Hey guys! Only one chapter left after this one! I'm so excited! Have you seen the new cover? Isn't it cool? Distinctive designed it for me. I also included another one by uzuriupendo in this chapter because I thought it was amazing as well. Feel free to message me to tell me what you think. Have fun reading this chapter! Don't forget to vote and comment :) Love you all <3
I could almost hear the smirk on Mikyan's face as he approached Rilos and I. I grabbed Rilos' hand, not necessarily for support but mostly to hold him back. His anger had frozen my insides. Jinary was throwing himself against Rilos' barriers in an attempt to get to Mikyan.
"No matter what you see or hear, do not hurt him in any way because he could, and will, use it against you."
"I know, Lyra. I invented the Dula. I wrote every rule."
"But now, you're my soul-mate and I don't think you care about the rules when it comes to me."
"Am I that predictable?"
"No. I just feel the same way about you."
"Oh, how cute. Rishka has finally found her freaky other half. Too bad I'm not fighting you, King. I would have made you regret the blood of my father on your hands."
"A 130 years old trained fighter couldn't get as much as a scratch on me. What makes you think you could be any better?"
"Every time you see my face, you can't help but remember that I was her first. Anger blinds even the best. I can tell you in great detail how she fought against me, how it was all for nothing and how delicious her screams were."
Nobody was surprised by Rilos' anger but we were at his self-control. He didn't growl, jumped or attack him. He just brought me closer.
His teeth sank in the tender flesh of my shoulder. A mix of exclamation, sigh and moan escaped my lips as my knees went weak. I clung to the hand holding my chin, trying not to drown in the blaze propelled in my veins with each heartbeat. The arm wrapped around my stomach lifted me off the ground. My head lolled back and I fought with all my might not to succumb to the tempting bliss. The thin line between Rilos and I blurred. My demise came when I became the one biting my own shoulder and Rilos' desire fused with mine.
The heaviness dispersed one blood-cleaning lick at a time. Jinary was proudly purring and so was Keeshee. Wolves had no common sense. To do something this intimate in front of so many people just to prove to whom my mind and body belonged, one would think they'd feel at least a little bit embarrassed by it. But no, they only had eyes for each other and for the fact that they had just put Sadist back into his place.
"I can't believe you did this. You bit me and I... Urg! How am I going to face everyone now? And how am I supposed to fight with those wobbly legs? What in the world were you thinking?"
"He's the only one who saw. The rest think he and I are having a staring contest. As for what I was thinking, you know exactly the reason why. We didn't like his attitude so we shut him up. Beside, I can see your wolf so don't try to act like you aren't happy this happened."
"Put me down." My feet sank in the sand. I was steady enough to stand on my own. "Go back to the balcony. We can't have you chewing me every time he provokes you. I'll be fine, don't worry." He leaned in to kiss me. "Not with my blood on your lips." I cleaned them and closed the gap between us. "Don't forget to take off whatever you put everyone under."
"You make one funny move towards my soul-mate before the fight start and your head won't stay where it is."
"Lyra, where does this mark came from?" asked the Judge when Rilos got back with the others. "Did the accused do this to you?"
"He wouldn't have been able to get this close without me or Rilos killing him. I wouldn't let anyone other than Rilos put a claim on my body. Let's get this over with. Take my memories, show them and let me destroy his face."
My memories weren't the worst. They were composed mostly of sounds and sensations since I had been blind for a good part of those three months. Sadist's, on the other hand, were appalling. I saw my body degrading to a point where I didn't look like anything. No wonder Rilos believed I wouldn't make it. I saw the exact moment my mind broke. I couldn't speak, move, resist, fight. Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, I was useless. Half the time, I wouldn't flinch when he raped me. My mind had left, I was nothing more than a mangled corpse.
Lividity and sorrow collided on Rilos' face. This was someone who only had hope left. It was heart-wrenching to see him like this but I was relieved to see it as well. You saved me. I got you out. You did all the hard work. You healed your mind. You saved yourself. That's so like you to say something like this. He winked at me. Fight, beautiful. Show me how far you've come.
"Guilty without the shadow of a doubt. Are you ready, Lyra?"
"Ready when you are, Judge."
"Let the fight begin."
Sadist's shackles were removed and he got his powers back. He laughed and cracked his wrists.
