Chapter 37
CHAPTER
I woke up slowly.
The first thing I felt was warmth, and then the solid weight of an arm around my waist.
It took me a second to register where I was, the faint smell of ash, leather and steel grounding me before I realised I wasn’t just near Malakai, I was on his lap.
His jacket was draped over us like a blanket, his chest warm and steady against my back, his chin resting lightly on my head, while his other hand rested on my hip like it belonged there.
“You’re awake,” he said, his voice low and warm as he lifted his head.
I swallowed, suddenly aware of every place we touched. “You moved me.”
“Mhm.” I could hear the grin in his voice. “You were cold, and I felt generous, any objections?”
I tried to sit up, but his arm stayed firmly around me, not letting me go.
“Stay,” he murmured, his breath ghosting against my temple.
It was infuriating, and far too easy to obey.
Across the campfire, Ashley sat rigidly, polishing the same dagger for too long, her eyes somewhere far away. Had she even slept? She looked stiff and tired. I saw how Nate busied himself packing things, even offering to help others pack, too. Neither of them looked at each other.
“Funny, isn’t it?” Malakai’s voice was velvet against my ear, far too smug.
“What?” I asked, though I already knew.
“They’re acting like the world might explode if they accidentally make eye contact,” he murmured, amused.
His hand left my hip only to run lazily through my hair, combing through it with his fingers. The action was so casual, so intimate, it made my chest feel tight.
“You’re enjoying this way too much,” I muttered.
“Of course I am.” His fingers brushed against the back of my neck, and he tugged lightly on a few strands of hair, hard enough to tilt my head back towards him.
Before I could protest, he kissed me. Slow and deliberate, like he had all the time in the world, like he wanted to remind me of yesterday.
When he finally let me breathe, I was dizzy, staring into his scarlet eyes.
“I told you,” he said softly, his grin wicked. “I’d cherish every second of it, and now everyone knows exactly who you belong to.”
My face burned. “You can’t just—”
“Sweetie,” he interrupted, stroking a thumb over my flushed cheek, “I absolutely can.”
I brushed his hand away from my face, but it only made his grin sharpen, pleased with himself in a way that made my stomach flutter.
By the time I got to my feet, Ashley turned her head and smiled at me, an awkward one. I strolled over to her. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she smiled, looking down at her boots. “I only wish I knew everything would be fine, you know? The future… it’s so unknown, it makes me hesitant, sleepless apparently.”
I patted her back. “Well, sometimes we have to focus on the now to even get a future.”
She looked up at me, arching a brow. “Damn, never knew you were such a smart-ass.”
“Hey!” I snapped. “That hurt.”
She smiled wide.
“So, you made your choice?” her voice lowering, every trace of teasing gone. Nothing went past her sharp eyes, as she was clearly calling me out.
I stilled, while she turned her icy blue eyes and met my gaze. “Yeah… I did.”
Her eyes softened and a faint smile appeared. “As long as you are happy, I’m happy.”
I took a step towards her, opening my mouth—
“Ethalyn,” I heard a voice behind me and turned.
Michlael stood there, missing an arm, but as collected as I had ever seen him. “I wanted to thank you, personally—you and…” He stopped and his eyes darted to Malakai who stepped up beside me, glaring right back. “Malakai… you two saved me yesterday.”
“No need,” I shrugged easily.
“Well, a little needed,” Malakai interrupted, crossing his arms above his chest.
I glared at him, before turning back to Michlael. “We’re in this together, right? We need you as much as you need us in order to talk to the Ashen Corps.”
“Right… Like we have any choice now that we just lost so many mages,” Michlael said low, his eyes locked on Malakai as if they had a quiet feud. “What is a mage without his arm anyway?” He scoffed, looking away.
“Michlael—” I tried.
“I just hope you don’t have too high expectations of this…
there’s nothing guaranteeing that they’ll even talk to us, let alone actually agree to anything.
It’s not like you’re the first one to want to end this miserable war,” Michlael snapped, looking back at me.
“Or do you think we just enjoy suffering and throwing our lives away so you can play the hero?”
I pressed my lips together, shaking my head.
Michlael clenched his teeth, irritation lingering in his expression. “Sacrifices have been made, most of them by us… I hope you’re ready to make yours when needed.”
My hands lit up, sparks glowing. “I intend to give it my all.”
Mey walked alongside a fellow water-wielder, who helped her practice her craft. I shot them a few glances and noticed her conjuring water out of thin air.
“Progress,” Nate said, noticing my stare.
“Well, at least she’s stopped drenching us,” Ashley chuckled. “Thought I’d get a cold any day now.”
“She looks happy,” I nodded with a smile.
“I’ve never seen her this energetic,” Nate lowered his voice, the vulnerability of the words spilling through his eyes.
“And it will only get better,” Ashley said, knocking her elbow into his side. He turned slightly, staring at her as if to bark something back. But he ended up losing his words, his eyes soft. “Yeah.”
“What?” Ashley arched a brow at him.
“Hey Ash,” he smiled, gaze turning forward. “Will you teach me how to make fireworks sometime?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it, averting her eyes from him as she turned silent.
“Why fireworks?” I asked curiously, my eyes darting back and forth between them.
“Because… they light up the night.” He said softly and I saw Ashley turning red.
A smile fought its way to my lips, he wanted to light up the night sky for her, because her eyesight wasn’t as good in the dark.
