Chapter 220

Chapter 220

Alexcent killed the man with no hesitation. Before the blood could drip off the end of his sword, the chaser had become a God’s Guardian and fell to the floor.

He slowly turned around and faced Amethyst. She was mouthing his name in silence; shock having taken her voice from her. He observed that her hair had become shorter, her face thinner. The clothes she wore were dirty and torn and her hands were covered in scratched. She was not the same woman he remembered. When she had left, he had hoped that she would still live a privileged life. There is no reason I should still be worrying about her, he thought, fighting his emotions.

Her green eyes stared at him and he stared back, but he could see in her face that she saw the aggression in his expression. She could sense the anger and despair. She could see that he despised the truth about her. She knew that he was here to kill her.

Despite that, she did not seem afraid. She seemed to accept her fate. She knew why he had to do what he came to do, and that made his heart ache even more at his decision. Amethyst slowly closed her eyes in acceptance. Alexcent put the tip of his sword against her neck, resting it against the vein that pulsed slowly with her heart beat. He didn’t like how calm she was. He didn’t like that she wasn’t begging for her life.

I’m just returning everything the way it should have been. She had meant to be a God’s Guardian. Alexcent grasped his sword tightly. All he needed to do is flick his wrist, slice the vein and everything would go back to normality. Time seemed to stop. He was frozen, unable to complete the job. To an outsider, it would be like observing a portrait. A woman on her knees, ready to accept her fate, and a killer unable to complete the death blow. The sword began to tremble in his hands, as if the weight of it had become too heavy to hold, and Alexcent dropped the blade to the ground.

As she opened her eyes, wondering why her life had not yet ended, Alexcent pulled her to her feet and clutched her in his embrace. The voices in his head still demanded that he kill her, but he ignored their cries and held her tightly. It was only then that Amethyst began to tremble, as relief flooded her body and she embraced him back. He wanted them to just disappear into a void where he could hold her forever, but he knew that could never be.

Alexcent refused to let go. He was afraid that if he looked once more into her green eyes, he would never again let her leave and that meant her life would always be in danger. So, he kept embracing her, prepared for what was now his only other option.

“Your Majesty.” Gen’s voice broke the silence of the moment. Alexcent slowly released his arms and stepped back.

“I can’t break the promise that I gave to you,” Alexcent said softly to her. “What I do is not from love, but from duty. You must leave this kingdom all together. Go somewhere far away, where no one here will ever find you again. Where I will no longer have to make the decision I make now.” And without another word, he turned and disappeared into the night.

***

The reason Gen had always been a successful assistant to the duke was that he was completely thorough in everything he did. For every task he handled, he always considered two different scenarios and then made sure to have a plan for whatever scenario occurred. That way, he could always change his approach depending on what decision Alexcent decided to proceed with. This backup plan had saved the duke in a lot of situations in the past, as it would now.

Gen knew, that when Alexcent came face to face with Amethyst, he would either kill her or not be able to. He had prepared for both possibilities. And as he suspected, Alexcent was unable to go through with the execution.

After Alexcent walked off into the night, Gen approached Amethyst. “Ma’am,” he said softly, looking at her blood-stained clothing. “Are you hurt?”

Amethyst, who still stood in a state of shock, looked up at his voice. “No,” she said hesitantly, looking down at her body. “This isn’t my blood.”

Gen nodded in understanding. He reached within his jacket and removed a pouch of gold, which he handed to her.  “You’ll need this in your travels. Find some place nice to settle down in.”

Amethyst looked at the bag that was placed into her hand. By the weight, it felt like it was a significant amount.

“No matter where you go, you’ll have to have some identification. I obtained this for you.” Gen handed her an ID card. “Put whatever name you choose to start using in the blank space on the card and keep it with you. It should allow you to not have any trouble with authorities. This will be the last duty I perform for you. Stay safe and be well.” Gen bowed and followed Alexcent into the darkness of the night.

***

Alexcent, who had started running into the void without knowledge of where he was headed, stopped in exhaustion. The harsh wind that blew through the night only added to the coldness of his soul. He took deep breaths, trying to calm the chaos of his mind. The silver moonlight shone down on him, trying to comfort his soul. The monster inside of him had other ideas.

“Your Majesty,” Gen said, appearing out of the night. He always had been a good tracker.

“Did you help her?” Alexcent asked. Event though his original intention had been to kill her, he could not help but worry about her. There had been so much blood.