DEVON
I'd just returned home from school and had just placed my backpack on the floor when Theo entered my room through the window. I was starting to get used to this habit of his.
"Hey" I said and kissed him.
"How was it?" Theo asked, his hand resting on my waist.
"It wasn't bad" I shrugged. He smiled but I noticed that he was tense. Too tense for comfort.
"Theo, spit it out" I urged.
"You really know me that well, don't you?" he said.
"I know that you're tense and something's bothering you" I said, releasing my hair from it's ponytail. "Taerus is attacking by sunset" he said and I gasped.
"What? That's in a few hours. Theo, what're we going to do?" I asked.
"Be strong" he said.
I was terrified. I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen.
"Hey, look at me. Don't think negatively" he said, cupping my face. I sighed, embracing him. "I'm scared" I whispered.
"Do you want to know the truth?" He asked.
I gazed into his golden eyes that I had fallen in love with.
"I'm scared too. I- I don't want to loose you and that's why I'm going to protect you with my life" he said and my heart shattered.
"I won't loose you either. You're my world, Theo. I want you to know that" I whispered, placing a hand on the side of his face. Tears filled his eyes as he brought my knuckles to his lips.
"You're so amazing and I-I love you for that. I'm so glad I met you" he said.
I was worried. He was so emotional and with every word he uttered, my heart was breaking. It felt like he was saying goodbye. I hate goodbyes. I wasn't ready to let him go. We would get married and have four dozen kids, twenty cats and ten dogs. We would live in a castle and I would be his queen.
"This is not goodbye right?" I asked, my voice shaky.
"N-no, no, it's not. N-not yet anyway. I don't have grey hair yet" he said and I smiled through the tears. I nodded, burying my head against his chest.
"Have you ever thought of travelling around the world?" He asked.
"Yeah"
"Where would you like to go first?" He asked.
"Paris. I want a tour around Paris" I said.
"Then, I promise you that after the battle, you and I..... we're going to Paris for a tour" he whispered.
Tears of relief cascaded down my cheeks.
'He's going to be fine. We'll survive it all' I thought.
....
Theo and I sat in his room with my head resting on his shoulder. His arms were around me, holding me close to himself as we watched the sunset. Luke walked in, looking very worried. "I alerted the others. Alba and her people are on our side" Luke said.
"That's good"
"But the dark faeries.... they're not in their right minds" he said.
"When I take down Taerus, they'll go back to normal" Theo said. I sighed, closing my eyes. We were finally going to war.
We watched the pink sky tear apart. Thousands of chariots descended into earth. With my heart in my throat, I squeezed Theo's hand. He squeezed back and turned to look at me.
"I love you" he said and kissed me. He stood up and I followed suit. Luke, Theo and I left the bedroom and started to head for the stairs when Rachel grabbed my hand. She was standing by the stairs, an unreadable look in her eyes.
"Rachel-"
Without saying a word, she injected me with some sort of liquid. My vision started to blur. "Theo- " I started to say.
"I'm so sorry. I don't want you to get hurt" he said, stroking my cheek.
"I want to help.... please" I whimpered as I grew even more lightheaded.
"You're helping me by staying safe" he said and kissed my forehead.
"Promise me that you'll come back to me..... and we'll spend the rest of our lives together" I whispered, tears rolling down my cheeks.
He hesitated, his teeth sinking into his lower lip.
"Theo, please-"
"I-I promise" he breathed.
He gave me a sad smile and pressed a kiss to the corner of my lips. The last thing I saw was his tear-filled golden eyes.
...
THEO
It was a total mayhem on earth. Those who were on the streets were running home. A lot of people were panicking. It was a heartbreaking sight. The humans probably believed that the creatures attacking them were aliens.
"Hold them back. Close the rift. I'll find Taerus" I said to Luke and Matthias as my wings stretched out.
"You shouldn't face Taerus alone" Matthias said.
"This is my fight and I'll appreciate it if none of you decide to risk your life because of me" I said and moved into the air, the cool breeze ruffling my hair.
Several demons approached me and all I had to do was radiate energy. They all exploded into demon ichor. There was a mist spreading across the earth and I desperately needed to find Taerus. I needed to end it all, quickly.
"There you are"
I turned to my left. Taerus was hovering in the sky, black wings stretched wide. He had a smirk on his face.
