The market was bustling, noisy, filled with the smells of spice and steel. But all of it faded into silence when I saw them.
Hadrick. Serena. Liliana.
The ones who left me for dead.
Yelena froze instantly, her tail stiff, her ears pinned flat against her head. Her golden eyes burned like fire, her claws flexing as her body trembled with barely-contained fury.
Katie tilted her head, confused, her vines curling protectively around me. "Master? Who are they?"
Drum ruffled her feathers, suspicion glinting in her emerald eyes. "They're looking at you wrong. Who are they?"
Before I could answer, Yelena snarled, her voice sharp enough to cut steel. "They're the scum who betrayed Master. Left him to die in a dungeon while they ran like cowards."
Katie's sweet smile vanished, her eyes darkening with thorns. "They what?"
Drum's wings spread wide, her talons scraping the cobblestones. "Then let me tear them apart."
My former party noticed us. Their laughter cut through the crowd, drawing every eye.
"Well, well," Hadrick slurred, flask dangling in his hand. "The useless mutt still breathes."
Serena leaned against a stall, twirling her staff with mock grace. "I'm shocked. I thought you'd choke to death on your own incompetence." She smirked, eyes glittering with cruel delight. "Then again, with that face, maybe dying would've been a kindness. Ugh, you're still so ugly, Max."
Liliana folded her arms, her expression hard. "You should've stayed gone. The guild doesn't need trash dragging us down."
Each word cut deep, a familiar echo of every insult I endured before they abandoned me.
But then their gazes shifted.
And they saw Yelena, Katie, and Drum.
The laughter stopped.
"What the hell is this?" Hadrick demanded, eyes bulging. "Three beasts? Three women? Don't tell me you tamed them all. That's illegal, isn't it?!"
Serena sneered, her lips curling. "There's no way you could've done this on your own. Did you bribe them? Trick them? No one would choose you."
Katie's vines lashed the cobblestones, cracking the stone as her voice dropped low. "Careful."
Drum's feathers flared, her talons gouging the ground. "No one insults Master and lives."
And Yelena… Yelena snapped.
With a feral roar, she lunged before I could stop her. Claws glowing with frost, she slashed through the air—Serena screamed as her staff snapped in half, and in the same motion, Yelena's claws raked across her face.
Blood sprayed across the stones.
Serena shrieked, clutching at the ruin of her left eye.
The market erupted into chaos, people screaming and scattering, guards rushing to intervene.
Katie lashed out next, her vines whipping toward Hadrick, thorns sprouting as they aimed for his throat. Drum's wings beat furiously, sending a cutting gust toward Liliana that nearly knocked her flat.
The three of them were seconds away from turning the market into a massacre.
"STOP!" I roared, throwing myself between them.
They froze, their bond with me thrumming violently, their emotions spilling over—rage, jealousy, hatred, love.
"No," I said firmly. "Not here. Not like this."
Yelena's claws dripped crimson. Katie's vines quivered. Drum's wings bristled. But they obeyed, barely, their eyes still locked murderously on my former party.
I turned, glaring at the three who once called themselves my comrades. "If you want to settle this, we'll do it. But not here. Outside of town. No innocents will be hurt."
Hadrick spat on the ground, glaring at me with hate. "Fine. If you want to die again, we'll kill you properly this time."
Serena whimpered behind her hand, blood leaking through her fingers, but her lips still twisted into a hateful snarl. "You'll regret ever crossing us."
Liliana sneered. "This time, there won't be a dungeon to crawl out of."
The crowd parted as they stormed away, guards too stunned to stop them. Whispers spread like wildfire.
I turned back to my familiars. Yelena still panted, her claws twitching for more blood. Katie's vines writhed hungrily. Drum's feathers shook with the effort of restraining herself.
"Listen to me," I said, my voice sharp. "We'll settle this tomorrow. Three battles. One-on-one. Outside the town walls."
Their eyes locked onto mine, gleaming with dangerous devotion.
"Yes, Master," Yelena growled. "I'll rip them apart."
"I'll show them the price of hurting you," Katie whispered sweetly.
"I'll make sure no one dares look at you again," Drum hissed.
I swallowed hard, my fists clenched.
This was it.
The ones who left me for dead would finally face the monsters they created.