Who knew Nate was such a romantic?
“That reminds me,” Malakai interrupted, stopping in his tracks. “You’ve got something of mine.”
I turned to him, frowning because he cut their cute moment short. “What?” That came out way too sharp…
“The carved cat.”
Oh, I had forgotten about it. My hand slipped into my jacket’s pocket and sure enough, it was still there. “This?”
He snagged it from my fingers without hesitation, before placing it in the chest pocket of his own jacket.
“You sure like cats,” I muttered.
“Show a puppy some love, and it will love you unconditionally, even if you betray it.” He began walking, his voice flat. “Show a kitten a little love, and it will reject you, time and time again, until you give it a home; only then, will it truly trust you.”
“I’m pretty sure cats love anyone who pet them,” Nate murmured confused.
“Yeah, until you rub their belly, then they bite.” Ashley shivered at the thought.
“So, why did you get that wooden carving?” I asked, looking up at Malakai.
“It reminded me of you, kitten,” he smirked.
“I’m not impossible like that!” I hissed. “I trusted my squad from the start.”
“No you didn’t,” Nate and Ashley echoed in harmony. I glared at them.
A gun shot rang out close by, and we all froze in place, laughter dying, murmurs in the background silencing. Was there a battle? Were we being ambushed again?
“There’s a field up ahead, maybe three-hundred feet,” Michlael warned with a leveled voice, enough for the ones around to hear, but kept down from potential threats. “There will be no cover, full exposure and it sounds like we’re not the first to arrive.”
“Keep your eyes sharp and stay close, kitten,” Malakai added, but as he took a step, a gun fired from our right.
Ashen Corps?
Malakai swung his hand out and grabbed me, spinning us around to cover me. Nate fumbled with his gun, before returning fire, protecting Ashley as she rummaged through her bag for the right bomb.
“Mey, get closer!” Nate shouted.
Soldiers emerged from the forest, wearing clothing we knew all too well, as they lifted their weapons to take aim.
Water surged over them, like a tide riding in, swallowing everything in its path.
One of the Ashen Corps threw a bomb at it, the explosion sundering the tension which kept the wave together, creating a wide opening for the rest of them to avoid the wall of water.
A flame spurted in my palm and I tried shaping it into a ball, hurling it at them. It landed on the ground, the grass catching fire.
“Your aim needs work,” Malakai snorted beside me, snapping his fingers as red threads spread across the ground, climbing up a soldier and slicing his weapon into dust.
People who witnessed it froze in place.
“What was that?” a mage called out, fear lacing his voice.
The blood had splashed from the impact with the weapon, now covering the soldier’s face. The man began shaking as his hand wiped it off and once his eyes registered the thick liquid, he ran.
“Was that… blood?” Nate asked, confused, looking at the red stain painting the leftovers of the soldier’s gun.
“There’s no such thing as blood magic!” another mage shouted out and their panic began spreading.
Malakai simply smirked, realizing his own slip and seemed to revel in their reactions.
Or perhaps he had grown tired of hiding?
Michlael’s eyes found Malakai, resting on him briefly with a mixture of curiosity and fear, before taking control over the situation.
“Sorry for not mentioning it… It’s our secret weapon, no need to panic,” Michlael called out to his troops.
The mages still looked baffled, yet they didn’t question him and straightened themselves with new courage.
I clenched my teeth, and used the fire on the ground to devour the grass, spreading around a few Ashen Corps soldiers, caging them in.
Then, a figure jumped out of my ring of fire, closing the space between us.
My eyes widened and my heart froze, it was Eve.
Her eyes met ours, with only a brief moment of hesitation before she lifted her rifle and pointed it at me.
“Don’t!” Nate shouted at her, pointing his own gun back at her.
Eve’s eyes slid to him slightly, evaluating the situation, calculating, before her eyes set on me again and she fired.
I gasped, but I was unharmed, Malakai had caught the bullet in his web of blood. But the bullet wasn’t aimed at me I realised, it was aimed at him. Nate and Ashley looked back, and their eyes widened. This was the first time they saw his magic, or at least that it originated from him.
“What?” Ashley stammered. “He is a mage?”
Malakai’s eyes darkened slightly, his eyes still lingering on Eve, as the bullet she had fired turned on her, threatening, before I reached my hand out and nudged his arm. His eyes darted to me, jaw tightened for a brief second before the bullet fell to the ground.
“Put the rifle down,” Ashley hissed at her. “This is stupid, even for you.”
Eve gritted her teeth, tightening the grip around her weapon as she steadied it, debating whether or not to take aim again. A small splash of water washed over her, breaking her focus. But it only angered her further.
“He’s not what you think he is,” she barked, throwing her rifle up with her arm underneath as support.
But a mage entered into close combat with her, grabbing hold of her rifle as they began fighting over it.
She kicked his kneecap, forcing it to bend the wrong way, and as she tried ripping her rifle out of his hand it fired.
Not once.
Not twice.
Three shots went off, Eve’s face paling, as if she was as surprised as us that they had pulled the trigger. Nate’s arm swung around Ashley, pulling them down towards the ground, attempting to avoid the bullets, but it was too late.
Another figure jumped in front of them like a human shield and took the hits, staggering, with their arms stretched in an attempt to become as big as possible.
My eyes widened, sounds died around us as everything narrowed down to this one moment.
“No,” I whispered, as I saw Mey fall to her knees.