Edge's body was propelled forward and spun. Something pressed against her. A crossbow. Someone released an arrow. So, who...

A groan reached her ears. She looked down to find Eliott draped over her like a used rag. His arms cradled her, his warmth seeping through her torn clothes. What's wrong with him? Did they shoot at her? And, why was Eliott breathing hard against her ears?

Linus clicked his tongue. "Now that's a better ending, isn't it?" From behind Eliott's shoulder, the adviser smirked and lowered his unloaded crossbow. "The prince saves the princess and they lived happily. Ever. After."

Saved. Eliott saved her. From what?

Thick liquid started coating her fingertips. Slowly, she lifted her hands to her eyes. They came away red. No. Eliott—

As if by cue, his knees buckled. Edge lunged and caught him before he fell to his face. His arms flopped to his sides as Edge lowered him to the ground. From there, an unmistakable arrow protruded from his back. She didn't need to be a physician to know it pierced through the heart. It's only a matter of time before...

Edge shook her head. "It's alright, Eliott," she laid a hand over his chest and pressed her forehead to his. "I'll heal you. I have magic. I'll heal you."

She closed her eyes and began calling the faint power inside her. As fae, they were allowed minimal interaction with the natural energy around them. It allowed them to draw from its power to fix the broken, to piece together the shattered pieces. It would let her heal Eliott. She was able to heal a lark before. She could heal Eliott.

Flashes of Eury's death invaded her mind. Not again. She's not ready to lose someone again. Certainly not Eliott. They found each other after all these years. This couldn't be the end.

It just couldn't be.

A hand closed around hers. Her eyes wrenched open to find Eliott smiling up at her. Even through the thick trickle of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth to his fluttering eyelids and labored breaths. He didn't have long. "Run," he whispered. "I'll buy you time."

"Shut up, Eliott," Edge pleaded. "I'll heal you. We'll run together. How about Greerloch? No one would be able to find us there."

"Go without me," Eliott insisted, tightening his hold on Edge's hand. It allowed her to do no magic on his failing body. Already, the warm blood seeping from his wound and staining Edge's skirts was draining the life out of him. "Geoffer will be at the crest of the nearest hill. Find him. Go home."

Edge shook her head. "Not without you," she said.

Eliott was going to say something but a coughing fit overtook him. More blood stained his lips, chin, and neck. It dribbled down the front of his shirt. "I'll find you," he muttered as his eyes began closing. His hold on Edge began loosening. "I did it before, right? I'll do it again. A thousand times over."

Edge closed her eyes just as tears slipped free. She was barely aware of the crossbows still pointed at her. One word from the adviser and she would join Eliott. But...how was she supposed to save both of them? If she healed him, they might shoot her. She couldn't let Eliott die though.

"Hey," Eliott's hand cupped her cheek, forcing her to look down to him again. The light in his blue eyes had muted into a faint gleam. Slowly, he caressed his thumb against her eyebrows. "You're doing it again. Thinking."

Edge gripped Eliott's shoulder tighter. His weight sagged against her. "I have to, genius," she said. "We need to get out of here."

Eliott chuckled which ended up in another round of coughing. This time, however, it was no more than a weak rasp. "Remember my promise?" he asked. The memory of that night on the balcony flashed in Edge's mind. Of course, how could she forget that? It was one of the rare moments Eliott made her stomach flutter with a thousand butterflies. Eliott smiled even though there was nothing to smile about. "I still mean it, Edge."

He took a deep breath. "In every life," he rasped. "I will love you."

Then, his hand slipped from Edge's face. His full weight slammed into her. His head rolled back, letting his ash-colored hair slide away from his forehead. "Eliott," she called, shaking him. He didn't react. Didn't move at all.

"Eliott," she called again. Nothing.

Edge gathered him into her arms, pressing her cheek to his lips, his nose. No breaths tickling her skin. "Wake up," she said softly. Her sobs rose from the depths of her gut and gripped her throat. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't think at all. All that mattered was that she had to hear his voice again. That she had to look into his blue eyes and see the sky once more.

"Wake up," she begged. "Please."

