Chapter 33. One More Fight

JULIAN

As if on cue, the flap of the tent lifted, and a messenger stepped in, his nose wrinkled in disgust as he surveyed the room. I didn’t blame him. The stench in this oven of a tent was unbearable to outsiders. We had lived in it long enough to grow accustomed to it, to ignore the mix of blood, sweat, and the constant fear of death.

The messenger’s eyes finally met mine. “Julian,” he said, his voice muffled by the hand covering his nose and mouth. “Your master seeks you this instant.”

Without hesitation, I rose to my feet. This was it. I took one last glance around the tent before following the messenger.

As I stepped out, the fresh, cooler air hit me with full force, filling my lungs with life and energy. Though it was summer and the air was still heavy with heat, anything was better than the oven-like tent, thick with sweat and the suffocating lack of oxygen.

In the past weeks, I had noticed something peculiar. The demon that resided inside me see