Rain's POV
No one is supposed to see the Ghost Emperor bleed.
No one.
But she did.
And now I'm not sure if I'll survive it.
---
It was supposed to be clean. Quick. Over before midnight.
Ten men. One alley.
Ren and I—outnumbered, sure, but never outmatched.
We've ruled blood and shadow since we were teenagers.
I've always kept my two worlds separate.
Rain—the boy in her class, the quiet one with coffee stains and half-tucked shirts.
And Rain—the man in the shadows, with red on his hands and an empire at his feet.
She was never meant to meet the second one.
She was never meant to bleed into this.
But tonight… the universe decided otherwise.
---
I smelled the glitter before I saw her.
That stupid strawberry-scented pouch she refused to stop talking about earlier in the day.
I looked up mid-swing.
A man dropped at my feet, groaning.
And behind him, frozen—was her.
Sky.
Wearing that oversized hoodie.
Hair like a curtain of black silk, tangled from the wind.
Eyes wide. Lip gloss still fresh.
And horror.
God, the horror in her expression.
She didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Didn't breathe.
Ren whispered, "Shit."
And for once… I agreed.
I took a step toward her.
She flinched.
That was the moment my heart cracked.
Right down the middle.
---
I don't remember dropping the crowbar.
I just remember her eyes scanning the scene—
The blood. The bruises. The broken bones.
The men we left writhing behind us.
Then me.
Standing there.
Breathing like an animal.
With a cut above my brow and blood dripping down my arm.
Her voice, when it came, was barely a whisper.
"You're bleeding."
I opened my mouth to speak.
But nothing came out.
Because what the hell do you say?
"Hey, sorry you had to see me break someone's ribs with my bare hands, want to grab coffee tomorrow?"
She stepped forward.
And I stepped back.
I couldn't let her touch this part of me.
But she kept coming.
Like I wasn't terrifying.
Like I wasn't the monster she just witnessed.
She pulled out a napkin with freaking cartoon ducks on it.
Then gently pressed it to my face.
I winced.
She didn't.
Her fingers trembled, but her eyes stayed on mine.
"I don't care who you are," she whispered. "I just care that you're hurt."
That was it.
That was when the panic hit me.
Because love I can handle.
Flirting. Fighting. Even heartbreak.
But mercy?
Mercy from her?
I couldn't breathe.
---
She turned to Ren next, patched up his lip with quiet hands.
He didn't speak either.
None of us did.
The silence screamed between us louder than the fists had earlier.
And then she was gone.
No dramatic exit.
No accusations.
No tears.
She just left.
With her glitter pouch.
And a piece of my soul still clenched in her tiny hands.
---
I stood there in the dark, alley reeking of blood and smoke.
And for the first time in my life, Rain—the Ghost Emperor—
felt small.
Not because she saw me fight.
Not because she saw me bleed.
But because she looked at the monster...
…and chose to bandage him anyway.
And I don't know if that's love or madness.
But whatever it is—
It terrifies me.