Dust in the sky, covering the very sun. Ash on my tongue. Fire all around. Debris at my feet. It is chaos. Chaos everywhere.
I stand, despite the pain in my leg, and stumble forward. I need to find my swords. I need them to defeat Lucian. Through the dust, I can no longer tell friend from foe. All I see is people fleeing. And corpses. So many corpses.
Their bodies charred.
Like Daison.
Fear grips me. Consumes me. I have failed. Our army is broken, gone. Even if I defeat Lucian, who is there left to save?
I do not know.
I do not know who yet lives.
Dean?
I saw Levi disarm him. Did he finish the job?
What of Varis? Did he fall in battle?
I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
I can no longer walk. It's too hard. Too hard to keep going. I need to rest. Yes. Rest. I find a stone on the sand. A nice place to sit. To sit and close my eyes and rest.
Yes. This feels good.
I can just dream.
Dream of another time. A time that feels so long ago. When Fen first brought me to Stonehill. He showed me his favorite part of the castle. The great tree that grows through the center of the grand hall. "I know it's not what people expect when they hear Prince of War, but—" He grinned at me. Guilelessly. Beautifully. Like we shared a secret. He gave me a ring. And I remember thinking, no matter what happens, I will always be grateful for Fenris Vane.
A voice pulls me from my stupor.
"You can't run, Princess." Niam. He walks out from the dust, his white cape trailing behind him, a silver sword in his hand.
Not just any sword. My sword. Lux. He must have picked it up somewhere after the explosion.
"Ace couldn't kill you, that was clear," he says. "But I will not make the same mistake." He stands over me, places my own sword against my throat.
How fitting.
Light will be my end.
Because Darkness has won.
I close my eyes. Falling back into the dream. It feels so real. Me and Fen and Baron together. I even hear the howl.
"You really should stop getting kidnapped."
His voice.
So close.
It can't be…
I open my eyes.
And see him.
He stands before me.
He came back.
"Fen."
PART IV
—Fenris Vane—
I step in front of Arianna, protecting her with my body. I should have returned sooner. She is barely conscious now. So weak. But I cannot focus on my mistakes. I must focus on how to right them.
"You will not touch her," I say, raising my blade, Baron growling at my side.
Niam shakes his head. "Remember what I told you, brother. Next time we saw each other—"
"You'd force me into submission?" I laugh. "I doubt it."
That gets to him. He charges in a blind rage. A mistake. One should never let emotion dictate strategy.
I parry his strike and jump behind him. He turns to follow me, lashing out furiously. But he has already lost.
Baron jumps on his back, tearing into his shoulder.
Niam falls, screaming, limbs flailing.
He drops his sword, and I kick it away. No. It's Arianna's sword. How—
Something growls in the distance.
A deep raw sound. It chills to the bone.
The dust in the air begins to change. It grows darker. Black as night.
It's here.
The Darkness.
The creature.
I hear a whimper. Baron!
Niam grabs the wolf by the neck and twists. A crack.
Baron's neck snaps.
And he dematerializes, fading into white dust.
Niam stands, grinning, seemingly unaffected by his bloody shoulder. He looks into the dark clouds of dust, to the growl that grows louder, and he laughs like a madman. "You cannot win, Fenris. You cannot defeat the Darkness."
"It's not my duty to fight the Darkness," I say. "It's hers."
He frowns, then his eyes follow mine. To Arianna.
She stands, grabbing her sword from the ground. Her eyes meet mine. "You’re here," she says.
"I was always here." Even when I thought to leave, my heart, my mind, it stayed with her.
She nods. And turns to face the Darkness.
The creature emerges from the shadows, shaking the ground with its massive form. Its black fur slithers and coils like snakes. Its face twists and turns in grotesque images of half man and half beast. Sharp teeth protrude from its gaping maw, an endless pit of black.
The creature roars, and it's as if the whole world threatens to unravel in its wake.
Arianna doesn't flinch.
She steps forward, moving on air, gliding on shadows.
Somehow, she is flying.
The power of the Midnight Star. She and Yami are one.
I see it in her eyes. The colors of midnight. I see it on her skin. It shimmers like stars.
What the dragon can do, she can do, I realize. They were never separate. Not really.
Then Arianna, the Midnight Star, streaks across the sky, a moonlight blade in hand, and she fights the Darkness.
PART V
—Ace—
I wake to silence. Shadows all around me. My memories return in pieces.
Levi. The explosion.
I push myself to stand.
Somehow, I survived. Probably because of this bloody armor. I should have never created it. I should have never used it.
Why did I fight for Lucian?
For Patricia?
For love?
If she could see this, if she could know the chaos I caused, she would not dare look at me.
I betrayed her. I betrayed myself.