One World

Part 7

"Nar'e!"

The Earthling glared at him with unrelenting defiance, those astonishing blue eyes glittering with hatred and rage.

And Rag'ell revelled in it. Truth be told, if Gabriel had surrendered so quickly, he would have been disappointed.

He wanted to savor his submission properly.

He didn't know why he was so anxious for Cassel to submit. All the governments and leaders of this world had long since knelt before him, acknowledged him as their sovereign ruler. They had capitulated to the indomitable power of the Ardanians, and had ceded all power over this planet into the hands of the Supreme.

Yet he wanted it to be this insignificant human, who would bow before him, kneel in the dust, and call him his master.

He watched the rebellious man, his cheeks glistening with sweat, his hands shaking with fatigue, and his eyes full of fire and fury glaring back at him with indescribable hatred.

Still pinning Gabriel beneath him, he was also aware of the man's accelerated breathing and heaving chest, his heart beating at a frantic pace and his entire body trembling with exhaustion from the combat they had just fought.

Without letting go of the captive's wrists, Rag'ell pulled the dagger away and set it down among the rocks and dust. With his teeth, he removed the black glove, the hand felt light without it, the cold air cooling his sweaty palm.

Then he wrapped his long fingers around the throat of his defeated opponent. Not tight enough to prevent him from breathing, but enough to be uncomfortable. Now Rag'ell could feel Gabriel's racing pulse, the hot skin beneath his fingertips.

The remains of the ruined city loomed around them, the smell of smoke, dust and blood hung in the air, and the two of them were in the middle of it. Ardanian soldiers and captured rebels watched their encounter in breathless silence, no one daring to speak.

However, the Supreme was unaware of this as his full attention was focused on the dark-haired man lying on his back beneath him, who stubbornly refused to surrender and pledge obedience.

Even in their fight, he could have killed him at any moment, stabbed him where a blow would have been fatal. And now he could increase the pressure on his prisoner's throat and strangle him with his own hands.

But Rag'ell didn't want any of that.

More than anything, he wanted to run his bare fingers through that black hair and touch it. Gabriel didn't have it as long as he did, it barely reached his shoulders and framed the symmetrical face, untamed like its owner.

The Supreme loosened his grip on the rebel's neck and moved his hand higher up the human's cheek. His fingers trembled with eagerness as he touched the dark strands and gently, almost tenderly, brushed them from Gabriel's face.

Their gazes locked again, and Rag'ell saw how the expression in those blue eyes changed from hatred to surprise and then confusion. He himself had no idea what he was doing.

They stared at each other, the moment lasting a fraction of a second, a heartbeat, but there was something strange, intense and forbidden in that look that neither of them could or would name.

And then the spell was broken.

Gabriel, so far motionless, tried to take advantage of the situation and break free of the iron grip of his enemy. This brought Rag'ell back to reality. He clenched his fingers in the black hair and pulled wildly, bringing the captive's face closer to his own.

"As you wish," he smirked arrogantly, "keep your pride, but you will pay the consequences."

With that, he rose to his feet and pulled the other man roughly up as well. Cassel was exhausted, anyone could see it in his face, worn down by the long hardships and the futile fight against the Ardanians.