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Ledger

Watching her leave with him sends me into a desperate sort of hysteria. I refuse to accept the reality that she is going back. The second she uttered the words, she wanted this life, me, I knew I’d be too selfish to let her go.

The guards descend on me, hurtling their powers and swords in my direction. My body moves without command, without regard for myself. Its only desire to get to her.

I slash and parry, dodge and drain my way through the men. The last time I felt so out of control was when I found my sister and unleashed myself upon the Kerolu.

My feet move one in front of the other in her direction. Her hand is in his, her eyes are on me, devastation lining her features.

The anguish in my chest is acute, my determination thick in the air. I don’t care how many men I have to kill, don’t even register the blood spraying through air, coating my skin. All I can think about is her.

Her blonde hair flashes through the greens and browns of the forest like a beacon.

My powers rage inside of me, boiling and lashing out the further she gets away. There are two guards on the ground struggling against my vines as they wrap around their throats, depriving them of oxygen.

I drain the abilities of another two guards, the veins in their necks protruding as they strain against me. Their power wells inside of me, overflowing and fortifying as it surges through my blood until they drop to the ground unseeing.

The men keep coming, glancing nervously at the others as they swing their swords in my direction. Power curls out of me in thick tendrils of smoke, invading, seizing, feasting upon their abilities.

She reaches his horse, and he throws her atop it. She is no longer looking at me. Her body is rigid as he mounts behind her.

I let out a guttural, agonized roar as my sword carves through flesh and bone. She doesn’t even pay me another glance as the horse gallops away.

I’m so lost to my rage, to disbelief that she would leave—just like that, I hardly register it when a sword plunges into my side. My magic snaps back into me with such force that I stagger back.

I look up to see Tamish, the Kings hand. He wears a sick smile of satisfaction as he twists the sword and then yanks it out sending me to my knees.

My breath shutters out and I struggle for air on my next inhale.

“A gift from King Sandor. You shouldn’t take what doesn’t belong to you.” He spits the words as I grab for my side. Blood soaks through my shirt warming my palms.

He gives me a mocking look before raising his hand. I know what’s coming yet do nothing to stop it.

My body convulses, my limbs lock up. The blood from my wound pools beneath me. I welcome the debilitating pain, the breath-taking agony.

Westray’s soldiers pour into the woods armed and lethal. The air vibrates with their raw power. Bellehaven’s men hesitate.

“Fall back.” Tamish’s voice cuts through the chaos. “RETREAT!” His hand drops, releasing me from his hold. Soldiers run, swords clash, the air becomes thick as abilities are unleashed.

I take in a gasping breath, searching the woods for her. No flicker of blonde hair, no shimmer of pale skin. My vision blurs.

Pain laces through me as I push to my stomach. Coming up on my elbows, I drag myself over the leaves and dirt. I can taste the damp earth, the tang of iron. I crawl after her as cold seeps into my bones.

“Ledger!” Archie is next to me, his eyes wide. He searches my body, his face palling as his gaze catches on my crimson-soaked shirt.

Mia is there now too. She’s cursing; her hands press into my side to stop the bleeding. The wound is throbbing, my head is spinning.

Both of them are shouting at me but I can’t make out their words. The world starts to dim, the familiar dull and gloom of my existence settles back over me. She was the color and she chose to leave.

I’m being transferred onto a stretcher, a bitter tasting tonic sliding over my tongue.

“Where is Layla, Ledger?” Darkness flickers at the edge of my vision.

She’s gone. She made her choice, and it wasn’t me. It was never going to be me.

“She left.”