Safira tensed up even more, stunned by his sudden yell.
“Run where?!”
“ANYWHERE!”
Malik sounded desperate, a word she never expected him to be described as, but still…
“No!”
She didn’t move.
“I’m not leaving you!”
He turned to her, locking eyes for what felt like an eternity, though it was only a second.
The sandworm was closing in, the vibrations under their feet like a ticking clock.
“Fine… Then do one thing for me.”
“What?!”
“We’re gonna play a game. If you wanna win, all you gotta do is look forward and walk.”
“What kind of stupid game is that?! Malik, this is not—”
“Don’t argue!”
He snapped, cutting her off for a third time.
“You walk forward. Don’t look back. Not even once. I’ll be right behind you, I swear. Just don’t look back, no matter what you hear. Got it?”
She hesitated, biting her lip.
“And if I win?”
“Anything you want.”
He promised.
“You get one wish. Whatever it is.”
Safira’s face lit up—not with joy, but with determination.
“Fine…”
She nodded.
“It’s a deal.”
***
{Outside The Projection}
“…I knew it.”
Safira’s sobbing voice came first, echoing through the silent hall.
“He was lying.”
Her tone dripped with frustration and something deeper, more bitter.
“H-He was… lying”
The word regret was not enough to describe it.
“The wind? A dune? Bullshit. I wasn’t stupid. I could feel it—but nooo, I had to be greedy.”
The projection showed her face in sharp detail: sweat streaking through the sand caked on her skin, but even as panic danced in her gaze, she pushed forward with all that she had.
“So greedy to win that I lied to myself.”
Layla, her camp, and the crowd could hear her breaking down right in front of them. Explore stories at My Virtual Library Empire
She, the Fairy of Devil’s Maw, looked to be in a state no different than the Huda of a few hours ago—now knelt on the ground, hands trembling as they hid her face.
“I made it past the storm. And there, just at the edge, I waited…”
She sucked in a shaky breath, her shoulders shaking.
“I waited for hours. Just standing there. Watching. But I didn’t see him.”
Layla moved before she even realized it, crouching down and wrapping an arm around Safira’s shoulders, holding her close.
“Even a few Faraja passed by…”
Safira barely reacted and just kept speaking, her voice a fractured thing.
“Asked me what I was doing. I told them I was waiting for him and they…”
Her fingers curled against her face, her nails digging into her skin.
“They said…”
She stopped, choking on the words.
“They said that no one was there. That if I was waiting for someone…”
She let out a shuddering breath.
“…They probably already left me behind.”
Gasps rippled through the crowd like a wave.
“He WHAT?”
“He left her?!”
“What kind of teacher does that?”
Judging by their reactions, it appeared that Malik’s betrayal towards Safira wasn’t that well-known to the masses. Which was to be expected, as her origin was kept on the down-low too.
“Ohhh, this is rich.”
Azeem leaned forward, hands on his knees, his grin wide.
“The big bad Sultan just bailed. Guess those Scrolls were to appease his guilt, huh?”
“You’re sick.”
Huda muttered, glaring at him.
“Hey, I didn’t say it wasn’t messed up.”
He shot back, raising his hands defensively.
“But come on, we all knew it was coming. Were you expecting a Hallmark moment?”
“M-Maybe he was injured.”
Surprising everyone, Zafar, who paced in tight circles, retorted.
It seemed that out of all the people there, he was most scared of that trend repeating.
So, to fight against it, he preemptively gave Malik an excuse in case this turned out to be another misunderstanding.
It was somewhat of a smart tactic, as it would finally give his yes-men something new to praise about.
“I mean… he stayed behind to kill it. Why would he leave afterward? What would that gain—”
“My Sultan is a smart one.”
Azeem interrupted.
Zafar whipped around.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
He continued, not bothering to look up:
“The Sultan might’ve protected her in the beginning only to end up overwhelmed, so he bolted, using her as bait. You can see it happening, can’t you?”
“B-But…”
While those two spoke of betrayal, the woman herself stayed quiet, eyes on the projection.
She didn’t hear anything of what they said.
She didn’t even feel Layla’s touch on her shoulder.
There was only one thing on her mind.
‘I wasn’t running from it.’
‘I was running after him…’
‘Like a damn fool.’
***
{Inside The Projection}
Safira turned, squaring her shoulders.
Without another word, she started running, her feet kicking up sand as she fought against the wind.
Malik watched her go, his heart heavy but his mind focused.
He waited until she was a good distance ahead before turning to face the worm.
The tremors were stronger now, the sandworm so close he could almost hear it cutting through the wind.
With one hand tucked behind his back, Malik flicked his dagger free from its sheath.
He gave it a casual twirl before holding it steady in front of him, the tip glinting.
“Scorched Grace.”
His Aether responded instantly, coursing through his veins, and breathed into the blade.
Golden flames erupted along its edge, licking upward in a dance against the storm.
The ground beneath him trembled like a drumbeat, rising to a crescendo.
WHOOOOMPH!
Then, with another explosive burst of sand, the massive sandworm tore free of the earth, its gaping maw wide enough to swallow a house.
“You’ll fall.”
Malik launched himself forward with a single step, clouds of sand spraying out in his wake.
Just as his other foot touched the ground, he stood directly before the worm, and at that moment, it was almost upon him, its maw a mere meter away.
Yet he didn’t even flinch.
Instead, he pivoted at the last second, the fire on his dagger flaring brighter.
Using all his strength, he cut upward, shooting out a fiery blade of gold.
The flames screamed, cleaving through flesh, bone, and sinew, splitting it from maw to tail.
Then, an explosion erupted along its body, consuming it in a blinding wave of heat.
Its massive carcass slammed into the sand, twitching for only a moment before going still.
“Houff…”
Malik blew out a breath, spinning the dagger once before pointing it downward, the flames dimming to a faint glow.
“Not bad… Guess all those Blinks paid off after all.”
But, unfortunately, his victory was cut short.
The ground rumbled again—harder this time.
He froze, eyes narrowing at the sand around him, rippling like water.
“Ah no…”
WHOOOOMPH!
An explosion of sand rolled through the desert as a sandworm burst from the dunes.
WHOOOOMPH! WHOOOOMPH! WHOOOOMPH!
First one. Then two. Five. Ten—each one massive, each one hungry, and somehow uglier than the last.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
Malik slowly turned in place, his gaze darting from one worm to the next.
They surrounded him in a wide circle, their movements disturbingly synchronized.
“All right…
Rolling his shoulders a couple of times, he cracked his neck, a unique routine he did before any battle.
“If that’s how you wanna play it.”
His other hand reached for his dagger and he held it up high with both.
The blade responded instantly to his intent.
“Fine by me.”
His flames spiraled upward like a miniature inferno, a ferocity that made the air shimmer.
“I’ll massacre the lot of you!”