"Prince Daeron, the Chimaera Legend" he spat, moving forward.
"Why these mundanes? They did nothing to you. I'm the one you want, not them" I said. He laughed bitterly.
"It is their fault! It is their fault because they hid you from me! I would've killed you before now!"
"Let's get this over with, then" I said.
"Stupid boy. You do have a death wish" he spat, his eyes burning with fury.
He took out a silver sword which was evidently made of dragon blade.
I channeled flame balls at him. It only made him angrier. Things were getting heated. All I could think about was ending everything as quickly as I could.
...
Was it ten seconds later? Was it ten minutes later?
Was it ten hours later?
I couldn't tell.
I just knew that everywhere was getting darker and the violence was increasing.
I was handling my uncle just fine when some idiot decided to become a lamb for slaughter.
"You're not getting away with-"
Before he could complete the sentence, my uncle had sent a red ball of energy towards me. Matthias thought it was right to jump in front of me.
"Matthias-"
"It's fine. I deserve this. Fight him, Daeron. Kill him even if it costs you your life. You can't let him win" Matthias said to me.
He melted into ashes there and then.
With fury and rage pushing through my veins, I moved forward and summoned my golden sword. Taerus growled and lunged forward. Our swords clashed several times, sparks flying into the air. It was tough. Taerus transformed into a dragon and I had to kill his dragon form, thus depleting his energy. His eyes were wide with rage when he transformed back to his fae form.
"You are a failure, just like your father. I'll kill you just like I killed him. You can't stop me from taking over the universe. You're pathetic" he spat.
We both sent balls of energy, the blast strong enough to throw the both of us, twenty feet apart. We both steadied ourselves and clashed head on, our swords raised. My eyes were burning brighter, the sword in my hand blazing a bright gold.
There was a strange shift in the air and I knew that I had to strike. The heart stopping pain hit me first. I didn't stop to see what it was until I'd driven my golden sword into his chest.
He choked, black blood pouring out from his mouth.
He slowly faded into nothing but dust. It was at that point that I looked down at my chest where his sword was embedded. I slowly landed on my feet, coughing up blood.
Taking painful breaths, I buried my sword half-way into the ground, it's bright glow spreading across the earth. Luke rushed to me and steadied me when I swayed.
"Why are you so calm?" He asked when the demons started to fade away. I coughed up more blood.
"I don't see why I shouldn't be" I said, leaning on him.
"Idiot, You're dying" he said, tears filling his eyes.
"Oh, am I?"
"Now's not the time to joke about this" he said as he led me up the porch of our house. I groaned as we moved upstairs. Everything hurt like a bitch.
"Oh my God!" Rachel cried when she saw me.
"Mum, it's okay.... I'm perfectly okay with this"
Alba came to my bedside and removed the sword from my chest. I was bleeding badly and I felt horribly dizzy.
"Mum" I said to Rachel who squeezed my hand gently.
"Is Devon awake?" I asked and she shook her head.
"Not yet"
"Good, I don't want her to see me like this" I said, coughing up blood all over again. Alba knelt beside my bedside, patching me up as much as she could. She held my hand, her tears falling freely. "I'm so sorry I can't do anything to stop you from dying" she croaked.
"It's fine" I said.
"How many hours do I have left, Luke?" I asked.
He was standing by the door, eyes bloodshot.
"Five hours" he croaked.
I rose to my feet and grabbed a shirt.
"What the hell are you doing?" Luke said.
"There's something I need to do" I said and walked out of my room. Devon was lying on the couch, her features serene. I slowly traced her eyebrows down to her lips with a huge rip in my heart.
I kissed her forehead, her eyelids, her nose, her cheeks and her lips.
She stirred and opened her eyes. She sat up with a gasp.
"Theo...is it over?" She asked, rushing to the porch.
I followed her slowly.
"Everything looks normal. Wait, did the battle even happen?" She asked, frowning.
"Yes, it did. Everything's back to normal" I said.
Her eyes lit up like a thousand stars. She ran into my arms and kissed me.
"I love you so damn much" she said.
I took her hands in mine.
"So.... about that tour. Let's do it now" I said and she grinned.
"Close your eyes" I whispered.
She closed her eyes, biting her lower lip nervously.
"Now, open your eyes" I said. She slowly opened her eyes and let out a gasp. We were at the top of Eiffel Tower.
