Murra watched Voldrak, the man they had been sent to kill, bash through Ophari's defenses, and she knew she had him. She was already burning more of her own inner energy just to see through him, and she instantly stopped the second she saw him stagger ever so slightly. Already fashioning one of the globs of water that hovered over her into a long, sharp sword, she quickly snapped it out of the air, moving closer to where he stood.
"Lords above! Allow me to put you out of your misery!" she sighed with glee as she stood only a few feet away from him. Then, suddenly, she saw his hunched shoulders straighten as he slowly turned to fix dark eyes in her direction. The fatigue she had seen on his face was gone, and even the deep marks where he had driven his teeth through his lips had completely disappeared. For a moment, a huge fear settled on Murra as she immediately backed away, her wary expression locked on his, her eyes boring into him to confirm that he could no longer draw on the dark energy she had seen him use.
"Wha—what are you? You'll die if you burn through your own essence!" she warned him, even though her goal was to kill him. The last thing she wanted was to fight someone who knew they were dying.
But she was even more taken aback to see a crinkle in his dark eyes. Where there had been cruelty and disdain, there was now only mild amusement—and what she could have sworn was a flirty smile.
"My, my, my... I have no intention of dying anytime soon!" he responded, rising back to his feet with not a single trace of tiredness in his features as he stared at her. His eyes roved over her so intensely that she almost felt as though he were touching her. Just as she looked into his eyes, she saw nothing there—nothing but lust.
"Ophari!" she barked, turning to her companion. "Attack him now! With everything you have!" she yelled, intent on doing the same as she channeled every bit of inner energy in her body into the dark globs of water hovering around her. She was glad to see that Ophari didn't hesitate.
Ophari pulled out all her needles, fashioning more using the water she controlled, channeling her own inner energy into them, and raining them down on the man in front of them.
'It does not matter what your plan is or what you're planning, as long as you're dead!' Murra swore to herself, a sly grin spreading across her face as she watched the attacks descend on him, confident he would be unable to avoid them.
He could have avoided it or even chosen to stand still and let the projectiles pass right through him, but he wouldn't. It had been too long since he gained full control of a body. It was human—something he was sorely disappointed in—but with the soul of an immortal? That was something he could make his own.
Raising one hand, he waved it to the side, watching the projectiles fly away and crash to the floor with enough force to dent it. The two women who had launched them were thrown back, smashing into the walls as specks of blood splattered from their mouths. Their howls of pain were music to his ears.
"Creation must have seen my suffering and given me two of you to feast on!" he growled, a fierce look in his eyes. His gaze flicked to the third figure, who had stirred awake and was now desperately looking to see if her master was safe.
"Three, then!" he sighed, a slow thrum of pleasure coursing through his body as a wild grin sharply appeared on his face. He turned his focus back to the red-haired woman, Murra, who was already stirring awake, while the black-haired Ophari had to be nudged before she realized her fatal mistake of fainting in the middle of a fight.
They both scrambled to their feet, trying to hide their pain behind masks that threatened to crack. Ophari realized her ankle had been broken, while Murra was relieved that it was only a rib and not something more visible. She had no idea how Voldrak had bested them, but she had no intention of waiting for it to happen again. She prepared to attack him once more when she heard a loud snap.
Her gaze shot up as she realized the sound came from the dark-clad man in front of her. She exchanged a glance with Ophari, both trying to decipher its meaning when the air around them trembled, hard enough to make their hearts skip a beat. The aura Voldrak emitted was stronger than anything they'd ever seen their leader unleash—stronger than Murra could have ever imagined.
The next instant, Murra fell to her knees. "Lord Voldrak, I'm ready to swear myself to you!" she declared, bowing her head in what appeared to be sincerity, though her mind was already scheming.
'I just have to bide my time, and all this raw power will be mine!'
"Murra! How dare you! Our allegiance belongs to Adrani, the clan leader, and the clan. How dare you bow to—" Ophari was cut off when she felt her body move in a way she couldn't comprehend.
"KNEEL!" Voldrak's command rang out, and her knees slammed into the ground with such force that even she gasped. She glared up at Voldrak, though she didn't dare speak. The air... the air felt like a noose tightening around her neck, and it would take just one strong pull to snatch the breath from her lungs.
"You've known me as Voldrak, and I've been known by many names. But right now, you may call me Black!" His voice boomed through the house, even as he silently erected a barrier around them—one that ensured no one could hear what was about to happen.
"First, before we begin..." he spoke, a soft smile on his face as he looked down at them, one willing, the other defiant. "I am not an animal. Despite the millennia I've lived, one thing is constant." He stepped forward, his voice turning into a dangerous whisper, softer than the sound of Ophari's bleeding knee hitting the floor.
"Consent is always important," he added, a devilish grin creeping onto his face. "...For when I destroy you, it will be with your permission."
Both women trembled, unable to suppress the shiver that ran down their spines at his words.