-HER-

I remained torn within myself, not able to work anything out. It felt like I was stuck, and my hands were tied while I saw time pass by me. The uncertainty was growing more and more day by day, keeping me disturbed to the core. Everything seemed to be slipping away from the gaps in my fingers like fine sand.

I was helpless... or that's what it felt like to me at that moment.

I tried to focus on the present as I helped Fiona get dressed for the last and final ceremony of the days long celebration of Theoron's coronation anniversary. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't stop thinking about what would happen next.

What were we supposed to do after the celebrations were over? Go back to the Shrine? I was sure that Vittoria sent us here to do nothing. There was a purpose, yet I hadn't figured it out yet. Her messages became more cryptic to add more to my confusion and growing disbelief in her.

Sometimes, it felt like she was just so out of touch with everything happening here, but then I had to remind myself that it was far from the truth. Nothing was ever hidden from Vittoria. She knew everything.... I was also convinced that she was aware of my connection with Alexandros, but she went to great lengths to keep me from finding out.

All of this was making me trust Vittoria less and less every day. On the other hand, whatever Herran had told me about her seemed closer and closer to the truth, even though he was the last person I trusted. I didn't know who to trust or what to do anymore.

I felt utterly lost and discouraged. I felt like a sinking boat caught in the angry and merciless tides of the sea. There was no way out of there. I was going to drown either way.

After getting Fiona ready, I also dressed for the last night of celebrations. It was a simple dress for me, nothing fancy, but it was still beautiful. Nuncia's work was always impeccable. I didn't want to attend the celebrations but still dragged myself there.

I wasn't paying attention to what was happening around me all night. It all felt like a blur of occasional flashes of light here and there, the distant murmur of people talking while music played in the background. It felt like I was submerged in a dream. I was there, but at the same time, I wasn't there. Maybe, someone was talking to me, but I didn't talk back. I nodded and occasionally smiled, pretending to enjoy the night while, from the inside, I was suffering from chaos and misery.

Having some wine helped me get through the night easily. However, at one point, I was afraid that I was starting to like that numbing feeling too much, but as I drank more and more, all my worries seemed to fade away. I was in bliss, even if it was artificial and temporary.

By the time the celebrations ended, I was having trouble walking straight. I managed to steal a bottle of wine to keep me company for the rest of the night.

"Just look at this bitch!" Arke laughed when I puked while returning to the wing. Nuncia helped me by holding my hair back and keeping me upright. We were in an open courtyard halfway to the wing. I was so drunk that I felt the strong urge to sleep on the floor there. I puked once more while, in the background, I heard Doria and Arke laughing and making jokes about me.

Suddenly, I felt something swoosh past my head, almost ruffling my hair. It made me stop and look at what the object was. Since the moonlight was vibrant, I could see an arrow lying just a few inches ahead of me. Before I could react, another arrow followed, missing me just by a few inches.

I heard someone scream before I was being tugged away. I didn't know what was happening at the next moment. All I heard was some screams behind us while Nuncia was dragging me somewhere. I forced myself to focus, and it soon hit me— we were under attack.

As soon as we reached the other side of the courtyard, I saw some shadows moving there before I caught a glimpse of something metallic. Instantly, I reached for my weapon while guarding Nuncia. A man dressed in black lunged out of the shadows, swinging his sword.

I was still finding it hard to focus, so I ended up getting a cut over my shoulder. I staggered back a bit, hissing in pain and reached for the wine bottle instead and threw it at him, hitting him right on the head just as he was about to swing his sword again. It made him slow down, granting us enough time to run the other way, only to realise we had no escape.

The assassins surrounded us. This realisation in itself seemed to have sobered me halfway. I stopped and looked around nervously. Arke was fighting two people at once, while Doria managed the archers by hypnotising them and making them shoot the assassins instead. I was half drunk, while Nuncia didn't know how to fight. I needed to get her out of there somehow. I needed to decide soon because they were closing in on us.

"Nuncia, you need to go," I told her.

"No," she muttered.

"I don't have time for this. Just do as I say," I gritted, tightening my fingers around my dagger. "Nuncia, go!" I growled before facing the assassins. I knew that I stood no chance against them because they were highly trained, but I was going to do my best. At one point, I was just blindly stabbing anyone who stepped anywhere close to me while internally accepting that maybe tonight would be my end. In that case, I wanted to die fighting rather than running.

I managed to take down a couple of assassins but more and more kept coming. At one point, Arke jumped in to protect me because I was profoundly injured and tired, but there didn't seem to be an end. Doria had already been injured, and Nuncia had somehow managed to drag her to a safer place.

However, Arke was unable to protect me after a while. She had gotten a deep cut around her stomach and was profusely bleeding. I had to step in and use the remaining of my energy and focus. I was drenched in sweat and blood while my body was burning with fire.

I wanted to give up, but I kept going, saving Arke as much as possible. Even with the deep wound, she tried her best to fight. Both of us were losing, and it was very clearly evident. My vision started to get hazy at one point, and I collapsed on the ground. I heard Arke scream my name. I could hear the pain in her voice. My eyes were starting to flutter shut. I didn't want to give up, but at that point, it took me a lot of effort to breathe.

As my eyes were about to flutter shut, I heard more footsteps. I was still holding my dagger. I tightened my fingers and tried to get up to fight, but I couldn't even lift myself. However, I could move my head to the side. I saw someone was helping Arke up. There were these warriors I had never seen before fighting the assassins.

Soon, two warriors found me. One was checking my pulse while the other was tying something over my bleeding wounds. Soon, they were rushing me somewhere. It wasn't to my old wing but at another part of the palace. That was all I remembered before my eyes were shut finally. I was surrounded by darkness, where my actual fight for life began.

_