ALL US VILLAINS

Chapter Seventeen

Liam and Diana are being followed by the ghost of the sorcerer child. He silently stares at them from the trees with eyes of piercing blue. No words leave his partially opened lips and Liam never catches sight of him walking. All that the dead boy does is watch as they move through the trees.

They had been wandering for hours, finding no signs of civilization. With every step that they take, Diana grows more weak. Liam can feel her weight slowly settling more and more upon his shoulders. Every breath that she takes sounds as though it takes great effort.

Through the tree line, the sun begins to slip beneath the horizon. Darkness threatens Liam's vision, obscuring more of the trees in the distance. The sounds of the forest begin to shift as the animals begin to settle for the night.

A concoction of dread and guilt builds inside of Liam. Not only had Diana taken a bullet for him, but she may now die because of it. They need to find a healer. Or, at the very least shelter from whatever predators lurk in the forest at night.

He does not know much about survival. It has been a useless skill for him up until this very moment. Princes have no need to survive in the woods with nothing but a sword and a dagger. All they ever do is hide behind the castle walls while others fight on their behalf.

Liam had wanted to be different. He wanted to lead by example and not cower. In doing so, he has only jeopardized his and Diana's lives. Ichiga's two most important individuals are going to die in the middle of these woods because of his ambition.

Diana stumbles, completely collapsing onto the ground. Liam's knees hit the hard earth, still clutching tightly onto her body. Her groan of pain comes out as a wheeze. "Liam," she mumbles.

Shaking his head, the prince drops her arm so that he can grab her face. He holds her head between his hands, forcing her to make eye contact with him. Diana's eyes are heavy with fatigue, drooping so that she can barely keep her focus on him. "No, Diana, listen to me. You need to get up. We have to keep moving."

The woman squeezes her eyes closed. "I can't." Her braids move with the breeze. "I'm so tired and I'm not healing like I should."

Darting his eyes between Diana's face and her wound, Liam takes a deep breath. There's a good chance that the bullet she was shot with is still lodged into her back. He might have easily been able to pull out of her when the sun had been in the middle of the sky. Now that twilight is beginning to creep in, he will be unable to see anything.

The prince grits his teeth while racking his brain for solutions. They have to keep moving. It's the only chance they have at survival.

Diana leans her head back against the tree behind her. "Just leave me," she states. "It would do Ichiga no good if we're both dead."

Shock courses through the prince while he stares at her. Her face is several shades lighter than it should be and she cannot keep her eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time at this point. The smart idea would be to leave her behind and brave the forest on his own.

Liam has never been known to be smart.

"I am not leaving you," he insists.

The hair on the back of Liam's neck rises. When he looks up, he finds the dead sorcerer to be standing just a few inches to Diana's right. The boy sinks to his knees while staring at Diana. "She took away my pain," he states. His voice bounces off the trees around them, echoing back several times.

Slowly, he reaches out a hand toward Diana and places it upon the woman's shoulder. He closes his eyes and hums a soft tune that Liam recognizes from somewhere. Around them, the winds begin to pick up. They sing along with the boy's melody, involving the trees and the grass. Soon, the entire forest picks up on the boy's song.