Chapter 32
CHAPTER
“You’re growing awfully attached, kitten,” Malakai hummed, half-amused, half-irritated. “It won’t do us any good.”
Michlael shifted behind me, taking a step back from my fire, which was burning wildly, claiming the area around me.
“Wait,” he said, hesitant. “You knew?”
“Why are you playing along?” I barked at Malakai, ignoring Michlael for the moment. “Why don’t you break out?”
His red eyes met mine, I hoped to see a teasing smirk, a sign of him playing the wounded. What I saw instead was blankness in his eyes, no fear, no joy, nothing. He was simply waiting for whatever came next.
“You’re a temptation demon, aren’t you?” I said through my teeth.
“You wanted me to embrace this—” I gestured at my flames.
“You coaxed me into coming here. Was it to get you close to the mages? So you could secretly devour them and take over their ranks too? Or did you want me to burn it all down? So I had no place left to go?”
His jaw ticked, his eyes slowly began glowing brighter, as did his markings. Was he mad? Good, that made two of us.
“I’m no fucking temptation demon,” he hissed through his teeth.
“Then what are you!?” I shouted.
His eyes slid to something behind me. I turned and saw Michlael still standing there, brows furrowed, assessing the situation.
“Your task is to get rid of him,” he said once he saw me staring. “I’ll be waiting upstairs…” His words came out heavy, making sure I knew the impact of them, of what decision lay before me, as he turned and slowly walked back.
Once he was out of sight, I snapped back, waiting for the answer I had been seeking for a long time.
Malakai’s gaze lowered.
“My mother was a mage,” he said low. “She ran away from Aetherion to be with my father, a demon.”
I held my breath, to make sure I heard him correctly.
“But he was a monster after all,” he scoffed dryly.
“He used her and left her, and she suddenly found herself in a very precarious situation. Not being able to return for fear of her demonic child being discovered, not being able to use her magic for fear of being revealed as a mage, and a child who demanded to be fed magic to survive.”
My eyes widened, his words like a slam against me. “What?”
“You asked what I was, kitten,” he said, his eyes burrowing into mine again. “I’m an abomination.”
“What… happened then?”
He pulled against the chains, baring his teeth as he was clearly in pain. My hands grabbed around the bars, not sure what I wanted to do.
“She did what any mother would’ve,” he continued through ragged breaths. “She offered me mages, fed them to me, they were all on the run so none of them were in a position to scream or ask for help.”
He fed on them, not because he wanted to or enjoyed the kill or the surge of power as I had thought… because he had to? He was part demon, part mage?
The overload of information was threatening to overwhelm my brain.
“I’ve done plenty of demonic things, kitten.” His gleaming eyes met mine again. “They’ve weakened me with quartz, I can’t use my blood magic right now. You’re safe. Don’t feel bad about it, just… be a doll and make it quick.”
I looked down at the lock, my flames had already begun melting it with their intensity. As I clenched my teeth, flames slithered around the lock, snapping it off. I opened the cell and stepped inside, he remained on his knees, locked in place, as he followed me with his scarlet eyes.
Shit.
My flames calmed, retracting to my hands.
“Why haven’t you broken free yet?” I asked again, this time quieter, smoother.
He chuckled dryly. “Why did you resist your flames for all those years? Why did you reject your true nature, kitten?”
“I was ashamed,” I whispered and I knew then and there that we understood each other better than anyone else.
“Then you’ll forgive me if I’m not exactly proud of being part demon and being forced to devour the magic of others to selfishly keep on living?”
I fell to my knees in front of him and he frowned at me. “What are you doing?”
I shook my head, as tears built up inside of me. “I can’t kill you.”
He pressed against the chains, teeth clenched as if readying to attack, but his expression didn’t match his movement. The demon inside of him wanted to devour me, he hadn’t fed for a couple of days at least, but the human part of him simply refused. “Don’t cry, not because of me.”
A tear slid down my cheek and it made him go still, watching it intently.
He had saved me plenty of times before; from demons, falling down the waterfall, the cold, the loneliness… it was my turn to save him, I owed him that much.
My right hand stretched, pulling my hair away from the left side of my neck. His eyes followed the movement as silence stretched between us, locking in on my neck. “What are you doing?”
Slowly, I moved closer to him, his warm, shaky breath hitting my face.
“It’s okay,” I whispered, tilting my head to the side, baring my throat for him. My pulse thrummed beneath my skin.
“Stop it.” His voice was low, almost a growl, and I knew he didn’t mean it.
I looked back at him. His eyes were shut, his breath coming hard and uneven as if he was holding himself back by sheer will. My hand slid up the back of his neck, fingers tangling in the soft white strands of his hair.
“Malakai,” I said, my voice breaking with more than fear. “I need you.”
His eyes snapped open, bright and unearthly, pinning me in place. Slowly, almost sloppily, he leaned in, brushing his lips against the curve of my neck. A shiver tore through my body.
