❝Only trust thyself and others shall not betray thee.❞
William Penn

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AKIRA glanced around to spot her sword but it was too far away. In the background she could hear Veer's frustrated grunts and she realized that he was struggling to hold up too. The man waited up as if giving the queen enough time to relish her last few moments in agony.

'This is the end.' She looked up at the man who still was sporting a maniacal smile and glared daggers at him.

"Just kill me already." She said through grit teeth, ignoring the agonizing pain in her abdomen, but to her surprise the man just smiled as if taunting her.

"Do it, you coward." Akira hissed, venom stirring up like pools in her eyes but before the man could answer back or do anything, the sound of a sharp edge cutting through skin filled the eerily silent terrace top. The man fell to the ground with a loud thump, the dust on the terrace filling the air as he fell down, the blood soaking through the back of his clothes.

The monarch looked up to see Veer – the almost fading moonlight casted a subtle glow on him – with a bloody sword in hand and she let out a sigh of relief. Looking at her brother, she forced a genuine smile through the pain, truly grateful, "Thank you"

"Well," Veer stretched out his hands – the sword still high in his right hand – and stifled a yawn, "That was energy consuming."

"Yes," For the first time in the night, Akira let her shoulders loosen up and let the tiredness and soreness creep up and chew on the tired cells, "You're right. This night was a very toll-taking one." She paused, again letting the boy in front of her know how grateful she was, "But thank you for saving me."

Veer crouched down in front of her to meet her eye level and smiled, "No problem, Aki."

He shrugged with the same smile, his bloody fingers gliding over the blood on the edge of his sword mindlessly, "It would have hurt me to see another man finish my work anyways."

Akira scrunched her eyebrows, a puzzled laugh left the threshold of her lips, "What are you talking about Veer?"

A harsh gasp interrupted her own sentence as the pain in her abdomen shoot through her body and the boy in front of her conjured up a plastic expression of concern, asking through sickly sweet words, "Does it hurt sister?"

Trying to breathe through the pain, the monarch looked at her brother, who in no way or shape was trying to ease her pain, "I think the gash runs deep. Help me out, Veer."

The prince let out a laugh, his head thrown back into the stars and his ink black hair mixing with the vast expanse of the sky. He stopped abruptly, his face holding a myriad of emotions – his eyes looked like they were dancing to an unknown victory and his lips were contorted into a strange grin. He rested the tip of his sword under the sovereign's chin and shook his head slowly as he mimicked his sister, "'Help me out Veer' 'Do this Veer, do that Veer' 'Veer don't do that, always listen to me' 'I'm the queen, bow down to me' Blah blah blah."

He laughed a nasty laugh, his voice ringing through the empty night, "You're funny Akira. Why would I ever want to help someone," He pushed the bloody tip of his sword further against the queen's neck, causing a sharp pain which ran its course through her body, "who never gave me anything in return?"

"What are you talking about?" A part of her believe she was hallucinating from the exhaustion but the sharp constant jab on right under her chin acted as a reminder that all this was very real.

The prince shook his head again, this time with an victorious glint in his eyes, "Don't you get it yet sister? I thought you were smart, I was clearly wrong."

He glanced around and looked back at Akira who was struggling through the pain, "I did this all. I planned the siege, the attack, everything." He laughed again as if taunting Akira for being so gullible, "I thought you were smart Aki, I really did but looks like I was wrong."

"Sooo very wrong. " He forced her head up by the tip of his sword, "I knew all of your moves, you wanna know how?" 

The monarch just looked at the once innocent boy in front her in surprise, the tears threatening to break through and fall down, burning her skin in the process. She hoped that someone would shake awake from this nightmare and tell her that everything was alright, that she didn't just witnessed her own brother stab her in the back. 

"Oh come on," Veer pouted when Akira said nothing, "You are no fun, I'll tell you myself." He paused long enough for dramatic effect, "Aziza."

"You told her everything," He smiled and closed his eyes in bliss, "every part of your plan blindly and she told me each and every word – reciting it as if it was the only thing she knew how to do properly."

"Well, I would agree that it was hard to convince her, a part of her still feels guilty for selling you put but," He continued, "love can drive you to insane things, things you would have never even thought of doing, right? You would know."

Akira looked away from him, gritting her teeth to stop the tears from flowing. 

"Oh come on, I know you. Remember Kartik?" Veer shook his head as he took his name, "Even his name makes me want to go on a rampage. I can't believe that bastard – who I had employed – went against me to help you out."    

"What?" Her eyes widened – in surprise, anger but mostly betrayal. She looked at him, wondering how someone who she trusted with her life was the one who stabbed her in the back. Her eyes became bloodshot, itching to let out tears and her voice broke, "You sent Kartik here? Why? Why would you do any of this?"

Veer rolled his eyes, the sickly sweet words still rolling off his tongue like they were nothing, "Yes, I sent him and everything was going according to plan. He had managed to conjure up a soft spot in your seemingly stone-cold heart and was going to drive a stake through that very spot but..."

The man showed a face of disgust, "but then all of a sudden, he said he was done, that he couldn't kill you. Said that he would rather betray me – the one who gave him everything, the one who gave him this glorious opportunity – than even think about betraying you. Yes, his decision threw off the original plan of action but I am glad how things played out." 

