I panted as I fell to my knees, my lungs craving the air they were finally able to reach again. The chaos was still ongoing, as mages and soldiers began fighting each other,fear overcoming them, the loss of their leaders breaking them, forcing them into survival instincts.
To kill or be killed.
Where were Lionel and Eve? A hand landed on my shoulder and I jolted, pulling up my dagger by reflex.
“Are you okay?” Ashley asked, her voice all worried, her eyes moving to my neck.
“Yes,” I answered, not convincing either of us. “We have to stop this.”
She nodded quickly. “What do you want me to do?”
“I-I… don’t know,” I tried collecting my thoughts but they were all over the place.
What had happened!?
Malakai was using me? He needed to take out the leaders… what for? Why wouldn’t he tell me?
Flames erupted, higher than ever before and Ashley stumbled backwards, almost falling to her back.
“STOP THIS!” I screamed, the fire blasting into the sky like an explosion.
The weapons fell silent in an instant, all heads turning to me, mages and soldiers alike.
“Why are you even fighting each other?” I panted, bewildered, angered. Every emotion was spilling into my fire, threatening the entire area, as I carved fear into every single one of them.
“Your leaders were killed, and you think the best solution is to fight each other and die as well?”
Silence.
None of them dared to speak up at first, untilhestepped out in front of everybody.
“She’s right,” Nicron said, his face blank as he studied me. “But she was also the one who stood by the demon.” He turned and looked at his fellow mages briefly, as ifcounting them. “They took Michlael from us… Mages, fall to me and we’ll get our revenge.”
The uncertainty amongst the mages slowly disappeared, as they straightened themselves and began shouting their battle-cries.
Then, I saw it.
Nicron turned back to me, a smug smile lingering on his lips, as hisgrey eyesglowed.
CHAPTER
40
Nicron is the demon.
The one Malakai and Lionel tried to warn us of. The one who had infiltrated the Aetherion camp, he was by Michlael’s side all this time.
How could I have missed it!? This was the moment he had been waiting for—Michlael’s fall—so he could claim the mage forces as his own, opening up for the demonic armies to spread further into Aetherion territory.
Had Malakai known? Was he involved with this plan from the start?
I couldn’t shake the memories of Ashley telling me that he had met up with Nicron when I had been meeting with Michlael by myself. That Nicron had been the one to put him into that cell… was it all a scheme to get me to trust him?
Shit.
“Ashley,” I whispered low and saw her glancing over at me. “He’s the one. He’s the demon we need to kill.”
She looked confused for a brief second, before her eyes turned towards Nicron. “Right.”
