Page 192 of Emylia

Honestly, I think they wanted it that way. For this to be my decision. For me to come to them—not be forced into a situation I couldn’t find my way out of.

So I took the night to just... breathe. To sit with my thoughts. And I enjoyed the quiet. Because once I’d been with both of them—once that line had been crossed—everything would change.

Even if I didn’t want it to.

There was a knock at my door. Three consecutive taps.

“Princess?”

Maalikai.

“You ready to harness those magik powers of yours?”

I pushed off the bed, already dressed in black leather pants and a fitted top. There was no point hiding anymore. No point pretending I was anything less than what I was—a weapon of mass destruction.

I may as well embrace it.

I paused just before opening the door, pressing my palm to the wood. My heart thudded once, then twice, before I finally pulled it open.

Maalikai stood leaning against the doorframe, the disheveled locks of his onyx hair brushing his cheekbones. They were still damp—droplets of water clinging to the strands, occasionally dripping to the floor or soaking into his jet-black shirt. He looked carved from stone, his chest rising and falling slowly beneath the soaked fabric, lips parted slightly like he’d been about to speak.

My gaze caught on him and stayed there.

“Then we have some hand-to-hand combat.” His eyes dragged over me, assessing every inch—slow and deliberate. That lingering gaze made me increasingly aware of the tension pulsing between us. Of the heat pooling low in my belly.

“Alone.”

I swallowed hard.

“I need to stop at Akaela first. Harness her power.”

His mouth twitched, like he appreciated the focus. “Of course. I’m here to escort you.”

He offered me his arm. A heartbeat passed before I took it, my fingers curling through his, the heat of his skin grounding me more than I cared to admit.

He led me down the spiraling staircase. We walked in silence, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It felt heavy with meaning, humming with unspoken things.

When we reached Akaela, Maalikai gently swept a curtain of vines aside, the smell of jasmine spilling into the path. He waited behind me, giving me space but not distance, his presence a steady pulse at my back.

The familiar thrum of power vibrated through me, curling around my soul and filling it with a strength that had come to feel like home. I laid my hand against Akaela’s bark, feeling her respond. My chest lifted with each breath, the magik humming to life in my veins.

I severed the bond and stepped back.

“You ready?” Maalikai asked, voice softer now.

I nodded, and took his offered arm.

Distance evaporated as I walked side by side with Maalikai, his hand in mine, feeling like it somehow perfectly fit. We didn’t need words. This was enough.

When we reached the clearing, I noticed Sebastian standing to the side, arms crossed over his chest. He gave me a nod.

“You’ve got this, Em.”

It was more than I could hope for—more than I could dream—considering what he must be feeling. But he held himself well. Nothing like the other interactions when Maalikai was also in my presence.

My mother cleared her throat.

“Earth is not something you just move,” she said. “It’s something you listen to. You don’t control it. You respect it.”

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