Chapter 38
ATASHA’S POV
55 vouchers
Have you ever seen a man become something else entirely, something cold, inhuman? I heard the stories about Lord Cassian. The cruelty. The bloodshed. The way he killed without hesitation. But hearing about it was nothing compared to seeing it with my own eyes.
He didn’t just kill, he made it look effortless, like slaughtering livestock. What unsettled me most was the look on his face. He didn’t seem burdened by the violence. If anything, he looked like he was in complete control and part of him seemed to take satisfaction in it.
“Shouldn’t… shouldn’t we help him?” Aries whispered beside me, his eyes locked on the chaos beyond the boulder. Like me, he was crouched low, watching Lord Cassian tear through the remaining enemies with brutal, unrelenting force.
“Those are Demon Fangs,” a girl muttered from behind us. She couldn’t have been older than ten. Her voice was trembling, but her eyes were wide with recognition and fear. “How could we even help him?”
I didn’t have an answer for that. Cassian was fighting like a man possessed, but I knew something was wrong. He was injured.
Somewhere beneath the blood and dirt, I’d seen the glint of metal and something wrapped in dark cloth. A weapon, likely poisoned. I didn’t know when it hit him or how deep it went, but the effects would come, and when they did, even he wouldn’t be able to stay standing.
I turned to Aries and Rico. “Stay here. Guard the others.”
Aries looked like he wanted to argue, but one glance at my expression made him hesitate. He gave a small nod, and Rico shifted protectively in front of the younger ones.
I couldn’t do much in a fight, not against what Cassian was up against but I could try to help. I knew the basics and poison don’t work on me. Besides, I could at least keep him from collapsing when the poison set in.
Without wasting another second, I gripped the dagger tighter in one hand, the short sword in the other, and pushed myself into motion, mud kicking beneath my boots as I sprinted toward him.
The stench of blood and burnt earth hit me the moment I left the boulder’s shelter. The air was thick with smoke, and the sharp cries of the Demon Fangs filled the clearing. They weren’t moving like normal wolves anymore. They surged forward with a desperation that felt unnatural, sloppy but violent, like they were running from something worse than death.
Cassian stood in the center of it, his blade already soaked in blood. His breathing was heavy
11:12 Wed, Sep 10
Chapter 38
80
55 vouchers
now, his steps just a bit slower. I could see it, the tremble in his fingers, the tightness in his jaw. The poison was taking hold.
I didn’t have time to shout. One of the Demon Fangs charged me from the left. I raised the sword and blocked it, steel clashing against sharp claws. The impact rattled through my arms, but I didn’t falter. I twisted my body, ducked, and drove the dagger up into its side. It howled, jerking back, and I yanked the blade free just in time to dodge another swipe.
Cassian appeared at my side, his arm swinging out in a clean arc that severed the head of the creature before it reached me. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to. His eyes, still glowing faintly red, met mine for a heartbeat before he turned back into the fray.
We moved without needing to speak, our backs almost touching as the enemies closed in. I stayed low, using speed and precision, while he handled the larger threats, cutting them down with wide, brutal strikes.
A Demon Fang leapt over a broken tree trunk behind us. Cassian spun, caught it mid–air with his blade, and sent its limp body crashing into the mud.
Another lunged at me from behind. I didn’t even see it until a firm grip locked around my wrist. Cassian yanked me backward, just in time for the creature’s claws to miss my face by inches. He pulled me against him, tight to his chest. I felt his heartbeat and his body trembled just slightly under the strain.
“Focus,” he growled.
“I am,” I muttered back.
I pressed my palm against his chest. His skin was burning hot beneath the layers of fabric. The second my hand touched him, I let the healing flow through. It wasn’t perfect but it was enough. Almost immediately, the trembling in his arm stopped. His stance stabilized.
Another Demon Fang charged. He pushed me aside gently, stepped forward, and met it head- on with a clean, crushing blow that cracked bone and ended it in one swing.
I was breathing hard now, sweat mixing with the grime and ash on my skin. I turned and caught another one trying to flank us. I ducked low and sliced at its legs, and as it stumbled, Cassian finished it with a kick that sent it flying into the tree line.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then another wave came.
“Behind you,” I called, swinging my sword up and catching another beast on the shoulder.
Cassian didn’t hesitate. He grabbed my shoulder, shifted behind me, and drove his blade into
11:12 Wed, Sep 10
Chapter 38
the creature’s back before it could recover.
We moved again. We blocked and struck. As I heal and dodge.
But it didn’t take long for something else to hit me.
80
55 vouchers
Fighting to defend myself was one thing. But killing, actually ending a life, was entirely different. The weight of it landed hard, sharp and sudden, as the body of a Demon Fang dropped near my feet. My hand shook slightly, not from exhaustion, but from the realization
of what I had done.
I barely had time to breathe before I heard it.
Footsteps.
Not just one or two but many. Fast, uneven, approaching from multiple angles.
My heart jumped, adrenaline spiking all over again.
More?
I turned toward the sound, chest tightening.
Where were these people coming from? How could there be more?
And more importantly… Why would anyone send this many to deal with us?
“We need to do something about this!” I said as I dodged another claw.
I heard a snort in response. “It’s simple… we just need to kill them all.”
AD
