Page 127 of Emylia

But Maalikai’s expression, usually carved from ice, flickered. Wariness. Shock. Maybe even... respect?

Then it was gone, shuttered in a blink, but it left the air charged—like the seconds before a lightning strike.

And Sebastian? He didn’t flinch.

He just met Maalikai’s stare with one of his own—steady, unbothered, like whatever Maalikai had seen... he’dexpectedhim to see it eventually. And I was left between them, watching two storms size each other up.

“I know what you are.” Maalikai said, voice low.

“I think you’re in desperate need of a healer,” Sebastian drawled, voice dipped in something toxic–not just poisoness, but eviscerating. “Why don’t you be good little boy and crawl to Aribelle.” His voice wasn’t just cruel. It was calculated. Cold. Precise.

It wasn’t the voice of the boy I knew. It was the voice of a stranger. A stark, shattering contrast to the boy I loved.

“Let him go.” Sebastian faltered at the sound of my voice, yet his eyes refused to yield.

I took a step forward, claiming his gaze so he had to look at me. Really look at me. One heartbeat stuttered by, then another. His eyes darkened but he caved, tossing Maalikai aside like discarded rubbish.

I stepped forward, instinctively placing myself between them, trying to shield Sebastian’s body with mine.

At this point I wasn’t even sure who I was protecting.

“Maalikai, leave.”

His gaze snapped to mine–fierce, wounded. “What?”

“He’s not your concern.”

“He’s not yours either,” Maalikai growled.

My gaze faltered, before caressing his storm-cloud gray eyes. “He will always be my concern.”

Maalikai’s face broke. Just for a second. Just enough to ruin me.

“You’re choosing him?” The quiet, broken, tenor in his voice was my undoing. I chose to ignore it, because if I didn’t, I knew it would unravel me completely.

“No. I’m choosing both of you to survive the night.” My voice trembled. But my eyes did not. “So yes. You will leave.”

“Princess—”

I couldn't. I was already breaking, already fighting so hard to save both. “Maalikai, please.” My voice broke on the words.

Maalikai didn’t fight. He just glanced over my shoulder—at Sebastian. A question in his eyes.

“What if he hurts you?”

My heart twisted, aching with he cruel truth–he was still protecting me, even as I forced him from my side. “He would never hurt me.”

“Emylia…”

I didn’t let him finish. I guided him to the door, my eyes betraying how much this hurt me. “I’m not choosing him,” I repeated, though even I heard the uncertainty in my voice.

His jaw flexed. His broken arm hung limply at his side. And still… he looked at me like I was his undoing–the one that shattered whatever pieces he had left. Like I’d carved the pain into him myself. Slow. Deliberate. Unforgivable.

“You’re not choosing him,” he said quietly. “You’re just not choosing me either.”

I couldn’t answer.

I didn’t know how.

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