Hours passed, the battlefield lay silent, a graveyard of broken bodies and shattered dreams. I surveyed the carnage, my eyes searching for any flicker of life amidst the ruin. But there was only death here now.
"Your Highness," Lucas murmured beside me, his usual chatter subdued. "We've won"
I didn't answer. What was there to say? Victory tastes of ash when built on corpses.
A flash of movement caught my eye - a small group of soldiers near the edge of the field. Hope and dread warred within me as I strode towards them, Lucas trailing in my wake.
"Come," I commanded, my voice carrying on the wind. "There may yet be survivors to save."
But even as the words left my lips, I knew it for a lie. I sought not the living, but one who walked the line between.
The soldiers turned as we approached, their eyes widening in recognition. I saw fear there, and awe. Good. Let them tremble before their prince.
"Report," I ordered, scanning their faces.
"We were just—"
"Spare me," I cut him off. "What of the fallen? Any sign of life?"
They exchanged uneasy glances. My heart quickened, though I kept my face impassive.
"Well?" I pressed, allowing a hint of malice to creep into my tone. "Speak, or I'll assume you're hiding something."
Lucas cleared his throat. "Come now, friends," he said with forced cheer. "Surely you can ease our Prince's mind? We seek only to help any poor souls who might have survived this dreadful day."
I shot him a warning look, but his words had the desired effect. The soldiers relaxed slightly, their fear giving way to pity. Fools. They knew not what darkness lurked beneath my quest for survivors.
"There were several enemy survivors taken back to the palace to be put to work, a few women for the brothels... also there was this woman, Your Highness," he said hesitantly. "Unconscious, but breathing. We found her near the edge of the battlefield."
My breath caught in my throat, why?.
"Show me," I commanded, my voice barely above a whisper.
They led us to a secluded spot, hidden behind a fallen tree. And there she lay, her golden hair splayed out like a halo, her face as pale as moonlight. Sera. My wife. My love. Could it really be.
I fell to my knees beside her, my hands trembling as I reached out to touch her face. She was real, solid beneath my fingertips. Not a phantom or a trick of the devil's magic.
"Sera," I whispered, my voice cracking with emotion I thought long dead. "My love, can you hear me?"
She didn't stir, her breathing shallow and uneven. Fear gripped my heart. What if I'd found her only to lose her again?
"What have they done to you?" I murmured, gathering her limp form into my arms. She felt so fragile, so unlike the vibrant woman I'd known. Had her time in the afterlife changed her as it had changed me?
I looked up at the soldiers, my eyes darkening with barely contained rage. "Leave us," I snarled. They scrambled to obey, no doubt grateful to escape the oppressive aura of darkness that surrounded me.
As I cradled Seraphena close, I felt the stirring of emotions long thought dead. Hope. Love. Fear. They warred within me, threatening to shatter the carefully constructed walls of malevolence I'd built around my heart.
"I won't lose you again," I vowed, pressing my forehead to hers. "Whatever the cost, whatever dark bargains I must strike, I will keep you safe this time."
I strode through the camp, Seraphena's limp form cradled against my chest. The soldiers' curious gazes burned into my back, but I paid them no heed. Their petty curiosity meant nothing compared to the precious burden in my arms.
"Make way," I growled, my voice low and menacing. The crowd parted like a dark sea before me, their fear palpable in the air.
I spotted a secluded tent at the edge of the encampment. "That one," I ordered, nodding towards it. A young soldier scurried to hold the flap open, his eyes wide with terror.
Inside, I gently laid Seraphena on a makeshift bed of furs. Her face was so pale, so still. It reminded me of that terrible day when I'd held her lifeless body, before my descent into darkness.
"Not again," I whispered, my hands trembling as I reached for a water skin. "I won't lose you again."
I dampened a cloth and began to wipe the sweat from her brow. My eyes never left her face, searching for any sign of life, any flicker of the woman I'd loved.
"Come back to me, Sera" I murmured, my voice a mix of command and plea.
A flutter of her eyelids sent a jolt through my body. Her eyes, those familiar pools of deep amber, searched the dimness of the tent until they found mine. Relief flooded me, a feeling I'd long forgotten. I grasped her hand, my touch gentle yet unyielding. I couldn't bear to let her slip away again.
"Prince Gideon," she whispered, her voice weak and uncertain.
The sound of my name on her lips ignited something within me – a spark of the man I once was, before the darkness consumed me. But I quashed it quickly. That man was dead, replaced by something far more powerful, far more dangerous.
"You're safe now," I said, my voice a low rumble. "I'm here. Nothing will harm you."
Confusion clouded her eyes. "Where am I? What happened?"
I hesitated, memories of my journey to the underworld flashing through my mind. The devil's laughter echoed in my ears, mocking my failure, my weakness. I pushed the thoughts away.
"It doesn't matter," I said, my tone brooking no argument. "All that matters is that you're here, with me. And I will protect you, Seraphena. No force in this world or the next will take you from me again."
As I spoke, I felt the familiar pulse of dark power coursing through me. My eyes, I knew, would be darkening to black, reflecting the shadows that now resided in my soul. But for once, I didn't care. Let her see what I'd become. Let her understand the depths I'd sunk to, all for her.