"Wait," The tears finally rolled off her dirty, blood streaked cheeks as she looked up at her unbothered brother, "Did he didn't plan the attack on the palace when I was in Ekam Nagar?"

"Of course he didn't," Veer said the statement as it was more than obvious, "He said he wanted out the day you had left for Ekam Nagar. I threatened him, he knew that he would be dead if he went against me but he had too much of a stupid heart to care about his demise. Stupid boy, trying to act like the hero."

Akira closed her eyes, the tears falling off more rapidly now as Veer continued, "Now to answer your 'why' question. That's because I am done waiting around. It's time that the throne was given to someone who actually deserved it. I have waited years and years, patiently but you just made me wait and wait and wait and honestly? I got tired of waiting Akira." He gave her a small smile.

The sovereign blinked her eyes repeatedly, trying to blink away the water flowing from her eyes. Still trying to process the information, she spoke out, the words feeling like shards of glass cutting through her throat, "You did this all because of–"

"–because of the throne. I knew you wouldn't give it up yourself so I had to figure a little something myself." Veer licked his lips, shrugging a little,  "And guess what? It worked. I sent the impostor," He smiled wickedly under the moonlight, "I killed the governor of Mahapuram and arranged their little uprising, I did all of that. I did this all just so I could enjoy this little moment we are having. Now, look at us, it's just you and me sister – the strong, scary, threatening Maharani and her little defenseless, weak brother."

"I told you w will have a re-union later Aki. This is it." He let out another laugh, "Oh how the tables have turned. Fate truly is something amazing, am I right?"

She managed to shout through her parched throat, the tears in her eyes rolling down again and hitting the armor adorning her body, "You are the reason we lost our mother. Why would you ever do this? I thought I could trust you." She scoffed, holding the wound on her stomach tighter as it was the only thing soothing her, "You're a monster, an absolute monster."

The prince rolled his eyes, "Oh please, look who is talking. It's not like you ever cared enough for mother anyways."

"I cared for her Veer." The queen yelled, the tears streaming endlessly as the night lightened, the stars fading little by little, "I did care and I thought you did too..." Her voice faded into nothingness as she closed her eyes, "But I was wrong."

"Well, I did care for her Akira but you of all people should know that some sacrifices must be made for the greater good." He let the sword down and gripped the monarch's face in a harsh manner, squeezing her cheeks together as he met her gaze, "And secondly, if anything, I am saving this kingdom from a menacing threat like you. The people will thank me, worship me."

Black spots danced in front of the sovereign's eyes as she squinted her eyes to look at her brother clearly, her head spinning slightly due the blood loss, "I can't believe you."

"I don't need you to." He let go of her face and picked his sword back up, positioning it against her neck yet again with a sinful smile, "Now remember what baba said? 'Mirror, mirror, on the wall, become the most powerful of them all.' I am just obliging his wishes like the good son I am."

Akira closed her eyes, exhaling deeply, "Baba would have hated you for doing this, for tearing your own kingdom apart, Veer."

"It's for the greater good," He told her yet again, his voice going from full of emotions to monotone is a second's time.

"See Akira, you and I? We are not so different." Veer stated calmly a moment later, offering Akira a last string of wisdom, "We both want power and to us both our ways seem correct. You paint me as the monster in your story because I took your throne, teared your kingdom apart. I paint you as the sinner in my story for keeping me away from the throne that rightfully belonged to me. In the end, neither one of us is the saint and no matter how much you pretend you are better than me, we are two sides of the same coin, Akira, the same coin." 

Akira mustered up enough strength to scoff, "Rot in hell."

The prince did nothing but laugh, the calmness in his voice faded as the excitement creeped up, "You first sister."

The Maharani waited for the blow, letting the tears fall to the ground as she clenched her eyes shut. She waited for the sudden pain and then to fade into nothingness but all she heard was a grunt. Akira sat on her knees, helpless, just holding her wound and waiting for her end but then she heard his voice.

"Killing my love in front of my own eyes Rajkumar?" Kartik spoke through what Akira very easily presumed was a smirk, "Not a very smart move if I may say so myself."

"Kartik" She forced open her eyes but black spots kept dancing in front of her. Her blurry sight made it harder to determine what was happening but she could hear grunts and clangs of sword against sword.

"What are you doing here?" Veer said through grit teeth as the sound of metal clashing against metal grew more intense. 

"Doing what's right" Kartik responded with a hiss as he and Veer continued fighting, "Unlike you."

"You should be dead." The prince muttered, his voice was laced with surprise as he took small puffs of air, "I sent my people after you. How- how did you escape?"  

"I have my ways," The imposter said slowly, not revealing her ways, "Not everyone is as dumb as you make them out to be, Rajkumar."  

"Don't worry," The distorted laughs by Veer reached Akira's ears, "I'll end you both myself. It'll be better-"

Before she could see or hear what was going on, her head felt lightweight and the world around her swayed, all the colors felt as if they were mixing together in a blurry haze and none of the sounds made any sense now. The last thing she could feel was he body colliding against the cold harsh stone ground.

Then, darkness. 

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A/N - A pretty predictable chapter, to say the least but oh well this means the story is coming to a end now. Just one more chapter to goo ;)

Stay cruel♥️
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