Walking back wasn’t the problem.
It was maintaining my fiery shackles—picturing that thread, the rope of my power around that demon. If I wereto lose focus, it might overpower me and escape, perhaps even kill us all in revenge.
Mey looked better already, she had regained some color and was walking on her own. She was still weakened, but we took whatever victories we could at this point.
“I wonder what they’re going to do with it,” Lionel said, constantly looking back at the creature, probably to make sure it was still tied up and under control.
“Maybe they will kill it as soon as we deliver,” Eve said, not especially fond of us traveling with a demon, keeping her distance from the group even more than usual.
I glanced back at the creature, its abominable scarlet body looked like it had been mutated from a human. The scorching eyes were locked on me, its jagged mouth snarling, threatening to devour me if I made the slightest slip.
“It sure is ugly,” Ashley snorted, walking right in front of me. “But I bet we look like walking steaks in its eyes.”
I snickered at her, she always had such a strange way of looking at things. But she kept our moods lighter in an otherwise grim world. “I was wondering how many lives it’s taken, now it’s finally meeting its own fate.”
“It was very convincing,” Mey said, her voice hesitant, perhaps it was hard to admit it out loud, in front of everyone. “It was promising me a calm life, where neither I nor Nate would ever have to suffer…”
“He didn’t happen to tell you where this life was to be found?” Ashley sneered, earning a snort from Nate.
“Let’s just head back and get that thing off our hands,” Eve hurried, picking up her pace.
It had been tempting, I could not argue against that, no matter how pathetic it might’ve sounded. I wanted apeaceful life too, a world without war, a place where I didn’t have to feel like a traitor.
The whispers the temptation demon had uttered, so smoothly, so soft… were somehow familiar. I remembered when I was locked up in that cell back at the Ashen Corps base, I had heard whispers, but no one ever answered me when I called out…
What if that was a demon trying to lure me too? My eyes darted to Malakai in an instant. He had placed me there, he was a demon. Was the hate he carried for me because I had resisted his attempts too?
As if he felt me staring, he glanced back at me, our eyes locking. My heart fluttered, and I cursed myself for it. I had no information on what kind of demon he was, or what he was after… but somehow, he had slithered inside of my head all the same.
I hated how I noticed his mouth curving.
I loathed how it made my pulse quicken.
But most of all, I feared how much he had begun to mean to me. Teaching me how to accept my fires, coaxing me into taking a stance, standing up to be the change I craved, staying by my side when my head was a storm. Why was it him? Why did it have to be a demon that now had my attention?
Malakai began closing the distance between us, each step making my skin prickle. His eyes never left mine, and I tensed, his presence making me nervous.
Ihatedhow I didn’t hate him.
The silence stretched, no words left him, his hand lifted and pulled out the hairband from my hair again, makingit fall down.
“What—”
“I like it better down,” he said flatly, and that was enough to stop me from arguing.
Why did I even care? If I was of sane mind, I wouldn’t have, because he was ademon.
When had he begun to watch me with such tender eyes? At what point was I no longer his prey? These questions filled my mind, driving me crazy.
My gaze slipped for a breath, down to his lips. Heat spread across my cheeks as I realised, jerking my eyes back up.
Too late.
His grin stretched, slow and merciless—he had caught me red-handed.
“Careful, sweetie,” he purred low, only for our ears to hear. “That looked an awful lot like an invite.”
I averted my eyes, looking straight ahead as we continued, but his arm was close enough to brush against mine.
