The Compromise

Melodie's chest heaved, her breath coming in sharp, panicked gasps.

Her lungs burned, every muscle in her body screaming to move, to fight—

But she was frozen.

Her heart hammered so violently she could hear it in her ears, a sickening drumbeat counting down to something irreversible.

Lilly's tiny hands clawed desperately at the arm wrapped around her throat, her face turning red, her wide, tear-filled eyes locked onto Melodie—

Begging.

Help me.

Oliver wasn't moving.

His body lay crumpled like a broken doll, the blood dripping from his temple too red, too much, too wrong against his dark skin.

And Malec—

Malec was calm.

Too calm.

Like a wolf watching its prey thrash one last time before its teeth closed in for the kill.

"Allora."

His voice was smooth, gentle, almost loving.

It made her sick.

"I'll trade their lives for yours."

The words rang through the cavern, cold and final.

Melodie shook, every part of her vibrating with rage, with fear, her mind splitting apart under the weight of the decision.

She could barely hear herself over the blood roaring in her ears.

Her fingers curled into fists, nails digging so deep into her palms she felt the sting of broken skin.

And then—

"My name is MELODIE!"

Her scream cracked through the cave like a whip.

Malec's jaw tightened.

The weight of her name—her real name—hit him like a slap to the face.

But it wasn't enough.

His grip on Lilly's throat tightened.

The little girl's legs kicked wildly, her mouth gasping but pulling in no air.

A strangled sound escaped her lips.

A small, desperate whimper.

Melodie's vision blurred.

Her knees weakened.

She had seen horrible things before.

But this—

This was different.

This was Lilly.

Her throat clenched so tight she thought she might vomit.

Her rage ripped out of her, her voice breaking apart into something raw and shattered.

"You don't love me!"

Malec's eyes snapped to hers.

Something inside them flickered.

A tiny, microscopic fracture in his icy, unwavering control.

But it was gone in an instant.

"You never loved me!" she screamed, her voice shaking. "You just want to OWN me!"

A muscle in Malec's jaw twitched.

His fingers flexed, then curled into tight fists.

"You kept me in a cage like an animal," she spat, hating him, hating this, hating that he could do this to her and still have the audacity to think it was love.

"You forced me to kneel, to serve—" her voice cracked, her throat raw with fury— "To give you my body like some—some sex slave!"

The cavern went still.

Completely silent.

Even the wolves stilled, their ears flicking toward their master.

Malec didn't blink.

Didn't breathe.

Didn't move.

A predator in the final moments before the kill.

The air in the cavern shifted, growing thick, suffocating.

Jaxxon—who had been watching, waiting—finally snapped.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

Gunfire split through the cave.

The ground exploded around Malec's feet, dust and rock raining down like shattered glass.

The wolves snarled, stepping back.

The guards flinched.

But Malec—

Malec did not move.

Not a single fucking inch.

Jaxxon reloaded, his face dark with fury.

"I don't give a damn if you're some king or a fucking warlord—"

He lifted his rifle, eyes sharp as steel.

"NO ONE touches my daughter. Even if I have to burn this whole damn world down."

A heavy, suffocating silence followed.

A silence that pressed against Melodie's ribs, like something alive, like something holding its breath.

Then—

Malec exhaled slowly through his nose.

And something changed.

Something dark.

Like the last fraying thread inside him snapped.

His brilliant eyes burned, darkened to molten fire.

The rage was no longer controlled.

No longer contained.

Malec turned back to Melodie.

And he squeezed.

Lilly's body jerked violently, her face turning a sickening blue.

Her legs kicked helplessly, her little hands clawing at the guard's arm.

Melodie's lungs seized.

Her vision blurred with panic.

No. No, no, no, no!

THINK.

Her mind screamed at her, flashing through every possible outcome.

She couldn't watch Lilly die.

She couldn't watch her father die.

Every human life mattered.

Every life was precious.

This wasn't just about her anymore.

It was about her people.

It was about the future of humanity.

She had no choice.

Malec watched her, waiting.

Tick.

Lilly gasped, barely breathing.

Tock.

Oliver remained motionless.

Tick.

Her father's finger hovered over the trigger.

Tock.

Melodie's heart cracked open.

Her body trembled, her soul screaming at her, but she forced herself to look up—straight into Malec's eyes.

And she whispered,

"I'll come with you."

The cavern exhaled.

Malec's grip loosened slightly around Lilly's tiny throat, but his blazing eyes never left Melodie's.

"Continue," he ordered, his voice low and dangerous.

Melodie's pulse thundered in her ears.

She knew this was it—her only chance.

She took a slow breath, forcing calm into her voice, and in his native tongue—a language her father could not understand—she spoke:

"I will go with you," she repeated, firmly this time. "But I have conditions."

Malec's brows lifted ever so slightly, a flicker of curiosity crossing his otherwise stoic face.

She had his attention.

Good.

