Claramay's POV

I could hear a scream. My ears hurt and I wished I could stop that scream.

I tried to find the source of the sound but realized that it was me screaming.

Aaron was sitting up against the wall, his head drooping at a weird angle, with a blood soaked shirt and a deep gash on his throat while the dark liquid pooled around him. He seemed to be breathing heavily, but breathing.

Thank God!

Did that bitch slash his throat?

Oh no! I knew I had to go to him, to do something to stop it all. He was losing blood, way too much blood.

But I was frozen, unable to move. Partly  from the fear of being discovered with a human in my room and also from the dreaded depression in my chest knowing it was entirely my fault, bringing him to this land for my own selfish needs.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw another figure appear. A dark red cloak.

Ruby!

Oh no!

She stood at the threshold, completely bewildered by the drama enfolding in the room.

Another scream from Garnet drew me back into my senses. Emerald had blood on his hands and the sword held steadily at Garnet's throat was dangerously close to her windpipe.

Ruby seemed to be torn between whom to approach. She looked at Guardian Emerald and then her eyes rested on her brother. The eyes were cool, composed, quite different from the wild fury in her when she was brought in first.

She focused on her brother and her eyes softened, glazed over, perhaps remembering all their moments of childhood — the moments, a few of which involved me.

She took a few staggering steps and knelt to the ground beside Aaron.

He lifted up his head and I could see the fear and the apprehension in his eyes.

Poor him. He got out of the clutches of Garnet only to land in the hands of another Vešterka.

I could see him making an effort to move, to do anything to escape from his own sister.

She placed a hand on his chest. His bewildered eyes rested on her face, trying to find the threads of an unknown connection long back — the connection of ages —the connection of lives — the connection of blood.

An unknown conversation flowed between those pair of eyes.

She carefully placed the edge of her cloak to his throat, wiping away the blood.

I exhaled in relief. The cut wasn't that deep.

And then she hugged him. He lifted his shaking hands in an effort to return the embrace and I saw, tears. His and hers. Tears that washed away all the malice, tears that were almost magical.

But a feral scream shattered all the peace and I knew what I had to do.

I rushed to where Emerald had Garnet in hostage.

'You don't need to,' I whispered in his ear, trying to wrestle the sword out of his hand. 'You're not a killer. You don't want to do this.'

But his gaze was unfocused and his hands were steady on the kill.

My voice could almost be a breeze passing against his ears, not making an effect whatsoever.

'You don't need to have another life on your hands. She's evil and she needs to be taken before the tribunal. Don't take the law in your hands,' I screamed still struggling to snatch the sword out of his hands.

'I need to end this abomination. Because of people like her, this land is getting polluted, greyed and unhappy and now that Donna is dead, there is nothing to hold me back. The part of me that was good, the part of me that was human... the part that held me back is gone, forever.' he panted, 'I am the pure incarnation of evil now.'

'No you're not!' I say with sternness in my voice.

The sword wasn't that strongly gripped anymore..

He was softening, thinking rationally.

'The goodness resides in you. Her goodness resides in you. It's her only memory left. If you go for this kill, her memory will be tainted forever — marred in the blood of a murderer. You won't want that.'

His hands shook with emotions. Remembering his dead wife and reminiscing her memories was too hard on him.

'We'll imprison Garnet . She'll pay for what she did, but not in this way. In court she will get her fair justice.' I begged. 'If you kill her, where does that leave you? You're not her...'

He closed his eyes, exhaling hard.

In that split second that his grip lightened, Garnet suddenly sprang into action, aiming the glass shard right for his throat.

I tried to push him away and the glass pierced my upper arm as blood gushed out.

I screamed.

The next series of events were lightning fast.

Garnet supposedly had a backup plan ready.

I saw, the gleaming knife in her hand just before she jumped on Emerald like a lioness.

Emerald, who had been trying to pacify his aggressiveness didn't get the time to react.

Another hand backed up Emerald and pushed the sword, slashing out with a flesh shearing force.

Ruby had jumped into the fray, her eyes blazing.

'Eláte xífi' she called the sword, holding it in firm her grip, poised and confident.

She looked as graceful as a trained musketeer.

Garnet raised her knife and struck out again. Ruby  swiped her sword effortlessly, the blade moving smoothly. She looked graceful as a swan but the deadly gleam in her face was enough to show her fury.

The knife lay on the floor and Garnet was holding her wrist from which blood was dripping now. Her face was contorted in pain and fury.

For a moment the two fighters were a blur of figures and the only sound was metal against metal as the blades clashed.

Clang!

The knife lay on the floor and Garnet was holding her wrist from which blood was dripping now. Her face was contorted in pain and fury.

'I won't leave you,' Garnet hissed, just as I used the last bit of my energy to send a burst of magic, freezing her into stone.

I pulled out the glass from my arm, biting down on a scream and fell to the ground, my vision darkening...

I felt a hand touch the wound and a tingling sensation and my entire vision was flooded by a white light.

♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️

The pain waned in a few seconds and vanished, almost as if my hand has been anesthetized.

I opened my eyes just a little bit, afraid to see what had happened.

But a pair of burning green eyes caught mine. Those had worry in them.

'Are you all right?' he clasped my hand, his touch warm and reassuring.

I nodded trying to sit up. I didn't deserve this after all that I had done. I had betrayed him by bringing in Aaron and hiding him in the palace.

Aaron!

I looked up to see him peering down at me. Relief flooded his featured seeing me smile.

He grinned back, no trace of the bloody battle on him. He was as good as new.

I looked at my hand. The gash was gone.

The confusion was evident on my face because Emerald laughed suddenly, 'I guess there needs to be a lot of explanations done today. Yes, I'm a healer.'