Content Warning: This chapter contains scenes of violence, physical harm, and distressing themes. Reader discretion is advised.
MALACHAI
I should have known better.
Lucius never lets anything slide. And now, I was paying the price for a mistake I couldn't even regret.
The moment his voice rang through the halls, summoning everyone, I knew something was wrong. The weight in my gut turned to lead when two guards stormed past me and dragged Ezra out from his room like a lifeless doll.
"Bring him here," Lucius commanded, his voice smooth, almost amused.
Ezra barely struggled. His face was blank, unreadable, but I saw it…the flicker of fear in his eyes as they forced him onto his knees before everyone.
"Look at him," Lucius said, gesturing towards me. "Malachai, my loyal dog, my favorite little assassin. And yet…" He smirked, stepping forward, his boots clicking against the marble floor. "You think you're strong, don't you? You think you can make your own choices? Fall in love, even?" He scoffed, then his expression darkened. "You disgust me."
Ezra's head snapped up at those words, his lips parting slightly, but he said nothing. He didn't need to. Lucius had already decided how this would end.
The first blow came without warning…a sharp, vicious kick to Ezra's ribs. The crack echoed in the dead silence, and I swear I heard something snap. He gasped, folding in on himself, but Lucius wasn't done. He crouched beside him, gripping his chin roughly, forcing him to look at me.
"Watch, Malachai," Lucius purred. "Watch what happens when you forget your place."
He didn't hold back. Fists slammed into Ezra's face, the sickening crunch of bone against bone making my stomach turn. Blood splattered onto the floor, painting grotesque patterns beneath him. A final blow sent Ezra sprawling, his body twitching as pain wracked through him.
I took a step forward, my breath coming in ragged gasps. "Lucius…"
A fist crashed into my jaw, sending me stumbling back.
"Stay put," he hissed. "Or I'll do worse."
Ezra coughed, blood dribbling from his lips, but through the haze of pain, he still turned his head towards me. His eyes, swollen, barely open locked onto mine.
I should have looked away. I should have done nothing.
But I didn't.
And Lucius noticed.
A slow, wicked grin spread across his face. "Still trying to protect him? Even now?"
He yanked Ezra up by his arm, twisting it at an unnatural angle. The pop of his shoulder dislocating sent bile up my throat. Ezra let out a strangled cry, his fingers digging into the floor, his body shaking violently.
"Pathetic," Lucius spat. "You think love will save you? You think it makes you strong? It makes you weak, Malachai." His eyes gleamed with something dark, something victorious. "And I will break you both for it."
I clenched my fists so tightly my nails bit into my palms. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to move, to fight, to tear Lucius apart. But I couldn't. Not yet.
Not without risking everything.
Lucius released Ezra, letting him crumble onto the cold floor. He turned to me, stepping close, his voice lowering to a whisper only I could hear.
"If you ever defy me again," he murmured, "I will make sure he never walks again."
Then he was gone, leaving Ezra lying there, bloodied and broken.
And I stood there, frozen, hating myself more than ever before.
I'm weak.