Rom walked back in his footsteps on the same trail in the forest while the sun was peaking from behind the hill, shining his first rays of the day.
He could feel his blood boil while the hatred for the witch deepened even further and took over his mind, slowly guilt crawled into his heart, and he shouted at himself for being foolish enough to leave his sister when he knew that witch wouldn't bat an eye before running a sword through their hearts.
Rom screamed in pain as he walked through the forest while the thought of losing the only family he had left and the one person who truly cared for him wreaked havoc in his mind and heart.
It was almost midday when Rom reached the campsite, only to realise that Dak, his sister and Dahlia were nowhere to be found.
He hoped that Dak had moved forward and made his way to the castle, which now, in his view, it didn't look like there was much more to go before they would have reached.
With that thought in mind, he picked their things and made his way to the castle, still trying to understand how the Apollyon knights found their way into the forest and why to go after his sister and Sylus. How did they even know they were there?
Killing them out of spite wouldn't bring her anything, and she wouldn't do anything that wouldn't benefit her.
After walking for almost half a day, he finally reached the castle, and he could only be amazed by the grand build that stood tall and strong even after all these years.
Rom pushed the heavy gate, gathering all the strength he had left inside, only to be greeted by Ian, who stood guard at the entrance with a sword in his hand, ready to strike him.
" Stop!" he shouted when Ian launched his attack without asking a question.
Rom pulled his sword and countered his first attack successfully, raising his sword above his head to catch his that came from above at a speed he had never seen before.
" Stop!" he said in a forced voice, bearly holding his defence while Ian's face was stricken with anger and grief.
" I've had enough of you dragging trouble every time you set foot into this forest!" he thundered while pushing down his sword even further and kneed Rom in the stomach.
Rom bent over, feeling the air knocked out of his lungs and lowered his sword and threw it on the ground.
" I deserve to die! Get it over with!" he surrendered while falling on his knees, feeling his will to live slowly dissipating and his mind slip into darkness, ready to let it swallow him whole.
Ian pushed his sword under his chin " Death is a small price to pay for what you did to her!" he stated in a pained voice feeling his throat tighten, and the air around him was too thick for him to breathe.
Rom lowered his head, " I'm truly sorry! I didn't know who she was at the time!" he apologised in a spent voice while pushing himself into Ian's sword, ready to pay for his sins.
" You know that is not all! I had her acolytes barge in first thing in the morning, and some women came with them. I know it was you who they followed into the forest!" Ian spoke while pointing at the pile of corpses on the castle ground, which looked like the Apollyon knights with Dahlia on top of them.
Rom gulped and finally understood the witch's plan all along, only it was too late; there was nothing he could do to stop her.
" Is she alive?" he absently asked while staring at the corpses on the castle grounds.
" Not for long!" he curtly replied while raking his hand through his hair; he knew Rom wasn't to blame for Iris's state, but he was responsible for bringing the witch to their doorstep, which was good enough reason for him to have his head.
Rom fell silent, wondering if he should ask about his sister, but he decided that it would be best not to; judging by Ian's state, he knew the man was in pain, and his mind was clouded with pain and fear of losing a loved one.
" Glad you could join us?" Dak's voice thundered from afar, stomping his way to where they were.
" He is pretty troublesome; why don't you save us all from having to clean up his mess and end his miserable life now!" Dak advised in a serious tone while stopping behind Ian.
" You've got the nerve to come to my home, ask me for my help and then tell me what to do!" Ian smirked while turning his attention to Dak, who raised his hands in surrender and took a step back.
" I was trying to help!" he huffed in annoyance while looking down on Rom.
" Maya?" he asked, knowing that Dak would understand what he wanted to know.
" She will be fine; she just needs rest to recover! You can thank the angry man here!" he explained while pointing at Ian, who scowled at Dak, sheathed his sword and walked away.
Rom's eyes followed Ian until it disappeared into the castle, and he turned his attention to Dak, who grinned.
" You can thank me later for saving your skin! I'll take you to Maya !" he stated while extending his hand and pulling him up from the ground.
" Thank you for what? You told him to kill me, remember!" Rom replied in a serious tone while looking again at the corpses, still not believing his eyes that they had managed to defeat the Apollyon knights.
" Will make a nice fire later!" Dak pointed out, seeing that Rom was staring at the pile of corpses on the ground.
Rom nodded and fell silent; he had already guessed what happened; he saw no point in asking useless questions, and he wanted to see Maya.
He was feeling grateful to Dak for having managed to pull through and save Maya, but he had a feeling that he did more for himself than for her.
" Thank you!" he murmured while halting his steps along with Dak.
" I didn't do it for you!' he candidly replied while pushing the door.
" I did it for her and me !" he confessed while stopping next to Maya's bed and looking at her body, now covered in bandages.
" You know she will be covered with scars when her wounds will heal!" Rom pointed out, curious to see how much Dak was after his sister just because she was a beautiful woman.
" I don't care; she will still be just as beautiful to me!" he retorted while brushing a strand of her fiery red hair, rubbing it between his fingers.
" Do you know what happened to the Queen?" he changed the subject, not understanding how she got injured when Dak and Ian, despite their wounds, were fine and still walking and talking.
" Something about their son; he did something to her!" he vaguely explained, himself not having all the details; it was just something he had heard from the two women who tended to Maya.
Rom nodded, and for the first time, he wasn't responsible for doing something that had gotten someone hurt, and he felt relieved somehow at that thought.
Although he had a bit of knowledge about her kind from the witch, he still couldn't understand how their son had hurt her. Didn't they find out not long ago that she was with child? He shrugged at his thoughts.