Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
I n a daze, I started to blindly follow Maalikai outside but no more than three steps later my path was blocked.
“Emylia.” I didn’t even bother looking up, choosing to ignore Josephine’s sadistic voice.
I had come so close to escaping her clutches, but she couldn’t give me a break, could she? Yet I knew if I didn’t get this confrontation over and done with, she wouldn’t leave me alone.
After what I’d just been through with my uncle, Sebastian and now Maalikai, I didn’t have the patience to deal with her. I just wanted this to be over.
“What do you want, Josephine?”
Looking up, I only just realized how close Josephine was, invading my personal space. Evie, as usual, remained slightly behind her, arms hanging loosely to her sides, her veridian eyes watching me curiously.
“Whoa, are you right there?” I snapped, taking a step back.
“I’ve been more than patient with you, but you just couldn’t keep your grubby little talons to yourself, could you?”
I closed my eyes, feeling wearier than I had in years. “What are you talking about? And explain quickly. It’s cold, and I didn’t bring my cloak.”
Her white-blonde hair was done in braids all wrapped around her head and she wore a deep burgundy gown and fur coat. “I warned you that Maalikai was mine, but you couldn’t leave it alone. You dug your feral little claws into him anyway.” Her nose flared, her eyes glowing a demonic brown.
“I’m pretty sure Maalikai is his own person and can make decisions for himself.”
“And I’m pretty sure you’re a hussy that needs to keep her fucking mouth shut.”
Whoa, the feralness in Josephine’s eyes chilled me to the core, forcing me to take another step backward. There was no point; she reclaimed the distance, forcing herself into my personal space for a second time.
“What in Nexus, Josephine?”
“You are continuously getting in my way and I’m sick of it.” Her voice was shrill and erratic like she had finally lost her sanity. She even stamped her foot in the dirt.
“What are you talking about? You get everything you’ve ever wanted. All you have to do is bat your eyelashes and people fall to their knees.”
A cynical laugh escaped her, intensifying the hysteria she seemed to wear like a crown. “Not the people who matter.”
Was she serious?
She was the golden girl of Ophelia—what more did she want?
“Like who?”
“How about Sebastian for starters?”
“Sebastian is my best friend,” I said quickly—too quickly. My voice had sharpened before I could stop it. I still wasn’t able to claim him as mine even though I desperately wanted to.
Josephine’s lip curled. “Right. Your best friend , who would sell his soul to Ezekiel for one look from you. Who hasn’t even looked at anyone else since the day fate shoved you into his world.” My stomach tightened. “If you even breathed his name, he’d drop everything for you. And he’ll never genuinely want me. Not because he doesn’t like me, but because you exist.”
I flinched, then masked it with a scoff. “That’s not my Gods-damn fault.”
She rolled her eyes. “No, of course not. You just have that… invisible hold on him. Like gravity. And you pretend not to notice.”
I opened my mouth, ready to call her insane—but nothing came out. I glanced at Evie for backup, but she only gave me a look. A soft, sad shrug. One that said it was impossible to challenge Josephine’s accusation, not without lying.
“And don’t even get me started on your uncle.”
That one, I couldn’t argue. Uncle Thrainn would go to war for me. No hesitation. Blade swinging like he reveled in the challenge.
“What can I say, I’m kind of awesome.” The words were too bright. Too forced. They only seemed to infuriate her more; a vein throbbed at her temple.
“Well, this is where it stops. You need to back off.”
A brittle laugh escaped me. “You really think I’d stop spending time with someone just because you told me to?”
“Yes. You’ll stop hanging out with both of them because I told you to.”
Another laugh—sharper this time, like glass shattering. “That’s not going to happen.”
I ignored the voice in my head. The one that whispered I might’ve already ruined everything with both of them anyway.
“If you think I’ve been a bitch in the past, that’s nothing compared to what life will be like if you don’t start playing by my rules. I am a very powerful enemy.” Her lip flicked up in a sneer, as she brushed a lock of hair off her shoulder.
“I’m not sure who you think you are, but I don’t give a flying fuck what you say. You don’t have any power over me.” I started to walk around her, but Josephine stepped into my path.
