Chapter 66

~Kamari~

My body screams from an unknown sting of something foreign in my flesh. Within seconds, I opened my eyes; the bioluminescent life around me made my stomach clench because I knew where I was, and now I remembered the burn of Mael's bite. My hand reaches to the bite mark on my neck. A surge of anger pounds through my veins, creating a massive ball of heat in my chest. It made me take shallower breaths. My nails dig into the cool dirt beneath me.

"Damn it…" I groan between my teeth. I vouched for Mael's good intentions and pleaded with Aneth to let Mael teach me. I should have known better because he was a dragon at the depths of Mael's soul. I stand up and notice the rip in my nightgown and the grass stains. When I look in front of me, my brows pinch together. There he was, sleeping under a tree like he hadn't a care in the world. I stalk towards him and stand over him, my eyes rogue with ill intentions as I glare down at him.

He speaks to me with his eyes still closed, with a smug smile. "Are you going to maul me in my sleep, my Queen?" His stupid question irks me and pushes my already thinning sanity. "Do I not get a last request."

"Fuck you." I snap and strike out at his throat, missing by mere inches as he dodges me, but my brutal swing gouges the earth beneath where his head had been. Mael smiled at me, his hands up, "Now, love, I can explain." I stalk towards him like the predator I am. 

"I'm done talking." My steps slow at first, then quick as I swing out at him again, catch the collar of his shirt, and head-butt him hard. I shake off the initial pain with it, my adrenal pumping. Mael backs up and smirks while laughing. I grab a thick branch, "Why in Kadea's hell are you laughing?!" I swing at his head.

"Gods, I missed this," He says breathlessly, then catches the branch mid-swing, yanks it from my hand, breaks it in half with his knee, then throws it to the ground. "Come now, Kamari, you're making me think you're in heat." Mael waggles his eyebrows.

I groan at him, "You're fucking with the wrong Queen. If I were in heat, you'd know." I fling out my hand to a hefty-sized rock and make it hit him upside the head. Mael's eyes widen, and his confusion makes me grin. "Awe, can you not do that? What a pity." I go for his throat, filled with anger, my hand mimicking choking him. Mael starts to cough and falls to his knees. It was more than anger I felt; it was the sting of betrayal. I gave Mael my trust, and he took advantage of it. That's what pissed me off. "Ulterior motives have fueled all of the things you've done." My eyes start to burn, and I don't want them to, but I can't help it. A part of me couldn't help but feel something for Mael, and it tore at me.

"You fucking idiot!" I scream then kick him in his side, he falls to the ground. I turn from him, my hands gripping my hair, "Do you know what you've done?!" Aneth, Nye, and Koa would kill him. Mael starts to laugh again, and I stare at him like he's a psychopath. "What is wrong with you? Do you not fear death?"

Mael lies on his back, looking up at the skies. He places a hand on his chest, "You have one hell of a kick." He deflects my question at first; then his head flops towards me. "And to answer your question," he pauses, his eyes unwavering, a bit unsettling. "No. If I can't have you, I'm done."

"That's ridiculous," I say, baffled by his response. Mael sits up, "No, Kamari. It's the Truth." Mael sits up, "It's been quite the journey, but you don't know real loneliness until you're the only one left. I'm used to being alone in the company of others around me. Now, when I leave, it's silence. That silence stops when I'm near you. Your heartbeat is my favorite sound." He smiles to himself. "So hate me all you want." I swallow hard at his words, my eyes burning even more, "But I'm fighting Aneth; if I die because of it, well," He shrugs, "Then I'm not meant to be by your side, and knowing that would kill me the most."

A solitary tear flows down my cheek. "Take it back." I shake my head. "You can't do this. Not because of me. Do you have any idea how many lives I destroyed? I'm sick of it!" Every breath hurts, and my chest is now a pulsing wound. "I will not lose you!" The words escape me, and the air between us grows thicker. I shudder a breath. Mael locks eyes with me, his expression unreadable. He stands up, and every step he takes makes breathing even harder for me. I stand my ground as he closes in on me. The feeling of his presence and knowing I may not feel it again makes me hate him. But if he did win, I would most likely cause his death because there was no way I could let him kill Aneth. His eyes were a mixture of that sparkle of life and acceptance of fate that might end him.

"You accept it," My voice cracks, and he lifts my chin to look at him, "Because I'd be the one to kill you," I say with a shakey voice. Mael's content smile all but wipes out my resolve. "I hate you," I say through my teeth. Mael's smile widens, and his hands cup my face, "Oh, love," the desire in his voice evident, "Hate me, hate my guts," Mael's lips brush mine, and my breath catches in my throat as if he stole it from me. His forehead touches mine, and I feel his passion, determination, and pause like that from an incoming storm, "because I won't go into Kadeas hell without a taste of you." 

