The blast of light faded into a haze of smoke and ash. When the echoes died, Kai stood in the center of the wreckage, his grin wide and almost innocent. Around him, Marcel's vampires were nothing but bodies on the floor—burned, broken, and still. The scent of death hung heavy in the air.
Kai brushed a bit of soot from his sleeve. "Well," he said cheerfully, "that was fun." He turned toward Lexi, smirk tugging at his mouth. "You're welcome."
Lexi didn't answer. Her focus was on Marcel.
He stood across the ruined room, chest heaving, blood dripping down his arm. Even wounded, he radiated that same dangerous confidence. Lexi's lips curled into a thin, cold smile. "Round two?"
Marcel wiped the blood from his mouth. "You think you can end this, Lexi? You don't get it. You can't kill me."
She tilted her head, the faintest flicker of amusement in her eyes. "You can try explaining that while I break every bone in your body."
She moved first.
The impact cracked the floor. Marcel caught her by the throat, slamming her into a pillar hard enough to split the stone. Lexi grabbed his wrist, twisting until bone snapped. He snarled, swung, and sent her flying into the bar. Glass shattered, bourbon sprayed, and Lexi rose through the dust, already smiling.
She lunged, tackling him through a table. The crash echoed through the Abattoir. They rolled, claws and fangs flashing, their strength shaking the walls. Wood splintered, steel bent, the floor broke beneath their feet.
Kai leaned against a wall, eyes gleaming. "You two should really sell tickets. This is top-tier carnage."
Lexi's next punch sent Marcel reeling. He caught himself, twisted her arm, and slammed her down. She kneed him in the ribs, flipped, landed on her feet. They circled, breathing hard.
"You don't have to do this," Marcel said, voice steady but strained. "You don't understand what's at stake."
Lexi laughed once, sharp. "I understand betrayal just fine."
He moved again, a blur. Lexi ducked, countered with a kick that shattered a chair. Marcel caught her leg, threw her across the room. She crashed into a wall, cracked it, and came back grinning. "You hit like a guilt trip."
Marcel charged. They collided midair, crashing to the floor, both rolling through the dust. He pinned her, but she slipped free, sending him sprawling.
"Why, Marcel?" she hissed, fangs bared. "Why dagger them?"
He froze for a heartbeat. "Because they would've burned everything. Alex, Erik—they wanted to bring them back. The Originals. Viktor. I wasn't going to lose my city."
Her voice dropped to a whisper. "You already did."
Lexi drove him backward into the wall, her hand sinking into his chest. Blood welled between her fingers. Marcel grimaced, pushing her back, throwing her clear. They both stood again, panting, healing faster than the damage could settle.
Kai clapped slowly. "Touching. I'd cry if I wasn't having such a good time."
Lexi ignored him. "You can't stop what's coming. They're here already. You've lost."
Marcel smirked through the blood. "Then I'll rebuild it again."
She blurred forward, punching him square in the chest, sending him crashing into a pillar. The stone cracked like thunder. He staggered up again, defiant. "Still here."
Lexi exhaled. "Always were too stubborn."
They clashed again. The sound was a storm—blows landing faster than sight, the ground shaking with each hit. The Abattoir was falling apart around them, cracks snaking through the walls. Neither gave an inch. Neither could.
At last, Lexi grabbed him by the throat and slammed him to the ground, pinning him. He gripped her arm, forcing her back. They locked eyes—old warriors caught between fury and something almost like pity.
"This won't end with you," Marcel said through clenched teeth.
"It won't end with you either," she shot back.
He gave a short, bitter laugh. "You sound just like him."
Lexi's grip tightened. "Good."
Kai appeared beside them in a blink, crouching next to Marcel with a wolfish grin. "Well," he said lightly, "points for effort."
Marcel glared. "You think you scare me?"
Kai's smile widened. "No. But I can hurt you." He snapped his fingers.
A surge of magic burned through Marcel's veins. He screamed as red sigils flared across the floor, carving themselves into the stone. Lexi's expression darkened. "Kai," she warned.
He turned to her, still smiling. "Relax. I'm not killing him—just giving him something to remember us by."
The light dimmed. Marcel slumped, smoke rising from his skin. Still alive. Barely.
Kai brushed his hands together. "So, what's next? We finish him? Burn the place?"
Lexi shook her head. "No. He's already lost. Let him live with it."
Kai sighed dramatically. "You're no fun."
Lexi crouched beside Marcel, her voice soft but cold. "You can't outrun this. When Viktor comes, you'll understand what real power looks like."
Marcel looked up at her through blood and ash, his faint smile edged with defiance. "You talk like he's a god."
Lexi's eyes softened, almost pitying. "To you, he might as well be."
She turned, heading for the door. "Let's go, Kai."
Kai followed, hands in his pockets, humming a tune as they stepped into the morning light.
Before the sunlight touched her face, Lexi stopped and looked back once more. "Marcel," she said quietly. "Where are Alex and Erik?"
Marcel, slumped against the broken wall, spat blood and smiled faintly. "You'll find out soon enough."
Lexi's expression hardened, but she said nothing more. She walked out into the waking city beside Kai, leaving the Abattoir in ruins behind her.
Outside, the air was still, heavy with promise and blood. Somewhere far off, thunder rolled over the Mississippi, distant but inevitable.
And in the wreckage, Marcel sat in the flickering dark, clutching his ribs, eyes burning with the last thing he had left.
Resolve.