Chapter 11 #2
As I watched them, I wondered how long they could hold out; they kept resisting as if they would hurt each other for certain if they gave in, as if their love was forbidden and it was better to bury it and live with the pain of never telling the truth.
What a cruel cage they had put themselves in, where their own feelings turned out to be their greatest enemies.
“So, is this your first time fighting demons?” Eve asked, looking over at Caleb and Faelin.
“Well… yeah,” Caleb confessed, his body tense. Was he ashamed of it?
“I’ve seen them before, but…” Faelin murmured, not raising her gaze. “Never up close like this.”
“Terrifying, isn’t it?” Jaden huffed, looking pissed. “To think those things were born because of us.”
Silence spread between us.
There it was, the dispute that had the Ashen Corps and Aetherions battling each other for decades. I saw Eve’s eyes light up like fires, a predator ready to pounce, but Lionel shook his head, ignoring the invitation, resulting in her holding back as well.
Nate took a deep breath, on edge, watching.
“Well… some of us,” Caleb said low and I felt my heart sink.
He took the bait.
Faelin’s eyes darted to him, the first person she had looked at since we began eating. “So you’re better than us because there’s no risk of you letting a demon through?”
“That’s not what I—”
“Of course not, yet you still had to point it out?” Faelin cut through his words, her voice sharper than I had ever heard it.
“I wasn’t saying you specifically, just… greedy people in general,” Caleb barked back, straightening himself, clearly prepared for the struggle or even a fight if needed.
“Shut up,” Malakai’s voice broke through, as he came strolling from the trunk he had been surveilling the area from. “Yapping about it won’t change a damned thing.”
Both of them stiffened, their eyes turned to Malakai, watching his every move as if he was about to strike them down. Instead, he placed himself next to me in the sand, completely relaxed. Caleb and Faelin almost looked confused by it.
“Says the demon walking among us,” Faelin muttered, not backing down.
“Enough,” Lionel bit out, glaring at the new recruits.
“Well, she’s right about that,” Caleb continued anyway. “He’s a demon, but he gets to live because the unique fire mage fancies him? What a load of—”
I was already halfway to standing when Malakai’s fingers wrapped loosely around my wrist in warning. Not to stop me out of fear, but to remind me he didn’t need me to fight his battles. His eyes were on Caleb, unblinking.
“Finish that sentence,” Malakai said calmly. “So I can decide whether to break your jaw or your arm first.”
Caleb’s throat bobbed.
“Oh please,” Eve scoffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “At least let him finish his dramatic monologue before you rearrange his teeth. Some of us are enjoying the entertainment.”
Lionel stepped forward just enough to block Caleb’s line of sight to Malakai. “You really want to test him? Because I won’t stop him if he starts. Not when you were the one to taunt him.”
“You’re defending him?” Caleb furrowed his brows.
“Has he attacked you? Has he tried to kill you?” Lionel shot back and Caleb went quiet. “As I thought.”
“And I will absolutely cheer if he starts,” Ashley added brightly from behind me. “Oooh! Maybe he’ll throw you into a tree, or set you on fire. Wait, Malakai, can you set people on fire after you … bite her?”
Nate snorted. “Either way, crispy idiot for dinner.”
Faelin glanced sharply at him. “You’d eat him?”
“Lady, I’ve eaten worse things to survive.” He wiggled his brows. “Dated worse, too.”
“Ugh,” Eve muttered. “He’s joking.”
“He’s piqued my interest. You dated something worse than charred ass?” Jaden smirked knowingly.
“You’re getting off topic,” Caleb snapped, trying to recover his bravado. “We’re supposed to trust this… thing with our lives?”
Malakai gave him a flat look. “You’re assuming I want your life in my hands.”
That shut him up for a beat.
“Look here, soldier boy, demons don’t just ‘pop’ out of mages,” Jaden said, joining the discussion. “A mage needs to either push beyond their limit to let an elemental demon out or take an offer from a temptation demon to let them cross over.”
“Oh, because now I feel so safe,” Caleb muttered. “How do we know when someone’s crossed the line?”
“When you’re greeted by a not so friendly demon trying to eat you?” Nate snickered.
“Why only mages?” Eve asked sincerely. “Do we know that?”
