She glares at him when he comes back the next day, sore and tired and in pain. He grins at her, and her glare becomes more intense. She hates him.

"Let's try some questions you should definitely be able to answer today, hmm?" He pauses, waiting for her to speak, but she doesn't. He continues. "What are the weaknesses of your people, besides that interesting place that I've already blown to shreds?"

She doesn't answer, stubborn and unwilling to betray her people. His smile turns dark and cruel.
"If you don't answer, I guess we'll be having some fun."

He opens the drawer beside him and pulls out a large syringe with a clear liquid inside. Jīvitaya finally breaks her silence, driven by fear of what he could be about to do to her.

"What is that?"

"It's something you should be familiar with. Of course, it isn't as much fun as the real thing, but I'm saving that for another time."

"But what is it?"

He smirks. "Ethtiur venom."

She immediately starts to try and strain away from him, bemoaning her lack of powers. Not this again! She just finished healing from the first time! He laughs at her struggles and pins her arm down. He holds the needle to the vein on the inside of her elbow and stops before inserting it.

"Let me ask you one more time. What are the weaknesses of your people?"

She tilts her chin up stubbornly and he inserts the needle. As he pushes down on the plunger, she feels as if her blood is boiling. Despite how horrible it felt, it wasn't as bad as the grubs themselves. Her body trembles and she bites down on her lip, forcing herself not to scream. Finally, he finishes forcing the venom into her bloodstream and the burning agony starts to fade. She doesn't try to move, knowing that a movement would make it flare up again. There is a knock at the door and he snarls, angry that she showed no response to his torture as well as being angry at the interruption.

"Enter."

Another Selemat steps into the room, a young one. He bows to his king and then speaks, his voice shaky. "My King, there has been progress in the battle."

Taln stands up in one fluid movement and exits the room, his long coat whipping around him wildly. As the door closes behind him, Jīvitaya lets one single, hot tear escape her eye. He returns a few moments later, his face livid. He snarls at Jīvitaya.

"How did your people beat us."

Jīvitaya tips her chin up and smiles shakily, proud of her people. "Because we are the La'Vi, and we are stronger than you."

He sneers at her and stretches out a hand towards her neck. She immediately tucks her chin against her chest, protecting both her neck and the crystal embedded in her throat. He digs his fingers into her chin and jerks it away, using his other hand to grab a scalpel. He presses it against her crystal and angles it down, making a dent in her skin.

"I think it's time to rip this thing, whatever it is, out of you."

She strains her body against the restraints, trying to break free despite the burning venom coursing through her veins. The door behind Taln silently slides open and Kysanden appears in the doorway, flanked by Iyokú. Her eyes meet those of Kysanden's and he holds a finger to his lips, telling her not to give away his presence. Jīvitaya sags in relief and blinding hope. He made it, he really made it. She was so scared that he wouldn't figure it out, the device she gave him. She didn't have enough time to explain to Iyokú how it works. But Kysanden must have figured it out, he found her. Kysanden speaks at last, and Jīvitaya almost cries at the sound of his voice. His lovely, wondrous voice, even when it's drenched in simmering rage.

"Father. Step. Away. From Jīvitaya!"

Taln twists his head around to look at Kysanden and gives his son a cruel smile. "I think not. I'll rip this out of her throat first."

He moves the scalpel to rip into Jīvitaya's throat as Kysanden lunges toward them, only for the scalpel to be met by a hard wall of air protecting her throat. Iyokú snarls at him, her eyes boiling and bright with rage.

"Move away from my Lilaria!"

Taln snarls at her and he releases Jīvitaya's chin to grapple behind him for a small dish. He upends the contents of the dish onto Jīvitaya's stomach as he tosses the scalpel aside and moves away from her and smiles menacingly.

"Very well."

Jīvitaya feels a shooting pain in her stomach and looks down just in time to see an Ethtiur grub begin to burrow its way into her flash, followed by another, and another. Her fear-filled eyes shoot back up to look at Kysanden before she lets out an ear-splitting scream of agony. Just before she blacks out from the combination of agony and venom surplus, she sees the scalpel shoot back around and bury itself in Taln's neck as Iyokú glares at him with fury.

———————————————————————————————
Did Iyokú just kill Taln? Definitely don't cross her or hurt the people she cares about. She will kill you for it. Jīvitaya's been rescued at last! Do you think she's going to be okay? Not just physically, mentally too.

Happy reading!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out.