With a loud thump...his body dropped onto the table as Ahmati seemed to hold his partner tighter knowing how impulsive she was, seeing a tear run down her cheeks, close enough to hear her clench her teeth in anger.
"Another partner would be found for the girl if her still beating heart manages to make it through to the end of the meeting," said the master, his murderous aura satisfied enough for the rest of the members at the table to feel safe until the meeting came to an end.
"Next," he called out, the next pair of partners getting on their feet to give their quota but by this time, Trisha had already zoned out.
All she could think of was, the meeting ending and her getting to Jella before she actually died seeing her body twitching on the ground in front of her as she sat down on the seat powerless to stop it,
"This wasn't why we joined this organization," She thought, doing everything she could to hide her feeling of anger knowing that she was too close to the master for him not to pick it up.
Feeling Ahmati's tight grip on her hand, she looked up to see him staring at her, as her quiet and non-smiling partner threw such a weird smile her way that she couldn't decide if she wanted to cry or laugh out loud.
They stayed like that for a while as Ahmati helped to distract them until finally, their turn came as they both got to their feet.
"My name is Trisha..." She began forcing out her words through clenched teeth, unable to get the bloodied image of Jella, her friend who grew up together with her in the same orphanage before they ran away and agreed to join the secret organization to grow stronger and help others.
Noticing that his partner was zoning out, Ahmati who usually hated speaking and rarely did it with anyone but Trisha who somehow knew multiple ways of getting him to talk, suddenly cleared his throat before speaking,
"Ehn..ehn. My name is Ahmati and my partner's name is Trisha. Out of twenty, we were able to get nineteen," he said in a neutral tone while still holding on to Trisha's hand unwilling to let it go until he was sure that she was emotionally stable enough not to do anything rash while he wasn't looking.
Varying looks of shock crossed the face of every member of the table as even "Hera and Aphrodite", Trisha's so-called enemies couldn't help but be shocked when they heard Ahmati speak.
"What about the last one?" Master Rani asked turned a calm gaze to look at Ahmati before flickering in Trisha's side,
"We're working on it and we're sure to succeed," Ahmati said with a bow, answering in a way that would help Trisha be forgotten completely as he took all the attention away from her.
"Good," was all they got when they both took their seats, while Trisha who continued to be distracted couldn't help but impatiently count down the seconds until the last pair beside them spoke, however, their quota was undoubtedly the highest among all the mages under their master.
"Our goal, for now, is to spread the name of our organisation and recruit people capable of being powerful mages to join us in our conquest for taking over the world. Anyone, taking this matter with levity will be evicted from her midst," Master Kain announced, taking a glance at the squished up dead body that he had placed on the table in front of him.
"As always. We will meet again, a week from now," he continued speaking even as his image began to slowly dissipate regardless of the brightness of the room they were in, until he was completely gone.
Master Kain was gone and the edge of his coat was all that remained when Trisha flew up from her seat, Jerking her hand away from her partner's when in a blink of an eye, she appeared at Jella's side, bringing out a green potion from inside her cloak, ignoring the blood-soaked dress her friend wore that was likely to stain hers, lifting Jella's head up about to pour the green potion down her throat,
"You're skills are getting dull, Trisha. How can you remain the head of our group if you continue to be this way," She heard a voice from behind her speak, just as she was about to pour the potion.
Wary, she jerked her head back, annoyed to see Hera standing behind her along with her partner Aphrodite,
"What??" Trisha asked, as confusion wrecked faint lines across her face, as she couldn't make heads or tails about what she had just heard.
"Windom was the only one master killed. The moment we told him our quota, he healed Jella," Ahmati said, teleporting himself to Trisha's side as he spoke, just in case a fight broke out as it always almost did whenever Trisha and Hera breathed the same type of oxygen.
Surprised and glad. Trisha checked Jella's pulse to make sure that she was truly fine and only relaxed when she confirmed it to be true.
"Her partner should be here any minute to pick her up," Ahmati said, speaking again as he stretched his hand out for Trisha to take it, communicating without words in such a way that told her that he wasn't asking.
The moment she took it, Ahmati pulled her along with him out of the house as he began striding across the dark streets with long and defined steps.
They walked for a while in silence when Trisha, finally spoke unable to understand why Ahmati was acting the way he did,
"I should go back and be there until her partner arrives…," she said, her mind already drifting towards Jella whom she had left on the stone-cold floor where she left her,
"The Magistrate would take care of her," Ahmati replied in a cold tone, letting go of Trisha's hands, before stuffing his in the pockets of his cloak,
"Do you know what you did tonight?" He asked in a voice that made even Trisha's blood run cold as she couldn't help but remember how Ahmati had been the strongest mage in their group when they were taught ritual magic and because of how cold he was to everyone and not her Trisha had forgotten the reason why he was feared,
"Do you know what you did tonight?" Ahmadi asked again in a higher pitch, as he continued to turn his back towards her,
"Yes," Trisha whispered back, resisting the urge to take a step back as she spoke,
"I'll tell you anyway," she heard Ahmati speak, surprised to hear him willingly offer to speak without anyone forcing him to.
"Your impulsiveness put not only you but me in danger. All emotions are to be abandoned at the table and just because you couldn't control yourself, you not only put yourself but me in danger," Ahmati yelled, expressing the feeling of anger he also felt as Trisha could clearly hear his voice shaking as she also could hear the pounding of her own heart,
"Master would have not only killed you but me. The fact that you're my partner means my life is tied to yours unless Master says so. Yes, I understand about Jella...," He said taking a break before he continued to speak,
"...but, do something like this again and I swear, you'll die a worse death way before I have to," He quietly continued which made Trisha feel no better than when he screamed at her as she felt much worse,
"I...I'm sorry," Trisha whimpered out loud, as tears threatened to spill from her eyes, regardless of the fact that they would go unseen in the dead of the night.
"It's fine. We're partners and both of us come first. As long as you don't ever forget it...again, we'll be fine," he said turning around to look at her almost as if he could make out the expression on her face as they stared at each other in the dead of the night, standing on one of the streets of Lakod,
"This is the part where you say, "Let's go" and I follow you," Ahmati said his tone noticeably lighter as he spoke to her,
A sniffle was all he heard as he watched Trisha walk past him before stopping a few steps away from him, without looking back.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go.," she yelled back at him in a testy tone that made Ahmati smile, as he followed quickly behind her, more delighted to see her walk in the opposite direction of the house they had just left behind.