Chapter 132 THE SECOND ULTIMATUM

Chapter 132 THE SECOND ULTIMATUM
SOUL’S POV
The war outside was loud, but inside me it was quieter than ever, that was how I knew it wasn’t over.
I stood alone in the dark room, boots planted on cold stone, listening to the echo of distant howls and screams fade into the night. Smoke still clung to the air. Power hung heavy, like the world itself was holding its breath.
Most men would rest now and celebrate even as they licked their wounds. I didn’t.
Wars lose their edge when people think they’re done. When guards relax and when enemies believe the worst has passed.
I rolled my shoulders and let a slow breath out. “No,” I muttered. “Not yet.”
I could feel it…threads still loose, fates not fully tied. If I waited too long, the heat would die. Fear would cool and surprise would vanish and surprise was everything.
I moved toward the far wall where shadows pooled unnaturally thick. No candles and no circles drawn in chalk. I didn’t need those things anymore, power answered me because it knew my name.
I pressed my palm to the stone. It pulsed once, like a heartbeat.
“Open,” I said quietly.
The darkness folded inward, not tearing, not breaking…just bending. The world thinned and sound dropped away.
I stepped into the space between. This wasn’t teleportation. I hated that crude magic…letters burned to ash, messages delayed and meaning lost. This was better, older and even more personal.
I let my voice travel instead of my body because I knew this was where I had my powers the most, the very place I could harness all that I wanted to.
“She won’t hear you if you whisper,” a voice inside my head said softly.
I smiled despite myself. “You always did hate silence.”
The connection settled, warm and familiar, too familiar. It wrapped around my thoughts like hands I once knew by touch alone.
“Is it done?” she asked.
“For them, maybe,” I said. “For us? Not even close.”
There was a pause. I could picture her perfectly even without seeing her. The way she tilted her head when thinking and the way her strength hid behind calm.
“You’re restless,” she said. “That’s dangerous.”
“I’ve always been dangerous.”
A soft sound escaped her, almost a laugh. “That’s not what I meant.”
I leaned against nothing, suspended in shadow. “I won’t let this war cool off, not now. If I move while they’re still bleeding, they won’t see it coming.”
“You’re talking about tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“That’s soon.”
“It has to be.” I said.
Another pause but this time around, it was longer and even more frigid than the last time.
“You’re sure?” she asked.
“I don’t doubt,” I said. “I decide.”
I felt her attention sharpen. “Then say it.”
I didn’t raise my voice and I didn’t need to. “It’s time.”
The words settled between us like a promise…and a threat.
For a moment, there was only the slow pull of power between our minds. Then she spoke again, steadier now.
“By tomorrow,” she said, “he’ll be exactly where you want him.”
My jaw tightened. “At my mercy?”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes. The image came uninvited…blood, fear, a man who thought he was untouchable.
“Good,” I said. “Don’t rush it. I want him whole.”
“You always do.”
I opened my eyes again, staring into endless darkness. “And you’ve always delivered.”
The connection didn’t fade right away. It never did when we spoke like this, there was too much history and too much unfinished business.
“You sound calm,” she said. “That worries me.”
“It should,” I replied.
She sighed, and I felt it ripple through the link. “You’re still carrying the past like a blade.”
“And you’re still pretending it doesn’t cut you too.”
Silence stretched. Not empty…heavy.
“You could walk away,” she said quietly. “After this, let it end.”
I laughed then. Short and bitter. “We both know that’s a lie.”
“I had to say it.”
“I know.”
Another beat passed. Then she said, “Derek won’t see it coming.”
My fingers curled slowly. “He never does, he thinks strength is noise.”
“And you?”
“I’m the quiet before the scream.”
I felt her focus sharpen again, like she was stepping closer on the other side of the veil. “You haven’t told me where you’ll be.”
“You don’t need to know.”
“You never let me help.”
“That’s not true.”
“You let me work,” she corrected. “You don’t let me stand beside you.”
The words hit deeper than I expected.
“This isn’t about trust,” I said.
“It never is, with you.”
I pushed off the invisible wall, shadows shifting with me. “Stick to the plan. By the next day, he’s mine. After that… we’ll see.”
She hesitated. I felt it like a hitch in my chest. “And Amber?”
The name was a spark and it was dangerous. I kept my voice even. “She’s not part of this.”
“She never is,” she said softly. “Until she is.”
I clenched my jaw. “Don’t.”
“All I’m saying is…”
“I said don’t.”
The connection trembled, but she didn’t pull away. “Very well,” she said. “Tomorrow, then.”
“Yes.”
“And Soul?”
I paused. “What?”
“For whatever it’s worth,” she said, “I never stopped believing in you.”
The shadows around me tightened, reacting to something I didn’t allow myself to feel. “Belief is a weak shield.”
“But it’s better than none.”
I let out a slow breath. “Finish your part.”
“I always do.”
The link began to thin. The darkness loosened its hold, the room slowly returning…stone, smoke, distant echoes of war.
Just before it broke completely, her voice slipped through one last time.
“Be ready,” she said. “Because once this starts… there’s no pulling back.”
I opened my eyes fully, the world snapping into place.
“I was never planning to,” I said.
The connection snapped shut. I stood there alone, the silence roaring louder than the battle ever had. Somewhere out there, a man slept thinking he’d survived the worst night of his life.
Tomorrow, he’d learn how wrong he was. I turned toward the exit, a dark smile pulling at my mouth…and felt a sudden shift in the a
ir, sharp and wrong, like someone else had been listening all along.

A NEW START