A KINGDOM OF DEAD HEARTS [COMPLETED]

CHAPTER 29: DEATH PENALTY

"Why ...?" Xander gasped for air as he tried to sit up by pushing his two arms to the floor, but he failed and fell face first to the floor again. He struggled to catch his breath. Pain ravaged every inch of his body and that was the only question that mattered to him now. Why.

He could hear a faint snicker. And a face, a face so familiar to him, so beloved, so known, appeared close to his face now. "Why ...?" he asked one more time.

"You, Xander ... you are the real king of Halgard. You who have been dipped in the elegarii on the day you were born. And you who have forfeited the throne. Your mind has been so dark, as dark as the secret that eats you from inside..."

Xander gasped. His breathing became more difficult.

"Xander. Dear weak, stupid, Xander. You have killed your parents. Their blood will eternally stain your hands. And the secret ... the secret that could shake the very pillar of Olympus itself, is yours to keep. You have to die because Ares wants you dead. Elegarii will be his. Forever."

Xander gasped for air as blood trickled from his mouth.

"The bite of the winged snake will turn you into stone. All your ... gifts ... will disappear. That girl, your muse, your source of strength and courage, will join you."

"No! Please ... please do not harm Airin!" Xander panicked, blood sputtered out from his mouth as he aggressively tried to stand up again and grab the person in front of him. His arms flailed, struggling to grab something, then he slumped again.

His sight became more and more blurry, Xander tried to push himself to stand up again, to prevent Airin from being harmed. But his strength was too diminished to be able to do that. His world turned quiet. He could feel however that his toes stiffened. He could not wriggle them easily.

I am turning into stone. Airin, please forgive me. I failed to protect you. I am sorry. That thought was the last that ran in his mind before everything went dark.

<<<>>>

Airin did not sleep well that night, though she had not been able to sleep peacefully anyway since she got to Halgard. She tossed and turned, sat up on her bed, while the rain pounded the window.

She was worried about Xander. Are you alright? I hope you are, Xander. The question repeated in her mind as she tossed and turned. Her premonition was bad. Something bad had happened, or about to happen. She could feel the certainty of the looming disaster with every strand of her being. Strangely, the fact that Xander was a man with such violent duties and title did not scare her so much anymore. She even felt a tinge of regret that her interaction with Xander earlier was so confrontational, mostly from her side.

As dawn crept in, she was able to catch a light sleep, not the kind that left her feeling rested after she woke up. In fact she woke up with a pounding headache, and Prissa knocked on her door early that morning.

Prissa helped her get ready, most of it was just her telling Airin what needed to be done. When it was time for her to change her clothes, she respectfully asked Prissa to leave the room, to which the chambermaid complied.

Half-heartedly she wore layer after layer of her clothes: Her undergarments, then her thin dress, then thicker dress, then jacket. Prissa came to help with her hair, brushed and put in braid.

Her tired mind processed what Prissa had told her: King Rovan invited her for breakfast. To which she did not respond. She did not want to go breakfast with some king. She wanted to be left alone. She wanted to go home to her own bed, in her own apartment, in her own universe.