Demetri

I looked out at the full moon hanging over head. It was bright and low tonight with a frosty chill to the air that wasn't normally there. My fingers palmed the dagger at my side that now felt a little foreign. It was the dagger gifted to me by my friend, by my King.

The pommel stamped with the face of a crown, the same mark that was branded into the royal children of Jonathan's bloodline. I never stopped to question why Jonathan had given me the dagger. I had stolen it off him during our first encounter and not five years later he had gifted it to me. I thought it was symbolic then. I thought that he gave me the dagger because it was the object that bought us together. But now, I wasn't sure.

He would need to ask for the dagger back.

When an heir was born to him, he would need it back to mark the child. And then they would need the dagger to mark their children, and so and so fourth.

So why in the hell would he give it to me?

I tucked the dagger into my side and pushed the thoughts from my mind. My mind was already full and I didn't need any more to fill it.

Jonathan was quickly becoming a stranger to me. He was beginning to keep secrets from even his own shadow knights and it didn't sit well with me.

Little Miss - Allair. Yes, she was taking up a large chunk of my thoughts at the moment. I didn't know what to do. Gabriel had offered me aid to get her out of the castle, to hide her from Jonathan. But I knew it wouldn't matter. He would find her eventually, no matter what. And when he did... was there any point in preventing the inevitable? Should I just let her die? Let that suffering end?

Suffering... that word didn't even begin to describe what Jacqueline had gone through. The poor girl has spent the last few days attempting to get some normalcy back into her life, but even the simple things were proving the most difficult. Everything she ate, came back up in the matter of seconds - her body not used to the feeling of solid food anymore. The physician took to getting her to drink milk with herbs to help fill her stomach. But even that hurt her still healing throat.

And then there was this small part of my mind that was occupied with thoughts of my childhood. The sister that I can hardly remember who's thoughts haunt me. I wasn't sure I wanted to find her. I wished that I could say she was alive, that I could feel her, feel that she was alive and well. But I couldn't. There was a numb ache where I knew that feeling should be. I didn't want to think about what that meant.

Too many thoughts, and not one of them good.

I looked out towards the horizon.

And then I turned my back on it.

***

Gabriel let his head rest on the table and groaned loudly. "This is ridiculous." His voice was muffled by the aged wood.

Ridiculous was pretty accurate. 

What the hell had happened in the North to warrant this?

Jonathan's letter was clear. Meet him at the war camp by sunset tomorrow or there will be hell to pay. His army was already in place and he had sent word to his allies in the South. The golden army would hold their boundaries and march East should Jonathan fail to achieve his goals.

I tapped the table with my fingers, feeling as the rough wood try to splinter my skin. My mind was already spinning with battle plans and strategies. Jonathan would need the element of surprise and time to set up his defenses, which means he started the march at least two weeks ago.

How many men did he have?

How did he plan to get into the castle?

Was he going to take prisoners?

The questions were endless.

"We will have to leave first thing in the morning if we are going to get there in time." Gabriel lifted his head up from its resting place on the table.

"Why are you coming?" I frowned, confused.

He was already losing sleep over his new house guest - Jacqueline. The girl was still struggling in her recovery and Gabriel spent most nights sitting in an uncomfortable chair outside her door.

"You'll be no good to anyone if your mind is else where."

"My mind," Gabriel began with a stern tone that reminded me far too much of Jonathan. "Is sound, and I am more use there than I am here."

"You were almost killed in that cave." I reminded him.

"I was distracting him for you. You're welcome." Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "And besides, you'll need my help."

"Oh will I now?" This seemed interesting.

Gabriel nodded. "Who else can you trust to get Alliar out of the Kings hands?"

My heart stopped for half a moment.

"You get her out and I'll hide her from Jonathan."

I pressed my lips together. There was no hiding from Jonathan.

"He'll torture it out of you." I decided to test his courage. And his heart.

"We share blood." He smiled in that wicked way that made but blood freeze. "I'm untouchable."

I nodded accepting his words. Mainly because I didn't have the heart to tell him...

Blood won't protect him.

And even if it did. Gabriel cared about far too many people, and Jonathan would exploit every single thing he could. Even if Gabriel was aloud to keep his life, everything else around him would fall to the Reaper King.

***

Hi guys, sorry this is extremely short! I am not feeling well and my head is very cloudy so this is all I can manage - and sorry if it doesn't make sense. I will read over it when I feel better and fix it up if it doesn't flow.

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