Adiran’s eyes widened in shock, before he relaxed his features to give off an air of indifference.
“So, you remember your friend, how splendid. But clearly you haven’t remembered what happened to him. Maybe that is for the best.”
“I don’t remember anything, but you better tell me what you know, or I’ll make sure they’ll never be a place for a shadow within my room again.”
“Unya, you killed him. He had tried to reason with you but you lost control of your powers, it was then you realised I was the only one who could be there for you, because you could not end my life in such a horrific manner. Would you like me to give you the details, to tell you how he screamed and begged for his life right up until you extinguished it.”
I shook my head, anguish filling my soul as I realised, I was nothing more than death itself. I chose then to fully embrace my nature, but I also chose to never let myself be married off to Troy. How could I tie myself to someone who was eviler than myself, no, I needed to be with someone who would have my back. Without being filled with the urge to plunge a knife into it the moment it was turned.
I decided to go to the tavern Malachi had taken me to, a lot of the patrons seemed surprised to see me and their feelings about my arrival were mixed. I could see fear, anger, hate and for some weird reason, jealousy.
Placing an order at the bar, the barman refused to give me what I asked for, instead placing a beer before me. I don’t know why it pissed me off, it seemed rather juvenile, but I did not like my wants being ignored.
I slammed my fist into the bridge of his nose, making his hooves skitter across the ground. I was intrigued by the centaurs, but that would not stop me from making him suffer.
He shot me a look, as he reached for the quiver strapped to his back, but I wasn’t about to let him draw his weapon. I placed my palms on the bar top and vaulted myself over, I then pulled out my new favourite toy, a wicked double ended dagger called a Haladie and drove one of the blades into his abdomen.
He let out a guttural sounding cry as I pulled the Haladie free, twisted it around and sliced into his arm. I tore through the muscle until his bone was visible, I then grabbed hold of his wrist and upper forearm before applying just enough pressure to snap the bone in half and leave it poking out of the slice.
I wasn’t too sure how much pain I intended to inflict, when I was pushed from behind. It sent me crashing into the corner of the bar and my head slammed into the surface, my ears were ringing and my vision was hazy but I wouldn’t let that stop me from getting my revenge on whoever had attempted to save the damn centaur.
I span around a little too quickly and was shocked to find Malachi staring me down, with a look of murderous rage filling his facial features.
“That is enough, you’ve had your fun, now go home,” he had an edge to his voice I had never detected before.
I didn’t appreciate him trying to tell me what to do, but he wasn’t leaving me any room for a rebuttal. His hands enclosed my biceps and the next thing I knew, I was being lifted over the bar and dropped unceremoniously onto the floor.
“Do not push me Unya, leave before I make you.”
“I didn’t do anything, he’s the one that was trying to pull a fast one,” I replied, sounding juvenile even to my own ears.
“He was only following my requests, stop being such a child and go home. Maybe I will come to you later and explain why this is not acceptable but right now, I do not think we should be left alone.”
He turned his back to me, shutting my existence out in a single moment. The rejection in his voice hurt a part of me, but I didn’t feel connected to it. There was something about Malachi that called to me and for that reason alone I did as he asked, but neither of us realised someone else had exited a few seconds after my departure.
I hadn’t gone straight back to the castle, instead I walked along the edge of one of the rivers. I was fascinated by the shades that remained there, never leaving the edge just aimlessly walking back and forth seeming as though they were trying to remember whatever the river had stolen from their minds.
There was one woman who kept grabbing my attention, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it was almost as though I knew her. She felt so familiar, which seemed absurd, how could anyone seem familiar to me now.
The only creatures I knew were the ones Hades approved of, if he didn’t associate with them on some level then I too was forbidden from doing so. It was a grating endeavour but until I found a way to either destroy him or better yet return my memories, I was forced to endure it.
The female shade stopped moving and chose instead to look straight at me, her mouth opened wide as her vacant stare switched to something that was over my shoulder. I turned around and came face to face with Troy, he was sporting a shit eating grin and his eyes roamed over me ravenously.
“Can I help you?” I asked brusquely, hoping he would soon lose interest and just leave me be.
“Am I not allowed to check up on my future wife? Those words seem so strange, I never thought I would ever tie myself to just one creature, but I think you will be worth the sacrifice.”
“You are so full of yourself pretty boy, you can’t think that highly of yourself. Malachi has just as much of a chance of winning this fight between you two. And even if you did win, do you believe Malachi would let you stake a claim on me. You are an utter moron, I told you before, we would be a very dangerous combination. We both enjoy death too much, that much violence could never make for a good marriage.”
“I don’t want a good one Unya, I want it to be spectacular. Think of all the lives we could claim, the agonising suffering we could cause. We understand each other on a level Malachi could never reach, I would never hinder your blood lust, instead I would feed it and help it to grow. Besides when I win, Malachi will no longer be a problem. Our fight will be to the death, only one of us can walk away still breathing and I don’t plan on dying anytime soon. So, carry on your little tryst with Malachi, but once I win, I will be the only creature you will ever have. I do not share what is mine princess and you can seethe all you like about my choice of words, but you will be mine. You are a possession I cannot wait to own.”
He stepped closer, cutting off the distance I had ensured would stay between us. He grabbed hold of my hair and pulled it painfully tight, ripping out strands as he did so. Then he crashed his mouth down onto mine, I pulled back ripping out more strands as he refused to loosen his grip.
My fist connected with his jaw, but all he did was smile.
“I am going to enjoy you my little spitfire, it will be fun to see how long it will take to break you down and make you submissive.”
He released his hold and stepped back, before plummeting to the floor, with a dagger protruding from his back.