Mirrored in Her

7. Pumpkin Charade

I froze. My gaze flickered at him, but I dared not make a move as my breath got caught in my throat. I kept a hand on my chest, trying to steady my racing heart. Jake exuded an uncanny grace—a predatory elegance that sent shivers down my spine. He was using a strangely familiar hand sign. Dark veins traced sinister patterns across his temples, his eyes void of any semblance of humanity as they locked onto mine.

I should have been scared, but for the first time in my life, I felt something alight within me too. It felt foreign. It wasn't the usual warm sensation that overcomes me, but a fiery surge of something. Something primal. Something untamed. I met his gaze with a clenched jaw and tensed muscles. I felt a strange tightening behind my eyes, and with the way Neveah was looking at me, I knew it was twinning withJake's.

I was only a heartbeat away from lunging at him, but I had enough sense to not follow in my brother's footsteps. Jake had just proven that anything physical was futile against him, and in my case, his powers were superior to mine. And if I were to play by my strengths, I would have to purely depend on my wit here.

My body was very much on fire at this point. Everything inside me burned. Jake looked at me warily. He was ready to take me down if he had to. My instincts could read as much, but I can also feel that they hate this feeling of inferiority, as if they even had a right to pride.

As the tension hung heavy in the air, Jake's dark smile sent a chill down my spine, and his eyes gleamed with a twisted sense of amusement. He knew he had me cornered and that he held all the power in this precarious standoff. Yet, despite his dominance, a flicker of uncertainty danced in his gaze, a silent acknowledgment of the unpredictable force simmering beneath my controlled exterior.

With a calculated ease, I maintained a neutral facade, hiding the turmoil raging within me behind a mask of composure. Jake's expectant gaze bore into me, probing for any sign of weakness or crack in my armour he could exploit. But I refused to yield, meeting his stare with unwavering resolve as I refused to be cowed by his intimidation tactics.

This was another wielder who we were dealing with. One who has stowed past all that I have faced here, someone who had to abandon his humanity and let the blood of a murderer curse through his veins without regret. And here he was, letting me have some leeway from the rest of it with a safe pass to our place. I know he wasn't exactly the bad person here; it was just that he was a threat to my objectives.

And he was sure to cause a ruckus for whatever plans I might make to get Celene and Neveah to come with us. Therefore, I will have to accept the fact that he was not a friend of my kind but a foe of my blood.

I sized him up; he wasn't very tall, nor was he spherically gifted. He also carried a peculiar aura around him that could gravely mislead his opponent if misinterpreted.

I did not attempt to help Everard, as it meant getting near the range of Jake. Apart from him, I was the other person Jake was required to escort. Provoking him was the last thing on my list if I wanted at least to have a dry chance of bringing Celene and Neveah with us. I had to retain my consciousness; otherwise, he would easily abandon them and take us both with him.

Everard lay as a lump on the ground. Jake bent down, not without passing me one last look. I watched as Jake struggled to pick him up. Before looking up at Neveah—the only person who could help. Neveah looked at me for reassurance, and I nodded. She went to him begrudgingly and helped him lift Everard's limp body outside. As they dragged him, I followed closely by watching as Jake lunged Everad's body inside an unfamiliar SUV.

He looked at me expectantly, waiting for my reaction. I could almost imagine his thoughts. One down, one more to go. I kept it neutral, putting on a mask.