“I still don’t think this is a good idea.” Luca grumbled.

  “I’m beginning to care less and less about what you think.” Reese was crouched below a windowsill, peering over the edge into the street.

  This building had been full of color and life when they’d walked in.

  Reese had watched the magic withdrawal and leave nothing but dust and cobwebs in its wake.

  From there, she had a nice view of Lyonell’s tent.

  The festivities seemed to live on inside. Reese could hear music and laughter, shadows bounced around on its canvas walls.

  Footsteps sounded on the cobblestone not far away. They grew louder with each passing second.

  Reese ducked below the window and pressed her back to the wall with a finger to her lips.

  Luca rolled his eyes.

  “I can hear them,” he said.

  “If you don’t shut up, they’ll hear you too.” Reese hissed.

  “Did you hear something?” The voice sounded dangerously close to the window.

  “I couldn’t tell. Probably a rat, they start crawling about towards the end.”

  There were at least two of them.

  Reese didn’t dare move.

  She couldn’t do anything but watch the way Luca was watching her.

  His eyes didn’t reflect the fear that made her shiver. In fact, they didn’t reflect much of anything at all, just vague curiosity.

  He’d studied her plenty in the time they’d spent together, but usually she could read him better than this. It was infuriating not knowing what he was thinking, but she didn’t dare ask now.

  The footsteps moved on.

  “It’s not safe here,” Luca said.

  “It’s not safe anywhere.” Reese retorted.

  The door flung open with a clatter.

  Reese ducked, expecting the wood to shatter from the force.

  Luca rose to his feet, a resigned smile on his face. “It took you long enough,” he said.

  Two armed guards stood in the doorway, likely the very same ones that had been outside the window.

  Reese silently cursed herself. They should have waited longer before talking.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  One of the guards raised the spear in his hands.

  Reese screamed even though she knew what happened next.

  It had been written in stone.

  It was their fate.

  The spear left the guard’s hand and found its new home in Luca’s stomach.

  The guards didn’t even blink as Luca crashed back to the ground and blood began to pool around him.

  “No, no, no, no.” Reese knelt next to him. Her hands shook, she didn’t know where to put them, she didn’t know how to help him.

  “It was always meant to happen like this.” Luca whispered. His smile was gone. He was tired, and she could tell, but she couldn’t let him stop fighting.

  “This isn’t the end; I won’t let it be.” Reese’s voice shook almost as much as her hands.

  The blood was spreading.

  There was too much of it.

  He was loosing too much.

  She pressed her hands to the wound, trying to keep what she could in.

  The guards came closer, each step like nails in a coffin.

  “You’re lucky Lyonell wants the last blow,” One of the guards said.

  “He can’t have him!” Reese screeched as she mustered all the strength she had into glaring at the guards.

  “Lyonell gets what he wants. If you thought you could stop him, you’re more foolish than you look.” The other guard sneered. He pulled her away from Luca as the other moved to pick up his body.

  Reese kicked and screamed, begging any gods watching to help her.

  “Go home, Reese.” Luca whispered as they carried him past her.

  Go home.

  That was all he had to say to her?

  After everything, he would just give up like it meant nothing?

  The guard didn’t drop her until his companion had left the building, and when he left, Reese was all alone again.

  She sat on the dusty floor and sobbed.

  Fate wasn’t supposed to be real.

  She was supposed to have more control.

  It wasn’t supposed to end like this.

  Lyonell wasn’t the good guy.

  He didn’t get to win.

  And yet he had.

  Not yet.

  She wouldn’t let him.

  There was still a little bit of time for Reese to change the course of this.

  It had slipped far further than she’d wanted it to, but she couldn’t waste what little time she had left.

  Reese pushed herself to her feet and wiped the tears from her face.

  She knew where they were going, Lyonell wanted to make a show of this, but if she wanted to stop this, she couldn’t show up empty handed.

  The guards had restrained her far too easily.

  She would need a weapon.

  She would need to be prepared to kill anyone who got in her way.

  The charges against her had been false in the beginning, but they may not be by the end.

  They would have a choice. Reese would let them choose to stand down.

  The unfortunate truth of the matter was: they were loyal to Lyonell, and likely would be until the end.

  But she would give them the choice.

  She might be willing to kill people now, but she still had to have lines.

  She had to have rules.

  If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have control of herself anymore, and it would be hard to control the situation if she didn’t have herself under control.

  She knew she had the potential to become anyone’s worst nightmare, but she refused to let herself become a monster. She wouldn’t be like Lyonell, she had to be better than that.

  Lowering herself to his standards wouldn’t help anyone. It wouldn’t help her, she wouldn’t get her revenge because she wouldn’t be her anymore. She wouldn’t be the Reese that had set out for revenge anymore. She would be the Reese that had lost her way for a boy. Her father never would have allowed it.

  She wouldn’t allow it.

  It would be wrong to kill Lyonell if she sunk to his level and became the same kind of person she was.