Page 101 of Dark Captivation

An unspoken covenant had been forged between the gods and I the instant they revoked their power from the dagger.

The gods decided to hedge their bets off of Varcus and put them on me instead. I would be the one to stop Malek’s war and save our world. And now that I knew about Malek’s painful past and how it darkened his soul, I had an idea of where to start.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

LIVY

Three days have quickly flitted by since I killed Varcus and Malek had been in healing ever since. After a series of blood transfusions to filter the dagger’s poisons from his system, he was expected to make a full recovery.

I’d been at his side through it all, even when he begged me to go get some rest or to not watch as they poked him with needles, I stayed. I wanted to be there for him. It didn’t matter that he was the toughest, strongest being I’d ever met.

I saw straight to the core of who he was and knew just how vulnerable he truly was. When Varcus and his demons tortured Malek, it broke him in ways so terrible that it was a miracle he was still fighting, let alone still sane.

It was my duty to get him to realize that a peaceful, safe world was possible without war or bloodshed. But I also needed to protect him so that his mind and body didn’t fracture any more than it already had. I needed to be his safe place, a shoulder for him to rest on until he became whole again.

Malek was fast asleep, and I let myself out of his hospital room, soundlessly shutting the door behind me.

My stomach growled voraciously as I recalled I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. So I decided to meet up with Ferina in the dining room for dinner.

The smell of rich tomato sauce and cheese perfumed the dining room as I watched Ferina go toe to toe with the extra-large meatball on the edge of her plate.

“I’m surprised you’re having dinner with me tonight. Elias not available?” I teased, twisting my fork in my spaghetti.

“Oh, Sunny, it’s been like a dream. Since we talked at the party, we haven’t stopped. If Mally hadn’t gotten hurt, Elias and I probably would be in Italy on a romantic vacation by now. He’s like that, you know. Just look at the bracelet he gave me.”

Ferina’s expression was bright with euphoria, she stretched out her arm, showing off her new golden bracelet.

It dazzled like diamonds. She couldn’t look prouder.

“He should be romantic and more. He’ll need to treat you like the princess you are if he wants to gain my approval, let alone Malek’s.” I chewed a meatball before taking a sip of wine.

“I knew I liked you from the moment I met you. You just get me.” Her head tilted back, her eyes worshiping her bracelet.

“By the way, since Mally’s getting discharged on Friday I had Elias get us movie tickets to celebrate. You up for a little double date?” She winked mischievously and my head fell.

“It doesn’t have to be movies,” she said in a hurry. “We-we could do something else. Would you rather we go for pizza or fro-yo?”

“It’s not that.” I looked to the moonlight gardens outside the window before reverting my gaze back to Ferina.

“Malek was tortured in the underworld. It lasted for centuries, and it almost broke him.” I swished the remaining wine around my glass.

“And you want to know why I didn’t help him?” She answered my question in a far more direct way than I intended to ask.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” I hastily set the glass down.

“No, it’s reasonable to want to know. It’s not every day the most powerful demon alive gets overthrown by his underlings and caged like a beast.” She set her fork down and rolled back in her seat.

“Malek and I were born hundreds of years apart. While he chose to live and rule the underworld, I fled to Earth the second I came of age. Nothing about life down there jived well with me. If I’d stayed, I would have been forced to take on a role I didn’t believe in. Tormenting souls never sat right with me.” She looked off deep in thought. “I thought Malek was fine with his role as Master Punisher, but apparently even he couldn’t stand it anymore.”

“Hence the decision to stop the torture.” I asked and she gave a slow nod.

“Had I known what was going on, I would have rallied to help and gone to him. But Malek and I didn’t get close until the last several years. We crossed paths while he was still searching for you.” She sighed, raising her glass to view the chandelier light through the crystal. “He must have felt so alone back then.”

“But now he's making progress. He’s healing and getting closer to other demons again. Maybe he’ll even come to trust in them one day.” I said, with hope brimming in my eyes.

She stared at me wordlessly as if unsure how to answer.

I needed to believe he was healing, this was integral to any plan I could make to take him off the war path.

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