Chapter 27
CHAPTER
Warm light filtered through the curtains when I woke.
For a moment, I forgot he was there. Until I shifted and saw him still sprawled where he had been, one arm draped casually over his chest, the other hanging off the edge of the bed.
He was still asleep.
The sight startled me more than if he’d vanished. Demons weren’t supposed to look so… unguarded. His expression had lost its sharpness, his mouth no longer twisted in an antagonizing smirk. For the first time, he looked almost human.
And he hadn’t left.
I pushed myself up onto an elbow. The thread of red that had hovered in the air the night before was gone, but the weight of his presence still anchored the room.
He’d stayed. All night.
A strange warmth bloomed in my chest, and guilt came right after, sharp and unexpected. I shouldn’t feel this.
Because a part of me still ached for Lionel, still hated how he had stepped back from me as soon as he learned what I was. He used to sit by my bed when nightmares woke me, used to make me feel safe simply by being there.
But he wasn’t here now. Malakai was.
Malakai had stayed.
As if sensing my stare, his eyes opened, slow and lazy, but sharp enough that I knew he’d been awake for at least a few moments, waiting.
“Staring is rude, sweetie,” he murmured, voice low and rough with sleep.
“You stayed,” I said, ignoring the jab.
He stretched, catlike, and then gave me that familiar slow grin. “Told you I would.”
Without warning, he leaned closer, bracing one arm beside my head. The air between us tightened, heat rolling off him until I couldn’t quite breathe.
“Careful,” he said, smirk curving into something wicked. “Keep looking at me like that, and I might start thinking you like having me here.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but before a single word could escape, he was gone, melting into air as red threads sparked for a brief moment, leaving nothing but a faint shimmer of heat where he’d been.
“Arrogant demon,” I hissed at the empty room, yanking the blanket over my head as if that could shut out the memory of his smirk, the warmth he’d left behind, or the way my pulse still refused to settle.
I did not like having him here.
I decided to put my hair up in a high ponytail for once, keeping it out of my way in preparation for today’s trial.
Once I stepped out of my room, I collided with someone immediately. “Sorry!” I began.
When I turned I saw Lionel, staring wide-eyed at me. “Ethalyn.”
“Oh… morning,” I stammered, surprised to hear him say my name.
“Ehm… did you, ehm sleep well?” he asked, scratching his neck awkwardly, as he often did when he was nervous. It made me smile.
“Mm… you?”
“I can’t even remember the last time we got to sleep in a bed,” he chuckled, a faint smile appearing. Then he looked at me again, as if searching for something. I began to sweat, guilt washing over me even though I hadn’t really done anything.
“Look… about last night,” he began, trying to find the right words, but I shook my head.
“It’s fine.”
“No,” he raised his voice, eyes harsher. “It’s not fine, I said some terrible things."
“I understand,” I said, not sure myself if it was the truth or if I was lying. A part of me had hoped that he wouldn’t have cared at all, that he’d have said that it didn’t matter if I had powers or not.
But instead he told me I killed us, our friendship, our future, any possibility of more.
But then he got mad when Malakai showed interest?
I was confused, not only by him but also myself.
The pain still lingered, like a shard stuck inside of me, causing suffering whenever I moved around, or was close to Lionel.
“I mean it,” Lionel cut through my thoughts, eyeing me closely. “I’m sorry… Friends?” he reached his hand out towards me, waving the white flag.
Would I ever be able to say no to him? Even if it pained me, even if it killed me? My hand met his and we smiled, as he tugged me closer, leaning forward. “That ponytail makes you look so girly.”
I scoffed and he chuckled teasingly, before I sent my elbow into his side.
“What did I look like before then?” I hissed.
“I don’t know, a deer?” he taunted with a half-smile.
I gave him a sharp glare.
“You’re right, you’re a bit violent for a deer…”
Before I had the chance to jab back at him, Ashley stepped out into the corridor, and her eyes locked on us.
“You’re up early?” I arched a brow at her.
“Yep,” she clipped, stepping closer to us. “So, uh… what now?”
“What have you done?” I asked, each word dragging out slowly, as her brows furrowed at me.
“Nothing.”
“Ashley,” I shook my head. “Spill the beans.”
She grunted, looking behind her shoulder to make sure no one was listening in before turning back. “I might’ve slept next to the wrong sibling.”
“You what?” I barked and she panicked, placing her hands over my mouth.
“Nothing happened, I just entered the wrong room and passed out. That’s it. End of story.”
Lionel snickered next to us. Ashley’s eyes went cold as she sent a hailing stare at him. “If you utter a word, I’ll put a bomb in that mouth.”
Lionel froze, as Ashley hooked her arm around mine and kept glaring at him as we walked away.
“Was that necessary?” I asked, nodding towards Lionel.
“Yes, he hurt you,” she shrugged easily.
