Reaching Retribution(97)

“Every day we prove things possible that should be impossible,” he whispers as he stands up. “Get up.”

“Why?” I ask him.

“Because we’re going to do this your way.” Using the dagger, he motions for me to stand up. Without moving my eyes away from him, I avoid putting weight on my left arm and stand.

He raises his arm and flexes his muscles, preparing to throw the dagger. I throw a shield up around my body and wait for him to throw it at me. Without my permission, my eyes close. A whoosh sounds by ear and my body flinches as I prepare for the possible pain. After a few seconds of nothing happening, I open my eyes and find Zahtri staring at me. Keeping the shield up, I peek over my shoulder and see the dagger embedded into the trunk of a tree.

“Are you ready?” he asks me. I bring my attention back to him. “I’m not going to take it easy anymore.”

Yeah, cause he was taking it easy on me before. Cocky jerk. I keep my shield up and continue pushing magic into my arm, but I don’t answer him. When Zahtri takes a step toward me, I step back mirroring his stance. I can move my arm again, so I know my magic is working. It’s not working as fast as I want it to, but I’m not complaining.

“How do you think your soulmate will react to your death?” he asks me. I stop pushing my magic into my arm and start calling it around me. He wants to do this my way. I’m about to show him what my way really means.

Zahtri takes another step forward, so I do the opposite. I just need a few more seconds and then I’ll be able to fully go up against him.

“What made you change your mind?” I ask in an attempt to stall him. “You could have easily ended me when I was lying on the ground. You had your opportunity. You had a weapon, and I was injured. Why’d you change your mind?” I ask again.

“There’s something about you,” he says. “I like you.”

“You’re just prolonging the inevitable. One or both of us is going to end up dead. There’s no way to change this scenario.”

“You could join me,” he suggests with a wide smile.

“That’s not an option,” I tell him. I’d rather die than work with him. He keeps suggesting that because he already knows what my response is going to be.

“Didn’t think so,” he says, “which is why you’re going to die here. Look around. This will be the last thing you see. I’m going to be the last man you see before your eyes forever close. Not your soulmate. Not your protector. Me. You’ll never see that soulmate of yours again. He’s going to be so guilt ridden after your death that it’ll make killing him that much easier. You’ll have your own little Romeo and Juliet story. Isn’t that what all you girls want? A romantic story?”

I feel my magic strengthening around me at the mention of him killing Colton. That’s not going to happen. If I’m going to die here, I’m taking Zahtri with me. He can’t come out of this alive.

“After your soulmate, I’ll move onto his Uncle. The old man won’t last very long. It’ll be easy. In his heyday, he may have been a good fighter. Maybe even one of the best, but he’s getting old. He hasn’t been training as often. It’ll be easy. One simple swipe of a blade and he’ll be a goner.”

My magic is bubbling to the surface. I can feel it moving around me waiting to heed my command. He’s not going to kill Tom. I just need a few more seconds to gather enough magic. I push my shield around my mind. I don’t need Zahtri reading my thoughts. He already knows I’m planning something, but hopefully he doesn’t know what. Surprise has to be on my side for this.

“Then, I’ll move onto that protector of yours. Little Liam. He’s tough, I have firsthand knowledge of that, but when a mage finds their soulmate, their focus changes. He’s determined to protect you and her. He can’t do both. With you out of the picture, his focus will be entirely on her. Soulmates are a weakness. Hurt her, I hurt him. It’s a domino effect.

Zahtri continues moving forward.

“He’ll grieve her death and like your soulmate, it’ll make him easier to kill. It doesn’t matter how good of a fighter they are. When you hurt someone they love, they become weak. They become easy kills. It’ll be a breeze. Killing Liam, I’ll get my payback for this,” he motions to the scar running down his face and neck. “I’ll enjoy watching him struggle. I’ll enjoy seeing the anger for me leave his eyes as he dies next to her. It’ll be fun.

“You’ll set it all off. They all love you,” he says. “In the end, it all comes down to you. You, Ryanne, will be responsible for their deaths.”