The Blood Thirsty ✨

CHAPTER NINE — The Lieutenant’s Wrath

Night had fallen, and the safehouse was cloaked in shadows, the kind that whispered secrets and hidden dangers. Lina and Nera sat cross-legged on the floor, artifacts glowing softly in the dim light, their bodies still humming with the aftereffects of the last battle.

“We need to push further,” Jaxon said, his voice low, almost a growl. “Zoraver doesn’t send minions unless he wants to test something. Tonight, it will be worse.”

Dante’s shadowed gaze lingered on Nera, a mixture of concern and something darker, more dangerous. “And I think it’s time you learned to fight together. Not just side by side… but as one.”

Nera shivered, not from the cold. Every glance at Dante felt like fire tracing her skin, and the thought of being so close to him while wielding deadly power made her heart pound. Lina noticed, and her own pulse quickened at Jaxon’s intense stare.

The test begins.

No sooner had Jaxon and Dante finished speaking than the room darkened unnaturally. A cold wind swept through, extinguishing candles and sending the sisters’ hair into a frenzy. Lina’s golden flames flared instinctively, Nera’s shadows coiling protectively around her.

Then he appeared.

A figure taller than any human, cloaked in black with eyes like burning coals—Zoraver’s lieutenant. He moved with lethal precision, silent and unstoppable, exuding an aura of death.

“Meet Malakar,” Dante said through gritted teeth. “He’s not a minion… he’s the storm before the master.”

Malakar’s laugh was low, cruel, reverberating in the sisters’ minds. “You think your powers can stop me? Pathetic. I will break you… before he comes for you himself.”

Lina tightened her grip on the pendant, flames licking higher, but a doubt crept in. Could she and Nera really survive this?

Battle of fire and shadow.

Malakar struck first, a blur of deadly precision. Lina’s flames met his dark strikes with sparks and fury, while Nera’s shadows writhed, striking at angles no weapon could reach. But Malakar was fast, his movements unpredictable, almost like he could anticipate their every action.

Jaxon and Dante moved in sync, covering the sisters’ flanks, their presence both protective and dangerously intimate. A glance here, a brush of hands there—each moment charged with tension that neither Lina nor Nera could ignore.

During a pause in the fight, Lina felt herself nearly engulfed by Malakar’s shadow energy. Jaxon’s hand shot out, grasping hers, and the heat from his touch surged through her like wildfire. Nera’s eyes locked with Dante’s as he mirrored the gesture, shadows twisting to protect her.

The sisters realized something vital: their power was strongest when they acted together, their bond amplifying fire and shadow into a force neither Malakar nor any minion could withstand.

A moment of vulnerability.

Amid the chaos, Lina caught a glimpse of Nera, her face pale but determined, a shard of shadow energy lingering in her hand. Lina shouted, “Now, Nera!”

Their powers combined in a dazzling burst of light and darkness, forcing Malakar to stumble back, momentarily stunned. But even as victory seemed near, Lina felt her chest tighten, a strange ache—a mixture of fear, adrenaline, and the dangerous pull she felt toward Jaxon.

Nera mirrored the same ache, glancing at Dante, whose intense gaze held both worry and an unspoken promise. In that instant, the fight was no longer just about survival—it was about connection, desire, and trust.

Aftermath.

Malakar retreated with a final hiss, shadows dissipating into the night. The safehouse trembled, artifacts dimming from exhaustion. Lina and Nera sank to the floor, breathless, hearts racing—not just from battle, but from the closeness of Jaxon and Dante.

“You’re… improving,” Jaxon said quietly, helping Lina to her feet. His touch lingered, their fingers brushing. Lina’s pulse thundered, her fire flickering uncontrollably.

Dante’s shadowed smile was faint but knowing as he straightened Nera. “Your bond is stronger than your power alone. Never forget that… or the danger you face will be doubled.”

The sisters exchanged a glance, a silent acknowledgment: their journey was far from over. Zoraver’s reach was growing, and soon, even the shadows and flames they wielded might not be enough.

Zoraver’s whisper returns.

Even as they tried to recover, the faintest chill touched their minds. Zoraver’s voice, silk and venom, slithered into their thoughts:

“You awaken, little ones… but the storm has only begun. Together, you are strong… yet still so fragile. I will test every bond, every desire, every secret. And when you fall, I will be there to claim all that is yours.”

Nera’s grip on her crystal tightened. “We won’t fall.”

Lina’s fire flared with renewed intensity. “We will rise. And we’ll face him—together.”