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Four: Chimia

Mal's hands on my person made me feel small, but his words made me feel downright childish. I had no choice but to suck it up and allow him to lead me to a floating crystal elevator. There were several others just like it, in a row against the wall, but this one was the largest and at the center. The network of floating gem boxes whizzed and whirred up and down and in all different directions, whisking people away to their destinations all across the tower. It was like the mystical and human technology collided, and the sight of it was, honestly, a little bit intimidating. I'd been to Olympus, but things there were still ancient and traditional. I'd lived on Earth, where their metal and concrete towers disappeared into great big clouds of smog. But here? This was something different entirely.

I took short, stiff steps, keeping my eyes on the strange contraption in front of me, doing my best to look as austere as I'd felt before. My plan was crumbling. I was supposed to be the brave, fearless hero who swooped in and saved everyone, but I was being coddled and steered around like I was an overenthusiastic child. I'd never been treated like this before, and it was frying my senses and destroying my resolve.

Mal was the worst of it; of course I was itching to wave my triumph in his face after years of torture when we were at school together, but I'd secretly hoped to find an ally in him. He was one of just a few people in Echelon who knew me and knew firsthand what I was capable of. But it turned out he didn't find me capable at all. I felt everyone's eyes on me until the elevator doors shut, and my shoulders dropped in defeat. Nothing was going like I thought it would.

I closed my eyes and let my mind wander to the past as we rode together in silence. Mal had always seemed to excel no matter how little effort he put into his studies. He was the golden boy everyone wanted to get close to. He was held up on a pedestal while I dedicated every waking moment to my craft for seemingly no reason. No one noticed my efforts until after I left the Academy, once Olympus began to shine on me.

But everyone saw Malfizan. They saw his great height, his impossible strength, and his endless charm. They noticed the way his smile would twist elegantly into a seductive curl of his lips when he wanted something. The way his eyes could strip you down and see right through to your soul. He won every contest between us even though we were worlds apart in academic achievement, and I allowed it to consume me with anger. And here I was, emphatically waving that childish frustration around all over again. He was right, though I didn't want to admit it. My plan had been brash and short-sighted, but perhaps it was only the execution that needed work. I knew what had to be done, but there was no way to know how to do it until I knew more about this city.

Eventually, Mal started to talk, but I held my hand up to him, clearing my throat and opening my eyes slowly to meet his gaze. I couldn't get a solid read on him at all, but I'd never been able to tell what the demon god was thinking.

"Thank you," I told him, quietly. Malfazan was astute, a quality I had always been jealous of, and I knew that whether I spoke it aloud or not, he would be able to see the apology in my eyes. There was no use hiding it from him.

Surprised, the gorgeous giant shifted his feet from side to side. He huffed a little sigh and reached up to tug at one of his ears. "You can't just show up day one and shut everything down, Chimi," he insisted. He was trying to be friendly, to make me feel comfortable, and it was the familiar use of a nickname I didn't even have that reminded me.

He's a demon, and he'll do whatever it takes to get what he wants. You've moved mountains bigger than this, and he doesn't get to tell you how to do your job.

I let him catch my eyes, steeling my gaze. For just a second, I found myself swimming in the deep, dark chasm of those familiar orbs. The small moment of intimacy felt like warm rays of sunlight against my flesh, enclosing me in safety and comfort. It was a bizarre, unwelcome feeling, and I had to break the eye contact to shake it off.

"I can," I insisted curtly, my lips curling up into a pleasant, practiced smile. "And I intend to. You're right. I don't know enough about the people here to publicly denounce you or whatever, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong." I softened, my voice and body bending to insist that he pay attention to what I was about to say. If I could reason with him, I would, but if his pride was going to continue to get in the way, then maybe it was better if we didn't work together at all. "What you do is a part of the problem. Running the forbidden activities here is just a bandaid; you're not keeping order, you're pretending, and I guarantee the Gods are still watching Echelon and waiting for something big to slip through the cracks, Mal. Some of them would jump at the opportunity to destroy this place. So I'll give you a week to get things in order, but that's it. Echelon can't wait three years for me to get through training. We have to start making changes now."

I saw a wildfire flash behind his eyes. His beauty became harder; fierce and threatening. Objectively, Malfazan was immaculate. He was built that way, of course, considering his parentage. But it was more than that--he was the most splendid creature I'd ever laid eyes on, and this had been true since the first time I'd seen him. I had power enough to stave off the demonic aura that lured most others in, but I was not immune to reality. And the reality was that my least favorite demon was my favorite thing to look at.

"I don't answer to you," he growled.

"The city will," I sighed, frustrated that he wasn't cooperating. "Echelon is battered, old, fragile. And the people who command both of us are growing impatient. If things continue on this trajectory here, eventually Hera the powers that be will decide that this city is doing more harm than good and get rid of it altogether. I know you see it, Malfizan, or you wouldn't do what you do." I stepped forward, closing the space between us, pleading with him, searching his face for some sign of understanding. "You have enough power and an army enough that you could have commanded Echelon to destroy the human realm if chaos and debauchery were what you were after, but you see what I see, don't you? There is potential here if only we repair the foundation."

My words appeared to deeply upset Mal, and he turned away from me so I could not see his face. I persisted, stepping forward to place my palm on his back so I could use my magic to show him what I knew was going to happen. It took a while, but I felt something shift. He was beginning to soften, and I was sure that he was beginning to understand, but then I felt what I could only describe as a sort of recoil, a sharp return of my power to my body.

I shrank away from him, nursing my hand like it had been burned. I hadn't been using my magic at all. I was sending my thoughts and memories freely with a connection that was not rooted in me alone. I knew, even, that Malfazan could feel what was bothering me in the instant that I pulled away. It was a bizarre feeling, entirely unlike any way I'd used my magic before. Mal turned to look at me and opened his mouth as if he might be able to explain, but he didn't get the chance.

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