

"Where is your family? Are they in this coven, too?"

I smile a sad smile. I mean I expected him to ask about it at some point, but it still hurts.

"Well... they both were in this coven. My father died before I was even born. And my mother..." I gulp, thinking back to that day. "She died in that battle two years ago, Azrael killed her. She was the leader of the coven and an incredible sorceress. That's why people expect so much from me, but... I'll never be as good as her."

"You're 22, Milo. You still have time to improve. And from what I've seen, you're pretty damn good."

I smile. That is such a sweet thing to say. "Thank you."

I bite my lip, thinking back to the day my mother died. We were told about the upcoming battle and then I got into an argument with my her. She wouldn't let me join her in the fight. And I yelled at her and told her that she doesn't believe in me.

Those are the last words I've ever said to her.

And I've regretted that every single day since.

She just wanted to protect me, but I was rude to her. And then Azrael murdered her.

I haven't been the same since. Caspian and Arran expect me to step in her place on the battlefield, but... that's so much pressure. She was incredible. She was my idol, my role model. And she was a great mother.

I miss her every single day.

A tear rolls down my cheek and I wipe it away quickly, hoping Amon didn't notice. But I'm pretty sure he did.

"I'm sorry, you must miss her a lot", he says softly.

I just nod.

"I'm sure she'd be proud of you", he adds and I look up at him.

He smiles softly and I just look at him surprised. "Why do you think she would be proud of me?"

"Because you're talented and kind and compassionate. And you just stood up to the leader of your coven, that takes some guts."

I smile back at him, another tear streaming down my face. That's such a kind thing to say. And it means so much. "Thank you. Really."

As I'm looking at him right now, I know for sure: I'm in love with him.