𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅

chapter sixty-one

Emriana

My eyes darted to Zeke and Zander in horror at his words. Their gaze found my own.

Drakkar stared at the marble floor for a moment before nodding. Tears dripped down my chin as the King pulled out his own blood-dripping sword and handed it to him. His ice-cold blue eyes then lifted to meet my own. I watched him with the most loathing glare I could muster.

Akira wasn't doing anything, and I couldn't even blame him for it. Drakkar had never been a threat, the King was supposed to be the enemy. He couldn't know that the tables had turned and I was about to die because of him.

Drakkar looked back, his eyes on the sword lodged in his hand. He moved it around, contemplating his next move. His eyes flickered back to mine, and I shook my head at him, pleading with my eyes not to do this. He rolled his eyes.

He raised the sword over his head, but my eyes never left his.

"No!" Zander yelled, but Drakkar didn't budge. The King stared at his son with so much pride. I was about to die, and my mind went completely blank. I couldn't make out the words of hatred I had for him.

Instead.

"I love you," I whispered as I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the impact. I thought about my life at that moment. About my mother, who I had never met. What it would've been like to have her as my mother, to have her hold me at night as she told me bedtime stories.

I thought about Clara and Angar, who had cared for me the best way they could. How much I would've liked to thank them for all they did for me. How they saved my life that day.

I thought about my grandmother, who I liked to believe was watching over me. She had taught me everything I knew, and I would've done anything to see her one more time. I should've listened to her when she said the forest was safer. She tried so hard to protect me from the cruelty of this world, but I didn't understand what she meant until it was too late.

I thought about Akira, wondering what would happen to him once I'm gone. I hope he would be able to return to the forest and have a happy life. Even have little cubs of his own. I hope I hadn't ruined that for him.

I thought about my father here. I hoped he would be okay without me. I wish he wouldn't cry too much over me, he shouldn't spend his life being sad over this. There was so much I still wanted to tell him, so much I wanted to do with him.

I thought about Zeke and his goofy self. I hope he wouldn't be afraid to show it to people, it made him so unique in his own way. I wish he wouldn't lose that side of him once I'm gone. I wish I would've told him to drink less whisky, it was dangerous for his health.

I wish I could've learned more about Zander. Understood every side of him, be an open ear for him to talk. I wanted to tell him that he shouldn't be too hard on himself, that he didn't have to act so strong all the time. He was perfect just the way he was.

Silence.

"And I, you, little one," I opened my eyes, only to lock gaze with Drakkar. Why wasn't I dead? I blinked a few times, it wasn't a dream. His face had completely changed, and the emotion brewing behind his gaze made me so confused.

I was about to speak when my eyes caught sight of the King and gasped in horror as I saw all the blood seeping out of his stomach violently as the sword Drakkar was holding was lodged deeply into his stomach tissue.

"You motherfucker," The King seethed, his eyes filled with loath and cruelty. He coughed a couple of times, and blood dripped from his mouth, and I backed away in horror.