“Ah,brother, my mistake,” Nicron drawled with a shrug. “I didn’t realise you weren’t done playing with your toy. You want the honor of finishing her off yourself? I thought I was doing you a favor.”
A low growl rumbled through Malakai, primal and dangerous.
“Touch her again,” his voice cracked like thunder. “And I’ll make sure theDemon Kinghimself hears your screams echo for centuries.”
Scarlet threads of his power erupted, cutting through the water around my feet, thickening it with blood until it recoiled from us.
Nicron sighed, unimpressed. “How utterly boring. Predictable, just like a human.”
My head spun. Betrayal, or double agent? He killed Michlael and Jarkas, where did that leave us? According to Nicron, Malakai was never supposed to come back, and yet, here he was.
For me.
The sharp sizzle of burning quartz snapped me from my spiral, followed by Malakai’s pained grunt.
“Malakai, where did it hit?” I snapped, reaching for him.
“Ignore it,” he barked. “I can’t hold him and pull it out at once.Kill him.”
“I—” My voice faltered. Nicron’s smirk lingered in my vision, but I saw how Malakai’s threads tangled Nicron’s gun, forcing it upward, coils already slithering around his feet to root him in place.
Malakai’s body trembled. His teeth ground together as he hunched, agony twisting his expression.
“Malakai…” I whispered. His hand shot out, grabbing my shirt, the grip desperate and unyielding.
“I’msorry,” he rasped, each breath tearing through him. “Sorry I startled you, but you have to kill him.Trust me.”
The words were like a punch to the face. I’d told him once that I trusted him, right before he tore my world apart.
And yet, staring at him now, broken but still shielding me, my heart already knew its answer. No matter what he had done… Iwantedto believe.
My flames surged at my command, lashing towards Nicron. He summoned water to drown them, but it was pushed back by crimson blood, splitting under the force of my fire. An opening, my flames roared through, searing him.
Nicron hissed, staggering. “Enough of this. I get it, you’re angry I threatened your little plaything.”
“Angry?” Malakai’s voice rumbled, low and lethal. His eyes burned with red fire, something feral cracking loose. “Oh… you haven’t seenanythingyet.”
The water around us convulsed as scarlet threads ripped through it, twisting upward in a storm of blood and flame. They split the field, choking out Nicron’s control, devouring his power at its roots.
He staggered back, his smirk faltering. “You—”
The threads struck, coiling around his limbs, his throat, dragging him down until his knees slammed against the ground.
“Pathetic,” Malakai spat, though a shudder of pain cut through his chest, and blood darkened his lips. His hand briefly pressed to the wound where the quartz burned close to his heart, and then he forced it away, refusing to show weakness. His fury drowned it out.
“To think, you even considered tasting what’s mine.” His voice deepened, guttural with rage. “Youtouchedher. For that, I will see you torn apart.”
The field quaked. Red threads bloomed across the muddy ground, burning hot, as they all wrapped around Nicron in a thick layer of blood. Nicron gasped, his water hissing into steam where Malakai’s power bound him.
“Malakai,” I cried, my hands reaching for him. His body trembled, shoulders tight, as if each breath was agony. He couldn’t hold this forever.
His eyes flicked to mine, fierce and unwavering even through the haze of pain. “This ends with you.”
My heart lurched. “What?”
He tightened the threads, wringing another scream from Nicron, his voice cracking with both wrath and strain. “I’ll hold him,youstrike. You lead them. This kill, this victory, belongs to you.”
“What—”
