Chapter 4: A Heart in Ruins
The storm raged on, its fury unrelenting, as if the heavens themselves mourned the loss of all hope. Amelia's heart pounded in her chest, her mind overwhelmed by the weight of the moment. Every breath she took felt like a betrayal of the life she had once known. Every heartbeat was a reminder of what she was about to lose.
Kaelen, her Kaelen, the man she had loved with every ounce of her being, was slipping away.
His body trembled in her arms, the blood seeping from the wound in his side soaking the earth beneath him. His face, once full of strength and resolve, was now pale and drawn, his features softened by pain and weakness. She could feel his breaths growing fainter with every passing second. The life he had fought so hard to protect was slipping away, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
"Kaelen, no," she whispered, her voice thick with grief. Her fingers pressed against the wound, but the blood kept flowing, the life force draining from him like a slow, cruel river.
His lips parted, and for a moment, it seemed as though he might speak. But all he managed was a weak cough, his body shuddering with the effort. His hand, cold and trembling, reached up to touch her cheek, his gaze locking with hers as if trying to convey something—something beyond the pain and the blood.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice hoarse and broken.
"Don't," she choked out, her tears falling freely now, mixing with the rain that had soaked her to the bone. "You don't get to apologize. You don't get to leave me."
His hand fell away, and for a moment, Amelia thought that maybe he had succumbed to the darkness. But then, his eyes fluttered open, and there was a flicker of recognition—a brief glimmer of the man she had known.
"I love you," he murmured, his voice faint, like a whisper carried on the wind. "I always have… always will."
And then, his body went still.
Her world shattered.
"No… no, Kaelen," Amelia gasped, her hands shaking violently as she cradled his face. His once warm eyes were now glassy, vacant. His chest no longer rose and fell with the rhythm of life. He was gone.
The reality of his death slammed into her like a crushing blow. She could feel the weight of it—an unbearable weight that threatened to drown her, to consume her whole. Kaelen, the man she had loved, the man she had fought for, was dead. And in his death, the last shred of her hope had been ripped away.
A scream tore from her throat, raw and primal, a sound filled with anguish and disbelief. The storm seemed to echo her pain, its winds howling louder, as if the very world itself mourned the loss of the man who had been her everything.
"Kaelen… no… please… wake up. Please," she begged, her voice breaking with each word, but the silence was deafening. There was no response, only the steady patter of rain and the distant clash of thunder.
A sharp, cruel laugh interrupted her mourning.
"Well, well, it seems the mighty General Kaelen has finally fallen," came Lord Valerius's voice, cold and mocking, as he stepped forward from the shadows. His men stood behind him, their eyes gleaming with a mix of triumph and sadistic pleasure. "How fitting. The man who thought he could protect you is now nothing more than a corpse."
Amelia's heart clenched, but she didn't have the strength to fight back anymore. She had lost everything. Her love, her hope, her future. And now, Lord Valerius was here to claim her as his prize.
She looked down at Kaelen's lifeless body, her tears falling freely now, mixing with the rain. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to go on. The world had turned into a nightmare, and there was no escape from it.
Valerius's booted footsteps approached, the sound of them like a hammer driving nails into her soul. His cold, merciless eyes glinted with a twisted satisfaction as he stopped beside her, his gaze flicking to Kaelen's body with no hint of sympathy.
"I've waited a long time for this," Valerius said, his voice low and venomous. "The death of your beloved Kaelen was merely a means to an end. And now… now you're mine."
Amelia's breath caught in her throat. She felt a cold rage building inside her, a fire igniting in her chest. She couldn't let him take her, not like this. She had lost too much already, but there had to be something left in her—some spark of defiance that could burn through the darkness.
But as she stood, her legs weak beneath her, she saw the soldiers move, their hands grabbing her, pulling her away from Kaelen's body. She struggled, kicking and screaming, but their grip was too strong. They dragged her away, her feet stumbling over the wet ground as she was pulled further and further from the only person who had ever truly understood her.
"Let go of me!" she shouted, her voice hoarse and desperate. "You'll regret this, Valerius! I'll make you regret it!"
Valerius didn't flinch. His eyes glinted with amusement as he watched her struggle. "Regret? My dear, I regret nothing. You're mine now. And you'll learn to accept that."
Amelia twisted in their grip, her body wracked with sobs. She had no strength left to fight them. She had nothing left. The love of her life was dead, and now she was being taken away, bound to a fate she couldn't escape.
The soldiers shoved her into the back of a wagon, the wooden planks creaking beneath her as they bound her wrists with rough ropes. The cold, damp air cut through her like a blade, but she barely noticed. She was numb. Completely numb.
The wagon lurched forward, and Amelia's world became a blur of rain and shadow, the storm closing in around her like a shroud. The sound of her own heartbeat thundered in her ears, drowning out everything else. She couldn't think. She couldn't process what had just happened. She was lost in a sea of grief and fury, with no shore in sight.
As they drove deeper into the wilderness, away from the place where she had once known love, Amelia's mind began to unravel. She kept seeing Kaelen's face, his last words, his hand gently touching her cheek. His promise to always protect her. But it was all gone now.
And she was alone.
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