"He wasn't going to, wench," a voice speared through all the haze in her mind. She raised her gaze from Eliott towards the man who was the root of all of this. "Stop bawling before I shoot you."

"Why don't you, asshole?" she wheezed. This man. He was the reason why the fae were wary of the humans. The rot in the flesh. The blemish in an otherwise clean sheet of paper. He's the one who made an entire race rotten.

Her magic flared underneath her skin but she couldn't release it. Fae weren't allowed to harm. They couldn't use magic to break something. So, she wasn't going to. Her fingers closed around the hilt of Eliott's sword—the one he didn't draw in the name of peace. She slid it from its sheath as she laid him to the ground and straightened.

Fae couldn't harm with magic. But they could with a sword.

Edge spun. The adviser's eyes widened as he stumbled back. "Shoot her!" he yelled. "Shoot!"

Her wings fluttered in the air, one last flap propelled her forward. The blade on her hands flashed in the air. Something slammed into her back just as the tip of the sword sank into the adviser's chest.

"This is for Eliott," Edge hissed. The pike on her back burned. Hurt. But she didn't budge. She dug the blade deeper, cutting through the ribs. The adviser stumbled back, his strength unable to sustain hers. "This is for Ivory."

With a cry, she shoved the sword deeper into him. A spray of blood doused her face, her arms, and her dress. "This is for the fae," she seethed, bringing her face closer to him. The fear in his amber eyes had never looked so real. "Let me be the last thing you see. Before you go, know that it was the fae who will reap your head."

Edge held on for as long as she could, willing the spark of life to disappear from his eyes. She only let go when his eyes stopped moving and his limbs stopped twitching.

She stumbled away from his remains then turned to the other men in the room. "If you know what's good for you," she said. "You'll get out."

The flutter of thundering footsteps and rustling clothes had never arrived that fast in Edge's ears. They trickled out of the warehouse and within seconds, no one remained but her and two bodies. One was of a villain and the other was of her treasure.

That's when the pain in her back increased. She glanced behind her to find at least two arrows sticking from between her wings. A bitter laugh shook her shoulders. She felt her body list sideways, the adrenaline fading from her system and leaving an empty shell. Her eyes landed on Eliott who slept in peace for the first time in years.

With the last of her strength, Edge clawed against the cement floor, hauling herself forward. She needed to be with him. At her last breath, she had to be with him. Her blood trailed under her as she crawled. Never mind that. Closer. He's getting closer.

Her body collapsed to the ground. She was still a few inches off. Her fingers closed around pure air. The same air left her lungs, choking her, dimming the only sense she needed in seeing Eliott. No. Just a few more. A little more. Closer. He was closer.

But he wasn't.

Edge's limbs gave out, flopping to the ground. Even when she forced them to move, they wouldn't obey. The blood was too thick. Too viscous for her to swim through a sea of it.

How could it end like this? Hasn't Edge been good all her life? Hadn't she endured all those hardships, all those injustices and suffering, and never complained? She had helped people. She took care of an old fae in the mountains when no one would. The lark. She healed a lark and a human boy despite what his race had done to hers.

She had forgiven said race, for murdering her best friend, for raiding and destroying her village, for claiming their land for their own gain. Why had this happened to her, of all people? Was destiny such a cruel god to serve? They hadn't done anything wrong for wishing for a better life and for coming so close to getting it. Then, fate ripped it away from their fingers in the quickest and most painful way possible.

There was an old fae belief. That souls live on for those who had unfulfilled wishes. With the last of her strength, she turned her neck so that her eyes was to Eliott's frame. He looked so peaceful. So much like the boy who believed in the goodness of man too much.

If there was even a life after all this, then she would be making her wish. As her vision was eaten away by the empty darkness, let her reincarnation hear her words. Let them remember through dreams. Let them see through the memories of old, through the forgotten tales of the damned.

I will find you. It was Eliott's last promise to her. And for that, Edge would be making her last promise to him as well.

I will save you.

To her next life, to the person who would carry the burden of her wish, she would offer her sincerest apology. They deserved to have a different life, to have a different fate, but because of her selfish wish, they would have to suffer.

And so, just as the life seeped out of her lips, she uttered her final wish.

Save him.