"I've longed for this, Rishka. You are not going to win this fight. I have powers now. Here, have a taste."
Fire surrounded me, licking my skin, warming me up. It didn't burn me. It couldn't because I controlled it too. I let him think that it worked for a minute and then I made them vanish. I savoured his stupefied look.
"I can control fire too but, unlike you, it is not the only power I have." I tore his ear off his head. Blood gushed down his neck. "Pretty cool, isn't it? Wait, let me show you something else." I made him fly up and made him crash on the ground with enough force to shatter his ribcage. "You can't hurt me anymore, Mikyan, and I certainly won't let you win because I have someone who loves me. I don't want to die, especially not from your hand."
"You bitch," he uttered, getting back up, cradling his side.
A small form fell from the side into the arena. A child. Sadist's eyes darted in the same direction as mine and he grinned. I teleported the child in my arms just as fire engulfed the spot he previously sat.
"What is wrong with you? He's a child. Leave him out of this. Zyl, what are you doing here?"
"I heard people saying you were fighting a bad guy. I wanted to make sure you were alright."
"I am, but you need to go back. You can't look at what is happening. It's not for little kids." Another fire ball hurled at us. I extinguished it. "Stop it! Let me bring him back."
"Oh, come on. Isn't it more fun this way? It'll either motivate you to fight or it will make you lose. Bonus point if one of us traumatizes the kid."
I tried to teleport Zyl out of the arena but it didn't work. I couldn't undo the barriers either. I saw Rilos and Zyl's parents banging on one of the wall through the flames Sadist kept throwing at me. I couldn't create a field that protected us from them since he kept making it disappear. Stupid rule that didn't allow me to deprive him of his powers.
"Zyl, I want you to hide your face on my shoulder because I'm going to hurt the bad guy and I don't want you to see that. Can you do that for me?"
He obeyed and I turned my attention back to Sadist who was approaching menacingly. I cut his right hand, slashed his torso, crushed his ribs, which had healed, but it was as if he didn't feel any pain. Stop. He still attacked me with flames in the hope that I wouldn't be able to counter them. Stop. I couldn't be scared. I had to stay calm for Zyl. The fire turned blue. Stop it; he's a child. He limped on the leg I hadn't chopped off. The wall where Rilos stood was right behind me, the wood pressed against my back. Stop. Cornered. He crawled, moving forward by digging his fingers in the sand. I had to protect Zyl. The flames kept coming.
"STOP IT!"
The fire extinguished. Sadist was frozen, one hand in the air. Had I used my Alpha voice without noticing? Was I able to make Sadist obey me? I turned to Rilos but he wasn't moving either. Nobody was. Except me.
"Is it almost over?"
"Zyl? You can move?" He nodded his head. "What is going on? Alright. I don't know how long this will last so we have to act fast. Can you go through the barriers and into your father's arms?" He extended his hand and it passed right through it. "Good. Grab his hand." When he did, his father blinked. "Sir? Take him, don't let go and get him out of here."
The moment Zyl slipped out of my grasp, both him and his dad froze like everybody else. I placed my hand over Rilos' in the hopes of touching him but the barrier was holding on. Keeshee jumped to get to him and I let her push me aside. My mind was getting sluggish. Something was wrong. Something to do with everyone not moving. She quickly came to the conclusion that she couldn't reach him either so we turned to Sadist. He was the reason why we couldn't touch our soul-mate.
Each step we took was painfully slow, like walking in honey. Our pulse was slowing down and the corner of our vision was darkening. We turned him on his back to gain access to the tender skin of his stomach. We jabbed our claws right under his sternum and pulled. He would come back to life every time we touched him so he was very much awake when we eviscerated him. I fought the fogginess of my mind and the shadows reducing my vision. I was about to pass out and I couldn't let that happen. Not before killing him. Our teeth scraped his neck. He knew what was going to happen and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. We closed our muzzle. Skin pierced, blood oozed, muscles tore, spin crushed, neck severed.
Movement on my right. The world had unfroze. We picked up the head and dropped it in front of someone's feet. I couldn't tell whose they were, too much darkness in my eyes.
"It's alright, sweetheart. You can let go now."
Was he talking about the head or my consciousness? Didn't matter, I couldn't hold on anymore.