"So for love then," my words are cold. Heartless. They must be. Because if I allow myself to feel, to fully feel, then this betrayal will break me. "I understand," I say. "I do not agree. But I understand."
"I'm sorry," he says.
"I know."
Then he looks past my shoulder. "No!" he yells.
I'm not sure why. Perhaps he changed his mind. Perhaps, though he wished to win, he did not wish to cause me harm. Either way, it doesn't matter. His warning comes too late.
I turn.
And something hits me on the head.
Pain.
Dullness.
Fading.
I collapse.
My consciousness begins to fade.
It's over. I've lost.
Levi stands over me, grinning. He leans down, brushing his lips against my neck. "I believe we were interrupted last time, my princess. But now, I can finish draining your succulent blood."
He bites into me.
And as I fade into darkness, the last thing I see is Ace.
Weeping.
***
My feet drag though dust.
Someone is pulling me.
I open my eyes, and my head feels like it's about to explode. Everything is too bright. Too loud.
Men and women shout in the distance. The battle. It feels far off.
The person dragging me let's go, and I fall face first into mud. I push myself up, trying to make out my surroundings. I'm under a canopy, an orange tent. Torches hang on wooden posts, giving off bright light. People sit before me in ornate chairs. Three of them. My vision steadies, and I make them out. Niam. Asher. And Lucian.
Ace walks over to stand by their side. He still wears the fire-kissed armor, but his face is uncovered. It's red, dirty, his hair a brown mess, but he no longer cries.
Levi stands by me. He must have been the one to drag me. I remember what he did, and my hand shoots to my neck. I feel bite marks there, and an ache deep and pulsing.
The Prince of Envy walks forward, addressing the other leaders. "We have her, father."
Lucian doesn't look at his son. Instead he studies the bread in his hand. "Then we have won," he says. "We must let the enemy know we have captured the Midnight Star."
"Allow me," says Levi. "I shall put her head on a spike and parade it through the battlefield."
Lucian puts down the bread, wiping his mouth with fancy handkerchief. "Oh no. Ace will have that honor."
Ace recoils. "I… I…"
Niam and Asher look at him oddly for some reason, like he's not supposed to be here.
Asher. I can't bear to think about him. I look away, forcing my gaze onto Lucian. Thinking of a way to end this.
My swords are gone. Taken.
Or left behind… No. They lie in the corner of the tent. By Ace's feet. He must have carried them.
If I could get to them. If could get to Lux, my moonlight blade, then I have a chance to end this. I can still kill Lucian.
Ace fumbles with his words. "Father, I think it… it—"
"I should have the honor," says Levi, clenching his fists. "I captured her."
Lucian pauses. For the first time, he looks at his son. His face cold. "You? You? Please Levi, we all know Ace did all the hard work. Come now, stop wasting time and bring her here."
I expect Levi to explode with fury.
But he drops his head. And instead of seeing the Prince of Envy, I see a little boy. A little boy just trying to please his father.
I remember the story Levi told me. The story of how he used to forge blades, until his father thought him a liar. The story of how Levi, one day, stopped trying to be good.
Broken, beaten, Levi turns to me. He bends down, as if to grab and drag me, but then his hand reaches for his blade.
In a flash, he spins around, throwing his sword at his father.
Lucian grabs it in midair.
He laughs.
"Oh Levi. Finally, you stand up for yourself. And what a pathetic moment it is." He squeezes his hand, and Levi's sword breaks into pieces, falling to the ground.
No one else, not even Niam, seems to enjoy the display. They all look at Levi with a sorrow in their eyes. Even I. For a moment.
Then Lucian rushes forward faster than a blink, and he grabs Levi by the throat. He lifts him into the air, choking the air out of him. "You are worthless," he hisses.
Levi says nothing. But his eyes turn red. And for the first time ever, I see Levi cry.
Lucian tosses him aside like a broken tool, and Levi falls at the outskirts of the tent, clutching at his neck, grasping for breath.
His father retakes his seat, plops a grape into his mouth. "Now, let us return to—"
"You monster!" roars Levi. Trembling, he pushes himself back up. "All I ever wanted was to please you. All I ever wanted was for you to care."
"Then do something!" yells Lucian, spit flying from his mouth. "Do something of worth!"
Levi pauses, and for a moment, there is happiness in his eyes. "Oh, I will father."
Then he grabs a torch off the post.
And throws it at something outside the tent.
A catapult.
Barrels.
And for once, Lucian doesn't laugh at his son. For once, he wears a face of dread.
The torch hits the barrels.
And the hillside explodes.
***
A wave of force hits me, throwing me through the air. I don't know how far I fly, only that it is far. And when I finally land, it is with a deep thud. My chest aches. My leg feels sprained. The world spins around me. I try to calm myself, to make out what is happening.