I whimper as his lips all but bruise mine, the taste of him ever stained into my memory, and my resolve breaks. Goddess, forgive me, this is bad, but I just couldn't let him go without knowing I could have loved him or what it would have felt like. Even if it was just a kiss, the worst part was it felt so right like he belonged with me.

He left me breathless as he parted from me and smirked, "Oh, by the way," he paused, and I furrowed my brows, "What?"

He licks his lips, smiling, "You've been here for a week or two." I snorted laughter; of course, he would keep me away that long. Asshole. I look up at him, bat my eyes, then punch him in the stomach. Mael groans in his throat, "Good Goddess," he chuckles, "your punches are brutal."

I shake my head and side-step him, then I hear what sounds like the rip of a fabric. At first, I look at my dress, then at Mael, who, from a moment ago, looked like he was about to murder someone. His eyes glow, and he stalks toward the noise. "Sounds like your husband didn't learn his listen the last time," he snarls.

My heart spikes and freezes for a moment, "Aneth…" I quickly follow Mael, who speeds towards the noise. And instantly, we were out of the bioluminescent forest and into the typical forest. And when I turn I see what looks like a piece of camouflage, ripped by claws, it almost looked like a fleshy skin skimmed off. I search with my eyes, but I don't see Aneth. Then I hear the soft snap of a twig and a rumbling growl. I instinctively approach it, and out of the shadows, his icy blue eyes make my heart swell, "Nye," but Mael grabs my arm. I turn back to him, and I shake my head. "Let me go, please." I plead. The look on his face startles me, "After I'm dead." He growls, then yanks me behind him. I fall to the ground from the force, and when I look up at him, I notice a purple hue surrounding his body. 

Nye is quick to stride forward, but he doesn't engage in a physical fight, and then I see Koa behind him. His gaze is menacing. For a moment, the silence feels like torture and makes me sick. "Which one of you tempt fate by scraping the entrance of my domain," I see a spike slowly emerge from the inside of Mael's forearm, dark purple, and it starts dripping black liquid, like that of a snake's fang. My eyes widened, and I thought of the way Aneth had suffered all those years from it. Another sound draws my attention to the other side of the forest, and as quick as lightning, Aneth sprints towards Mael, and the sound of the impact from tackling Mael to the ground makes me cringe. Mael quickly gets to his feet; his eyes blaze, and he lets out a nasty shriek. Aneth's chest heaves, his body tense, his muscles flexed. "I'll take the fabric of your domain and choke you with it," Aneth strides forward," then gladly watch your soul leave your body!" he growls. How Aneth fought Mael was different; he was out to teach a lesson when he fought with Nye and Koa. No, he was out for blood this time, to kill. I stand up, and look to Ney and Koa who intently watch the fight, they even looked like they wanted rip Mael's head off as well, and I don't blame them. 

As I try to walk around to Nye and Koa, I suddenly feel a vine wrap around my leg. "Stop it," I whisper down to it. I knew it was Mael. I shake my leg, trying to get it off, and it yanks me down. I yelp. The vine is constricting me, holding on for dear life—until death.

I try to shake the thought out of my head. I see Nye and Koa jogging towards me out of the corner of my eye. Nye notices the vine, his upper lip twitches and grabs hold of my ankle, his nails scrape my skin and rips them off. Nye picks me up bridal style, then I hear and nasty whip like sound, then I feel Nye winces, I gasp slightly. He all but drops me and turns to see a hefty vine swaying like a snake behind him. Nye's back was bleeding, "Oh," Nye chuckles darkly, "I'll burn your precious world to the ground." Nye backs up, his eyes light up like embers, and he blows fire out his mouth towards the vines that protrude from the ground. 

The sound Mael's sudden groan makes me look back at their fight, he looked as if he was fighting two battles at the same time. Aneth dodges Mael with his venom strikes, but then Aneth grabs one of the spikes with his bare hands which seems to catch Mael off guard, Aneth wears a menacing smile and snaps it off. Mael cries out, clenching his arm, but it only fuels his fight. Mael moves with anger backing him, he fights Aneth like a mad-man, and I notice Aneth struggle at first to find openings, and Mael round-houses Aneth in the chest, sending him flying a few meters out. 

Mael sprints towards him before Aneth can get up from the heavy landing and starts wailing at him. "No!" I jolt forward, fear racing through my blood. I feel more vines wrap around my legs, "Stop it!" I scream. Nye and Koa look towards me, and in a split second, a vine drags me back into Mael's dwelling; I claw at the ground, and the last thing I see is Mael raising his poison spike over Aneth's chest. Aneth grabs it, pushing it back while Mael puts all his weight on it. The Veil heals, and I'm left blind.