"I'm sorry this happened too," I said, biting my lips to stop them from trembling.
"I… I should've known. I should've seen it coming. I should've fought better. I should've done a better job of protecting you—"
"Luca, will you stop?" I interrupted him. I hate how Luca always blamed himself for things that weren't in his control. "No one could've seen it coming. And you did protect me. I'm alive, aren't I? I would've been dead if you hadn't protected me."
He averted his guilt-ridden eyes. "I should've known," he continued, his voice racked with agony. "I was negligent. I let my guard down. I never expected the Sun Empire to attack—"
"Sun Empire?" I asked. I've heard of the empire beyond the sea. "Were they the people who attacked us?" Then that explains the strange banner and their foreign appearance. But why did they attack us? We were way up north, and their empire was beyond the south seas. "Luca, tell me everything."
