“Stop it,” I hissed, slapping his hand away. He chuckled warmly, with the brightest smile.
Shit.
“So, are we going to negotiate with the mages or straight up kill them?” Ashley suddenly raised her voice.
“Stupid question, obviously kill,” Eve rolled her eyes.
“Is it? Obvious?” Mey asked, looking at the rest of us.
“What do you think?” Malakai responded, yet he wasn’t waiting for an answer.
“If talking was on the table, I’d choose that,” I shrugged.
Malakai stopped in his tracks without turning, the air went silent around us. Was it colder now? I was probably imagining things.
Malakai slowly turned, his gaze piercing me, making me painfully aware that I answered incorrectly.
“Up front, kitten,” he ordered, no movement, but it felt like he had tugged on a leash.
I straightened myself and walked up towards him; fear was not something I intended to show him again, ever.
My eyes darted up towards his, waiting for whatever he had to say, but he remained silent. His gaze was locked on me, it felt as if he was burning a layer of skin off my body,making me uncomfortable. I cleared my throat, trying to break the building silence.
“You lead,” he waved his hand forward.
My brows furrowed. “What?”
He tilted his head, his look telling me that if I made him repeat himself, he’d punish me for it.
“How do I know which way to go?” I asked, instead of arguing about it needlessly.
His hand went to the inside of his jacket, rustling sounded as he brought out a piece of paper.
A map.
He handed it over as if it was nothing.
“Could you at least point to where we’re at?”
“I could, but that would ruin the fun,” he smirked, amusement glowing in his eyes as I probably looked like a panicked deer.
I was no map reader, I had never navigated before. This was simply one of his games again, and for some reason, I had to win. I wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off his face for good.
I opened the paper, it wasn’t as detailed as I had thought. Ashley stomped forward, glancing over my shoulder, followed by Mey and Nate.
“I’d say we’re here,” Mey said, pointing. It wasn’t as near the western border as I had thought, or hoped. Not even halfway…
But according to the map, there was a village on the way, perhaps they’d have some food and water that we could purchase? Maybe some shelter for the night, if we paid them.
“We could go through here,” I showed them, before carefully folding the map again. “Let’s get moving.”
I looked at them, no one moved. Confused, I turned towards Malakai, who simply grinned at me, waving his hand for me to go first.
Stupid games.
I took a deep breath and a steady step, as the others followed behind me. Right, I was leading, so I had to walk first. The foliage seemed to grow thicker as we went, it was hard to make out what would be the easiest path forward.
“Oh, do take your time, it’s only our lives, sweetie,” Malakai mused behind me. It had the same effect as if he had poked at me with a stick.
