An excruciating scream broke through the dungeons. The gilded blade shone bright as its end carried crimson, boring through Caleb’s side—
Kane’s dark chuckle erupted throughout the room as he disappeared into the shadows, escaping the dungeon—
“Caleb!” My own scream followed as my legs carried me towards my fallen brother. “Caleb!” My hands shook when my eyes fell onto his bleeding crimson wound. “Oh, dear Gods!”
“Florence,” Caleb croaked, freeing himself of the gilded sword. “Florence is in danger.” He pressed on his wound: the poison would soon reach his heart. “Go!”
My heart stopped at once. Terror enveloped my body when my eyes landed on the door Kane had disappeared behind—the door that led to my unprotected friend.
“Florence.” My legs carried me out of the dungeons: my hand tightly wrapped around the torch. “Florence!” A scream broke through my throat when the dark fog blinded everything around me. “Florence!” I yelled in every direction, caring not who heard me.
My hand reached for the Royal steel dagger at my scabbard. “Florence!”
The fire eased at my torch, only minutes remained before it would die out—
The slow steps neared, yet my vision had betrayed me. The dark chuckle followed after.
“Get away from me!” I swung the torch in every direction, hoping the fire would illuminate the threat.
“Don’t be foolish, daughter,” Kane’s voice whispered from behind. I turned in an instant, yet nothing but fog appeared in front of me. “You cannot win this battle,” his voice traveled from the other side; the torch followed his voice, yet was met with nothing. “Embrace your loss, and pay for your betrayal!” Kane roared, as an excruciating pain erupted in my leg—
“Ah!” My cry echoed throughout the courtyard of the palace. The agonizing pain drowned my mind in torture, the piercing pain traveled up my bones. “Show yourself!” A roar broke through my throat. “Show yourself, you coward!” I bellowed as my knees weakened, the torch shaking in my hands—
The cold soil met my body when a new wave of stabbing agony washed over me, sending my mind into insanity.
“Show yourself!” I croaked, forcing myself upwards through the pain; the fire loosened its strength against the melting snow—
“You have lost, daughter,” Kane’s laughter traveled through the fog. “The fire in your hands is soon to die, and your injury is soon to kill you.”
The ground and the sky spun together. My vision blurred as I swung my dagger in every direction. “I will not leave Moon’s realm without you,” I seethed through the torment.
Every muscle ached from the motion, my thigh went numb within seconds—
“I never wanted for this to happen.” Kane’s voice neared. His shadow walked towards my weakened body. “This place took everything from me—”
I forced the torch in his direction: the flames fought strong to stay alive. “You will burn in hell!” A roar bursted through my throat when Kane’s face appeared from the fog.
My hands trembled as strength left me bit by bit. “You will burn,” my voice shook as I lunged forward.
The torch missed Kane’s flesh, the fire diminishing from the movement.
I have to get closer.
Kane’s laugh traveled through the dark courtyard as he stood yards away from me.
“Don’t worry, daughter,” Kane murmured, sighing. His eyes filled with a sadness I’d seen in Brian’s gaze when we’d said our last goodbyes. “The poison in your wound will soon stop your heart and all of this will be over—”
A battlecry jabbed through the courtyard. Caleb lunged towards Kane: the bleeding, gilded sword in his hand. “You will die alongside me!” He roared, swinging his sword with a determination I’d never seen him possess. “You will!”
Kane easily averted the attack, swaying backwards. “You are mistaken, son,” Kane laughed, unsheathing the dagger from his belt. “You are mistaken!” He threw the dagger at Caleb, missing his flesh by a mere inch.
Nausea worked its way through my body, the weakness winning over my strong will. My vision darkened at the sounds of clanging metal, my breathing slowed at the sounds of battlecries.
Strength—
Allow me the strength—
My trembling hands struggled with the material, ripping through the bottom of my cloak, the dark fabric wet from the melting snow.
