Chapter 46 Finally In His Arms
Klishei stumbled back, her mind racing.
Angus. He had done this. He had twisted Yeseus, corrupted him, turned him into a weapon. The green eyes, the accusations… it was all Angus’s doing.
“No, Yeseus, it wasn’t me!” she pleaded, trying to keep her distance, to avoid his lethal attacks. “It was Angus! He tricked you! He tricked all of us!”
He lunged again, faster this time. Klishei barely managed to evade him, but his shoulder slammed into her, sending her sprawling onto the broken table. The splintered wood dug into her back, a sharp, agonizing pain. She gasped, her breath knocked out of her.
He was on her in an instant, his hands closing around her throat. His grip was immense, crushing, squeezing the life out of her. Her vision blurred, dark spots dancing at the edges of her sight.
“Lies!” he snarled, his face inches from hers, his breath foul and cold. “You will pay for what you’ve done!”
The golden aura around Klishei flared, a desperate surge of power. She struggled, clawing at his hands, but he was too strong, too consumed by the poison Angus had fed him.
He’s not himself, Klishei. Fight him! Break through! The Phoenix’s voice, a desperate cry, echoed in her mind.
But how? How could she fight him when he was already so broken?
“Yeseus,” she gasped, her voice barely a whisper, her lungs burning for air. “Remember… remember our first time?”
His grip faltered, a flicker of something, a momentary hesitation in his green eyes.
“Remember the couch?” she pressed, pushing through the pain, through the suffocating darkness. “The way you kissed me… the way you tasted me… you said it was the most delicious thing you’d ever tasted.”
A tremor ran through his body. His eyes, those malevolent green orbs, flickered, a faint blue struggling to break through.
“You said you loved me,” she continued, her voice gaining strength, fueled by a desperate hope. “You said I was everything to you. You promised to protect me. You promised to stay by my side.”
His hands trembled, his grip loosening, just a fraction. The blue in his eyes gained ground, pushing back the malevolent green.
“You risked everything for me, Yeseus,” she whispered, tears streaming down her face, mingling with the dust and blood. “You fought Daevar. You came back for me. You came back for us.”
A guttural cry tore from his throat, a sound of agony, of internal struggle. The green in his eyes flared, then receded, fighting a losing battle against the encroaching blue.
“Klishei?” he rasped, his voice rough, hoarse, but unmistakably his. The green eyes were gone, replaced by the familiar, intelligent blue, now clouded with confusion and horror.
His hands, still on her throat, loosened completely, trembling violently. He pulled back, staring at her, at the blood on her arm, at the fear in her eyes. His gaze fell to his own hands, then back to her, a dawning realization twisting his features into a mask of pure anguish.
“What have I done?” he whispered, his voice filled with self-loathing. He recoiled, stumbling away from her, his body shaking uncontrollably. He collapsed onto the shattered floor, burying his face in his hands. “Klishei… I… I hurt you.”
Klishei pushed herself up, ignoring the throbbing pain in her back, the burning in her throat. She crawled towards him, her heart aching for the broken man before her.
“It wasn’t you, Yeseus,” she murmured, reaching out, her hand trembling as she touched his matted hair. “It was Angus. He controlled you. He made you do this.”
He flinched at her touch, pulling away, but she held fast, her fingers threading through his hair, gently stroking his scalp.
“Angus?” he repeated, his voice barely audible. “What… what happened?”
“He took Suneia,” Klishei explained, her voice soft, soothing. “He’s built an army of the undead, fueled by my tears, by the Phoenix’s essence. He’s planning to destroy humanity, to take over the world.”
Yeseus slowly lifted his head, his blue eyes wide, haunted. “The green… the green eyes. He… he made me… he made me forget you. He made me hate you.” The words were choked, raw with pain. “He said you destroyed everything. He said you took Suneia.”
“He lied, Yeseus,” Klishei whispered, pulling him gently into an embrace. He was stiff at first, his body rigid with horror and self-disgust, but slowly, tentatively, he melted into her touch. His arms, once so menacing, wrapped around her, clutching her to him with desperate strength.
“I almost… I almost killed you,” he choked out, his voice muffled against her shoulder. His body trembled against hers, wracked with silent sobs.
“But you didn’t,” Klishei insisted, stroking his back, feeling the sharp ridges of his spine. He was so thin, so fragile. “You remembered me. You fought him. You broke free.”
He pulled back, his eyes searching hers, filled with an agonizing mix of remorse and dawning hope. “How? How did I…?”
“Love, Yeseus,” Klishei whispered, her fingers tracing the faint scar on his cheek. “You loved me. Even when he tried to erase it, that love was still there. It was stronger than his magic.”