Suddenly, a knife materialized in Kian’s hands. Without warning, he stabbed his shoulder. Blood spurted out from the injury. Shocked, Malak quickly placed his hand on the cut to stop the bleeding. At the same time, the maid tore a piece of her dress to bandage the injury.

“Why did you do that?” Malak exclaimed frantically as he fought back his tears.

When the maid was about to remove the dagger to wrap the long piece of cloth around Kian’s wrist, he stopped her. Reluctantly, she took a step back.

“What are you doing? Quickly, bandage him!” Malak ordered.

“Heal me.”

“What?”

“Heal my wound,” Kian repeated.

With teary eyes, Malak reluctantly grabbed the dagger. Gradually, he pulled the weapon out. Throwing it away, he hovered his hand over the wound. He tried to concentrate and imagine the wound healing up. However, when he witnessed more blood pooling out and dripping to the ground, Malak cracked.

“I-I can’t.”

Staring, his expression was cold and blank. “Do it,” Kian ordered firmly. It was the first time he spoke so harshly to him.

With trembling hands, Malak tried once again. He closed his eyes, refusing to see the wound, the blood emptying on the ground. When he opened his eyes, the wound was gone. Even the blood surrounding it disappeared. Letting out a sigh of relief.

“Well done,” Kian smiled brightly.

Furious, Malak glared at Kian before slapping him. The smack resounded as the maid stood astounded. No one ever dared unless they had a death wish.

“Never do that again!”

Without waiting for his response, Malak turned away to join Ezrel near the riverbank to wash the blood out of his hands. Snapping out of his trance, he ran after Malak. Grabbing his arm, he stopped Malak.

“Why are y-”

“Why? You’re seriously asking me why?” Malak shouted in outrage.

Kian had never seen him so angry before. He was at a complete loss. Therefore, he could only nod.

Malak crossed his arms and huffed. “How dare you injure yourself to such a degree without a second thought?”

“I knew you’ll succeed.”

Malak felt joy when he heard Kian’s answer. But seeing him injuring himself for such a trivial matter was unacceptable. He was the King, the leader of the Bazahian Kingdom. His being was too precious to toy around with.

“Next time you do something like this, you’ll regret it,” Malak warned, staring at Kian dead in the eye.

Crouching down, he plunged his hands into the clean, fresh water. Scrubbing the dried blood away, Malak continued to grumble. Also crouching down next to Malak, Kian brushed his hand over the hole on his shoulder. The hole created by the dagger disappeared. The shirt was good as new.

“You used a lot of energy. How are you feeling?” Kian asked as he observed Malak’s distorted reflection in the water.

“Promise me to never do it again.”

“You may need to heal some villagers under pressure. The best way to expose you to it was by my method.”

Staring at his half-clean hands, Malak was silent for a moment. “Promise me.”

“I promise,” Kian answered softly as his lover’s shoulders relaxed. “I’m sorry.”

Malak nodded and wiped his tears away. “I was so scared.”

“I’m sorry,” Kian wrapped his arm around Malak’s shoulder.

They stayed in this position until Malak felt calm enough. With his clean hands, the pink-eyed demon wiped the remnant of the tears away. The couple stood up and straightened their clothes.

“We need to go.”

Malak nodded. “Wait until Ezrel hears of this. I’ll make sure he strips you naked and checks every inch of your body until he’s certain you’re uninjured.”

Kian laughed as an evil smile stretched on his lips. “I’ll like to see him try.”

Malak turned on his heels to join the others, who were waiting for them with the food. The maid handed them a bowl of hot beef stew. They silently enjoyed their meal before cleaning the dishes in the river. After putting out the fire, the four of them straddled their horses. Only a few hours separated them from the village. Unlike in the forest, the group wasn’t as anxious about a monster attack. They, however, still didn’t drop their guard in case anything happened.

As they approached the village, they all put the hood of their cloak on. As Malak strengthened his posture and resolution, the other three put their silver masks on. From time to time, they noticed a villager hunting or picking up fruits. It was a sign they were getting closer. Suddenly, a scream echoed on the horizon along with a roar.

“Let’s go!” Kian shouted as his horse galloped toward the source of the scream.

The other three quickly followed. Ezrel and Kian distanced themselves from Malak and the maid, who stayed at the rear. The two men unsheathed their silver swords when they identified the monster attacking the villagers. Without hesitation, Ezrel created a fire bow and knocked his sword in. Carefully aiming at the beast’s head, Ezrel calmed his breathing and waited for the opportune moment to shoot. In the meantime, Kian didn’t hesitate to clash his sword with the monster’s metal claws.

“Run!” Kian shouted to the frozen villagers.

Snapping out of their terror, they ran toward the safety of their village. Excited by the sudden movement, the monster roared and jumped high in the sky before landing a few steps behind the escaping villagers. They screamed, and a leg landed next to them.

“H-Help!” a blond-haired demon screamed before leaving his injured companion behind.

Kian smiled behind his mask and ordered Ezrel to shoot. The latter released his hold, and the sword flew into the monster’s head. It stumbled and growled before falling to the ground. Both men approached the corpse. Ezrel pulled his silver sword out and decapitated the fiend. Certain the monster wouldn’t come back to life, they sheathed their swords in the scabbard attached to their back.

The villager who had his leg severed moaned in pain as he was close to fainting. A large pool of blood surrounded his wound. The blond-haired demon ran to his friend while screaming his name.

“P-Please save him,” the man begged as he tried to stop the bleeding.

“Your Majesty,” the three masked demons kneeled as Malak appeared on his black horse.

“Your Majesty?” the villager, named Yefim, repeated in confusion. He then noticed the golden crest engraved on their masks.

Malak’s feet touched the ground. He made his way toward the injured villager and kneeled next to him. He carefully examined the wound under the watchful eye of the villager. Under the white hooded cloak, Yefim noticed Malak’s pink eyes. He blinked a few times, thinking it was an illusion.

“Bring me the leg.”

Ezrel, who was closer, grabbed the severed leg and placed it in its rightful place. Malak hovered his hand above the injury and closed his eyes. While he couldn’t see it, everyone else saw a bright golden light coming from the wound. Then, both parts of the leg fused. A healthy colour came back to the injured villager’s face.

Opening his eyes, it relieved Malak to see his achievement. Soon after, the once injured villager opened his eyes and sat up.

“What happened?” he asked.

“The fiend ripped your leg away. “Yet your wounds have healed,” Ezrel explained to the confused villager.

“Is that true?” he asked the blond-haired demon, who nodded with teary eyes. “Thank you! How could I ever repay for your kindness?”

“We only seek refuge for the night,” Ezrel answered.

“It’ll be my honour to shelter my saviours. The village isn’t far away. My name is Kuzma, and this is my friend, Yefim. May I have the pleasure of hearing my saviours’ names?”

“Our names aren’t important, but only our master’s,” Ezrel stated as Malak took off the hood of his cloak.

The villagers gasped at Malak’s eyes. Although they were young demons, they were old enough to remember the tales of the royal wedding that happened centuries ago. The black King married a commoner with morganite pink eyes. It was the event of the century. A whole week of festivities was held to celebrate the event. In the following years, the King’s heart softened and abolished slavery, while prosperity reigned over the Kingdom.

Both villagers kneeled, but Malak quickly made them stand up. “No need to kneel. I am only a man like you are.”

“Who are you?” Yefim asked, eager to know the answer.

Malak smiled as his eyes shined like a gemstone in the reflection of the sun. “We only seek shelter.”

“O-of course! Please follow us,” Kuzma answered as he led the way.