"Oh. My. God!" She exclaimed.
I chuckled.
"Can I take photos?" She asked. "Of course, you can"
She placed her phone in front of the both of us. She took several photos right before we started to move around Paris. She looked just as excited as she was when she'd visited the fae kingdom. We stepped into several art museums but thankfully, I was still holding on. It was hard to hide the fact that I was in pain but I managed to hide it so well.
We ended up going to one of the French restaurants. Devon was grinning from ear to ear. She looked so happy. When we stepped out of the restaurant, the pain in my chest spiked up. I couldn't hold it in much longer. I doubled over, coughing up blood. I squeezed my eyes shut, panting hard.
"Theo, are you hurt?" She asked, the look in her eyes, tearing me apart from deep within.
With tears filling my eyes, I gazed at her.
She knew at once.
Devon burst into tears, her hands steadying me when I swayed.
"Let's go home" she whispered, tears still running down her cheeks.
Opening a portal drained me further and by the time we got home, I was struggling to drag air into my weak lungs.
Luke helped me lie on the bed, my death bed. I suddenly felt so crushed. With each second that bound by, my heart was breaking.
"I knew something was wrong. I just- I just didn't know what it was" she sobbed, burying her face in my hair.
"You promised, you asshole! You don't have grey hair yet!" She cried.
"I'm so sorry" I choked out, tears filling my eyes.
"I can't loose you, Theo. I can't. Not like this" she whimpered.
Shakily, I took off my dove ring and placed it in her hand. "I want you to know that whatever happens, I'll always be there with you. I want you to move on. Be happy.....fall in love with someone else...." I coughed.
"No, no. I don't want anyone else. I want you. Just you"
"Me too. You're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.....but I.... can't. Not like this" I whispered, tears rolling down my cheeks.
She shakily wiped away my tears with her thumb.
"I can't get over you, Theo....I can't"
"I know..... I don't want you to drown in misery" I said.
She sobbed harder, pressing a kiss to my pale knuckles.
"Luke..." I said, my eyelids growing heavier.
"I'm right here" Luke said from my left. I turned to look at him through half closed eyelids. I took off my royal signet and gave it to him.
"I choose you to become the next flame keeper" I said.
"Daeron, I can't. You're a better king" he said, tears rolling down his cheeks.
"You have to do this for me, Luke. There's no one I'll like to take this position.....No one but you" I said.
He took the ring from me. Amyra placed a hand on his shoulder with tears in her eyes. Brielle was comforting Rachel. The weird part was that they were both crying. Karla was standing beside Devon with her hand resting on her shoulder. Melvin gripped my hand with a smile on his face.
"You're so brave" he whispered and I smiled.
"I'm so sorry things has to end like this. To all of you who has supported me till this moment, Thank you" I said, my breathing becoming shallow. I was completely drained and I could barely move. Devon's lips met mine and she kissed me. I gazed into her beautiful blue eyes with a weak smile on my face. She was the girl who would forever hold my heart in her hands.
"I... love you" I whispered, my breathing ragged. "I love you more"
Devon's ocean blue eyes were the last thing I saw right before my lungs gave out.
...
DEVON
Rachel let out a pained cry and Luke slid down the wall, with his chin pressed to his knees. His body trembled as pained sobs wracked his body.
"He's not breathing" I gasped, my heart shattering into a million pieces. Heartbroken, I willed myself to use my necromancy ability on him, but when he didn't move, I burst into fresh tears. "No, no! He can't be gone" I whimpered.
I shook Theo's lifeless form, pained sobs escaping my lips. Theo was dead.
It was so hard to believe it. All I could do was hold him to myself and mourn. I kissed his beautiful face and finally pressed a kiss to his cold lips.
"Come back to me, please" I whimpered, placing my head on his chest.
His body was becoming colder. Perhaps, just as cold as my heart had become.
Luke rose to his feet and moved to his bestfriend's death bed with his tears still flowing ceaselessly.
He took Daeron's limp hand and pressed a kiss to his cold knuckles.
"Farewell, Mo chara (my friend)" he whispered, his voice hoarse.
Slowly, Theo's lifeless body began to fade away. The longer I watched, the harder I cried.
Daeron Zrēlyen was gone but fate had other plans.
Little did I know that my cries had been heard.