The Hidden

Chapter 40 - [Despair]

Avaryn collapsed to the ground and coughed as he tried to get control of his breathing again, and when he did, he looked up and saw the shocked Roviaryn wince as the knife was pulled out of him.

     He turned around and looked at his sobbing wife as she dropped Avaryn's blood covered fighting knife to the ground.

     Her hands shook in horror.

     Roviaryn let out a weak laugh. "The most gentle Lumynos... who was known for fearing weapons her entire life... now finds the courage to pick one up and stab her own husband in the back... without a second thought."

     She looked up at her husband, tears filling her eyes.

     "How ironic."

     She gripped onto his tunic and sobbed, knowing that a stab through the heart of a Lumynos was the fastest way to kill them.

     It was done.

     Her husband was going to die the second he lost too much blood.

     In a desperate attempt to try and take back what she had done, she hugged him and tried to cover the wound in his back with her weak fingers, trying to stop the bleeding.

     There was no point.

     It was useless.

     His knees let loose and Roviaryn collapsed onto the ground, his wife falling with him as she tried to hold him up.

     When she was on the ground, she pulled his head onto her lap and sobbed as she held his face with her bloody fingers. "I'm sorry!" She cried, "I'm so sorry!"

     Roviaryn had nothing to say.

     The dying man was still staring at his wife in shock.

     "I had to..." she cried and hugged him, "I couldn't let you kill Avaryn... I couldn't!"

     The man coughed out blood and that made Maryryna cry even harder. "I love you," she cried, "I love you so much but I couldn't... I couldn't let you do that!"

     He kept his stare steady though life slowly left his eyes.

     "Avaryn is Kyryn's hope... I couldn't let you kill him, my love," she cried, "please forgive me... I beg you. Would you just sit there and let someone kill Seli? Kyryn wouldn't have... and he wasn't here to protect him so I had to... forgive me­–"

     "You're too gentle for your own good." The man smirked and surprised her by touching her soft and wet cheek.

     But then his hand fell as the fire in his red eyes faded and went dull.

     She cried and kissed his lifeless lips as Avaryn lifted himself up and walked over to her, "Aunty Mary–"

     Her head snapped up, "leave!" She ordered, "if you stay here they'll think you did it­. They'll blame you."

     Avaryn hesitated. "But–"

     "Leave!" She begged. "Please, my child, leave now."

     Avaryn felt miserable... leaving this woman here.

     He was quite sure that this was it for her too... if the stress of the truth was what was killing her before... it was the thought that she killed her husband that was going to finish her off.

     There was a chance that she too was going to die... and Avaryn didn't want to leave her alone.

     "Please, Avaryn..." She forced a smile, "I'll be fine," she said, as if reading his mind.