Crossing his arms, Rupert watched with interest as Fred stepped forward to Ethan, a smile on her face. The wanker had no idea what Fred could do - he hadn't been around the last few weeks as Rupert had taught her how to access the ability within her and channel it.
And of course because she actually listened and paid attention and learned, she would be far more powerful than Ethan could ever hope to be. Especially in her ability to combine spells, something Ethan could never hope to do.
He watched as Fred cut Ethan open, the man obviously trying to scream but unable to thanks to the spell he had cast. Fred certainly was creative, he thought. And thankfully, she saw the movement of Ethan's finger, stopping him before he could do anything further.
As she handed off to him, Rupert grinned and stepped forward. "What do you think, Ethan? I'd say she's rather good on her own." He placed a hand against the wall next to the other man and leaned forward. "Much more powerful now than you ever were - and you could have been great, Ethan, but you got lazy. Wanted everything easy. So you became sloppy and let me do most of the work. You outlived your usefulness to me a long time ago, but I let you stick around because at one point we had been friends."
Pressing his finger to one side of Ethan's chest, he whispered the burning spell, and as he moved his fingertip, the skin beneath charred black.
"Fred is everything I could want in a partner and lover, Ethan. Everything that you aren't - smart, talented, interesting." He ran his finger down the other side, leaving a trail of scorched skin in his wake. "And she's going to be my wife. Of course, it goes without saying, you aren't invited to the ceremony."
He stepped back. "Hmm...it might be rather fun if he can't see what you're going to do next," he told Fred before casting a spell to blind him.