“I’ll be fine, I’ll be back before you know it,” I reassured him.
No reply, no comment, not even a smug sound, as he turned and walked away from me. I swallowed hard, it didn’t make me any less nervous, yet I wasn’t sure if any words would’ve either.
Once alone, air surged from Michlael, forceful enough to pin the temptation demon to the ground. “You can relax now.”
I let out a breath and my shoulders sank, fatigue hitting hard as I had been on edge all this time, given my all to keep that thing contained.
Michlael watched me, a slight chuckle leaving him when he saw the exhaustion overwhelming me. “It seems you haven’t practiced your magic… I bet you’ve kept it hidden for a long time, coming from the other side of the border and all.”
“Yes,” I panted, not even able to fake a firm voice.
“Walk with me,” he ordered flatly, as we began walking away from the entrance. My legs suddenly felt shaky, my adrenaline crashing hard.
“Demons are sadly common throughout our lands nowadays,” he continued, and I had to focus to hear him. “Mostly because of the lack of knowledge.”
“What… what do you mean?” I asked weakly.
“You know how to kill a demon, right?” he turned, facing me.
“Yes, you shoot or stab until it no longer moves,” I shrugged ignorantly.
A wide smile appeared on his face. “As I thought, all of you from the other side of the border are clueless.”
“Sorry?” I muttered, straightening myself.
“You need to get quartz into their system,” he explained, and I jolted at the word. “Or else, they’ll simply crawl back up.”
Quartz.
That’s what Malakai had said, what he gave me from the pocket of the mage he had slayed. I hadn’t thoughtabout using them before, after all we wanted to capture one alive…
“Oh.” I played along with a surprised face, the best I could.
“There’ll be one last trial tomorrow,” Michlael said, eyes locked on mine as if taking note of my every reaction. “Then you’ll be one of us.”
“What about… my friends?” The words slipped out of me, I was aware he had called Lionel ungifted, and feared for what would happen to everyone who was not a mage.
A beat, as Michlael stared off into the distance, considering it. “As long as they don’t cause us harm, and you fight for us, I don’t see a problem.”
What?
Was it really that easy? I chuckled surprised, as a smile fought its way onto my lips. “Really?”
“Don’t expect all Aetherion’s to show such kindness towards them , though.” His eyes slid back. “Just because they’re safe here, doesn’t mean they will be at another Aetherion village.”
My smile died off, and I nodded slowly. It was his way of saying that he was the merciful one. As long as I committed to them with my power, he would keep his end of the deal.
Then his eyes lost their glimmer, as he stared at me intensely. “How is lifethere?”
I felt coldness down the length of my spine, how much could I tell him? “Starved.”
“I can imagine,” he said flatly, his expression not changing.
“Why do you ask?”
“Believe it or not… I had friends over there once,” the corner of his mouth twitched, as if holding back a smile or afond memory trying to press through his blank face. “But they were killed, an accident, because of the war.”
Suddenly, it felt like I was able to understand him a bit better… he seemed to hate the war as much as I did, perhaps winning him over wouldn’t be as hard as I had imagined? First, I needed to be accepted, gain his trust. Then surely, we could become allies and try to figure everything out.