“Sweetie,” he purred against my skin, and I felt the smile in his voice. “Do you have any idea what you’re offering me?”
Before I could answer, his teeth sank in. The pain was sharp enough to make me gasp, my grip in his hair tightening, dragging him closer rather than pushing him away. Warmth trickled down my collarbone as my magic bled into him, my head spinning under the pull.
Something cracked, and I glanced down in time to see the first shard of quartz shatter against the stone floor, expelled from his body. Then, I saw red threads slash against the chain that was holding his right hand—it broke instantly.
My free hand pressed against his chest, a weak attempt to slow him, but he only groaned low in his throat, a sound that went straight through me. He caught the back of my head in his free hand, holding me there as if daring me to try again.
“Malakai,” I tried to speak, but my own voice betrayed me, sounding too much like a plea.
The other chain broke with a metallic snap.
His newly freed hand slid possessively along my lower back, pulling me flush against him.
His teeth retreated, but only so that his tongue could lap at the mark he left, sending a dizzying rush of heat through me.
The wound burned hot, but the pain disappeared completely.
Had he used his magic to stop the bleeding?
“Delicious,” he murmured, almost reverent, before his hands shifted lower, gripping my thighs. In one effortless motion, he lifted me, my legs locking around his waist.
I barely had time to gasp before he turned, slamming me against the cold wall, hard enough to knock the air from my lungs. His glowing eyes burned brighter now, and the blood on his lips steamed, turning to ash.
I couldn’t stop staring at his lips, couldn’t stop wanting…
Two fingers caught my chin, forcing my gaze up. His glowing eyes burned hotter than hellfire. “You chose to bleed for me,” he said, voice low and dangerous. “You think you get to walk away after that?”
I swallowed hard, my heart stuttering.
He leaned in, lips brushing the shell of my ear. “No,” he growled softly. “You wanted me free, kitten? Then you’d better understand what you just unleashed.”
His lips claimed mine before I could take a breath, the kiss deep and punishing, dragging a whimper out of my throat. His hand tangled into my hair, holding me right where he wanted me, as if daring me to pull away.
I didn’t, I couldn’t. My fingers curled tighter in his hair, my legs locking around him. He pressed me harder against the wall, until I could feel every line of his body, his heat sinking into my bones.
I welcomed it, gods, my entire body rejoiced in it. Every touch from him made my body shiver in delight, as if it had waited for this exact moment, craving it longer than I had realised.
The kiss broke only for him to nip my lower lip, a wicked smile tugging at his mouth. But my body was aflame, almost disappointed by the sudden withdrawal.
“Look at you,” he murmured, breathless but amused. “Shaking for me already.”
“Malakai…” My voice was barely a sound, as I tried to catch his lips again with my own.
His glowing eyes sharpened, predatory and knowing. “If you want me, say it.”
My chest ached from holding my breath. “I… I don’t know.” It was a mere whisper, raw with honesty.
What did I want?
My head felt dizzy.
A dark, satisfied hum rumbled in his throat and his thumb brushed my lower lip gently.
“Then I’ll make you sure.” His grin widened, slow and deliberate. “I’ll be patient… until the words spill from you.”
He kissed me again, slower this time but no less consuming, his hand sliding possessively along my thigh.
His tongue slipped inside my mouth, making me melt a little more, until the world narrowed to nothing but him, the taste of him and the pressure of him.
My flames sparked and burned under my skin like they wanted him too.
My arms wrapped around his neck, as I shamelessly pushed myself harder against him, wanting to eradicate any space between us.
When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard, foreheads pressed together.
“Careful,” he murmured, his thumb lingering at my lips. “You keep kissing me like this, sweetie, I won’t stop until there’s nothing left between us.”
I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breath. The cell felt too small now, too hot, my heart still hammering from more than just the kiss.
He studied me for a long moment, the glow in his eyes dimming to something sharper, but not cold. “So…” His voice was smoother now, playful in a way that made my pulse skip. “What’s the plan, kitten?”
I blinked, still dazed. “What?”
“You came here to kill me.” His thumb slid from my lip down to my throat, tracing my racing pulse. “And instead, you gave yourself to me.” His grin curved, slow and knowing. “Feels like a better deal, don’t you think?”
Heat flared in my chest, anger, shame, want, all tangled. “Don’t flatter yourself,” I bit out, though my voice wasn’t as steady as I wanted.
His chuckle was low and delighted.
“There she is,” he murmured, thumb brushing lightly against my throat. “My kitten.”
I glared at him, refusing to look away even as my body still ached from his closeness. “I may not have killed you,” I said, sharp as I could manage, “but that doesn’t mean you own me.”
Instead of being offended, his grin only widened, his eyes glowing hotter.
“No?” His fingers curled lightly at the back of my neck, pulling me close enough that I felt his breath on my lips again. “Then maybe, I’ll just have to make you wish I did.”
He said it like a promise, not a threat, and the worst part was, my heart leapt at the thought.