Chapter 51
Look into My Eyes
(Previously:
A piercing shriek escaped from the King. “You think you can defeat me?” a high-pitched voice said from the monarch’s mouth. “I was ancient before you were born, Broken One. I am the Eater of Nations, the Dark Flame, I have destroyed thousands of your kind and I will destroy thousands more!”
The King’s teeth grew razor sharp and his smile stretched across his face. His giggles were otherworldly and his eyes were glowing orbs of red. He said a few words in a language Dearekk didn’t recognize and Suneater seemed to absorb all of Ventar’s light. Then, with an inhuman strength, he brought his sword down atop Ventar.
And the blade shattered in Dearekk’s hands.
The scream of pain that escaped the Rebel Prince’s lips was both that of his own and of Revolaton. The tattoos that wove up his arms to his shoulders seemed to burn into his skin, scorching his very bones. His scream continued as he fell to his knees and clutched his head. It was as if someone was twisting a knife inside his brain and his vision flickered with pain. The former fuzziness and exhaustion was gone, and in its place was an anguish that was sharper than a razor.
His screams did not stop. But somewhere in his mind he was aware of the now possessed King raising Suneater above his head, ready to bring it down upon a kneeling Dearekk.)
Suddenly, the King’s sword jerked to the side and a flying knife clattered onto the ground. Near the courtyard’s entrance, Sonya stood, a furious fire blazing in her elf-green eyes. Blood was smeared across her face and a strip of red cloth was tied around her right arm where an arrow had wedged its way through her armor. However, that did not seem to be slowing her down as she approached the King.
“You have taken away everything that I have ever loved,” she growled, a bubble of pure hatred exploding in her chest. “My brother. My parents. My friends. You will not take him away as well!”
An insane laugh escaped the King. “You truly think you can defeat me?” he screamed. “Your friend had the help of a Broken, and I have already cut him down!”
“Your time hunting elves have made us strong,” Sonya replied. “We have been trapped in a dance with death for over fifty years!” Raising her knife, she gazed at the man who had all but destroyed her life. “So let us dance, milord.”
The King dashed at her, roaring words in a language she didn’t know. The elf barely managed to duck as he swung a black sword over her head and roll out of the way as he brought his sword down on her.
Dearekk’s method had been one of a warrior. He had attacked, blocked and fought with all his strength. But in the end it hadn’t been enough, as shown by the crumpled prince lying in the dirt. But Sonya wasn’t a warrior. She was a thief and by the One, she fought like a thief.
She hopped and dodged and darted to avoid the King’s brute strength, trying to get close enough to nick him, but never quite being able to. Their fight dragged on for what seemed like hours as sweat began to pour down Sonya’s skin.
A noise drew away her attention for a moment as she saw Dearekk move out of the corner of her eye. The small distraction nearly killed her as the King’s sword sliced down and nicked her leg.
“Sonya!” a gasp came from the Rebel Prince.
The elf never lost focus, but she watched as the King’s eyes flicked towards his son for a split second. In that moment, Sonya drew back her arm and threw her only weapon, the Blade of Otem, towards the King’s head.
The monarch managed to lean out of the way, but the knife still sliced through his wards and split open his cheek.
Chuckling, the King mocked, “It would seem that you have lost your last weapon, elf. What will you do now?”
A strained smile graced her lips as she replied, “Wait.”
“What?” A look of confusion passed the insane man’s face before he gasped in pain and held his hand to his cheek. Only a moment later, he let out a scream and fell to his knees, clawing at the wound on his cheek.
Sonya slowly walked towards the knife lying on the ground and picked it up, spinning it in her fingers, being careful not to cut herself. “Manticore poison,” was the only explanation she offered. “It really does pay to have allies.”
The wild look that appeared in the King’s eyes almost scared her as she strode towards him. Planting her fingers in his greying hair, Sonya pulled his head back and placed her knife to his throat. “I should let you die a slow and painful death for all that you have done to my race,” she hissed, hatred seeping through her voice. “But I am not you. I do not take pleasure in others’ suffering.”