“He apologized, right before you stepped out,” I clarified.
“Oh… yes, then that was a bit overboard.”
We burst into laughter as we looked at each other before a door opened in front of us, bringing us to a halt.
“Morning,” Malakai said lazily, eyes landing on my hair, before sliding to my bare neck. “I don’t think the trial is a beauty contest.”
“Sad, she would’ve won,” Ashley said, flashing me a smile.
Without a word, I pulled the hairband out of my hair, letting it fall straight against my back again.
Stupid.
“Let’s go eat,” I muttered, as I dragged Ashley along with me.
The inn served us breakfast; bread, egg and pork. It smelled delicious. Nate and Mey soon joined us, both of them looking as if they had just woken up.
“You never came back from the bath?” Mey asked, confused, looking at Ashley.
“Ah, you had dozed off already.”
Lionel choked on the water as he drank it, and Ashley’s eyes dug into him like knives. Eve came last, looking brighter than ever, but still kept a firm distance from me and Mey.
“So, what do you think you’ll end up doing?” Lionel asked, sounding a bit distant.
“Oh, maybe a magical duel?” Ashley suggested. “But it wouldn’t be fair if you faced someone with water I guess.”
“Perhaps it doesn’t involve magic at all? Like being forced to climb and fetch a flag, but with a time limit?” Mey continued, before lowering her voice. “We did something similar in our trials at home.”
“Sounds too basic, though?” Nate said, sounding unimpressed by it.
“It doesn’t matter,” Eve cut through our noise. “What matters is, she’ll have to actually get through the trial for all of us to survive.”
“What?” Nate stopped eating.
“You seriously haven’t thought about it? What if she fails? You think they’ll just let us go and risk us pointing out their base to everyone else?”
The table fell silent.
“She won’t fail,” Malakai said firmly, not a hint of hesitation coloring his features.
Eve scoffed, crossing her arms, not buying his words at all. I guess she lost her respect for him once he decided to keep us alive.
“So… we’re supposed to stay here and wait?” Mey looked confused at each and every one of us. “Because the rest of us aren’t allowed to do the trial too, right?”
“That’s what he agreed on,” Lionel sighed, picking at his food.
Inrelle suddenly appeared next to our table. “Everything to your liking?”
“Gods, yes,” Nate hummed, satisfied. She smiled back at him, colored with relief. They seemed awfully focused on us being comfortable here… I wondered why.
“Ah, Nicron was here earlier, telling me to give you a message,” she continued, as her eyes landed on me. “You’re all to meet with Michlael at the gate you arrived through yesterday.”
All of us?
“Thanks,” I stuttered, as I pondered the meaning of it.
Quickly, we gobbled down the rest of the food, before making our way out. It felt odd, wandering around outside the inn by ourselves. People stared, children were curious as they began following us from a safe distance.
“This way,” Mey pointed, clearly remembering the path better than the rest of us.
A hand gripped around my wrist and I jolted, looking up at Lionel. “What?”
He let my wrist go, before he stepped in behind me, snagging up my hair in one of his hands and tying it up. My eyes darted to my wrist, he had taken the hairband from me.
“Stick to the plan, trust your gut,” he said, before patting my head. “We’ll be fine, okay?”
I was nowhere near okay. Who gave him permission to do that? Why was my heart betraying me again?
No. It wasn’t fine.
Remember what he called us, that he hates us, stupid heart.
We rounded the last corner and I saw Michlael standing with Nicron and a few other armored soldiers at the gate.
They all had silvery shoulderpads and leg guards, while the clothing on top of their chest pieces differed in color depending on their element, blue for water, green for earth, white for air.
“Ah, there they are,” Michlael called out as he saw us, a polite smile stretching across his lips. He snapped with his fingers and one of the soldiers stretched something out towards him, but Michlael simply waved for me to pick it up instead.
Slowly, I stepped forward and saw red cloth in the guard’s hand and my brows furrowed. I looked up confused at Michlael who still smiled brightly.
“For our fire mage, of course, you’ll be the only one wearing the color.”
I wasn’t sure if I felt honored that he had arranged it for me this quickly, or if I felt as if he was placing a target on my back. In any case, I picked it up and began pulling it over my leathers.
“Now, for your trial today,” he continued, his smile evaporated as he looked out through the gates. “We’ve had troubles with demons close by… I want you, and your squad to take care of them.”
“Kill demons?” I echoed, to make sure what he asked of us.
Slowly, his eyes found their way back to mine. “I want you to bring one back alive.”
My eyes widened and the air felt instantly colder. His eyes weren’t lying. Killing demons wasn’t the trial, it was only a bonus in his eyes. Had they ever caught a demon before? Was it even possible?
“No?” Michlael asked daringly.
“We’ll do it,” I confirmed, my resolve rock-solid.