Chapter 81: The flashback

Serena's POV I watched Alejandro fight. I watched him bleed, and I watched him refuse to die even when the poison was spreading through his veins. And in that moment, as Felipe raised his claws for what I thought was the final blow, something inside me shattered. I closed my eyes, because I could not watch. I could not bear to see the light leave his eyes. And so I let myself fall back into a memory, and a moment from the morning before everything changed. It was a moment when he was still whole, still strong, and still mine. I remembered the way he had looked at me, the way he had touched me that morning, and the way he had said goodbye without actually saying goodbye. I opened my eyes in the memory of that morning, before the battle. The morning before the arena, I woke to find Alejandro watching me. The light was pale and grey, filtering through the window

Chapter 82: The drop

Serena's POV The weapon hit the sand, and the sound echoed through the arena like a death knell. I watched it fall, and I watched it land, and I did not understand what I was seeing. Alejandro had been winning. He had been fighting with everything he had, refusing to give up even when the poison was spreading through his veins. And now he was kneeling in the sand, weaponless, and defenseless, waiting for Felipe to strike. I did not understand how the tides had suddenly turned around, but I still decided to trust Alejandro. Alejandro was on his knees, and black blood dripped from the wound in his side. His hand was pressed against the gash, and his face was pale with pain. Felipe stood over him, with his silver claws raised and he was ready to strike, as the crowd was screaming for blood. But Alejandro did not look at Felipe, Alejandro looked up at me. His gol

Chapter 83: The gasp

Serena's POV The crowd gasped. I heard it rise from the stands like a wave, and a collective intake of breath that seemed to shake the very air around me. I heard a woman scream, and I heard a man curse, and I heard a dozen different voices all speaking at once, and none of them made any sense. "What is he doing?" a noble shouted from behind me. "Why is he not fighting back?" "He has surrendered," another voice answered. "The king has totally surrendered." "This is madness," a third voice added. "He cannot surrender, he is the king." I wanted to scream at all of them. I wanted to tell them that Alejandro was not surrendering, that he was making a choice, and that he was doing something none of them could understand. But I could not speak, and I could not breathe. I gripped the edge of the royal box, and I felt the cold stone biting into m

Chapter 84: The Lunge

Serena's POV Felipe's claws descended, and I knew that Alejandro was going to die. I knew that Felipe was going to kill him, and I knew that I could not let that happen. I did not think, and I did not plan, I just moved. It was not a decision, it was pure and primal instinct. And it was the same instinct that had kept me alive through twelve years of captivity. My body moved before my mind could catch up, and by the time I understood what I was doing, I was already in motion. Diego's grip on my arm loosened for just a fraction of a second, and that was all I needed. I tore myself free from Diego's grasp and I ran. The sound of my own heartbeat filled my ears, drowning out the crowd and the shouting and the chaos. There was only one thing in the world that mattered, and he was kneeling in the sand with death standing over him. "Serena!" Diego shouted behind me

Chapter 85: The swing pt 1

Serena's POV Felipe's claws came for my face, and I did not flinch.I did not close my eyes, and I did not turn away. I stood there in the sand, with my heart pounding against my ribs and my breath caught somewhere in my throat, and I watched death coming for me without a single tremor of fear.I had spent my whole life being afraid. I had been afraid of my father, and afraid of my stepmother. I have been afraid of the guards, the nobles, the court, and the endless parade of people who had looked at me like I was nothing worth saving. Fear had been my companion for so long that I had forgotten what it felt like to stand without it.But in that moment, in the cold sand of the arena, with Felipe's silver claws slicing through the air toward me, I was not afraid.Because Alejandro was behind me, and that was enough.Felipe's claws were a breath away from my skin when the world shifted. One moment he was in front of me, and the next he was gone, ripped sideways by a force I did not see c

Chapter 86: The swing pt 2

Serena's POV I had already seen the monster. I had seen Alejandro lose control in the dark of my room, and I had seen him stop himself before he hurt me. I had seen the violence in his hands and the gentleness in his touch. I had seen him at his worst, and I had loved him anyway. I knew exactly who Alejandro was, and I knew that Felipe was wrong. Alejandro's jaw tightened, and I saw his foot press down harder, and Felipe's face began to turn purple. I knew what Alejandro was thinking. I could feel it through the bond, like a surge of fury and pain and grief so overwhelming that it nearly knocked the breath out of me. Felipe had taken everything from him. Felipe had poisoned me, he had exiled Camila, and he had spent years poisoning the court, and building his army, and plotting to destroy everything Alejandro had ever loved. And now Felipe was on the gr