Akuji continued to grapple with his form, breathing in against his lips first and getting nowhere. Each inhale she took, felt like she was replacing the air in his lungs with carbon. The more he received, the more his chest expanded and his veins felt as though he was filled with fizz.
“St–op!” Shaun rasped.
“You’re fighting me! Let go!” she hissed.
“I…c-can’t,” Shaun coughed in her face.
“Can’t or won’t?” she sneered as they dropped from where they both hovered.
“Can’t,” he forced out. “Won’t help when… dead…”
Akuji frowned at that, then realized just how far they had fallen. She retracted her dark magic from his wings but held the remainder of his body, then ordered him to fly. Shaun stared up at her but refused.
He wanted to ask how he knew she wouldn’t turn around and devou
