Shit. I felt my blood itching, the flames pleading inside of me. My control was no longer an iron wall, I had played with the embers for too long, now they threatened to expose me. It was one thing accepting Mey, who knew nothing about it. But me? I was fully aware of what a liar I was…
Discreetly, I glanced down at my hands, small embers sparked around my fingers.
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit, shit!
Then, hands clasped around mine, hiding them. I glanced up at Malakai who was already meeting my eyes. He caught me off guard, the surprise making me freeze in place.
“Are you cold?” he asked flatly, bringing my hands into his jacket’s pockets. I furrowed my brows, prepared to attack, but he squeezed my hands firmly inside of the pockets, silencing me.
“Oh, this is… different,” Ashley mused, her teasing voice causing my cheeks to heat at her stupid assumptions.
“It’s not what you think,” I snapped, trying to tug my hands out of his grip, but it was firm. He was reveling in my reaction, that bastard.
“You’re right,” Malakai deflected, voice soaked in amusement. “She loathes me so much, she’d rather die than let me warm her hands up. Too bad; I’m not letting her escape so easily.”
“Aaand he’s back,” Ashley smirked, more at ease.
“Ethalyn?” A voice broke through and the sound sent shivers along my spine. My head swung around and there he was, clothes covered in dirt, smudges on his face, cuts on his lip and neck.
But he was alive.
“Lionel,” I breathed, ripping my hands back from Malakai and bursting into a jog. Lionel’s eyes softened, as a faint smile spread on his lips upon seeing me, his arms lifted, welcoming me. I threw myself into his embrace and he lifted me off the ground and spun me around.
“You’re here!” I said, relief coating my words. “Are you okay?” He placed me on the ground again and I began inspecting him.
“I’m okay,” he scratched his neck, apologetic. “At least, I am now.”
“Lio?” Eve sounded behind, as they gazed at each other, he simply nodded with a faint smile. “What about those mages…?” she continued.
His smile slowly disappeared, as he turned back to me. “Don’t worry, I handled it.”
The words made my stomach turn.
“Well, apparently we’re not killing them anymore,” Eve snorted, crossing her arms.
“What?” Lionel asked, confused, looking over at Malakai, who simply shrugged.
“We’re going to sneak into the mages’ camp,” I explained. “We’ll try to talk to themand—”
“No,” Lionel shook his head. “There’s no use talking to them, they will attack on sight.”
Eve chuckled dryly, her whole existence screaming ‘I told you so’.
My lips pressed together, trying to ignore her, as I took a step back. “Maybe, but if we don’t try… then we’ll die eventually anyway.”
“Yeah, because Mey is a mage, so we’re forced to play the traitor’s team now,” Eve scoffed, not helping my case at all.
Lionel paled as his eyes darted towards Mey. Nate studied him closely, ready to protect his sister with his life; her being a mage hadn’t changed a thing, not to him and not to us.
“She didn’t know herself,” I barked defensively. “She was never sick, her body was slowly dying because she never knew how to release her pent up magic.”
Lionel’s brows furrowed as he took my words in, before his attention slid back to me. “How do you know of all this?”
I tensed, not sure why I let my mouth run without thinking.
“The Lieutenant told us,” Ashley cut in, her words allowing me to breathe again.
