Chapter 21
MALRIK
“You’re pissing me off.”
I grinned manically at my friend, who was currently staring at all the dead bodies littered outside his place. I don’t know what he expected. If you threaten my woman, you die, simple as that.
I had finally found the last ingredient to the spell that we needed, minus that royal bitch’s blood, and that’s when I heard them.
Vampires wandering in Eclipsara woods, talking about taking turns with my little witch, laughing about breaking her.
Ruining her and then delivering her broken and bloodied to the King for a reward.
I saw red.
No, I became red.
By the time the first one turned around, I already had his throat open. The second fucker screamed like a fucking girl before I ripped out his tongue mid-beg. The others barely had time to run. They knew who I was.
I carved my fury into every single one of them.
I could’ve boiled their blood from the inside out. Quick. Clean. Beautifully simple.
But where’s the fun in that?
There was no way I was letting them fuckers talk about my little witch like she was some broken plaything to use, something to pass around before tossing her to the king like used meat. That deserved more than a quick death.
So, I took my time. I wanted their blood.
I wanted their screams.
I wanted souvenirs for Ravena.
Slashing throats wasn’t enough, so I ripped out their hearts from their chests—still beating and then lined them out on the floor, ready to crush them with my boot.
I gouged out their eyeballs, and they begged as I crushed their limbs until they snapped like twigs.
Each bone was a puzzle piece, and every scream a beautiful tune.
By the end, they were unrecognisable. Shredded to nothing. Just a bloody jigsaw for that spineless bastard Draeven to stumble across. A message for him and the other fuckers.
Touch what’s mine, and I’ll show you what madness really looks like.
I stuffed some teeth and an eyeball into my pocket. Leighton rolled his eyes at me as he looked around his garden one more time before shooting me an unimpressed look.
“I hope you’re going to clean this bloody mess up.” I shrugged and kicked a head towards a tree.
“I don’t do cleanups, you know that.”
“Once again, you piss me off.” He gave me the finger, and I threw my head back laughing.
“Lick it up, vampire boy,” I walk towards him.
He was as tall as me, with bright red hair, a pierced lip and a tattoo covering half of his face from his neck. He was a loner, preferred it that way, and he put up with me, and he doesn’t piss me off.
We crossed paths one night when he was arguing with some wolf girl at the border. I couldn’t help but watch when she kicked him square in the balls and told him to go and fucking himself with a stake. It was positively hilarious.
I asked him if I could do the same because I needed some entertainment after a shitty day, and he called me a psychotic asshole.
I took it as a compliment and then followed him home and never left.
It’s a beautiful friendship. We don’t talk about feelings, but we do bury bodies together, so I’d say that counts.
“Did you get your shit?” he asked, already annoyed with me, arms crossed like he was two seconds away from stabbing me.
“Obviously,” I said, patting my pocket. “Now I need to get back into Velmore. Been away from my little witch way too long.”
Just saying her name made my cock twitch.
I groaned, picturing her on her knees, lips parted, swallowing me whole. My cock throbbed in my pants, and I adjusted myself without shame, hungry for every inch of her, every sound she would make under me.
Leighton's head snapped down. “Oh, come the fuck on, Malrik.”
“What?” I said, smirking. “She’s fucking stunning, especially naked.”
“Jesus Christ,” he muttered, acting like I was the problem here. Not my fault, he refuses to have sex anymore and just scowls at everyone.
I rolled my neck, eyes half-lidded. “I swear I get hard every time I think of her. It’s not good for my cock. I miss her.”
Leighton looked like he wanted to drown me in holy water.
“You’re disgusting.”
“And hard,” I said proudly. “It’s love.”
Obsession. Love. Same thing, but maybe I shouldn’t tell this idiot before I tell the love of my life. Ah well.
He went to punch me, but I sidestepped with a chuckle.
“Don’t be jealous, we can find you someone. When was the last time you used that thing?”
“Shut up.”
He turned back to the bodies—or what was left of them—and I followed his line of sight. The hearts splattered across the dirt looked like crushed jelly. It was beautiful. Abstract art with a hint of intestine.
“It won’t be long till the king hears of this,” his voice was tight, bored. “You’ll need to leave. If he finds you—”
“I’m dead,” I finished for him, dragging a bloody hand through my hair. “Yeah, yeah. Same song, different fucking day.”
He shot me a look.
“I’m serious.”
“And I’m bored now,” I said flatly. “Still calling that corpse the king?”
His jaw tightened, tongue swiping across the metal in his lips as his red eyes gleamed. “That’s what he is. Unfortunately.”
“He’s an abomination.”
King Draeven isn’t just a vampire; he’s a monster, having turned himself into something sinister from all the experiments.
I will never let him have my little witch.
I’d carve my way through the kingdoms, set the skies on fire, and drown the realms in blood before I let him near her.
She is mine—my salvation, my madness. The world can burn as long as she’s safe.
“Can you get back to Velmore?”
“I have an idea,” I replied
I clapped a hand onto his shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. “Try not to die, yeah?”
He nodded. “You look after her. And for fucks sake, don’t tell me about the depraved shit you do with her.”
I grinned, all teeth. “No promises.”
I was gone, vanishing into the shadows to see my little witch and finally break the spell that locked the full strength of her magic away. I can’t wait to see how truly powerful she was meant to be, and then she can take over and become the fucking queen she was born to be.
And I’ll be right by her side, every step of the way.