Blood pools in Xeni’s nostrils as he sets his jaw. “You’re the weak one,” he grits through clattering teeth.
His body quakes as he forces his knee to lift, and his foot drops to the ground as though it’s encased in cement, heavier than what should be possible.
Xeni tilts his head, and a droplet of blood rolls down his lip as he sneers. “Look at what you’ve become. A king who lost hiskingdom. Nothing more than a washed-up old man who can’t face the fact that he’s obsolete.”
He kneels before his father, a cruel smile pulling on his lips as he gives a mocking bow.
“All hail King Zadeus, ruler ofnothing.”
His father reaches for his neck, but Xeni catches his wrist and holds fast, fingernails clawing at the leather of his uniform to pull himself to his feet.
“Xeni!” I shout as I rush forward to help him.
Zadeus’s head whips toward me with his eyes illuminating the dark.
“I said don’t look at him!” Xeni bellows.
The power of his voice booms through the room in a wave that knocks me back a step. His father’s face contorts, twitching and jerking as he turns to face his son again.
Xeni trembles from head to toe, and I’m helpless to do anything but watch.
“Pathetic,” Zadeus spits, the veins in his neck bulging and his body shaking to his very bones as he tries to look away.
Xeni doesn’t allow it.
Blood forms rivers across his face as it pours from his nostrils and ears, and the entire floor quakes as his feet move, impossibly heavy.
“Leave,” Xeni commands. “Walk… away.”
His father takes a step back before opening his mouth in a shout that sends tremors through the walls. Dust scatters and a crack splits the ceiling as he charges, breaking free from Xeni’s hold.
He doesn’t rush his son, though.
His anger is directed at me.
It’s a slow-motion bullet barreling in my direction, one that’s impossible to stop and no longer meant to taunt or maim.
A kill shot, locked on its target.
I blink as I watch it happen, my breath a hurricane in my ears as my heart thumps once, then again. Rage like I’ve never seen lines his face as he gets closer, and my arms fall to my sides, useless.
My eyes shift to Xeni’s. “I love you,” I whisper.
His lips part, not a response, but a command.
One word.
“Move.”
Fuzziness overtakes my body as my limbs obey, moving with a speed I shouldn’t possess as this slow-motion world catches up to real time.
Without me there to stop his momentum, Zadeus stumbles. In the split second he takes to correct his balance, Xeni rushes to Ego and snatches a throwing knife from her belt.
Zadeus whirls, furious, as the blade slices the air.
His eyes grow unnaturally wide as it pierces the side of his neck, and the next sound that leaves him is a rasping inhale. Shock lines his face as his fingers trace the weapon, and as he yanks it loose, blood gushes down his uniform.
He slaps a palm over the wound and tosses the blade to the ground with a clatter as he stares at his son.
