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"Fine. Tainted Vixen will do,” she finally declared as she side-glanced at the puppeteer in question, who grinned from ear to ear.
“Really?” he dared to ask while attempting to hide just how giddy he was to have Lauren’s approval.
‘Yes,” she muttered but narrowed her eyes as she continued to side-glance his way. “Don’t encourage me to change my mind.”
“Never,” he vowed with a wink.
“You’ll take any opportunity to flirt,” Zasper commented, which made Colton grin proudly.
“You never know when an opportunity will change your entire life,” he acknowledged and looked to Lauren, who decided to reveal why exactly she was here.
“Master Gaia has a strong sense of your sister’s location,” she revealed. “It looks as though Baker has devilish plans to blow things up.”
“Blow things up?” I didn’t like the sound of that. “My sister is in danger of becoming ash?”
“She’s in the building where a potential bomb threat has been noted. I believe Baker is doing that as a distraction as his Astra is almost here at Demon Valley. He’s rather positive you’ll hear about her safety being at risk and promptly leave the valley to come to her aid.”
It was a safe assumption, though it was also gutsy to pull off such a move.
“If I give him what he wants, he’ll invade here a lot faster than I intend,” I voiced, which intrigued Colton.
“Like you intend?” I could see the excitement in those bright eyes of his that begged for me to continue.
“Baker should have been here probably fifteen minutes ago but I’ve been putting him through the wringer, delaying his efforts to enter the valley,” I confessed, which surprised all of them.
“Impressive,” Lauren praised. “Won’t he get frustrated and do something unexpected?”
“That’s exactly what she wants, isn’t it?” Colton offered, which only made me smirk in return.
“If you play a game the right way, you leave your enemy desperate to reach the finish line of victory,” I calmly voiced while my finger briefly brushed across my bandaged neck. I stopped myself from flinching from the pain.
I did the move intentionally because I needed the reminder of how far I’d come. My drive for survival matched all the moves I took to finally reach this final round that would reward me with everything I desired.
The pain would keep me focused on the grand prize.
“Clearly, there’s no way I can leave demon valley now,” I stated the obvious point. “Too much is in jeopardy if I abandoned the valley in such a vulnerable state. Malifer wouldn’t leave if he was in my position. I can’t possibly do the opposite.”
“Do you think your sister can escape?” Colton pondered in worry. He looked as if he was ready to go in my place and protect my own blood.
“My sister is a Monarch,” I emphasized. “I don’t know her past, nor do I know the traumas she’s gone through to reach this moment in our lives, but death enjoys taunting her as much as he enjoys taunting me.”The comment made me sigh before I looked at Lauren.“However, I am the older sister. I can’t possibly abandon her when she could need assistance. Baker’s desperation will only affect his Astra’s desire to bring pain to me and the valley. Ending my sister’s existence is the perfect way of contributing to such agony and isn’t something I wish to give him the satisfaction of doing to me. I have more than enough bad memories and experiences with the con artist. I don’t need anymore.”
Closing my eyes for a moment, I took a moment to narrow down my options.
And easily found a solution.
“Nathan is on the other side, yes?” I finally asked Lauren while my eyes slowly opened to peer at the Tainted Time Keeper in question.
“Yes,” she confirmed with an added bob of her head.
“Then my Maleficent Astra can handle it,” I announced. “A dramatic entrance with her love in tow could be enough to interfere with Baker’s plans. Baker can’t tell the difference between us, and he’ll believe I truly fell into his plan for arriving when trouble brews around my sister.”
“Doesn’t that risk him targeting her again?” Colton inquired.
“That’s what I want,” I noted with a smirk. “I think it's time we get rid of Baker on both spectrums. His existence is only a pain in our asses. Plus, he’s the type to hold grudges as deeply as any demon. We don’t need that looming over us as we rebuild Demon Valley Pack for the better. I’d also like to avoid a war with the other packs. We don’t have time for all that drama.”
Glancing between Colton and Lauren, I felt confident in my decision.
“Does that sound good?”