Melodie straightened, meeting his gaze head-on, speaking with authority, as an equal—not as his pet.

"First," she said, "let me give them my blood."

Malec's expression darkened instantly.

Melodie pressed on before he could interrupt.

"The disease that has infected my people—it originated from your world."

A ripple of tension passed through Malec's shoulders.

He hadn't known.

Melodie saw it—the way his fingers twitched, how his throat bobbed in a barely visible swallow.

But she didn't let him dwell.

"If you allow me to give them my blood, they can take it back and save the lives of thousands."

Malec said nothing, his eyes searching hers, his expression unreadable.

She pushed forward.

"Second," she continued, her voice unwavering, "allow all the soldiers and Canariae to return home safely."

Behind her, she heard her father shift, confused—not understanding what she was saying.

Malec's jaw ticked.

"You expect me to simply let them go?" he murmured, voice thick with suspicion.

"Yes," she said without hesitation.

His eyes flashed, but he didn't refuse.

Instead, he tilted his head, watching her with an expression that made her stomach tighten.

"You know," he said slowly, "I already discovered your people's plan to destroy the cave."

Melodie's chest squeezed.

So he knew.

She clenched her fists.

"Yes," she admitted. "Once everyone is safe on the other side… the portal will be destroyed."

Malec went very still.

A heavy, suffocating silence filled the cavern.

Then—

To her utter shock—

He laughed.

A quiet, humorless chuckle, low and dark, curling like smoke through the air.

He ran his tongue across his teeth, shaking his head.

Then his eyes locked back onto hers, burning.

"Ah… you really thought you won, didn't you?" he murmured, almost amused.

Melodie's heart skipped.

Then—

Lilly gasped, choking.

Melodie's stomach dropped.

Malec's hand was still wrapped around Lilly's tiny throat, his fingers pressing just hard enough to make her struggle—just hard enough to remind Melodie that her choices had consequences.

Melodie couldn't breathe.

Lilly kicked weakly, her small fingers scratching at Malec's wrist.

Malec never broke eye contact with Melodie.

And then, in his velvet-smooth voice, he asked:

"Is that all… my little dove?"

Melodie's stomach churned.

She could feel the weight of his game, the noose tightening, the trap clicking into place.

He was going to make her beg.

Her throat felt dry, her hands shaking at her sides.

She swallowed her fear, lifted her chin, and spoke carefully:

"Yes."

Malec's expression flickered—something dangerous, something almost… satisfied.

For a moment, he said nothing.

Then—

His grip loosened.

Lilly fell to the floor, gasping, sobbing for air.

Behind her, Sgt. Jaxxon let out a snarl of rage, his weapon lifting—but before he could act, Melodie threw up a shaking hand to stop him.

The barrier between them was unbreakable.

This was the only way.

Sgt. Jaxxon turned to her, his face twisted in fury and confusion.

"What the hell did you just say to him?" he demanded.

Melodie turned slowly, swallowing her fear, and faced her father.

"I made a bargain," she said.

Silence.

Sgt. Jaxxon's jaw locked.

"What bargain?"

Melodie took a breath.

"I'll go with him," she said. "But only if he lets everyone go."

Jaxxon's grip on his gun tightened.

"No," he said immediately.

"Dad—"

"No," he snapped. "I'm not letting you go with that thing—"

"Listen to me," she pleaded, stepping closer. "You HAVE to destroy the cave."

Jaxxon's face twisted in agony, like she had just stabbed him in the heart.

"Not while you're on the other side," he whispered.

Melodie swallowed hard.

She had expected this reaction.

So she told him what she had realized.

"Dad," she said, "Ive noticed something?"

His gaze flickered, confused.

She continued:

"Think about where we are. This portal… it's in Botswana, in Africa."

Jaxxon's brows furrowed.

"So?"

Melodie took another step.

"Have you seen ANYONE in this world with dark skin? Anyone who looks like us?"

Jaxxon froze.

He stared at her.

Slowly… his eyes widened.

He was getting it.

"This opening," Melodie whispered, "it's new."

His gun lowered slightly.

"If this portal is new…" he murmured.

"There must be another one," she finished.

Jaxxon's face turned pale.

"You understand now," she pressed.

Her father was silent, his mind racing.

But she wasn't finished.

"Dad," she said softly, "I can handle him."

Jaxxon's jaw clenched.

"I've been handling him since I got here," she added.

He exhaled sharply, eyes shining with emotion.

But he nodded.

"Alright," he murmured.

Then, more firmly—

"Alright."

But he had one more question.

"The antibodies," he said hoarsely. "How do we get them?"

Melodie turned, lifting her hands toward Malec and his men in a peaceful gesture.

"Give me the medic bag," she said.

A soldier tossed it to her.

The Awyan guards tensed, but Malec raised a hand, silently commanding them to stand down.

Melodie slowly unzipped the bag.

She would give them what they needed.