“Why didn’t it work?” Malakai asked, flat and controlled. Anyone who didn’t know him might’ve thought it a mocking question, but it was simply curiosity, wanting to know why it failed despite the hard work.
Lionel’s answer came without hesitation.
“Because I realised that she didn’t look at you like she was betrayed,” he said softly. “She looked at you like she washurt.”
My breath hitched.
Lionel continued, voice raw and unguarded.
“That’s when I knew, she would never look at me like that again. Not after how I reacted to her abilities, how I turned away from her. Not after I—” He broke off, clearing his throat. Then steadier, he continued, “The way she looks at you… that is how she used to look at me, back when we were kids. Back before I made her feel ashamed of herself.”
The fire had almost died by now.
Malakai didn’t speak, and neither did Lionel.
I exhaled slowly, trying to steady myself to avoid letting my feelings get me caught.
But my heart, traitorous and loud, drummed against the earth, and I thanked the Gods they couldn’t hear it.
Lionel’s words hung in the air, and no one moved.
Then, Malakai exhaled, not quite a sigh. More like something he’d been holding onto finally leaving him.
“Is that so?” he said at last, voice unreadable.
“Promise me, you won’t hurt her,” Lionel said quietly.
“I’d rather die than hurt her,” Malakai said sharply, before his voice softened slightly. “You’re a good man,Lionel.”
Lionel let out a low, almost humorless breath that could’ve been a laugh, or a release of tension.
“Don’t go getting sentimental on me,” he muttered.
“Wasn’t planning to.”
There was a beat of stiff silence before Lionel stood, quickly, like remaining seated would anchor him to the vulnerability he’d just spilled. “Thanks for… you know.”
He strode a few paces away. I wondered what he looked like, if he felt relief or tension. But I didn’t dare to turn around to peek at them.
Malakai didn’t move.
Neither of them spoke again.
Morning came slowly, not with birdsong or golden light, but with the weight of limbs.
I woke to find myself suffocating underneath the heavy burden of affection.
Ashley had plastered herself against my back like a girl clinging to her doll, one leg slung over my hip and her nose buried in my hair. She was drooling. Onme.
On my other side, Malakai had apparently decided that sleep was an excellent time to make declarations of ownership. One arm was wrapped firmly around my waist, the other tucked under my neck like a pillow he had no intention of sharing.
I was pinned, thoroughly.
A human-demon burrito, unable to move.
I cracked one eye open.
Across the embers of a new campfire, Eve was already awake, arms crossed, leaned back against a log with the kind of unimpressed stare usually reserved for burning buildings.
