-Sacer-

  Day One

  Luca hasn’t woken up.

  The village healers say he’s stable, but what does that even mean? He’s not awake. Stable isn’t Luca making some sarcastic remark or rolling his eyes. Stable just means he’s not dead.

  That’s not good enough.

  I sat beside his bed, watching his chest rise and fall with each one of his shallow breaths, almost like his body was afraid of breaking more than it already had. His face was pale, the dark bruises on his jaw and cheekbone stark against his skin. His hands laid limp against the sheets.

  I hate this.

  Why can’t I do anything?

  I don’t sleep. I don’t eat. I just sit here, waiting.

  Waiting for him to wake up. Waiting for him to tell me that I’m overreacting. Waiting for him to tell me that I can stop looking at him as if I’d already lost him.

  But, I’m waiting for something that doesn’t come.

  Day Two

  Edric keeps trying to get me to eat. Tray, after tray, of food gets set on the nightstand next to me like it’ll make a difference. “Come on, dude. Just a few bites.”

  I ignore him.

  He sighs, rubbing a hand down his face. “You know, he’s not gonna wake up any faster just because you’re starving yourself.”

  I know that. Obviously I know that. But that doesn’t matter. Nothing matters right now except him.

  Edric, thankfully, doesn’t push it. He just sits in the chair across from me, arms crossed, staring at Luca like he’s expecting him to wake up at any second.

  Like this was all some bad dream. Like the kid we saved hadn’t turned into some sort of dragon-man and tried to kill us all. Hadn’t almost killed Luca.

  But Luca doesn’t wake up.

  Day Three

  As I sleep, I dream about our sixteenth birthday. About the city square. About how those damned black flames erupted from his body.

  I could still hear his screams in my head.

  “Sacer!”

  “Help me!”

  “Please don’t leave me!”

  I dream about how I hesitated.

  I dream about how I pushed him away.

  I wake up to the sound of my own ragged breathing, my chest tight, a cold sweat clinging to my skin. I have to take a second just to remember where I am. I have to remind myself that I’m not in the capital, that I’m not standing in the ruins of Draemoor.

  I turn to Luca, but nothing’s changed.

  He’s still lying there. Still not waking up.WHY?!

  I sink back into my chair and drop my head into my hands.

  Day Four

  Finally.

  Finally the healers gave me an answer.

  His Taika was damaged beyond repair. The words hit me like a punch to the gut, knocking the air right out of me.

  They go on and on about what that means: that even though he’s alive, he might never use magic again. That his body is still recovering, and they don’t know what’ll happen when he wakes up.

  If he wakes up.

  I barely heard the rest. I barely heard anything over the sound of my heartbeat hammering in my ears.

  What could I even say?

  Edric clenched his fists but he stayed quiet. I think he knows that if either of us opened our mouths right now, it wouldn’t do anything but make this worse.

  After the healers leave, I sit back down and continue to stare at Luca.

  This isn’t fair. He’s been fighting against what people think he is, against himself, against me. And now this?

  He doesn’t deserve this.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Come on, Luca,” I whisper under my breath.

  But he doesn’t move.

  Day Five

  I try to pray.

  To who? Gabriel? Myself? I don’t even know why.

  I was never really the praying type. But please.

  To whoever’s listening.

  Please don’t take my brother from me.

  Day Six

  The weight in my chest continues to get heavier. It feels like it’s pressing down on my ribs, making it impossible to breathe.

  I can’t stop the thoughts from racing through my head. I can’t stop replaying everything that’s happened since our birthday.

  Every single choice. Every single fucking mistake. Every second I could have been there for him, and wasn’t.

  I’m the great Hero. I have to be strong. This is my duty.

  But what kind of Hero lets his own brother end up like this on death's door?

  What kind of Hero tries to kill the person he grew up with.

  My throat tightens, my vision blurring as tears welled up.

  I grip Luca’s limp hand in mine and press my forehead against the edge of the bed.

  I’m sorry.

  I’m so sorry.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper, “I should have said it sooner. I should have said it so many times. I had so many opportunities. I should have—” My voice cracks, and I swallow hard.

