[DISCONTINUED] Protector (Zane X Reader) Book 2

Chapter 12

Your P.O.V

I couldn't tell how long we'd been fighting, only that the sun had risen to midday and I was so exhausted I couldn't stand up.

But Zane walked towards me with no struggle, seemingly unaffected by hours of battle. "I should've killed you when I first met you, you blight!" He spat, slamming the toe of his boot into my stomach. His mask had been discarded some time ago, and I had made fun of his freckles, which had gotten me into this position.

I heaved and coughed, feeling blood rise up through my throat and hit the ground. "You gotta insult me better than that..." He just scoffed and pushed my body over with his foot, so I was looking up at him as he raised his sword. "Why would I waste one second of intelligent thinking on swine like you?"

He stabbed down and nearly impaled my arm had I not swept it out of the way. I rolled onto my stomach and tried to crawl, but he just stepped onto my spine as if I was a stepping stool. I grunted under the weight of his body, but he didn't seem to care. It made me wonder if he had ever cared about anything. With passion. With sympathy. From the wild, sadistic gleam in his eyes, I doubted it.

"Get..." I felt my magicks flood to my arms. "OFF!" I slammed the ground with my fists, and an earthquake erupted form them. It ran through the ground like a ripple effect, and Zane went flying off of my body and rolled to a stop on the ground. As he stood, I did as well, but I finally shifted forms.

My flesh burned as the transformation took place. But after becoming this, I had grown accustomed to the process. It didn't keep me from grunting as the flesh in my back tore apart to make room for my new armor.

When the last piece of my skin finally snapped back into place, I looked up at him from under my hood. "Come with me, or I will drag your dead body to hell by your hair." I said, unsheathing twin daggers from their leather holders.

He cackled. It was cold, and nearly sent shivers down my spine as I realized how screwed I was. "That won't be necessary." He growled through a smirk, and I watched black aura incase his body. When it dispersed seconds later, he wore an entirely new set of armor, held a new blade, and had also transformed. "I'll slice your head off and bring it back as a gift."

"I'll just get reborn."

"And I will be waiting. And every time you do, I will be there, my sword drawn and ready to slash."

"That sounds obsessive."

He groaned out loud. "Why are you so calm?! You and I both know I can kill you so why do you bother buying yourself time-" He froze, and I swallowed. Then, he looked off into the woods. "Except it's not your time you're buying."

I dove for him, and he barely had time to react before I plunged my blade into the arm that held his sword. He dropped it with a grunt and fell backwards, allowing me to pin him to the ground. "So... when did you decide where your true loyalties lay?" He hissed.

I twisted the handle in his shoulder in response. He screamed, and I relished in the sound.

"I decided where they lay... when I realized you were never going to cooperate. Even after we completed your little mission." I twisted again, but he grabbed my wrist this time. He managed to push my hand away, but I just raised my other arm and pulled back, ready to impale his neck.

Stop! Don't do it!

I gasped in surprise as what sounded like a voice- my voice- screamed at me. I whipped my head around, but saw nothing but the destruction we had left from our battle. Zane saw my hesitance, and like the assassin he is, he acted on it. I was pinned to the ground before I could blink, and his blade was pressed dangerously hard against my skin.