— The Boy Squad — Malakai
— The Boy Squad —
Malakai
We walked in single file through the woods, Nate cracked jokes under his breath, Jaden threw in half a grin now and then, Caleb kept his distance as though my shadow might stain him, and Lionel did what he does best, quietly holding the group together while pretending to not notice the cracks forming.
The air was different here, thick and still. The kind that ate all sound.
“So,” Nate began, twirling his gun around his finger, while I hoped for it to accidentally go off into his foot. “If a demon and a squirrel had a baby—”
“Don’t,” Caleb complained.
“Would it steal nuts or souls?”
I sighed heavily, not sure if his jokes were lightening the mood or making it worse.
Jaden shook his head, a grin playing at his lips. “That one’s so bad it might actually kill morale.”
“Morale’s overrated,” Nate shrugged while grinning. “If we die laughing, we’ll die at least with a smile on our faces.”
“Not funny,” Caleb muttered bitterly.
“Sure it is,” Nate replied. “You’re just allergic to joy.”
I chuckled, at least that was something I could agree with, but it earned me a glare from the little soldier.
Lionel stepped over a root, tone even but weary. “Focus, the fog’s getting thicker. Keep each other in sight.”
“Always the responsible one,” I murmured with a smirk. “I can see why they like you.”
Lionel didn’t look back. “I’m not doing it for you.”
Fair.
Suddenly it felt as if the forest breathed, and something changed in the air. In a matter of seconds, the wind was icy cold.
It had always been quiet, the Demon Lands were like a mental test of their own, but this… The wind was barely there and out of nowhere, there was a whisper, soft as breath, curling through the space between our steps.
“Say it,” it murmured. “Tell her. Tell her she’s yours, Nate. Why keep waiting for someone else to take her?”
Nate stumbled, hand tightening around his weapon. “You guys heard that, right?”
No one answered, instead we all listened to the voice winding through the trees.
“She laughs away her feelings for everyone but you. Claim her, make her remember who she belongs to.”
Nate’s jaw locked, his grin gone.
Then, another voice slipped out of the mist, quieter but sharper.
“Caleb,” it whispered, his name soft as a prayer, sharp as a blade. “You were right about him, about what he is. A demon walking in human skin. He’ll turn on you when it matters most. You could stop it now, save them all.”
Caleb’s hand moved towards his dagger. It was just a flicker, but enough for me to notice the thought flash through his eyes.
He was considering it; the whispers of the woods didn’t have to force him.
His hatred was already there in the open.
His fear of demons ran deep, and I hadn’t earned the right to be an exception in his eyes.
Lionel noticed too and subtly stepped between us. He didn’t say anything, just shifted his stance, always the peacekeeper.
Jaden glanced between them, eyebrows raised. “Everyone’s a little on edge, huh?”
His voice was easy, light, trying to bleed some tension from the air. But the whisper wasn’t going to spare him.
“You could have more than scraps, Jaden.”
He stiffened.
“They never notice what you do for them; you could take what you want. She’s pretty, isn’t she? Wild and soft. Or do you prefer the one with the wits?”
Jaden exhaled slowly, humor dimming from his face. “That’s not funny.”
Nate stiffened as he sent Jaden a glance. The voice was really digging into their skin, wasn’t it?
A cold breeze tore between the trees again, almost like laughter, quiet and freezing against our skin.
“Weak,” it hissed at Lionel. “Still pretending forgiveness makes you noble, pretending you don’t hate him. Pretending that seeing her in his arms doesn’t tear you apart. She’ll never look at you the way she used to. Why keep trying? You disgust yourself.”
Lionel didn’t flinch, but the muscle in his jaw ticked once, hard. I couldn’t blame him if he still hated me, not really. If he wasn’t still slightly upset, had he even cared for her at all?
“Don’t waste your thoughts on the demon voice,” I muttered, hoping to snap him back to reality somewhat.
Lionel’s eyes slid to me, calculating as always.
“You don’t need to worry about me,” he answered unbothered. “It’s weird when you do.”
I huffed, a smile spreading.
Then, it finally found me, saving me for last, like a dessert.
“Ah,” the whisper crooned. “There you are.”
The trees seemed to lean closer, bark creaking, roots shifting. I swept my eyes around, nothing was moving against us, yet I felt observed.
“Do you remember the taste of her blood?”
My throat felt tight at the mere thought of it.
“They’ll find her soon, the others will hold you back, but you’ll watch, helpless, as they open her up. You will smell the sweetness spilling into the dirt. You will break. You will take the last drop yourself. Because you’re hungry. You always are.”
I stopped walking, my hands curling into fists.
The whisper crawled into me like smoke, twisting around my ribs. “You can’t change what you are.”
My body knew the history of hunger. Every cell remembered what surrender felt like, the part of me that bent towards violence reared its head and rejoiced at the whisper’s tempting offer.
But the part that was still human, the stubborn, ridiculous, mortal part of me that loved her, slammed the door shut.
“Enough.” The word came out rougher than I meant it to, low and final.
It was never enough, the hunger was always tempting me, always trying to break free of my hold.
It was like an animal clawing at its chains in my chest, refusing to be silenced by words alone. I reached for the only human thing I was able to cling to, the memory of her palm pressed into mine, the way she trusts me without asking.
Slowly the hunger hissed and crawled back into its cage, letting me breathe normally once again.
Lionel’s gaze cut towards me, sharp, searching, but I didn’t meet it. My hands were steady even though the thing inside me was not.
“Keep moving,” I told them, voice calm, command firm. “Eyes ahead. Don’t listen to the whispers.”
Caleb muttered something under his breath, but obeyed. Nate adjusted his grip on his gun, tightening it, while Jaden walked a little closer to him now, quiet, but alert.
We moved forward again, and the whispers faded, not entirely gone, just waiting for the right moment.
And underneath it all, the thing inside me, the part I kept buried, was still whispering too.
Quieter now, almost patient. Almost.
It was the one thing I kept to myself, the constant hunger, the pain it brought, the constant reminder.
The only thing keeping me from eating the earth-boy right here and now, was that the taste wouldn’t satisfy the hunger. Not anymore, not after her.
What had stopped me from devouring her at first sight?
Fear.
The deep fear of not being able to stop, the fear of seeing Ethalyn lifeless. To destroy the one thing that keeps me alive, that keeps me sane.
It had already happened once, against my will. It broke me into pieces.
Never again.