Cynthia tiptoed closer to Michael's still body, the anger in her had completely vanished.
Her trembling fingers reached down and lifted his limp hand.
It dropped with a dull thud against the floor.
Her face drained of color. "Oh my God…" Her voice broke into a whisper, then rose into a frantic shriek. "He's dead! He's actually dead!"
She staggered back, clutching her face, panic flooding her features. "No, no, no—this wasn't supposed to happen! We wanted him gone but not by our own hand! I don't want to go to jail!"
Lucas's jaw tightened, but his eyes burned with a cruel certainty. He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her once. "Calm down!"
She gasped for breath, her eyes wild. "Lucas, he's dead! What do we do?!"
"Shut up!" Lucas hissed, glancing toward the door.
"No one will find out. We'll throw his body into the sea."
He bent down and gripped Michael's lifeless arm, and he began to roll it into the carpet. He soon realized that he needed help.
"Help me with the carpet," he snapped at Cynthia, who stood there frozen.
Cynthia immediately obeyed, with her trembling hands, and they rolled him into the fabric.
But then...
They heard voices.
It was muffled at first but then it grew louder.
Cynthia froze. Her eyes widened in terror. "Someone's coming!"
Lucas cursed under his breath. "Damn it!" He let go of Michael's arm, his face twisting with frustration. "Quick, we can't be seen like this. Leave him."
He grabbed Cynthia by the wrist, dragging her toward the balcony doors.
They scrambled out, vanishing into the shadows just as the voices grew closer.
Michael's body rolled back into the open.
Michael's body lay still, blood trickling from his temple, soaking slowly into the golden pendant around his neck.
The pendant his mother gave him and told him never to take off.
The pendant pulsed faintly like a heartbeat.
Once. Twice. Then it surged, exploding into his body like lightning.
WHOOSH!
The room lit up as if heaven itself had descended.
The wound on his head sealed in seconds, the bruises melted away, leaving his skin smooth and untouched.
His chest expanded with a sharp gasp as his shattered ribs knitted back together.
Torn muscles reformed, stronger, harder. Every cell inside him was regenerated.
His second kidney also regenerated. The ugly scar that once marked his sacrifice dissolved into nothing.
Michael's body lifted an inch off the ground, suspended in radiant light, his fingers twitching as though awakening from death itself.
Then, his eyes snapped open.
They glowed faintly, burning with confusion and power. His breath came in ragged gasps as his mind spun.
What is this?
Am I dead?
The pendant dimmed and as he tried to make sense of what was going on...
BANG!
The pendant dimmed, its glow fading into silence, leaving Michael gasping, still reeling from the impossible surge that had rebuilt him from nothing. His chest heaved, his mind clouded.
BANG!
The suite door flew open, slamming against the wall.
A beautiful woman staggered inside, clutching her purse.
She was clearly not in her senses.
Her gaze locked on Michael, she froze for a minute and then her lips curved into a hungry smile.
"Hey… handsome," she whispered in a seductive tone.
Michael blinked, he was still disoriented. He wiped his forehead in confusion. "W-who…?"
But the question died on his tongue when she pressed her forehead to his, her breath hot against his lips. Her hands roamed across his chest.
She desperately clutched him and pressed her body against his like she had waited her whole life for this single moment.
Michael's pulse thundered. He should have pushed her away, demanded answers, but his limbs felt heavy and his senses blurred.
They both collapsed on the floor. He could not resist the strong pull of her desires.
The next morning, Michael's eyes fluttered but remained closed.
He recounted the horrific events of yesterday.
But suddenly
BOOM!
A flood of energy slammed into his mind like a tidal wave.
Michael groaned and the veins on his head bulged.
He clenched his teeth as visions and knowledge poured into him faster than he could comprehend.
Flashes of ancient martial techniques.
Alchemy. Prophecies. Forbidden curses.
The arts of healing. The arts of killing.
"Ahhh!" he gasped, his skull splitting from the inside out.
Just when he thought his head would explode—
A cooling current seeped from his forehead. It flowed like liquid moonlight through his brain, down his throat, spreading through his blood, his bones, his very soul.
Michael exhaled a ragged, trembling breath.
The pain vanished.
The scar on his side no longer ached.
The weight of his kidney loss, gone.
It was still like a dream.
But then...
A sweet, intoxicating fragrance filled his lungs.
His lips parted as cold, tender lips brushed against his.
Soft, naked flesh pressed against his chest.
Breasts crushed against him, firm and warm, sending sparks down his spine.
A slender waist rolled against his lips.
She moaned softly and the fire inside him became cool by her touch.
Michael's skull throbbed as his senses returned.
His fingers twitched.
They brushed against smooth skin.
His eyes snapped open.
And what he saw stole his breath.
A woman.
A woman so beautiful she looked sculpted by the heavens themselves, her bare body draped over him.
Her skin glowed faintly, and her long, silky hair spilled across her shoulders, framing her perfect features.
Michael's throat went dry.
"So… it wasn't a dream…" he whispered.
But then, her body stirred.
Her lashes fluttered and then she yawned.
She wiped her eyes and turned to see who was beside her.
And in
an instant, the haze of lust shattered.
Her face twisted in horror.
"Who the hell are you?!!!"
"What did you do to me?!" she screamed, shoving herself off him.
She immediately pulled the sheets up to her chest like a shield.
Her hands trembled and her eyes blazed with rage.
"You bastard!" she spat.
"You raped me!" she shrieked.