Jasmin part 15

ALDREK

“You need to use it. Just once.”

I scowl at the ringmaster. “I’m not going to use it.”

“What’s the point of having the ability to summon fire and not use it? Come on, boy. You will win the fight easily if you light the cage up.”

“Call me boy again, and you will be one that gets lit up.”

He doesn’t know the danger of my power. Even to this day, I don’t have complete control over it. When I was young and cage fought to build my hoard, I avoided it, but sometimes the flames would surge instinctively. It has a mind of its own. Once, I read that the fire is the manifestation of an ancient god.

I wish I could exhaust it once and for all, but no amount of swimming through freezing waters have fixed me.

“Fine. Get in the cage, but can you take your shirt off?” the ringmaster asks.

“What the hell for?”

“For sales. It brings more females in.”

I grunt and walk into the cage with my shirt on. I’m not here for the money. I just need something other than HER to focus on. While I’m analyzing my opponent, predicting moves, evading hits, and striking, I am free of her. Even if just for a few minutes.

It has been four days since I left her. My cabin is still ashes, and I have been sleeping under the stars.

I still have my hoard. I could easily buy the materials to rebuild a cabin or a massive estate, but for what? To feel lonely in an empty home again? At least when I’m under the stars, I feel accompanied.

For now, I’ll keep hunting during the day and fighting during the night.

I wait in the cage for my opponent. The crowd is roaring around us, excited to see me back. I haven’t fought since my younger years, when I was building my hoard. I had no sense of direction back then. I just felt like building my hoard gave me something to do.

Now, years later, it’s buried in my land, not needed or wanted.

Jasmin’s face flashes in my memory. I dare to think about what things could have been, but quickly chase the thought away. I’m not a family man, and apparently, neither is she. She lied. Pretended. And I ate out of her palm, acting a fool and daring to trust.

My opponent enters from the opposite side of the cage. A strong, bald male with crimson-colored wings. He glares at me, and I revel in the hate.

“He’s back, Le’vris! Tonight, we will watch—“

I surge forward, not interested in hearing the ringmaster’s speech. I came here to fight.

After a few punches, I conclude that my opponent is nowhere near my skill. This disappoints me, because I had been hoping he would keep me busy, but this will clearly end quickly.

His footing is too loose, and his punches are repetitive. Even when he uses his wings to propel into the air, he’s too slow.

Within five minutes, I have him pinned.

The next opponent enters the cage. The blood of the previous coats my shirt, so I make the ringmaster’s dreams come true by ripping it off.

This fighter is more of a challenge. He lands a few punches on me, but nothing debilitating. He, too, falls under my fury.

Jasmin. Jasmin. Jasmin. I’m maddened by the memory of her smile. Had anything been genuine?

The pain of her betrayal burns hotter than my abused fists. But what’s truly disturbing is that I don’t wish her harm. As I feed punches to this fighter, I wonder if she has been eating well.

We had cooked so well together. I enjoyed taking care of her. Now, I have no hobbies but violence.

Alone, like always.

My second opponent goes down, and I’m told that the third forfeited. As I exit the cage, onlookers approach me with morbid curiosity. They ask me to show them my fire, like I’m a goddamn tourist attraction.

Unrolling my wings, I tear into the skies and fly higher than usual. The air is colder up here. If Jasmin knew, she would worry that I would get sick— unless that reaction, too, had been fabricated.

And to think I pretended to be sick for her attention. How pathetic. I should fold my wings and plummet into the trees below.

The days drag painfully slow. I haven’t achieved anything but dozens of fights. It rained last night, and the trees offered no cover from the rain. Even the greedy ringmaster can see that I’m losing it. He approached me and asked if I was of sound mind, like the money I was pulling in was making him guilty.

I look at the second hole I dug, where my winnings are buried. I need to rebuild. All this fighting has been wearing me down, but I have no motivation for anything else. I only thirst for blood

With a final shake to my shirt, I rise and walk away from the river. I’ve been using the same clothing for ten days now, and it has begun to fall apart. At the very least, I need to replace them.

I scoff at the thought. Let’s see if I find enough fucks to give.

As I approach my cabin, I hear distant crunching. Assuming it’s a wild fren, I change course to hunt the wild animal.

I’m not sure where I’ll cook it since much of the forest is wet, but maybe I can salvage wood from the cabin.

With my knife tight in my fist, I peer across a tree. The second I see her, I drop the knife.

She’s back. How? Why? She couldn’t have memorized the way back.

My fingers dip into the bark of the tree. I’m angry that I underestimated her, and that seeing her floods me with relief. For a second, I finally had the motivation to rebuild my cabin. Only to offer her shelter.

I step out of the tree, and I approach her loudly so she knows what’s coming.

When she turns, I only become angrier, because she looks pale. She hasn’t been taking care of herself.

“Aldrek,” she breathes my name.

I stop a foot away, stiff with emotion. This female shouldn’t be here, and I shouldn’t be locked tight. I should already be escorting her away, because she has no place in my life.

It has been ten long days. Why am I still not fucking over her?!

She closes the distance between us, hugging me tight. I don’t flinch when she unknowingly presses onto a bruise on my back.

I look at the top of her head, my arms hanging beside me.

“Damn it!” I roar to the skies, because I know there’s no way on Le’vris that I can peel her off me.

READ PART 16>

📋 View Table of Contents for Jasmin>

📚 View all Books>

If you hate reading on Patreon, I created a solution! If you sign up on my site, Lutionary.com, with the SAME email you have on Patreon, you will be able to read Jasmin. The chapters will be organized, so you'll be able to flip from one chapter to another with the tap of a button. You'll also be able to bookmark your reading progress. There will be no more awkwardly scrolling across Patreon to find chapters :) This feature only works for active Patron subscribers.