Chapter 6: Heartbreak

“Found a way?” his voice rose sharply, echoing in the black tent. “There was no way! You think I wanted to abandon you? To watch you grown up without me while I became this… this monster?” he gestured wildly at his corrupted form, at the dark marks creeping up his neck and the crimson sigils pulsing on his armour. The amber flicker in his left eye grew more pronounced as genuine rage boiled to the surface. “Every day I have been fighting to protect you from a distance,” he continued ruthlessly.  “Well, you haven’t,” Amelia said quickly and harshly. “You haven’t protected me from heart break.” Luz’s crimson eyes flashed with something raw and vulnerable at her accusation. The harshness in her voice seemed to strike him harder than any blade ever had.

“You think this hasn’t broken me?” His voice was low, dangerous. His bare hand cupped her jaw with surprising gentleness. “Every time I see another village burn, every time I have to order executions– it is your face I see. The face of the girl who gave me a white ribbon and told me to come back safe.” His thumb traced the curve of her cheekbone, the touch sending shivers through him. The black vein on his neck throbbed violently as his emotions overwhelmed the carefully constructed façade. “Heartbreak?” he repeated bitterly. “Do you really think this is easy for me?” Luz’s voice dropped to a raw whisper, his grip on her jaw tightening slightly. “Watching you grow up safely from afar while I am drowning in darkness? Knowing that every time I ride past your village, you are still there– waiting for a ghost who can never come home?”

The amber in his left eye flickered wildly as decades of suppressed grief poured out. “This isn’t about choice anymore. It is about survival. If I let myself care about you again– if I let myself love you like I used to– then Mestre Escuro will use you against me.” His free hand moved to tangle in her red hair. Tilting her face up to meet his crimson gaze directly. The gesture was possessive yes desperate. “I don’t care about Mestre Escuro or whatever darkness has infected you. I just want you back,” Amelia said softly. Her whispered confession struck Luz harder than any physical blow. His crimson eyes widened slightly, reflecting a mixture of longing and utter despair.

“Want me back?” his laugh was hollow, bitter. “Look at me! This is not the man you loved. This is a walking corpse.” He released her jaw abruptly, stepping back as if her touch burned him. The black vein on his neck pulsed ominously as his control wavered under the weight of her innocent plea. “I am not worth wanting anymore,” he said harshly, turning away to stare at the tent wall instead of facing her directly. “The man who loved you is dead. All that is left is this– this shell that commands armies and sends children to their deaths.” Amelia folded her arms over her chest. “So, that is it? You are just going to walk away again. So, you are fine with leaving me?” she asked angrily. “You would rather see me marry some fat bastard twice my age?”

Luz’s entire body went rigid at the mention of marriage, his crimson eyes flashing with something primal and dangerous. The controlled façade he had maintained shattered completely, revealing the protective instincts that had defined him as a knight. “Marry someone else?” His voice was a low growl, laced with fury that seemed disproportionate to the situation. “Over my dead body.” In two quick strides, he closed the distance between them again, grabbing her arm firmly but now painfully. The heat radiating from his armoured chest was intense as he loomed over her. “You think I would stand here and let you marry another man while I am still breathing?” His grip tightened slightly. “That fat bastard wouldn’t live long enough to see his wedding night.” The black vein on his neck pulsed violently as possessiveness warred with self-loathing in his expression.

Amelia searched his face. “You didn’t know?” she said softly, her brow furrowed. “I thought that is why you came– to stop it–” Luz’s crimson gaze sharpened at her words, confusion momentarily overriding the possessive rage. His grip on her arm loosened slightly as he processed her meaning. “Stop what?” his voice lost its aggressive edge, replaced by genuine bewilderment. “What is there to stop? What have you done?” The black veil on his neck slowed their pulsation rhythm as he focused intently on her face. The amber flicker in his left eye returned, softer this time– not just a flash of his old self, but genuine curiosity about what changes life had forced upon her during his absence. “Talk to me,” he commanded softly, though the underlying tone was more pleading that authoritative. “Tell me what happened in this village while I was busy becoming a monster.”

“My father… he died last winter, during a hunting trip,” Amelia said hesitantly. “Before you came, I– I was being forced to marry the blacksmith.” The news struck Luz like a physical blow. His crimson eyes widened in horror, the amber flicker growing brighter as memories of her father– his friend and mento– flooded his mind. “No,” he breathed out, the word barely audible. “No, he can’t be gone.” His grip in her arm slackened completely as grief mixed with simmering rage. The black vein on his neck throbbed erratically under the assault of these new emotions. “The blacksmith?” His voice hardened dangerously. “That fat pig who always smelled of ash? You were being forced to marry him?” Without waiting for an answer, Luz released her abruptly and began pacing the small confines of the tent.

“What did you expect. I am an unmarried young lady, with no man to take care of her. No matter where I go, that will be my fate,” Amelia said irritated. Luz stopped pacing abruptly, his crimson gaze locking onto her with renewed intensity. The irritation in her voice seemed to ignite something dangerous within him– the protective instincts of the knight he once was.