Chapter 1.40: Green with Envy

Just like she had learned as a child, you lost consciousness when falling from a large drop. What woke her up was the rush of cold, sour water filling her lungs. Leila’s head bobbed upward, breaking free, and this allowed her to spit up the liquid. Still, she wasn't in the clear as she watched someone from above launch at her. They had the earth shift to catapult them directly at her. Her eyes narrowed, and she started to swim away. Whoever these people were, they had been trained to kill. In the water, she had a disadvantage, but she was determined to try her best.

"You're mine now!" A large splash went up and into her face, blinding her momentarily. This blind spot was enough to keep her from noticing the foot heading right at her chest. "Gotcha!"

The impact was immediate. The heiress wheezed as she coughed up some more water and fell backward. She nearly went under again but managed to regain her balance with a wince. This ended up being a mistake as she felt something move. Before she could react, vines pulled her down in a rush. Water clogged her lungs and blinded her as the bastard attempted to drown her. Each time it brought her up, Leila could only gasp and vomit right as she was being pulled back below. When she was able to focus, she could hear Ezekiel screaming. He was fighting someone while watching her slowly die.

"Traitors like you should drown!" The contract killer's words proved her theory right. The royals had finally sent someone to kill her. The glee in the stranger's voice made her body pump with rage.

Leila coughed up what felt like a gallon of water, her lips raw from the constant movement. Her chest burned horribly, and she was having trouble seeing. But she was too determined to die such a pitiful death. From above, she could hear Ezekiel dodging an attack and crying out for her. His voice was full of panic as the vines pulled her down once more. A shrill, weak scream left her mouth as it did so. Water filled her once more and this time she began to choke more aggressively. Her eyes felt like they were going to pop as they flashed from green to purple. Everything in her was screaming in pain.

When she came back up, she had lost her hearing. Her head was throbbing, and it was hard to think clearly without coughing on water. Once more, they pulled her down and came up with a pitiful whimper. The bastard's vines were too hard to break. She tried with all her might to kick free, but she couldn't. All she could do was look forward and struggle to breathe. Her eyes blurred a bright purple as she felt them become sore. Leila was sure that they had to be bleeding. The heiress felt a surge of power come forth. It burst through her body and nearly knocked her unconscious. Her brain was too weak to focus on a powerful command. The only one she could think of barely managed to leave her lips.

"Stop." The purple-eyed girl's voice sounded hoarse and tiny but was loud enough to be understood. The contract killer's own eyes widened as he stopped. It was like she had paralyzed him just by speaking.

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The man's eyes moved around wildly as she flexed her wrist. They were an angry red from how tight the vines were. The dark-haired woman was more than thankful that they weren't broken. With a grunt, she tried to break free and pulled at the plant aggressively. But like earlier, nothing happened besides digging her raw skin further into her prison. It was like the vines had become superhuman when they wrapped around her limbs. Leila tried her legs but found that the greenery was even tougher. Above, she could still hear Ezekiel fighting for his life, and she cursed. The woman was too weak to say too many commands to the killer. She didn't want to waste any more time failing to break free on her own.

With a wince, she stared directly at the man who nearly killed her and spoke. "Let me go and then kill your partners." She could see him fighting against the words as they slithered in his brain. But even near death, Leila was too much for him.

The man twitched, his eyebrow scrunching as he opened his mouth to try to protest. But like Ezekiel, a purple sheen overtook his eyes and engulfed his pupils. Robotically, he let her go with the binds, slowly untying and disintegrating into nothing in the water below. This cause her to drop with them and plunge under again but thankfully, this time she came to the surface with no problem. She hadn't commanded the contract killer to take her to land as she felt there wasn’t enough time. Weakly, she bobbed up and down as the man gathered himself. He jumped upward, splashing water everywhere as the veins took him into the air. And like a viper, he threw himself straight at his allies, currently overpowering Ezekiel, and struck them immediately.

Not wanting to waste any precious time, Leila began to swim to land as fast as possible. Her thighs burned, her legs wore sore and her wrists were quickly swelling, but she had to hurry. At any moment, she could be attacked, especially if the killers after Ezekiel took out their former ally. She grunted and pushed her body to keep it together as she watched her near murderer use a thick vine to raise a similarly dressed woman into the air. The woman shot out what looked to be chunks of earth at him, but it was no use as she went flying into the bridge’s side. Blood spurted out of where the head had once been and the land she was controlling plummeted around them like hail. It was gruesome, as she barely had time to brace herself, letting out a panicked cry of confusion as she hit the impact.

Her hands planted on the cool dirt and formed a puddle as she crawled the rest of the way out. The dark-haired woman was grateful to be alive, but angry about the entire situation. Her head throbbed with a new migraine and she struggled not to puke. Quickly, she felt around her body and was cured. Her weapon had fallen into the lake beside a tiny pocket knife. Leila frowned before taking in a sharp breath and running towards the bridge. Her wet feet slapped against the muddy ground as her chest squeezed and burned the louder the fight from above became. Even if it was tiny, a pocket knife was enough to slit a throat in a time of need. Ezekiel’s golden hair glistened under the sun as he stabbed the non-mind-controlled killer in the stomach. The man she had control over froze in place, unable to stop the murder.

Her heart stopped as she watched Ezekiel slice the throat of the man. The blood was like tar as it slid off the blade and he looked down at her. There was a mix of purple and gold in his eyes as if he came to some sudden clarity. "Cleo?"