Page 54 of Of Daggers and Deceit

He appeared bulkier than before, his muscles having filled out his shape. Where he was once a bit more gangly and awkward, now, his presence commanded.

Too bad his beauty didn’t reach below the surface.

He tilted his head to look up at me, and his mouth quirked up in a slow, dark gleam. Those same bright green eyes sparkled as he slowly took me in, pausing briefly on the cuffs now adorning my wrist with a curious tilt of his head. He held out his arm earnestly, as if I had no reason in the world not to grip it in an Asrarian greeting. I didn’t want to engage in anything he’d once shown me.

“I’ve waited a long time for this moment, Raya.” My stomach flipped uncomfortably at the sound of his deep voice.

I lifted my daggers in a warning as I scanned him again, carefully this time to spot any weapons he carried. Like Raid, I found nothing.

“So have I,” I responded truthfully, though my voice shook slightly. My anger was palpable, and judging by the quirk of his brow, he knew I was withholding what I truly wanted to say to him. My grip on my daggers tightened and released, again and again, the longer the silence between us stretched.

He pivoted to walk confidently back and forth along the small cliff edge, my eyes tracking his every movement. The Dominant seemed oblivious to the fact that I could literally portal right next to him and slit his throat. There was once a time I believe he wasn’t so arrogant.

“I came back for you, Raya,” he said matter-of-factly as he continued to pace along the cliff edge. My brows lifted in bewilderment; my muscles continued to tighten.

“So I can kill you this time?” I asked, entirely serious, though he laughed in reply. I held my position, my daggers raised, a tingling awareness cascading down my back as my heart seized momentarily.

“I came here to save you. I’d much rather you didn’t kill me either, not when we have a whole wonderful life to return to in Asrar,” he replied nonchalantly despite the evident tension in the air between us.

“Save me?” I asked incredulously, laughter creeping into my tone. “I don’t need anybody to save me from anything, and I definitely do not want to be living in Asrar with you.” The last few words dripped out of my mouth in disgust. My expression was pinched now, rage quickly replacing the few nerves that remained from earlier.

He paused and turned to me. “Are you a stupid Gifted, Raya?” The question was more of an insult, rhetorical and annoying.

I materialised in front of him, the tip of my dagger pressing into his throat. I looked up at him, fury blazing through me. “Are you a stupid Dominant, Jakari?”

He didn’t move a muscle, staring down at me with a slight curve to his lips, his sight landing on the golden cuffs hanging from my wrist. His eyes flashed.

“Such a beautiful yet dangerous woman with seemingly no understanding of the sheer power she wields.” His voice took on a low murmur as it rippled over my skin, raising goosebumps in its wake.

“I know exactly what kind of power I wield,” I hissed. “Such a shame you are so easily dominated by it.”

His lips lifted ever so slowly as he dipped closer towards my face. God, the smell of him was still so rich and wonderful. I forced myself to breathe through my mouth. His scent was like a lure, guaranteeing death, and I had no interest in being hooked by it.

His warm breath spooled across my face, but I dared not move. “You have one week, Raya. One week to say goodbye to all you love here. One week to pack your things and meet me in this same spot where our story began so I can take you beyond the borders of this city. I think that is a very generous offer.”

His eyes scanned the space quickly, as if alerted to a sound or as an attempt to distract me. I held still and pressed the dagger a fraction deeper until a thin bubble of blood bloomed from beneath its point.

Eyes on me asshole.

He laughed cruelly and leant in closer, blood trickling faster down his neck until I eased back to accommodate him. His voice was a low whisper, mocking me. “See, Raya? You could never do it. You are no threat to me.”

My hands shook with my fury. He emulated power in his fitted tactical suit, his shoulders drawn back and his hands clasped loosely behind his back. Clearly, he was one of their leads, one who supported the imprisonment, rape, torture, and subjugation of Omegas. His entitlement was evident in his over-confident stance, the slightly amused lift of his lips, like everything was his to take if it was something he wanted.

I would not allow myself to become another prisoner of his world. Every piece of anger I had ever held, every shard of grief, every night watching my mother spill tears detonated like a bomb inside me. It decimated every doubt I’d ever had about what this moment would look like.

But it was his words, you could never do it, you are no threat to me that drove me towards my next action. I could do everything on my own. I wasn’t who he remembered.

I swung my arm back in an arc as he turned to walk away, driving my weapon down, piercing my blade straight through his back. He turned around as a roar sounded down in the field, his eyes wide. I smiled darkly. Finally, he saw me. All of me.

I had already unsheathed two extra blades, lunging forward and swinging as he blocked both my arms, his breathing now audible. The first blade had likely pierced a lung, exactly where I’d targeted. His death would not be swift.

But he was strong as his fingers circled my wrist tighter, a cry of pain escaping me. I used his grip to push more force in my kick straight to his stomach which he failed to block, his wheezing now amplifying.

But despite the wound I had inflicted, he didn’t let go. Our positions were uncomfortably locked too close together, much too close to my liking. It was at that moment I decided on something drastic. I needed to be rid of him once and for all. So too did the Haven, eager to protect and avenge every Omega who had ever been threatened and every one of them now long gone.

“Goodbye Jakari,” I whispered, and his eyes briefly captured mine.

This would be the end of this story.

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