Page 230 of The Wishing Game

Elora shrieks loudly, the other two girls joining in as they hit right and left, trying to landanyblow on Wyn and Thea.

I bite my lip as I debate what I can do, being the only human in here. A glint of metal makes my decision for me as I notice one of the other girls grab a pair of scissors and aim it straight at Wyn's face.

"Watch out," I shout, pushing Wyn out of the way and inserting myself between her and the attacker.

My eyes widen as I watch the descent of her arm in slow motion, the sharp tip of the scissors gleaming menacingly as it nears my face. My breathing intensifies and I flinch back as the girl aims for my cheek.

Yet the blow doesn't come.

I blink repeatedly as I stare at the black drops of blood dripping to the ground. The scissors have perforated a hand, going through one side and coming out through the other. Slowly, I gaze up to see Ze next to us, his arm extended, his hand protecting my face from the attack.

The fight immediately ceases. Silence descends in the shop as they all gawk at him.

Grabbing the pair of scissors from the girl, he wrenches it out of his hand and drops it to the ground. His flesh starts mending, his skin knitting together until there's no blemish left.

"Ze..." I whisper.

His jaw is clenched tightly as he stares down at the three girls.

"Is that..."

"Commander Azerius," Elora whimpers.

"The God Killer," the other girl mutters in a low voice, her face going white.

Elora turns to him, tears falling down her cheeks as she rubs her bald head.

"Good thing you are here, Commander. She... She destroyed my hair. Punish her!" she demands in an authoritative tone as she points at Wyn. "I command you to?—"

Ze grabs two of the girls by their napes and flings them across the room. They hit the wall with a thud, sliding down to the floor, unmoving.

There's only Elora left standing, and she's slowly realizing that Ze is not there to help her.

He raises a brow at her, and without exerting any strength, he reaches with his arm and pokes her forehead, the strength of the blow sending her flying to the back where she joins her friends on the floor.

Ze takes a step forward, clearly not done with them.

"You... You can't do this. You're not allowed to hurt us," Elora whimpers, clutching onto her arm that appears to be dislocated.

The girls huddle together as they cower from Ze. His expression is tight and unyielding, a murderous aura surrounding him. Purple tendrils of energy swirl around him.

"You'll pay for this. My father will have your head," Elora continues, using her good hand to summon a blast that she sends toward Ze. He merely opens his palm, absorbing the brunt of it before the energy dissipates around him.

His nostrils flare dangerously as he takes a step forward.

"That's enough, Ze," I whisper as I grab his sleeve.

He slowly turns his head to look at me, his eyes narrowed.

"I'm fine. We're fine," I say as I point to Thea and Wyn.

Thea snickers as she dusts her clothes, glaring angrily at Elora.

"For once, I'm happy to see you, Ze," she mumbles before she turns her attention to her sister. Wyn is wiping her tears as she glances down at her ruined dress. I doubt there's much that can be done with the amount of damage Elora did to it. The embroidery is mostly destroyed, the layers torn. The bodice is relatively unharmed, but the sleeves have also been slashed.

"It's okay, Wyn. We'll get you another dress," Thea tries to comfort her.

She sniffles as she shakes her head.

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