Her eyes flashed dangerously. Before I realized what she was doing, her hand shot out, taking hold of the bracelet around my wrist. My eyes widened, but the movement happened so fast that I had no time to even draw my arm away.
“Josie, don’t.” Evie looked horrified as she screamed out for her friend to stop. Even she recognised the implications to what she was threatening to do.
Yet, Josephine ignored her, her smile growing viciously. With one hard tug, she ripped my bracelet from my wrist. The broken fragments dropped to the ground like they meant nothing. As if in slow motion, I watched them fall, my heart breaking along with it.
“No!”
Dropping to my knees, I furiously gathered all the broken pieces. As I gathered each shattered piece of the broken bracelet, my fingers trembled over the ruby–cleaved almost clean in two. It shouldn’t have hurt this much, but seeing it split felt like something sacred had been ruined. Like hope itself had cracked open. And beneath it, the familiar fury began to rise–slow, seething, merciless. It rose from the hollow of my chest and staked its claim on my soul, curling its claws around what little was left unbroken.
I could almost feel the difference now. There was my anger, the one I’d had since I was a child… and then there was this new rage—an ancient rage.
I rose, slow and unyielding, like I was born from the storm. The air shifted around me, sensing something sacred had stirred–wind curling at my feet, drawn to the pulse of power. Then I pinned her with a stare–untamed, limitless, and crackling with the promise of ruin. The kind of gaze that could turn bone to ash and leave nothing behind but smoke and silence.
“How fucking dare, you.” The air crackled with a power so fierce, the walls shook–as if the very oxygen had vanished, afraid to exist, as though the world itself had forgotten how to breathe.
Josephine’s smile turned to confusion as she looked around, not connecting the change in the air to me quite yet.
“I’ll make you pay for that,” I whispered.
The thunder started to roll. I could sense it more clearly than I had the day before. I would strike her down where she stood. I would cleanse the earth of the despicable person she was. No one would mourn her, and no one would weep for her. And if they did, they would feel my wrath too.
A voice broke my trance. “Em, what’s taking so long…” Sebastian stopped mid-sentence, glancing nervously between us and then at the sky through the window. “Is everything okay?”
“You knew what that meant to me and you still broke it.” My gaze was still on Josephine, my outrage only intensifying.
“Do something, Bash.” Evie’s voice cracked as she pleaded with him.
“Broke what?” I ignored Sebastian, not daring to take my eyes off the succubus. “Is that your bracelet?”
He approached me with caution, knowing what I was capable of. The tone in his voice reflected the pain that consumed my heart. He knew exactly how much this was affecting me and how hard it was to be keeping it together.
Not reading the tension at all, Josephine kept talking, “If I’m honest, I was just doing your father a favor. It’s obvious for anyone to see what a disappointment you’ve always been. Apart from your own family, no one even likes you. You should just do everyone a favor, leave, and never come back. You’re a fucking disgrace.”
“That’s enough.” Josephine ignored Sebastian, she was on a roll now and not even his presence could subdue the hatred that was seething from her.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if your father took his own life, so he didn’t have to tolerate you for one second longer. Maybe you should do us all a favor and follow in his footsteps. Better yet, if we ever get attacked, why don’t you just let them kill you?”
Something snapped inside me. Wrath so raw and atavistic broke forth, claiming me. Windows shook then splintered, glass showering us in an avalanche of crystals. Lightning littered the ground around us. I hardly felt it, but Josephine started screaming, looking around in horror. All I knew was incapacitating malevolence.
But I had a certain control over it. Sort of. I didn’t kill her.
That was something.
One second my hand was at my side, the next it was impacting her cheek. My nails ripped through her flesh, slicing open her perfect, pink-blushed cheek, her head flying back with the force.
Everything visibly froze. No one dared to even breathe. As if in slow motion, she cradled the soft curve of her face, tears already flowing.
Rage still consumed me, claiming my body and controlling my actions. I dived at her, knocking Josephine flat on her back, my thighs straddling her stomach. My hands were tight around her throat, squeezing her airway and watching the color drain from her face.
Well, maybe I did plan to kill her.
“Emylia.” Evie’s voice was a horrified scream.