  I should have been there for you.

  I should have told you that I was wrong. That I know now. That I finally, finally understand.

  But I never did.

  And now, I might never get the chance.

  “Please. Don’t leave me alone, Luca.”

  Day Seven

  “Sacer, enough.”

  I barely react when he storms into the room, looking more frustrated than I’ve ever seen him.

  “You’ve been sitting here for a week. You haven’t eaten, you haven’t slept, and you sure as hell haven’t done anything but wallow.”

  I glare at Edric, jaw clenched. “What else am I supposed to do, huh?”

  “Live, you idiot.” he said, exasperated. “Do something other than torture yourself. Don’t forget that you’re not the one lying in that bed, Sacer.”

  I look back at Luca.

  At the brother who I’d spent months chasing down.

  At the brother who still came back for me anyway.

  I let out a slow breath.

  Maybe Edric was right. Maybe I can’t just sit here, waiting for something to change.

  —

  I pulled the strap on my arm guard tighter, flexing my fingers to make sure it wasn’t too stiff. It bit into my skin, but I welcomed the feeling—it kept me grounded. It was something real. Everything else felt like a dream I still hadn’t woken up from.

  I glanced over at Edric, who was adjusting his belt, checking his sword, going through the usual motions. Normally, he’d be cracking jokes, making some ridiculous comment to fill the silence. Today, though, he was quiet. We both were.

  We didn’t talk much as we made our way outside.

  The air was still heavy, the stench of smoke still filled the air. The streets weren’t empty—people were out, focused on rebuilding, but something was different. The usual buzz of morning chatter was subdued, the usual foot traffic slower. As if they were waiting for something.

  Turns out they were.

  The book shopkeeper stood near his stall, watching us. “You’re heading out?”

  I nodded, adjusting the strap of my sheathe. “Yeah.”

  His gaze flickered toward the infirmary, and I could already tell what he was going to ask.

  “And your brother?”

  “Still resting.”

  A woman stepped forward from the small crowd, her expression warm despite the exhaustion in her eyes. “We owe you our lives,” she said, looking between me and Edric. “Especially your fire magician brother.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that.

  Did they know? Did they know how I treated him? How I failed him? How I—

  I slapped my cheeks hard, grounding myself and my thoughts.

  An older man stepped forward, clearing his throat. He was tall, back stiff with age, but his gaze was sharp. “This town will ‘member what you did fo’ us,” he said, his voice steady. Then he met my eyes. “And when your brother wakes, we’ll tell ‘em the same.”

  I forced myself to breathe.

  Edric, thankfully, spoke before I had to. “Please do,” he said, his voice softer than usual.

  Silence stretched between us for a moment before the old man finally gestured toward the stable behind him. “We ‘ave somethin’ for you.”

  I frowned. “What?”

  A small motion, and suddenly I noticed them—two strong horses standing saddled and ready.

  “We can’t accept—”

  “You can and you will,” another man interrupted, leaving no room for argument. “You saved this town. It’s the least we can do.”

  We brought the person that almost destroyed it.

  Edric let out a low whistle, walking toward the horses. “Well, who are we to refuse a gift?”

  I hesitated, staring at them.

  Edric patted his on the side. “I’m calling mine Bolt.”

  “Because of—”

  “Because of the lightning magic,” he confirmed with a grin. “What about yours?”

  I looked at mine. A dark brown mare with a black mane. She huffed softly, shifting her weight as if she was waiting for me. Her fur reminded me of Luca’s hair.

  “Sable,” I said finally.

  Edric hummed. “Nice. Very dark.”

  I rolled my eyes but didn’t argue.

  The villagers stood together as we mounted up, their gratitude thick in the air. I took a slow breath, letting it settle in my chest.

  “Thank you,” I said. And I meant every word of it.

  There were a hundred things I wished I could change, but at least… At least we helped them.

  With a light kick, I urged Sable forward, Edric and Bolt keeping pace beside me.

  We left Fatalis behind.

  The road to the capital stretched ahead, and we’d need to make good time if we wanted to get there before Damian. He already had a week-long headstart.