Crown of Beauty and Vengeance

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Jai had been fighting them for...well, he didn't exactly know how long. But he was tired, his magic was drained to the point of a burnout, and Amory and Gideon just continued getting stronger as they fought him in a place he hadn't seen before. A stream that flowed between two rock walls that were covered in green. He was about to give up, fall into the darkness that was further away than it had before, but still wanted him.

He'd been laying in that stream, his muscles screaming, his side slashed and bleeding, when Amory and Gideon vanished.

And then she appeared.

Princess Alyvia of Escarral.

Gods, was she just as beautiful as ever, kneeling over him with her dark hair in loose waves, emerald eyes staring. Her skin was slightly tanned, unmarked, and all he wanted was to reach up to touch her face. But she was reaching toward him, her hand sliding into his as her lavender and sage scent enveloped him. A sudden jolt flashed through him, one he'd felt before what seemed like ages ago.

"Hello, princess."

"Hello, prince."

Just the sound of her voice had his heart pausing in his chest. He hadn't heard it since she was pleading with her mother in that throne room before the floors were stained red.

"Have you come to kill me because of what I did to you?"

Alyvia smiled. "Surprisingly, no."

Jai swallowed hard, still staring up at that beautiful face before he squeezed his eyes closed. "Then have you come to save me from myself and my guilt?"

"I can't do that for you. I can help you, though...if you want."

She shouldn't have been offering her help. Not after what he did. Not after all the lies and death and anger toward him. She shouldn't have been able to forgive him, even though he so desperately wanted her to.

"And what about you?" he asked then

"What about me?"

"Would you ever be able to forgive me after what I have done to you?"

He opened his eyes and Lyv's breath caught in her throat. He traced every inch of her face with his gaze before she squeezed his hand lightly, rubbing her thumb over the back of it. The answer she gave was the truth.

"I don't know. But why don't you wake up and we will try to work through it? And maybe...maybe both of us can find some sort of happiness again."

He wanted to laugh. If only she was really saying that to her.

Alyvia helped him up and kept hold of his hand. He could feel her magic sweeping through him, healing the gash on his side, trying to sooth the soul wound he'd been afflicted with for over a year now...one that she would more than be able to heal if she was ever able to forgive him.

Jai stepped toward her as she stared up at him, but what was shining in her eyes just a moment before was gone. She was gone.

And then darkness overtook him.

***

That lavender and sage scent was still all around him, unlike the faint memory of it he'd carried with him. And someone was holding his hand, a smooth, delicate hand that gripped onto his before a thumb brushed over his skin.

Jai opened his eyes to see the ceiling of the palace infirmary.

And then dropped to immediately find the female who was sitting in a chair beside him, just waking herself.