Weight encircled my stomach, the warmth of a robust arm snaking around me and tugging me firmly against a muscled chest. I dug my fingers in, clawing at Josephine’s throat, but I couldn’t fight against the arm trying to pull me away.
My hands slipped from Josephine’s neck. A strangled breath rasped into her lungs as I eyed the necklace of bruises she now wore around her throat.
“Oh, my Gods, Josephine, are you okay?” Evie sprinted to her side, guiding her to her feet before helping Josephine out of the stables before anyone else even moved. I watched her every move as she left.
Once she was gone, Sebastian moved to my side, his hand gently coming to rest on my shoulder. “Em...”
Before he finished saying my name, I was in his arms, my face buried in his chest. “She said my dad killed himself because of me…” My voice broke.
“I know; I’m so sorry. I’ll fix the bracelet, okay? I’ll fix it.”
Tears splashed over my cheeks, my shoulders visibly shaking from sobbing. The air uncharged and sorrow wrapped its arms around me. All I knew was that I was a mess.
Understanding slowly dawned on me. This was probably Josephine’s plan all along; get me so mad I would snap and lash out. If she wanted Sebastian and Maalikai all to herself, then she was about to get it. I was in so much damn trouble.
“I fucked up. There’s nothing you or Uncle Thrainn can do to help me now. They’re going to banish me. They’re going to brand me. I’m never going to see you or Mom or anyone again.” My voice broke with the realization of what I’d just done.
Sebastian’s grip grew tighter, protecting me from the world. “No, they won’t. I won’t let them. I will never let them.”
Hyperventilating, I struggled to get enough oxygen.
“What happened?” Maalikai was breathless like he’d just sprinted here. “Josephine just came storming inside in tears. She said it was Emylia’s fault.”
“Bitch.” Sebastian rose to his full height, his eyes livid with reprisal.
“What’s wrong with her?” Maalikai stepped forward, toward me, as if he couldn’t help himself.
My head began to grow light, my gasps erratic.
“I need you to watch her.” It wasn’t a request; Sebastian was ordering him, their rift momentarily forgotten. “I need to fix this,” he shot out through barred teeth. His eyes stole mine, his hand cupping my cheek. “Are you okay?”
Somehow I nodded. But I wasn’t entirely sure I was.
Without another word, Sebastian passed me to Maalikai, his gaze sharp and lingering–more warning than farewell–before he turned and sprinted out of the stables.
Maalikai braced my body like I was incapable of holding my own weight—and in that moment, I was. His arms steadied me, the warmth of his fingers seeping into my skin like sunlight through stone.
“Princess, look at me.”
But I couldn’t. The world spun too fast, my chest locking tighter with each breath. Panic rose, sharp and merciless.
I couldn’t breathe.
Couldn’t think.
Couldn’t feel anything but the cold spreading through me.
“Shit, you’re turning blue,” he said, voice blurred, distant—like I was underwater, like I was already gone. “Stay with me.”
My vision fractured. Color and light bled together like paint in water. I was slipping.
Then his arms folded around me—tight, unrelenting. He pressed my face to the curve of his neck and just held me . One hand splayed across my back, the other cradling the back of my head, fingers threading through my hair like he could hold me here by force alone.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you. I’m right here.”
His voice was soft thunder, steady in the storm. A tether. A promise.
My breath hitched. Then again. The haze thinned—slowly, reluctantly as I drew in more ragged breaths.
“You scared me,” he whispered. “You don’t get to disappear on me. Not like that.”
“It doesn’t matter now anyway, Uncle Thrainn will have no choice, he will have to banish me. I’m going to lose my family. I’m going to lose everyone.” My voice splintered at the words.
“It’ll be okay, he would never banish you. ”
I blinked, barely holding his gaze. “You can’t promise me that I’ll be okay. Uncle Thrainn… he’ll have no choice. No one can stop this.”
His jaw clenched, and something wild flickered in his eyes. “Then let him. If they cast you out, I’ll go with you.”
“Maalikai—”
“No. Listen to me.” His voice cracked, not from weakness, but from how hard he was trying to hold himself together.
“If the world turns on you, I’ll stand between you and its fury. If it forsakes you, I’ll rise in your name. If you’re exiled, I’ll follow you into whatever ruin awaits. Every step. Every breath. I’ll be your shadow, your weapon, your vengeance. I will not let you fall alone. Wherever you go, I go. Until the end.”
