Malakai's POV
I chuckled darkly.
Even after a full minute, none of them dared to look up. Elders, the so-called pillars of strength, reduced to trembling statues. Pathetic.
Their faces had turned ashen white, save for Elder Sarah. Perhaps her darker skin masked it better, yet even she kept her head hanging low. Not totally from horror, it seemed, but partly from disappointment that I had ignored her plea.
That, at least, was preferable to the sickening cower. It eased my own disappointment, though only by the barest sliver.
My gaze went to my guards. They stood firm, eyes fixed ahead, unmoved by the scene. That was why they worked with me. They had seen worse. They had learned to face terror, to look and pretend not to see, to listen and pretend not to hear. Until I commanded otherwi
