Sebek closed his eyes for what felt like a blink. When he opened them, Master Lilia stared down at him. Voices reached his ears, as though they came from underwater, and everything hurt.

"Can you stand?" Master Lilia asked.

Sebek tried. But his muscles ached when he moved, like the burning from Silver's sword, and he fell back on the grass. His eyes watered, tears spilling. "Master Lilia, I'm so sorry." His voice came out a faint whisper.

"Over here," Master Lilia called, turning away. "Get him to the infirmary!"

"Wait—" His throat caught. And his tooth still ached.

Someone hefted Sebek onto a floating stretcher. By the water, Floyd was helping Floyd onto a floating stretcher as well, who was now in human form—no. Jade was helping Floyd. Closer to the edge of the field, Deuce and Trey supported a limping Ace.

And Silver…Lilia was prodding Silver with one hand, waving with the other to another person with a floating stretcher, directing them over to where the human lay.

Guilt twisted Sebek's stomach.

Why had he ever thought this was what he wanted?

The stretcher began to move, the sky overhead dizzying. Sebek closed his eyes again, just for a moment, a single blink. He wanted to apologize. He wanted to call for Master Lilia. For Silver. But he just fell further into unconsciousness.

His eyelids were impossibly heavy. Low sounds came from somewhere at the edge of his consciousness, and he listened without opening his eyes. Master Lilia. Lord Malleus. Their voices came from far away, just on the edge of his sharp hearing.

"…Our fault," Master Lilia said. "How is Silver?"

"He won't wake up," Malleus said.

Sebek's heart thudded in fear, and he could barely hear the rest of it.

"… Sebek." Sebek could definitely hear the frustration in Master Lilia's voice when he said his name. "I should have seen it. What sort of upperclassmen, what sort of guardian, am I to not have noticed!"

The voices faded, footsteps taking them away. Maybe Sebek slept more, or maybe he didn't. He was too tired to know.

But soon a different sensation began to bloom, consciousness fully returning.

Pain.

Sebek opened his mouth, gasping as the aches and bruises made themselves known. His chest hurt. His legs and arms felt as though Floyd had squeezed each one until they cracked. And worst of all, as he breathed, his tooth still screamed with agony as the air ran over it.

He let out a quiet whimper.

"Are you awake?" the voice was louder. Someone was in the room with him, and it took him what felt like an eternity to find the strength to open his eyes.

Trey. The room behind the green-haired boy sharpened as Sebek blinked, a small wooden room with nothing but the bed he lay on, a small table next to it, and a simple wooden door. The whole room smelled of birch, like some sort of cabin, though the thin blanket that covered him smelled like dust. There was no window to let in fresh air.

"What…" Sebek licked dry lips. "What are you doing here? Where…"

"You're in the infirmary, in one of the recovery rooms. As for why I'm here…" Trey counted on his fingers. "First, because Silver asked me to help you before. Also Ace is here resting. And since I was here, Lilia asked me to let him know as soon as you woke up. So, three reasons. Now, do you want me to let Lilia know, or do you need more rest?" He tilted his head with a kind smile.

Sebek blinked, the heaviness of sleep and exhaustion mixed with pain threatening to drag him under. Sleep would make the pain stop, but he didn't want to sleep. He wanted to know.

"Do…" he began to speak, but couldn't finish. Does Lilia hate me? Does Malleus hate me? Is Ace okay? Did Floyd survive?

Is Silver going to be okay?

Speaking hurt. Thinking hurt. Sebek's face reddened as tears began to fall. But at least only Trey would see it.

Trey didn't say anything, and Sebek was grateful. Blurry in Sebek's vision, he took something out of his pocket—a small tube, and…a toothbrush?

"This is what Silver asked me for. I think he knew how much pain you were in, and knew I'm passionate about dental hygiene. Your dad is a dentist, right?"

Sebek nodded, blinking away tears.

Trey smiled. "Then you too must understand the importance of healthy teeth." With a flourish, he put the paste on the brush, a healthy dollop like he was decorating a cake. "I'm no dentist yet, but if this works, please tell him about it. It's a special numbing formula. It will get rid of the pain in your mouth, at least until…is it true that you can just grow new teeth after a while?"

Sebek nodded again. The tears had stopped for now.

"That's amazing." Trey peered at him, as though trying to somehow see all of his teeth, and Sebek suddenly understood Malleus's confusion and slight discomfort when people commented on his horns. "Well, give this a try. Put the paste on the injured tooth."

With shaky hands, Sebek took the proffered toothbrush. "Oh, right. What's your favorite food?" Trey asked.

Sebek paused. "Salmon Carpaccio," he managed.

"Doodle suit," Trey said, gesturing with his pen. Sebek closed his eyes and tensed, expected the brush to turn into a shower of cards, like the tree had when it had nearly crushed Ace. Maybe all of this had been a distraction, a ruse. Maybe Trey was making fun of him. Maybe he was going to get revenge on Sebek for injuring his dormmate.

But nothing happened.

"Now try it," Trey said.

Sebek put the bristly, paste covered brush in his mouth, aiming for the tooth that had caused him so much agony over the past day. He expected more pain, and winced as he did it.

But as the taste of salmon carpaccio filled his mouth, the numbing began. The pain vanished.

"Don't eat the brush!" Trey said with a laugh. "Just the paste!"

Sebek licked the last of it off the brush. The absence of the pain that had warped his senses and prevented his eating and sleeping felt like a miracle. And it tasted like his favorite food! "Your magic is amazing!" he said, trying to sit up further.

A wave of dizziness took him back down onto the pillow.