He stilled. The firelight caught in his eyes, but there was no color left—only onyx, endless and consuming. The kind of gaze that didn’t just look at me—they caressed something deeper. The weight of them slid over my soul like a promise made flesh. Like his gaze alone could say: I mean every word. The weight of it touched places no hands had ever reached. It was reverent. Undeniable. Like his soul had just sworn itself to mine.
“If the world refuses to see you for the Goddess you are, I will burn it to ash for daring to look away,”he said, voice low, steady. “I’ll walk through flame, through fury, through the end of all things—just to be the one who saves you.” A breath. A tremor in the stillness. “I will be your shadow in the light, your blade in the dark, your shield when the sky falls.”
He didn’t move—but Gods, it felt like he did. And then, his arms tightened around me, pulling me closer like he could shield my soul with his body alone.
“You will never be alone, Emylia. Not while I have breath. Not while I have blood to give.”His voice cracked—not with weakness, but conviction. “Even if it’s into Nexus itself.” His forehead pressed against mine. “Always.”
And somehow… that vow, that fury-laced devotion , did more to save me than air ever could.
My blood ran cold as I heard my uncle’s booming voice. “Emylia.”
Without hesitation, I let Maalikai pull me into him, using his body to support my weight while I faced my fate.
Ignoring the churning of my stomach, I met my uncle’s eyes. “Chief.” I nodded, accepting the fate that was sure to follow.
“Don’t do this, Thrainn.” I barely met Sebastian’s eyes, hearing his voice breaking, tortured my heart.
“There are repercussions for every action, no one is immune.”
Sebastian filled the space with quiet fury, his stare landing on the chieftain like a blade drawn without warning–sharp, unwavering, already certain he was about to become the enemy.
“But it wasn’t her fault.”
“Enough, Sebastian,” Thrainn’s voice silenced him, chilling me to the bone.
Out of my peripheral vision, I could see Josephine and Evie huddled next to each other. Josephine cradled her bruised neck, but it couldn’t completely hide the purplish-red blemishes that decorated her throat. Blood ran down her cheek from where my slap had broken skin.
Shame churned my stomach. As bad as Josephine was, I should never have struck her. I should never have choked her.
“Emylia, did you strike Josephine and then try to choke her?”
“Yes.” If nothing else, I was honest. Besides, there was no point denying it.
“But Josephine said…” Sebastian came to my aid, anger coating his words.
“ENOUGH.” Sebastian was silenced a second time; I doubt there would be a third. “We do not ever condone violence of any form against each other; do you understand?”
“Yes.” Sebastian’s answer was almost silent.
Thrainn turned back to me, his eyes blanching my soul. “You understand you must be punished.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, knowing that everything was about to change. “Yes.”
“Good. Then it’s settled. From this time forward, you are not to step foot into Ophelia or the Aelinthian Forrest. You are banished.”
My heart sank, bile clawing up my throat. I fought off the urge to vomit.
“You can’t do this,” Sebastian implored.
Thrainn spun on his heel, taking two steps until he invaded Sebastian’s personal space. “I AM THE CHIEF, AND I WILL DO WHAT I SEE FIT. AND YOU WILL NOT CHALLENGE MY DECISIONS. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?” Thrainn’s voice reverberated through me, intensifying the need to be physically ill.
Sebastian stepped forward, reclaiming the space as his own. “I will challenge you if your decision is wrong. I will not let you banish her.”
“You would challenge me, Sebastian?” His voice had dropped to a dangerous growl.
I saw Sebastian swallow, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He was skilled, but Thrainn was still the chief and I knew how much respect he had for him. “If you do this to her, then yes.”
Thrainn’s nose flared, almost as if he was capable of breathing fire. Then he sighed. “If you just let me finish you would know I’m protecting her too.”
“What?” a squeak of a voice escaped me.
“From this time forward, for a total of one week, you are banished from Ophelia and the Aelinthian Forrest.”
My eyes met my uncle’s in shock.
Before Thrainn could answer me, Josephine shot forward, her eyes wild in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.” Fury colored her skin, her cheeks flushing an abnormal scarlet.