With those words, she tugged the knife and slit the King’s throat. Gasping, he fell to the ground, never to get up again.
For a moment, Sonya simply stood there, covered in blood, both hers and others’, and admired her handiwork. Her hands were drenched in red blood and for a moment, she wondered if she had made the right decision. Had she killed him out of her own hatred? Or had she killed him to protect the thousands of elves, dwarves and fay who were put at risk by his living? Shaking her head, a bitter chuckle escaped her. She guessed it was a bit of both.
Turning, she ran towards Dearekk who was still lying on the ground, his eyes closed. She couldn’t tell if he was breathing as she took his body into her arms.
“No, no, no, no!” she murmured. “You can’t leave me. Not after all of this. Not after everything. Please, don’t go. I love you, Dearekk! I love you.”
His reply was barely a whisper, “I know, Sonya. I know, I know.”
Then, his head dropped back and his body went limp.
“No,” she whispered in horror. “Wake up, Dearekk. Wake up! Don’t you dare leave me, you stupid boy! Don’t you dare die on me!” Panic began to set into her chest and her whole body began to shake uncontrollably. He couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t. After everything they’d been through, to die on the finish line was just…unacceptable.
“No. Dearekk, wake up.”
The last time she screamed at him, she did not only hear her voice. Instead, she heard the voice of a man behind her.
Whirling around, her eye landed on a brown-haired man with rams horns and eyes the color of glass. As she let out a gasp, she recognized him as the man who had helped her the night her parents died; the man who had chased away her nightmares and comforted her. The wanderer.
“Wake up, Blade-Bearer,” he commanded Derekk. “You still have work to do. You are the Reaper of the Cursed! You are the Child of the Sun, the Seeker of the Ruined and you will not die this day!”
With those words, the man touched the Rebel Prince’s cheek where there was a scar from when the Broken had possessed him back in the caves in the mountains. The scar that ran from his cheekbone to his hear began to glow with a blue light, and in that moment it looked more like a crack in his skin than a scar. His eyes opened, showing only a blue light and when he screamed, blue light poured from his mouth as well. The tattoos that were now scars lit up on his skin and his whole body tensed before going limp.
For a moment, all was silent and then a low groan came from Dearekk. A relieved laugh came from Sonya’s tear-stained face.
Then he opened his eyes.
Stumbling backwards, a small scream escaped the elf along with a hysterical sob. While one of Dearekk’s eyes was the soft grey she knew so well, the other was the bright, glowing blue of the broken.
“Sonya?” the question escaped Deraekk’s mouth. Then a look of realization crossed his face. “Sonya, no! It’s me. It’s me, Dearekk! I promise, Sonya. I promise! I made an agreement with Revolaton. He’s part of me now, but I’m in control. It’s me, Sonya.”
Not responding, the terrified elf just scrambled away as he stood and took a step towards her. Stopping, he paused and watched her for a moment.
“Do you remember when I freed you from the jail cell in the castle?” he asked, his voice soft and soothing.
It felt like a lifetime ago but she still remembered.
“Do you remember how you decided to trust me? ‘Look into my eyes,’ you said.” He knelt down, and held out his hand. “Sonya,” he murmured. “Look into my eyes.”
Squinting, the elf leaned forward and stared deep into her friend’s eyes. It was Deraekk’s face and it was Dearekk’s eyes, but she knew he wanted her to look past that. They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul and in that moment, as she knelt before the man she loved, touching his face with bloody hands and weak bones, she saw his soul.
As she threw herself into his arms, he caught her. Rocking her back and forth, he murmured her name over and over again, telling her that he loved her and that he was never going to leave her. He promised that it was over and that everything was all right. He whispered that they were safe and he was never going to let anything hurt her.
And as he whispered of the future that they could now dare dream about, they kissed. And the sun began to light up the pink sky in the east.
(A/N Alrighty. So, there will be one more official chapter after this, and epilogue and then maybe a final author’s note. Shorter chapter, sorry about that. Remember to vote and comment! Anywho, I think that’s about it.
~*~*~Ninja Out~*~*~)