"Careful," Trey said. His eyebrows drew down slightly when he took the toothbrush. "You should keep resting. After Riddle overblotted, he was stuck in bed for a day or so until the weakness passed. You likely won't be able to use much magic for a few days, too."

Trey spoke kindly, even as the words felt like blows, reminding him of what had happened. What he had done. "Malleus fixed the pond area. Floyd is still unconscious and badly injured, but is expected to make a full recovery." Trey gave him a sympathetic glance, probably noticing when Sebek felt the room spin at the memory of Floyd's limp form. "Ace will make a full recovery too, although he keeps arguing with the doctor even though he's supposed to rest his leg." He chuckled. "And Silver is sleeping."

"But…he won't wake up," Sebek said aloud, remembering Malleus's words through the door.

Trey tilted his head. "I…hadn't heard that. But I'm sure he'll be fine. He's sleeping right across the hall." He smiled again.

Trey was…strange. He reminded him of his father. "Things will be fine, Sebek. Try not to get too upset."

He didn't understand his father, but he appreciated him. He appreciated Trey too.

"I think…I think I'm ready to talk to Master Lilia now," he said, swallowing down an emotion that made him feel weaker than he had ever felt in his life.

Shame. Fear.

"Of course. I'll let him know. The paste I gave you will last about three hours, and I left some on the bedside table there. Come see me when you need more. Or I suppose Silver could get it, but then it won't taste like salmon if he takes too long to deliver it. Plus I'd love to see how fae teeth regenerate." Trey grinned as he headed to the door, turning before he opened it.

"Whatever made you overblot…the fact that you came back means it can be overcome," he said. "That's what Riddle told me, anyway."

Sebek caught a glimpse of someone in purple in the hall, and Trey closed the door.

"He's awake, isn't he?" a dangerous angry voice came from the hallway, and Sebek tensed. He immediately missed Trey's calming presence.

"I'm going to get Lilia and Malleus," Trey said, his voice firm. "Now is not the time, Azul."

"Tell that to Jade," Azul hissed. Thankfully, the voices faded. But Sebek couldn't relax.

He had always done his best to guard Lord Malleus, and more than that, maintain his Lord's honor and reputation along with the honor and reputation of all of Diasomnia.

He had ruined everything. He was…pathetic. The words began to curl back in his mind like wisps of smoke. Pathetic half-fae, who had overblotted because he couldn't handle his own weakness. Who had nearly killed others, who had—

No. He had to listen to Trey's words. Overcome what made him overblot. Trey had fought to bring him back, and so had Ace and Deuce. Maybe...maybe he wasn't weak or pitiable or pathetic. And Silver had tried to talk to him from the beginning. All Silver had wanted was to help him.

Tears built at the corners of his eyes, and he gripped the blanket in his hands, tearing at the flimsy threads. He should have just listened!

His body hurt, and his mind grabbed onto Trey's words. Trey had helped him, because of Silver. And now Silver was across the hall. Silver had wanted him to rest. Silver was…

Words echoed. "Look out for each other."

Maybe he wasn't ready to face Master Lilia and Lord Malleus yet. He didn't know how he felt, his emotions like an exposed wound. But he did know what he wanted.

He sat up and swung his legs to the floor, the room immediately spinning around him. His muscles shrieked in agony, and his heart thudded strangely in his chest.

But he could make it across the hall. He had to. He was strong enough for that, at least.

Each step made his legs shake, and he braced himself against the door for a few moments, breathing hard. He still wore his uniform, torn from his overblot transformation, and the cold air in the room made him shiver where it entered through the rips in his clothes. Heaviness dragged him down. Not even the worst of Lilia's training compared to this.

No one else walked through the hall, at least as much has he could hear through the door. Sebek took a deep breath, then stumbled through the door, across the hall, and into Silver's room. He didn't bother to close the door behind him.

Silver lay sleeping in a room identical to Sebek's infirmary room, a familiar sight. His blond hair lay across the pillow, and his chest rose and fell peacefully. His cheeks were pale with the faintest hint of red, and his lips were a soft pink.

He was beautiful. Sebek had to admit that to himself.

Sebek stumbled and fell to his knees by Silver's bedside. "Silver," he managed to speak. Then louder. "Silver!"

No answer.

He shook him, hard, the way he always did when he would try and wake him up for sleeping on the job when he should be guarding Malleus or when he fell asleep in the middle of conversing with someone. Typical stupid Silver. But no matter how he shook him, Silver didn't respond. Those faint words he had heard were real. He wouldn't wake up.

Had he hurt him? Sebek tried to think of what he had seen while he was overblotted, the visions of the other students through a gray haze. His lightning hadn't hit him, had it? Silver had only fallen when he had attacked him—cured him of the blot. And even now, he looked unhurt. Perfect.

Sebek couldn't keep shaking him, his own weakness too much. He hung his head, pain overcoming him and making him sag against the bedframe, as though he were trying to rest his head next to Silver's sleeping form. Tears dripped from his eyes.

"Silver…I'm so sorry," he cried. "You're…you're stronger than me." Silver had helped to cure him. The human had saved Lord Malleus' reputation, made Master Lilia proud, saved Sebek from an eternity of living within his own mistake. "You…you…please, Silver." He didn't know what he wanted in the end, but he knew what he wanted most right now. "Please wake up." He was sobbing now, wretched. How could he overcome anything if Silver wasn't there? "I need to talk to you. Please."

His head hurt, his eyes forcing themselves closed, and unconsciousness began to pull at him. He barely had the energy to cry. "Please," he repeated.

"Sebek."

He knew that voice, and it lanced through the fog of exhaustion.

Master Lilia and Lord Malleus stood in the doorway.