“If you’re displeased with my decision, we will do a proper trial and get the full story of what happened, if you’d like, Josephine. I’m sure Sebastian and Evie would be happy to tell us all exactly what happened.”
“It would be my pleasure,” Sebastian added with a cocky smile.
Evie nodded silently. But I knew her–Evie didn’t lie. Not for anyone. Not even for Josephine. And Josephine knew it. She had lost.
Josephine clamped her mouth shut, her face flushing even brighter.
“Sebastian, Maalikai, I will leave it in your good hands to enforce my decision, making sure Emylia doesn’t return before the punishment time is served.”
“Wait, what?” My voice was shrill.
The only way Sebastian and Maalikai could enforce Uncle Thrainn’s ‘punishment’ is if they came home with me, and if they were basically attached to my hip. They would have to take it in turns and never leave my side. Essentially, they would be my personal body guards.
“Unless either of you have any objection about accompanying Emylia to her home and staying for as long as the exile binds her?”
“Of course not, you have my word.” Of course that would be Sebastian’s response.
“It would be my honor.” I barely met Maalikai’s gaze.
“Good man. Sebastian, you leave with Emylia and Ari. Maalikai, stay here and help Triska pack, you will escort her and my girls with you. They will stay with you for the duration of Emylia’s punishment. To make sure they all remain safe in times of uncertainty.”
Josephine’’s eyes were wild, bitterness seething from her as she took a step towards Thrainn. “You can’t do this.”
“I am your Chief, my decision is final.” Taking a deep breath, his look softened. “Now, let’s put this nastiness behind us and bid farewell to our guests, we won’t be seeing them for a little while.”
Before anyone could respond, Uncle Thrainn spun on his heel, striding off in the direction of his house, leaving Josephine fuming in his wake.
Running to catch up, I grabbed his arm, making him stop. Hesitantly, he turned to me, visibly sighing as he saw my face.
“Thank you, Uncle.”
Dark brown eyes met mine, holding them with a steel that could challenge my own. “Like I said last night, I would take you back kicking and screaming if I had to.”
Horror rippled over my skin as the implications of his words sunk in.
Was he serious?
“This was all to get me to go home?” His silence answered the question for me. “Why is it so important to you that I return home?” I demanded, bitterness seething in my voice.
His eyes flared in frustration. “It is the only place I can guarantee your safety.”
A skeptical laugh escaped me. “If warriors can come here, there will be nothing stopping them from reaching my house. They would kill us easily. You may as well let me fight with you.”
Rage boiled under the surface of my uncle’s skin, his nose flaring as he took one and then another frustrated breath. “The wards won’t let anyone enter once Ari seals them shut. You will be completely protected, even if Ophelia falls.”
My eyes met Sebastian’s for a second before colliding with Thrainn’s.
“What? What does that mean? What wards?”
“Your mother will keep you safe.” He nodded but said nothing else.
The only way that would be possible was if my mom could wield magik. But she couldn’t, she was just a healer. If she could channel magik, she would’ve told me. Wouldn’t she?
Yet, I wasn’t so sure anymore.
“My mom’s a mage?” The words left me in a quiet whoosh.
Uncle Thrainn’s eyes darkened, as though he had only just realized what he’d divulged, but the look was gone in an instant, his face devoid of any emotion. “It’s time to go.” He left without another word.
Well, that was one way of ignoring my question. I sprinted after him, determined to get an answer. Before I could press the subject further, I came to a halt outside Uncle Thrainn’s house; my mother and aunty were already waiting with the younger kids dancing around their feet.
Damn it.
There was no way he was going to answer me now.
Plastering a pitiful smile on my face, I hugged my aunty. My enthusiasm was hopeless at best but considering everything that’d just happened, including my banishment, I thought I was masking everything pretty damn well.
As I turned to my uncle, my face dropped. Honestly, despite his evil ploy to send me away, I did hate disappointing him. Giving him a tight squeeze, I hoped he would forgive me.
Robust arms wrapped around me, embracing me tightly. “I am just trying to keep you safe.”
“I don’t need you to keep me safe,” I whispered back. “I need you to believe in me.”