“Your human killed mine,” Jabez said, reaching down to pick something off the ground. His back was to them, making it difficult to see what he’d retrieved. “Even if I cannot get to you, you will know how that feels.”
His muscles tensed, expecting Jabez to teleport in front of them. Releasing Reia, he readied himself.
Jabez turned swiftly and threw something across the distance.
She gave a horrible gasp just as a wet shalunk sounded.
Her fingers clutched his fur so tightly it hurt as the fibres pulled on his thick flesh, and he turned his head down to see she was facing up. Her expression was one of pain.
“Reia?” he asked, his hand coming up so he could cup the back of her head.
Something jutting from her back stopped him from finishing his movement and he leaned backwards so he could see.
It felt like the many times he’d jumped headfirst into a cold stream, chilling his body before he was even submerged, when he saw the handle of the dagger Katerina had planned to stab him with sticking out of her.
It was coming from between her shoulder blades, and his heart constricted painfully in his chest. No...
Before he even had the time to register this, Jabez was in front of them, using Orpheus’ distraction to attack.
He threw his hand up uselessly, knowing it would do nothing to stop whatever he was about to do as he clung to Reia with his other arm. He was unwilling to let her trembling form go. Orpheus didn’t want to deal with him, not when he could feel her blood pooling into his hand.
Jabez was knocked back as though he’d tried to hit a wall, stumbling in shock.
Orpheus could see a magic symbol in the air, one similar, but not the same, to the one he conjured in the human village in order to protect it. It was massive, spanning their entire bodies to shield them in a clear dome.
What is this? He’d never conjured a protective shield before. But, like all his magic, he discovered something new by accident when he needed it the most.
And right now, he needed to be able to protect them so he could take care of his injured female.
Jabez attacked it repeatedly, his face contorted into a hateful, teeth-baring glare, but none of his attacks broke through or even damaged it. It sounded as though he was bashing against a glass window that refused shatter.
How did I do this? Usually something must be sacrificed in order for him to do such strong magic, a deal, a bargain. He lifted his palm to look at the crimson liquid that was glittering and disappearing before his eyes. Her blood?
“Or...pheus,” she grated, moving to her knees as she trembled.
He whined in answer, ignoring Jabez to look down at her.
“I’m sorry,” he said with a strained tone, his sight fading to a pale blue in both fear and sadness, both emotions too strong to overcome the other. “I did not protect you, Reia.”
I did not protect her. His pulse beat frantically. I cannot heal wounds. It was jutting from her shoulder blades; he knew a wound like this would kill her. She is going to die.
Quick breaths of anxiety pounded his chest.
But I don’t want to lose her...
Reia winced as she started to go limp, and Orpheus placed his arms under her neck and lower back to support her. She was partially lying in the air, and all she could feel was pain radiating through her back.
Each breath expanded her ribcage, making the area around the dagger ache.
It hurt. It hurt so much. It felt like there was a shard of fire inside her, and it burned.
Seeing he was unable to break through, the Demon King backed off with a terrible snarl, his face less pretty with the expression he wore.
She reached up to cup Orpheus’ snout, hearing tiny whimpers constantly breaking from his chest. She didn’t know what to say, how to make him feel better. There was nothing they could do to fix this.
“Fine, watch your human die,” Jabez sneered at them. Then he raised his hands in the air as if he was summoning something. “But I’ll remove the cloaking aroma, and you can suffer through this and then the guilt you’ll feel afterwards from eating her.” The sweet smell in the air began to dissipate slowly. “You have about five minutes, Mavka. You better hope she dies before you’re overcome with hunger at the smell of all the blood in the room and begin to eat her alive.” Then he pointed to the crumbled body on the ground. “And Katerina too.”
White flashed in his glowing orbs, showing his fear of this, before they returned to the dull blue.
He turned his head back down to her when she stroked up his face. “It’s okay. You can eat me.”
What else could she say? All she could do was ease his guilt if it happened.
“But I don’t want you to die.” She could hear the pain and sadness in his voice like a deep bottomless well, one that never ended. He tilted forward and pressed the length of his face against the side of her own. “You said you would stay with me, Reia.” He shuddered against her, his arms moving around her to hold her closer. “I don’t want you to leave me.”
Tears began to well in her eyes, pooling to the point she could barely see through the murkiness of them.
“Y-you can get another human,” she told him, wrapping her arms around him so she could dig her fingers into his back.
“But I don’t want anyone else,” he whined as shook his head against her. “They will not be you. They will not be brave and strong like you. They will not have the sun in their hair, or the forest in their eyes, or the snow in their skin. They will not smell of your scent or have your voice.”
Oh God, what will happen to him when I die? If he didn’t want another human, did that mean Orpheus would be alone, missing her? Wanting no one because they wouldn’t be her?
Although she very much wasn’t fond of the pain she was in right now, Reia wasn’t afraid to die.
“You are precious to me.”
“Oh, boo hoo,” Jabez said, going up the steps and sitting on his throne to watch them while placing his cheek against his fist. “Come on, Mavka. Show me if your kind can cry. This is very entertaining for me.”
To have Orpheus’ pain mocked hurt her heart further.
“You weren’t even this sad when Katerina told you you were nothing but a worthless monster.”
Reia dug her fingers into him harder even though that tensed her back and made the piercing ache worsen. He chose me over her. Even when told lies about Reia and being told Katerina wanted him back, Orpheus had chosen to find Reia instead. He trusted in me.
“You gave me something no one else has wanted to give me, and I don’t want it from anyone but you.”
“And what is that?” she sobbed, her heart breaking further for him. Her tears finally fell, dripping from the corners of her eyes to run over her temples and into her hair.
“Someone who wanted to be by my side.”
Why does this have to hurt so much? His words were more painful than the damn dagger in her back.