Chapter 3 #2
Nate looked away, his jaw tight. Ashley’s expression softened for half a second, guilt flickering through her eyes before she turned to her pack again, pretending to dig for something.
Malakai broke the tension with an exaggerated sigh. “And here I thought dinner would be awkward after the demons asked to join in.”
That earned a reluctant snort from Ashley, a small truce. “Are you always this charming, tied up and all?”
“No, I’m usually a lot more fun tied up,” he said, flashing a grin. His wrists were still bound, rope darkened by soot, but he didn’t seem the least bit bothered.
“You could’ve burned through that an hour ago,” I said, stirring the fire with a stick.
He smiled faintly. “You told me to not break the ropes.”
I looked up at him, at the lazy, half-amused warmth in his eyes. He was impossible. Impossible, and yet… my pulse betrayed me.
“Careful,” Ashley snickered, catching the look. “She might start liking you again.”
Malakai didn’t miss a beat. “She never stopped.”
My lips pressed together in a straight line, just enough for him to notice. I turned away, hoping the rest of them never caught on.
Eve smirked without looking up. “Seems like a bold claim, since she was the one who decided to lock you up.”
“Ah,” he said, tone smooth as silk. “But since she’s the one holding the rope, I consider it foreplay.”
Ashley choked on her ration. “No rope-talk while I’m eating!”
Lionel, who had been cleaning his weapon near the tree line, glanced over.
“You’re handling your flames better, Ethalyn,” he said suddenly, voice quiet but steady. “Didn’t even scorch the forest today.”
It wasn’t much. But coming from him, it incited a storm of emotions within me.
Lionel being positive about my magic? It caught me off guard.
“Thanks,” I said, surprised.
He nodded, eyes on the gun again. “Guess all that training paid off.”
Malakai’s smirk flickered, subtle but there, the faintest shadow of something unreadable passing over him.
Jaden, sitting near Ashley, broke the silence before it could thicken. “We’re close to the border. The earth’s different here, heavier. The Demon Lands can’t be more than a few miles out.”
Nate poked at the fire with a stick. “Heavier is one word for it. Feels like the ground’s listening.”
Malakai chuckled low. “It probably is.”
“ Is that supposed to be comforting?” Ashley asked.
“No, it’s the truth, earth demons and all.”
Eve leaned back, staring into the flames. “Maybe they’ll send something prettier next time. Today’s batch was mostly disappointing.”
Ashley shot her a look but didn’t rise to the bait. Not tonight.
Lionel shifted in his place and said quietly, “Pretty or not, they’ll bleed the same.”
The fire crackled louder, sparks spiraling upwards into the growing dark.
After a while, the conversation faded into smaller sounds. Ashley hummed under her breath, apparently bringing Jaden some peace, and Nate had sprawled himself out on his bedroll, not caring about who was on guard duty, it certainly wasn’t him.
Malakai leaned forward, voice low so that only I could hear. “Tell me, what’s the real reason I’m tied up?”
I stared at the flames, letting the silence gnaw at the both of us. “I told you, the others will be more at ease this way until they know you’re trustworthy again.”
“Are you certain it’s the others who are unsure?” His tone sharpened slightly. “Or is it you?”
The words hit like a rock dropped into still water, creating ripples I didn’t want to face yet.
“You think I’m happy that you sacrificed yourself? You can’t even walk into the camp with me, because they’ll kill you on sight.”
“They can try,” he corrected amused, but turned quiet when I glared at him.
“I know that you did it for me… I just wish that you discussed it with me first.”
“Then your reaction would not have been real enough.” His voice fell flat.
“You killed Michlael!” I said harshly. “I don’t know what kind of person the leader of the Ashen Corps was, he sure looked like a spoiled rich man.”
Malakai snorted amused.
“But Michlael,” I continued. “He was on our side. And you squashed him like an insect.”
“You think he would have advanced on the demons if I killed Jarkas alone?” Malakai asked, his voice cold as he searched my eyes with a sharpness I wasn’t ready for. I looked away, but he continued.
“You think he wouldn’t have taken advantage of the ungifteds’ vulnerable state?”
I opened my mouth—
“Sweetie,” he softened his voice again. “The war has been going on for a long time. The leaders have always chosen the easier target, the closer victory before attacking the demons. Every. Time.”
He was a First Lieutenant, he would know…
“Why?” I asked.
“Oh, I don’t know, why do people quit when things get hard?
Why don’t people tell the truth? Why don’t people admit when they’ve done something wrong?
” Malakai smiled, but there was no warmth in it.
“No one likes showing their weaknesses or fears, kitten. That makes them vulnerable. And no matter if it’s an Aetherion or Ashen Corp soldier, they all fear the demons. ”
“I don’t fear anything!” Ashley shot out, before her hands covered her mouth. She was clearly eavesdropping.
“Sorry, how far away are you from the part where you two kiss and make up?” she sneered and I rolled my eyes at her.
“So, you mean that you killing the leaders was like a reset of the system?” I asked Malakai, making Ashley gasp because I ignored what I am sure to her was her very ’important question’.
“If fear of weakness was the obstacle all along, nothing has changed… Rather, they would be more confused and scared now?” I continued.
“No.” The corner of his mouth twitched amused.
“They saw their light and hope first-hand. They saw you killing the demon who had corrupted the Aetherion. They saw how the Ashen Corps didn’t dare raise a weapon against you.
And as you continue pushing forward, they’ll follow.
You’re our torch, guiding us through the darkness. ”
I swallowed hard at his words, taken aback by his unwavering trust that I’d be able to bring the two factions together. It was his doing, not mine, he deserved the praise.
“Right, but Malakai—” I snapped, turning my head to him, our eyes locking. “In that moment, when you killed them, I thought you had used me for your own goals. I was hurt.”
His eyes softened, pain shining through them. “I’m sorry, that was not my intent.”
I should’ve turned away, should’ve told him to stop pushing further.
It was complicated, having feelings for him and not knowing if he simply played the fearsome demon or if he would ever give in to it.
He hadn’t been allowed into the Rimefield camp after what he pulled at the battlefield, leaving the rest of us in the squad to clean up afterwards.
Pushing him away was easier… No, it was safer.
But his voice, that quiet honesty beneath the arrogance, pulled at something I’d tried to bury.
Maybe he was right, maybe this was me trying to take the easier way, the one where I knew I wouldn’t get hurt again…
Lionel’s voice broke the spell again, sharp as a trigger. “I’ll take first watch.”
Malakai leaned back, a smile without emotions in it lingering on his face. “Of course you will.”
As night settled, the mist thickened at the forest’s edge, curling like smoke over unseen ground. We were closer now, to the border, to danger, to everything waiting in the dark.