Page 87 of Emylia

In the next breath, he launched forward with lethal precision, as though he embodied Noctharis himself. He moved like lightning, a blur of muscle and intent. He tackled Sebastian with a predator’s grace, pinning him with brutal efficiency.

They crashed into the wall. Wood splintered. A mirror clattered to the ground, shattering on impact. Sebastian twisted, grabbing Maalikai's shoulders and driving his knee into his ribs.

Not once, but twice.

Maalikai barely flinched. His fist was already snapping upward toward Sebastian’s jaw. A sickening crunch echoed through the room as it connected. Sebastion's lip split clean open.

Blood was instant.

Dark.

Hot.

And furious.

“Enough!” I shouted, but neither of them listened.

This was no longer a fight over pride, this was a war of instincts. Of claim. Of something unspoken, something dangerous, that now threatened to tear them both apart.

Sebastian’s hands began to tremble, fingers curling into fists. The gold in his eyes flickered, shifting toward something feral. I knew that look. He was close to the edge.

And Maalikai?

He had no idea what was about to hit him. But he wasn't backing down. He welcomed the challenge with a cold stillness that was somehow more terrifying than Sebastian’s fury.

“I said enough!” I screamed, diving for a blade.

Still nothing.

Desperation surged through me, I took a step forward, positioning myself between them. If either one of them attacked, they would have to go through me.

“Enough! Both of you.”

They froze, tension radiating off them in palpable waves. Sebastian’s chest rose and fell rapidly, his breath uneven, eyes stormy with anger and something deeper—hurt. Maalikai’s pulse hammered visibly in his throat. But his breathing was controlled, measured.

I let out a shaky breath. “Both of you stop before someone gets killed.”

Slowly, reluctantly, Maalikai relaxed—though the quiet fury still simmered beneath his composed exterior. Sebastian stepped back, jaw clenched tightly.

A heavy silence blanketed the room, suffocating in its weight. I stepped back cautiously, putting distance between the three of us, heart still racing. They didn’t look at each other, but neither left. An uneasy truce settling, fragile and strained.

“Both of you should leave.” I left no room for argument in my tone.

Sebastian’s eyes locked on mine, a shadow of hurt seeping into his gaze, but also stubborn and defiant. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“What the fuck, Bastian?”

At this point I was questioning his sanity. The two of them had just come to lethal blows, surely he could understand that if they stayed, one of them wasn’t walking out.

Amber eyes glowed like embers beneath a storm, threatening and beautiful all at once. “I need to make sure you don’t try to escape again.”

“I’m not going to escape.”

The look he gave me cut me to the bone. “I know. Because I’m going to make sure of it.”

To be fair his instinct wasn’t exactly wrong. If I wanted to, not even Thrainn’s orders would stop me from escaping.

I sighed, frustration visibly sinking into my very being. “So what? You’re just going to bunk in my room and call it a slumber party?”

---