The world swirled in and out of red and gray tones, creeping out of sanity before Kealie's sight.

In one heartbeat, she wondered if Nixian would perish regardless, leaving her without vengeance.

As the second bled into the third, Kealie knew this feeling her chest would fade. Her moment of wherewithal allowed her to recognize the sensation of love, an emotion so truly foreign to her that another pulse cracked back into her chest.

Color washed into her eyes, the storm still hammering down around them. Kealie's vision honed onto The King with vivid detail.

He was weak.

He was lost.

He would flee.

And as she slowly pushed up to her knees, that is what the King did.

"K-Keal..." a groggy voice moaned behind her.

Kealie froze before easing her way back down and hovering over Nixian's head.

He was beyond worse for wear, his skin charred a frightening black and shriveling. His clothing had melted to his arms and legs, barely still intact and leaving only portions of his body obscured. Nixian's head and neck were mostly untouched, even if the pain written in his expression was unforgettable.

Kealie cried silently as she weakly combed her fingers through his hair.

"Everything's going to be okay..." she whispered. "Just like you promised..."

He cracked the most tired smile she'd ever seen. The sight made her sob even harder.

Nixian moved to nod, grimacing as he did.

Kealie had no words to say, nothing to offer besides herself. So she sat there and held his head in her lap as the rain battered them.

She knew nothing of healing enchantments or spells, she knew nothing of if the seal had been broken or if Nixian would live.

The pain in her chest seized as Kealie realized how helpless they were. How hopeless. A cleaving to her very soul.

Kealie cried as the agony enveloped her and she looked at the sky with jaded eyes. The village spoke of the gods who had abandoned them, of those ancestors who left them to destroy themselves.

Completely alone, without eyes in the stars above.

Kealie willed herself to be her own star.

She would look out for herself.

She would be her own god.

Placing either hand on Nixian's temple and closing her eyes, Kealie embraced every ounce of who she was and what had happened. She submerged herself in every feeling, every painful memory, and stroked the stars within her very soul.

With one last deafening yell, lightning struck her.

Kealie felt the beautiful, wicked electricity bouncing through her veins as she transmuted the power in her body and sent it rushing into the man beneath her.

The brother she barely knew.

And yet the only being she'd come to love.

Kealie clenched her eyes tight even as the light faded and the power disappeared. She was shaking, afraid. Paralyzed.

It didn't work.

It couldn't have worked.

She squeezed her hands so tight, her nails drew blood in her palms. Her heart was as calm as the sea after a storm, even as she, herself, verged on breaking.

"Are you going to open your eyes?" a voice whispered, chuckling.

Kealie shook her head.

"No," she replied.

Her voice shattered.

She didn't want to know.

She didn't want to see.

"You're going to have to look at me eventually," the masculine voice said.

Kealie resisted the urge to blink, to look.

Everything, her whole kingdom, had been destroyed. She had taken everything from her family, just as they had from her.

She felt soft, wet hands cup the base of her jaw. A comforting, gentle embrace that sent her over the edge.

Kealie opened her eyes to find Nixian kneeling in front of her, his jacket and shirt nothing more than ash and dust. She searched him wildly, jerking away to see that his pants were now charred shorts and the boots he was wearing were gone.

Healthy.

He was healed.

She coughed, choking as she reached out to touch his bare chest, no longer black and disfigured.

"I-I," she stammered. "What... how..."

Nixian grinned the playful grin she'd grown to love so much and raised his brows at her. "You sealed yourself... You sealed yourself for me..."

She blinked again, still shaking. "How, I didn't know how, all I wanted was-"

"For me to live," Nixian answered for her, giving her a knowing smile. "You wanted me to live."

Kealie nodded, tears burning in her eyes.

"Enough of that," he said, pulling her into his chest and holding her tight. "No more crying."

She was trembling with the force it took to restrain the crushing weight, but she listened. He was right. There would be plenty of time for it later.

"Someone is going to have to sew Luverie back together," Nixian said calmly, his analytical tone creeping back in. "You're the only one left."

Despite wanting to argue about her sister or her step father, she came to realize how impossible the effort would be. Exposed and traitorous, they'd likely be hunted.

She was the only one.

Kealie found herself nodding as she pulled away from him. An exhaustion was seeping into her bones quickly, corrupting her willpower.

She needed to stand.

Needed to move.

So without thinking, Kealie got to her feet and wandered over to the corner of the stage where many Nerydian citizens had stayed behind.

There, covered in the blood of her mother and uncle, Kealie leveled her eyes to the people before her.

"I want every slave freed," she said groggily. Her own voice seemed deeper, foreign to herself. Her audience's eyes went wide. "If that is not followed, if that law is not upheld, you tell those human toseir's that I will find them and I will end them, myself."

Most of those before her were slaves, with chains or branding still craved into them.

Kealie knew she was capable when she reached out and focused on their metals. The chains groaned before snapping off the Nerydian's like twigs.

She noticed the way they watched her in wonder, the way tiny smiles sparked on their lips.

"Liberate this city," Kealie said, giving them a knowing look. Her face was stern, eyes narrowed. "Do whatever it takes."

She'd become a Queen if she must.

Her cryptic words spoke volumes for what she intended.

To right the wrongs of her mother.

The males she'd freed turned and obeyed her immediately, six of them running into the first houses they could spot. The females were more weary, watching Kealie and Nixian.

"Protect the young," Nixian added, coming to stand beside her. He rested a hand on Kealie's shoulder. "We are children of Aelusia, son and daughter of King Iyvers, himself."

There were several gasps, but the women listened. The surprised murmurs followed them. They scuttled off to find the missing and hidden children as the cries of humans broke out in the distance.

Kealie turned to her brother and attempted to smile for the first time in days. Her lips shook, managing to hold out for mere seconds.

"Every choice... Every decision..." Kealie murmured, feeling weak.

Nixian nodded, gesturing to groups of Nerydian's freeing one another. "They've all led us here," he said.

"I-I don't know what to do now, Nix..." she admitted, wishing she hadn't.

"We'll figure it out," he sighed. "Or not, you never know."

Then Kealie laughed. She found herself shoving into her brother's arm and tossing him a taunting glare. It was empty and fragile, but she would continue to nurse the joy in her chest.

Nixian was alive and Naida was deceased.

Kealie still felt the shock icing her veins, chills sweeping through her at random. She found herself sitting on the stairs of the stage, staring at the blood caking her dress and nails.

She watched as Nixian wandered off, whether to get new clothes or help the others she didn't know.

There was one last thing Kealie ached to do.

Standing up, she stalked into the Estate and searched for unlit torches. As she passed, her hand swung out to knock several paintings off the walls. Gathering an armful of shafts, Kealie felt sparks dancing along her fingers as she lit the ends.

One by one, in every major room and hallway, Kealie tossed the growing flames until smoke billowed in the air.

The walls caught fire fast, along with the fancy embroidered rugs and plush furniture.

She escaped as the worst went up in flames, a large bonfire in offering to her new life. Kealie wanted every single blemish of her family scorched from the planet. 

Treating their deaths as irreverently as they had her life.

She might one day forgive herself.

But she would need to forgive the world first.

Word Count: 1,462       Total Word Count: 21,254

We're done, guys! We Made it! XD