“Because of the magic,” Jaden shrugged. “It’s the one thing that keeps the door open from our world to theirs; it’s the one thing they crave endlessly. Why do you think the Ashen Corps wanted to obliterate the Aetherions?”
“Yeah, but he’s neither an elemental demon nor a temptation demon, right?” Caleb continued bickering.
“No,” Malakai said, his eyes sliding to Caleb. “Those demons are cute little pets in comparison to me if you keep running that mouth.”
But Faelin wasn’t done. “Then, what happens when he turns on her?” she asked softly, pointing towards Malakai. “What happens when the demon finally remembers what he is?”
My temper sparked like flint to tinder and I rose to my feet before Malakai could stop me this time.
“We already know exactly who he is,” I said, voice steady. “Do you?”
Silence rippled through the group like a held breath.
Faelin flinched, not much, but enough that I noticed.
Caleb opened his mouth again, because of course he wasn’t done, but Lionel was faster. He planted a hand on Caleb’s chest and shoved him back, hard.
“You don’t have to like him,” Lionel said. “But you will respect her choice, or you can walk back to camp alone and explain to your superiors why you picked a fight with a half-demon and a fire mage in the same breath. And that’s if you make it back.”
Caleb hesitated.
Malakai tilted his head, smile razor sharp.
“Choose carefully,” he murmured. “I’m bored.”
Those words made Caleb spark anew. His pride couldn’t allow him to back down just yet.
“You want to talk respect?” he snapped, shoving Lionel’s hand away. “How about we start with him wanting to kill me earlier?”
I frowned. “What?”
Caleb jabbed a finger towards Malakai. “Yeah, I saw his eyes when I bled. And he nearly snapped my neck for taking my shirt off so you could heal me. He was jealous and hungry, such emotions are dangerous for a demon.”
Malakai blinked, then he laughed.
Not a chuckle. A sharp laugh, like Caleb had just performed the world’s funniest show ever.
“Oh,” Malakai shook his head, not able to shake off the smirk. “Oh, that’s adorable.”
Caleb snapped his teeth together. “You think that’s funny?”
“I think you’re slow,” Malakai said cheerfully. “Jealous? Of you? I’ve seen rocks with more charisma.”
I covered a snort.
“I don’t get jealous of rodents, and I wouldn’t eat them either,” Malakai continued, voice smooth and cruel. “And I know she doesn’t sway like that. She chose me. You don’t threaten that; hells, you don’t even register.”
Caleb surged forward, fists tightening. Malakai’s eyes flashed in triumph. “You want someone to blame for how the world turned out? How about you look yourself in the mirror? It’s always those who are scared of the unknown who falter to dark temptations first.”
Lionel stepped in. “Alright, enough now, the both of you. We’re on the same team here, remember?”
Caleb’s eyes were locked on Malakai, but he sat down, his whole body tense. Malakai had clearly struck a nerve.
Ashley leaned forward excited. “Hit him, come on. Hit him so Malakai can break your arm, it’ll be romantic.”
“You have a very unique idea of romance,” Nate muttered, cocking a brow at her.
Caleb managed to remain mostly still, only his balled hand twitched at her words, before a sharp gust of wind surged between them. The air itself rippling like a barrier.
Faelin stood there, hand slightly raised, eyes fixed, not on Malakai, but on me.
“You all think this is a joke?” she asked quietly. “You laugh, you taunt… You talk about who’s brave, who’s strong, but you don’t get it.”
The wind stirred around her hair, restless and uneasy.
“I grew up with someone like him,” she said, voice trembling in a way that wasn’t weakness, it was tightly leashed rage.
“She was my best friend, my sister in all but blood. We wrote stories about running away together, dreamed of joining the Aetherion Guard, to fight side by side.” Her throat bobbed.
“Until she made a deal with a temptation demon. Said it would make her stronger, that she could protect us better that way.”
My stomach twisted.
Faelin’s hand trembled. “She was normal at first, loving, doting, until she lost herself, and when she came back, she slaughtered everyone in our home. Our home.”
Silence smothered the clearing like ash.
“I thought I knew who she was too,” Faelin whispered, voice breaking. “Until she wasn’t there anymore.”
She looked at Malakai then, not with hatred, but hollow fear.
“So, forgive me,” she exhaled. “If I hesitate to trust another demon walking freely beside us.”