Chapter 7
"Please stop. You're killing him." Fiona begged.
Kael could not see who she was begging but he felt he knew who the person was. He watched as someone ran up to Felix to tell him something. The person had a huge smirk on his face. Felix was filled with rage. Kael already knew he was going to go berserk. Fiona was released and she ran to try to meet up with her brother. She was so caught up with getting to Felix that she had no idea there were traps set for her.
Kael could not recognize the building Fiona was in but he knew it was in the palace. It was more like a cave. There were numerous places he had no idea about regarding the palace. Fiona ran through the hallway to get to her brother when the first trap was unleashed. An arrow went straight through her chest but she continued walking.
"I'm not going to stop…." She muttered as blood seeped through her clothes.
Augustus cheered when he saw how determined she was to get to her brother.
"This is what you call love right?" He asked Kael who had no idea if this was the brother he knew or someone else.
"Why are you doing this?" Kael asked his brother.
Augustus laughed. "Do I really need a reason to do this?"
Kael was about to say something else, but Augustus interrupted him.
"This is where the fun begins."
Kael watched as Fiona kept on moving through the cave even with the arrow stuck in her chest. She was determined to get to her brother. To be sincere, Kael understood her need to get to him. Fiona had told him about the bond she shared with her twin brother and how much it hurt her that he was in pain. He was the best student at the academy but because of the disease, no one heard of him again.
Fiona continued walking, struggling to get to her brother. He was the only family she had left. She was almost at the arena where he was when another arrow pierced her eyes.
She screamed in pain and removed the arrow but not before the eye started rotting. It was then Kael knew that the arrows were coated with magic. Fiona could not use her magic at the moment because of the restraints on her hands and legs.
Fiona cried but continued while Augustus oohed at her tenacity. She was a tough one and he was having fun seeing her suffer. It brought him immense joy to see her struggle. To see her suffer and crawl.
One more step and another arrow went through her legs. Fiona removed it and continued her walk. She had just gotten to the arena when she heard Felix screaming in pain. Fiona watched in shock as Felix scratched at his chest.
"It burns. It burns." He cried out.
But that wasn't enough to deter Felix's attackers. He was already on the floor, away from his wheelchair but his attackers approached him with glee. Piercing him at every opportunity. Fiona screamed in rage and ran towards the attackers to protect her brother. She managed to snag a knife from one of the attackers but she knew there was no way she would win. Not with their numbers. Not with how weak she was at the moment. And surely not without magic.
"I'm sorry." Felix cried out.
Fiona shook her head as she tried to hold in her tears although she was doing a bad job at it. They fell freely.
"Don't apologise." She told him.
"If only I was stronger. If only….." Felix coughed blood.
Fiona dropped her sword and moved to him trying to support him in any way she could. But she knew there was nothing she could do. Felix's body burned like a volcano. It was scalding hot and just touching him burnt through her skin. She had no idea how her brother was still able to speak even with this pain.
"I'm sorry." Felix cried out again.
"It's okay. It's okay." Fiona assured him. "It's me and you till the end, remember?" She asked him with a smile.
"At least I get to see you once more," Felix told her.
"Of course. I told you I would be back." Fiona cried out with a watery smile on her face.
Felix smiled as the tears poured from his eyes. His last thoughts were, 'If only I was stronger.'
He rested in Fiona's embrace and closed his eyes.
"Felix," Fiona called out.
"Felix." She called out again but there was no reply.
He wasn't even moving. She tried to feel his pulse even as his body burned through her clothes and skin.
"Please. Please. Please no." She cried out.
"Felix, please." Fiona cried out.
Everything she had done, she did for him. She had gone to war because she thought it would get her the money she needed for his treatment. There was no use fighting anymore. Felix was gone. For what use was this life if he was gone?
Fiona directed her gaze to the sky as she called out to the attackers.
"I'm here." She cried out. "Kill me too. You've taken everything away from me. Kill me….kill me…please."
The attackers smiled as they pierced her one by one. Kael lost count when the twentieth spear went through Fiona. She had given up and even while they pierced her, she held her brother close.
Kael tried to look away as the tears poured from his eyes but Augustus ensured he witnessed everything. A force held Kael in place and he kept on watching. Even closing his eyes was not an option. He cried for Fiona and the pain she must be going through.
"Stop. Stop please." Kael begged his brother with tears streaming down his face.
Augustus turned to him. "But the show has only just begun. Why end it so early?"
The projection that had shown him, Fiona, in her last moments shattered with a bang and spread fireworks in the hall. Some of which landed on Kael's skin but he was willing to take the pain.
"Now." Augustus started. "We move on to the next person."