A Most Dangerous Weapon

Chapter 74: The Betrayal

This was the betrayal from my nightmare.

This entire time I had assumed it had something to do with the crown and my revenge against Maximus. Turns out the betrayal stemmed from a broken heart.

Evander's broken heart.

I should have made things clear a long time ago with him, and I should have handled my plan of rejection a little better. Handing him his ring back days before the battle and telling him I would never be in love with him was a massive blow. I even told him that Arrian was the only man for me so long as we both live. Evander must have taken this as an invitation to eliminate his rival so he'd finally get a chance with me. But did he really think I wouldn't find out?! Was he that sure of himself, ready to console me before taking my hand in marriage as a consolation prize? Perhaps he held the crown in the nightmare to keep me from becoming the Empress, which in his mind would be the other obstacle standing in his way of our marriage. Was hurting me this much really worth it?! How could he live with himself, knowing that he manipulated me into an eternal bond with the man that killed my true love?!

Or was I just too quick to condemn him? Arrian seemed quite certain that Evander did this to him, but he didn't actually see the arrow leave Evander's bow. Arrian just deduced as much based on the arrow design and the fact that Evander was his competition for my heart. Maybe it really was just a second-hand arrow shot by a Galacian. They could have been using poison on their tips without our knowledge. Evander might be innocent in all this.

Maybe it was because my father refused to leave my side for the next few minutes, but I had a feeling that Arrian's instincts were more accurate than mine. My nightmare was about to play out and my father wanted to be there to watch, making me think that Evander truly did betray me.

Either way, it was time to confront him.

It didn't happen exactly as it did in the nightmare, just as my previous nightmare didn't really involve the circular rotation of my friends and loved ones in a tornado-like fashion where I'd throw six individual daggers at random to kill. That would be too literal, and I've learned to just take my nightmares at face-value; warnings of potential danger told through metaphors or scripted phrases.

We left the two bodies on the street. I would make sure to go back for them later, but right now I was in a hurry to confront Evander. My adrenaline had spiked so I didn't need Kilgorian's help to walk anymore. I just growled through the pain as I raced down the hill. Rowan and Kilgorian followed close behind in case I tripped up, but they didn't touch me for fear of experiencing some misguided wrath. The Commander just seemed pleased that we were going to reach the gate faster so we could follow through with his plan.

I push passed all the guarding Galacian soldiers at the gate to get to the battlefield. It was a complete mess of bodies, weapons, dead horses and blood. Surviving soldiers from both sides walk around slowly in search of their wounded. They seemed to understand that this was the end of the war, so they no longer feared walking by a former enemy as they worked together to save as many souls as they could. A few people recognized me as I passed, but something in my expression told them not to engage. I was clearly on a mission to find someone so they just let me pass without a word. They would hear enough from me later once Rowan and I made our speeches about their future.

Rowan and Kilgorian still followed me, but now they were extra careful to hide the crown's they each had beneath their armour. The Commander was afraid that we would try to run without taking responsibility, so he too followed to witness whatever revenge I was about to unleash. No one gave his bloody rucksack a second look amongst all this horror.

"RIN!" Someone was calling out amongst the chaos. "RIN, WAIT! RIN!"

I finally decided to stop in my tracks, turning around to see Kilgorian frantically searching the sea of soldiers for the source of the voice. He had a huge smile on his face and his eyes began to swell with tears. Only one person called him Rin.