CHAPTER 221: The Huntress

CHAPTER 221: The Huntress

Selene clenched her teeth and looked up.

Without thinking further, she stretched out her arms and ripped off one of the metal bars from the train car with a sharp tug, the same ones passengers used to hold onto. The metal screeched as it came loose.

Enid kept advancing toward Fenix, calm, confident.

Selene took two steps and swung the blow with all her strength.

The bar struck Enid squarely in the head.

The metal bent… and split in two.

The sound was dry, blunt.

Enid did not fall. She did not even step back.

She only slowly turned her head over her shoulder, with an unnatural movement. A strand of her hair fell across her face. Her eyes fixed on Selene.

Silence.

—…That was a terrible idea —Enid said, in a low, tense voice.

Selene breathed heavily, still holding the remainder of the bar in her hand.

—Let him go —she said—. He's not yours.

Enid's lips curved into a dangerous smile.

—Not yours? —she repeated—. You know nothing. You weren't there when I found him. You weren't there when I rebuilt him. You weren't there when they broke him and I put him back together.

She turned fully toward Selene, completely ignoring the others.

—You only appeared now —she continued—. Like an intruder.

Selene took a step back, without lowering her gaze.

—You can't force him to stay with you.

Enid's smile fell apart.

—I can do whatever I want —she replied, coldly—. He always comes back. Because he needs me. Because without me he is nothing.

She glanced sideways at Fenix, still on the ground.

—And you… —she added, fixing her eyes on Selene again—. You shouldn't touch what is mine.

Her fingers closed slowly, tense, as if she were holding herself back.

The air in the car grew heavy.

Enid was no longer playing.

Enid moved at the last instant.

Fenix's attack, clumsy but desperate, grazed her shoulder. She spun on herself with almost elegant precision, caught Fenix's arm and, in a single movement, took him to the ground. The impact resonated through the empty train car, making the already damaged seats tremble.

Fenix ended up face up, the air escaping his lungs in a dry gasp.

—Always so impulsive —Enid murmured, leaning over him.

Her nails lengthened with a barely audible click. One of them traced a small cut on Fenix's neck. Blood gushed immediately, hot, bright. Enid slid her fingers carefully until she pressed the jugular vein.

—Don't move —she said, raising her voice just enough for everyone to hear—. This vein is so delicate… one wrong move and, oops, it tears.

Selene stopped dead, clenching her teeth.

—Let him go, Enid —she said, holding back her rage—. This is no longer control, it's obsession.

Enid smiled, a wide, crooked smile, charged with something deeply disturbing.

—Obsession? —she repeated—. No, Selene. This is love. The only one that matters. He is mine.

She pressed her fingers a little more, just enough for Fenix to let out a choked groan.

—No… —he tried to say, but his voice barely came out as a broken whisper—. Enid… stop…

She lowered her face, bringing it close to his.

—Shhh… don't speak —she said with false sweetness—. It hurts me to see you like this, but it's necessary. You always try to run, always try to get away from me. And even so, fate insists on bringing us together.

Selene took a step forward.

—You have no right to decide for him.

Enid's eyes fixed on her, cold, sharp.

—Of course I do —she replied—. Because no one loves him like I do. No one understands him like I do. If he can't be with me… then he won't be with anyone.

Fenix tried to move, but his body did not respond. The lack of strength and the pressure on his neck kept him immobile, trapped between pain and asphyxiation.

—Enid… —he managed to murmur—. You're… wrong…

She let out a brief laugh, low, almost affectionate.

—That's what I like most about you —she said—. That even now you still believe you can save me.

She raised her gaze toward the others.

—So listen well —she continued—. Don't come closer. Don't breathe loudly. Because one single mistake… and Fenix escapes me forever.

Her fingers trembled slightly, not from fear, but from an intense, sickly emotion.

—And that —she added in a low voice— I will not allow.

Fenix breathed with difficulty. Every word cost him as if he had glass in his throat, but even so he forced his voice.

—Enid… —he said raggedly—. Something… something changed you.

She did not remove her fingers from his neck, but tilted her head slightly, listening to him.

—I didn't know you like this —Fenix continued, in a thread of a voice—. Before… before you were different. You weren't this. Maybe you weren't perfect, but you were… good. Or at least… better than you are now.

Enid pursed her lips, amused, without losing the pressure.

—You were always very sentimental —she murmured.

—I've had years to think about it —Fenix went on—. Years to observe you… to put the pieces together. And I understood. It wasn't just the power. It wasn't just the pain. You… you have two faces.

His eyes fixed on hers.

—Two personalities. The Enid I knew… the one who doubted, the one who wanted peace, the one who dreamed of something normal… and this one. The one who controls. The one who dominates. The one who feels no guilt.

For an instant, the car fell silent.

Then Enid began to laugh.

It was not a soft or nervous laugh. It was open, sincere, almost liberating. Her laughter resonated among the remains of the train, echoing something broken inside her.

—Did it really take you that long to realize? —she said, wiping away a nonexistent tear—. I thought you were smarter.

She leaned a little more over him, her shadow covering his face.