Chapter Thirty #3
The man lunges, his movements wild and unrefined—predictable, even.
I drop low beneath his haymaker, the Starforged Blade singing as it slices through the back of his leg.
He crumples, screaming, but I don’t hesitate.
The streets taught me better—hesitation gets you killed.
Revryn’s voice echoes in my mind: Incapacitate first, then go for the kill.
My knee drives into his chest as I drag the blade across his cheek.
Control the fight. End it before it begins.
For the first time, I see the singe marks left in the blade's wake. He screams in agony, so I lean close to his ear before spitting the words at him, “You should keep better company.” I get off him, a blood-curdling scream ripping from his throat as his hands search his face for the damage, and I’m satisfied that he won’t fuck with me again.
I look up in time to see one of the men slump to the ground, groaning, while Kael turns his attention back to the leader.
He’s still pinned against the wall, Kael’s forearm pressed against his throat.
“Now that she’s available to give you her full attention, apologize,” Kael demands, his tone ice-cold.
The man gasps for air, clawing at Kael’s arm. “I— I’m sorry! I didn’t mean anything by it!”
Kael’s smirk returns, a shadowed expression that sends a chill through me.
“Didn’t mean anything by it?” His voice is a low rasp, thick with contempt.
“That’s the best you can muster? After touching what doesn’t belong to you?
After disrespecting her?” His forearm presses harder against the man’s throat, eliciting a strangled gasp.
“Kael,” I say softly, the sound of my voice surprising me.
The fire in his gaze flicks to mine for the briefest moment, and I can see the battle raging in him—control versus destruction.
It’s raw, dangerous, and devastatingly alluring.
His honed body, all muscle and vein, arrest my attention.
He looks to be carved by the gods themselves.
He exhales sharply through his nose, turning back to the man. “You should thank her. She’s the only reason you’re still breathing.” His arm releases, and the man crumples to the ground, coughing and choking as he scrambles backward,away from Kael.
Kael doesn’t look at him again. Instead, his eyes find mine, and the intensity in them is almost unbearable. The chaos around us fades—the groaning bodies, the bloodied ground, the smoldering magic from my blade—all of it seems to vanish under the weight of his ocean-blue gaze.
He steps toward me, slow and deliberate, and my breath hitches as the distance between us disappears. “Are you hurt?” he asks, his voice quieter now but no less commanding.
I shake my head, still clutching the Starforged Blade in my hand. “No, I—” My voice catches, and I force myself to steady it. “I’m fine. I can handle myself.”
His eyes flick down to the blade in my hand, then back to my face. There’s a glint of approval there, but also something darker, more possessive. “I don’t doubt that,” he says, his voice rough. “But you shouldn’t have to.”
“And yet, here I am,” I bite back, forcing steel into my voice. “I don’t need you to fight my battles, Kael.” But even as I say the words, the memory of his blade flashing through the shadows—his rage, his precision—makes my breath hitch.
His lips curl into a smirk, but it’s softer this time, less taunting and more.
.. something else. “I know you don’t,” he murmurs, reaching out to brush a thumb along my jawline, smearing a streak of blood I hadn’t realized was there.
“But I told you—I don’t share.” His thumb brushes over my jaw again, slower this time, as if to emphasize his words.
“And what’s mine doesn’t bleed for scum.
” His gaze holds mine, the storm in his eyes daring me to argue.
I swallow hard, my chest tightening at the weight of his words. His. The air between us crackles with unspoken tension, thick and suffocating, but I can’t bring myself to look away from him.
“Come,” he says, his voice softer now, though the edge of command still lingers. “I have something for you,” he says, his tone gentle, though the edge in his eyes remains. “Something I’ve been waiting to give you.”
“Shouldn’t you go back to Jax?” I can’t believe it's still at the forefront of my mind, but it’s out before I can catch it. Jealousy isn’t a virtue, Elyssara. But Stars, it’s burning through me, anyway.
An amused quirk kicks up one side of his mouth, “No, Duskae. It’s not like that.
” Without another word of explanation, he nudges my elbow to lead me away from the tavern.
I hesitate, just for a breath—a life in the slums will do that to a person—before following him.
My legs move before my mind catches up, drawn by the quiet command in his touch.
I sheathe the Starforged Blade, the heat of the fight still coursing through my veins. My pulse thunders, not just from the violence but from the way Kael looked at me—like the chaos didn’t unsettle him, like he saw the darkness in me and welcomed it.
“Let’s go,” I say finally, my voice steadier than I feel.
As he leads me away, I glance back at the carnage we’re leaving in our wake. It should horrify me, but it doesn’t. Instead, I feel... alive. And Kael, with all his unrelenting fury, feels like the only person who might truly understand that.
This darkness, this violence—it terrifies me, but gods, it draws me to him like a moth to a flame.