AKARI

As I was falling, I managed to summon my wings and fly the rest of the way to the ground with Kaito and Valentine. Layla and Damian fell into the snow and were knocked out on impact, as was Eirwen. Kieran managed to drag his sword along the cliff side as he was falling so that he could leap off of the cliff and land safely in the snow.

As Kaito and Valentine look around for Amaya, Kieran and I run over to check on Layla, Damian, and Eirwen. I breathe out a sigh of relief when I feel that the three of them are still breathing, but I worry about the blood running down the side of Layla's head. I glance over my shoulder back at Valentine and Kaito to see that they've found Amaya standing by the edge of a cliff that's jutting out to the village below and I frown.

"Go help them," Kieran nods in their direction. "I'll make sure Eirwen is apprehended and I'll tend to Layla and Damian as best as I can."

"Thank you," I nod, relieved.

I run towards Kaito and Valentine as they fight off Amaya, who uses dual blades made of water against them. Valentine, using his abilities to predict all of Amaya's moves, is always one step ahead of her.

"Just let me go," Amaya says tiredly as she fights back, one dual blade raised against Valentine's scythe and one dual blade raised against Kaito's staff, her eyes flickering between the two of them.

"Why did you attack Kieran?" Kaito asks, holding his stance.

"It's not that I wanted to, but if I didn't..." Amaya purses her lips and whirls against Kaito and Valentine, kicking Kaito out of the way as she focuses solely on Valentine, who rushes to meet her blade. "How would I look to my people? I'd look like I have no backbone, and they already think that of me. How could I not grant them what they want?"

"You don't get it," Kaito scowls. "You think doing whatever your people want, even if it's the wrong decision, is the right thing to do? You think by attacking Kieran that you have a backbone because you look like you stood up to him and fought for your people? That doesn't give you backbone, it shows that you lack backbone. Having backbone means standing up for what's right for your people, even if it isn't what the people want. It means doing the right thing in face of adversity. And you know attacking Kieran wasn't the right thing to do."

"Is it really so wrong to appear benevolent to your people?" I add, gaining Amaya's attention. "Kindness and forgiveness aren't weakness, they're strength."

"Akari!" Valentine calls out, nodding back to Kieran, who is now grappling with Eirwen, who regained his consciousness before Kieran could apprehend him.

"Go," I say, running to take Valentine's place as he rushes passed me to help Kieran.

I knock one of Amaya's blades out of her hands and it flies behind her and over the cliff, and she replaces it with a spear made of water, choosing to abandon her other dual blade as well in favor of using the spear. Kaito and I both lunge at Amaya and she holds the spear over her head to fend off the both of us. Her arms shake as the spear gets closer and closer to her face, and she leaps off to the right, narrowly avoiding falling off the cliff as she rushes around us. Amaya lunges forwards instantly and I use my powers to slow the rate that her spear rushes towards me so that I avoid being hit. Amaya's eyes widen and she stumbles passed me as time speeds back up once I'm out of the way and she whirls on her heel as she tries to stop herself on the snowy cliff's edge. Pebbles fall from beneath her feet and she stares at us, horrified, as she loses her balance.

"Amaya!" I shout, rushing forwards to grab her hand.

My fingertips brush hers as she falls off the edge and her spear flies through the air, landing behind us on the cliff.

"Amaya!" In the distance, Eirwen shouts his sister's name, having heard me yell for her.

As I prepare to fly off after her, spikes of ice rush towards Kaito and I, and Kaito tackles me out of the way.

"Akari, are you okay?" Kaito asks breathily as he helps me back up.

"Yeah, I'm fine--" I start, watching as Kaito's eyes widen as he looks over my shoulder.

My breath leaves my body as Kaito roughly spins us around and shoves me away, the blur of Valentine racing towards us barely making it into my vision as I'm turned around. Kaito clenches his jaw and closes his eyes, and my eyes widen when I see Amaya flying in the air she's surrounded by water, and before I can fully register what's happening, one of Amaya's spears protrudes through Kaito's chest.

"Kai...to?" I breathe out, my blood running cold as he opens his eyes and smiles sadly at me, drops of blood falling into the snow.

I scramble to my feet and run towards him as he stumbles backwards and mouths the words 'I love you' before he falls over the edge of the cliff, his eyes closing.

"Kaito!" I scream as I launch myself off the cliff after him, my wings unfurling.

I outstretch my hand and tears fly up in the air as I fly downward after his body, light radiating from my right hand as I start to use my magic to attempt to slow his fall. However, Amaya knocks me aside into the rocky cliff and I smack the side of my head against the cliff, causing me to twirl around and spiral downwards, my vision going black around the edges. I manage to blurrily see Valentine leap off the cliff after Amaya, Kaito, and me just before my vision relents to the darkness.

***

"For shit's sake, I just want to know if she's okay!"

My hearing slowly comes back to me as the world crashes around me in waves and my eyes groggily open, the black around the edges of my vision fading away as I open my eyes fully, blinking and taking in my surroundings. As I look around, I notice Valentine standing off to my left, white bed covers covering the lower half of my body as I lie in a bed in some foreign room, other people coming and going in and out of the room, Valentine crossing his arms to a brunette woman with a white work apron on over her clothes.

"Val...entine?" I croak, and Valentine whirls around immediately, his eyes widening as he rushes over to me.

"Akari..." Valentine breathes out, his expression full of worry, his hand tentatively reaching out before he drops it.

"Miss Hana," the woman makes her way over to me, her green eyes empathetic. "You've been unconscious for quite some time. You hit your head pretty hard against a cliff side while you were falling. Although immortal, you're well aware you can still get injured, especially in this realm. You have a concussion and three broken ribs. I'm sure you'll have many bruised bones as well. If Valentine hadn't found you, lying in the cold for so long may have caused severe damage to your health."

"Valentine?" I furrow my eyebrows. "What about...what about Kaito? Where's—"

"Miss Hana," the woman cuts me off, making me clench my jaw. "Please, don't stress yourself. There were three others taken into medical care under King Eirwen's request. I'm not at liberty to share with you the details of their conditions, but I can assure you that everyone who was injured is here in the medical unit. I'll leave you and your friend alone for a few moments to talk, but I'll be back shortly with your medication. Please, don't stress her out while I'm gone."

Once the nurse leaves the room, I look at Valentine expectantly, wondering what all happened since I was unconscious.

"Since your fall," Valentine begins with a sigh, sitting on a stool by the bed, "Eirwen took over control of Rialta. Amaya was killed in our battle. Eirwen and Kieran managed to reach a peace agreement, but only because I insisted it's what Amaya truly would have wanted. I corroborated my word by explaining what Amaya said on the cliff side about worrying about maintaining her image and that that was the true reason why she attacked Kieran. Knowing that this was always an issue for his sister, Eirwen dropped his guard slightly and was open to negotiation. He very much hates us because of Amaya's death, but he said he wouldn't be putting the people first if he let an opportunity to help Rialta pass by. He immediately requested treatment for you, Kaito, Layla, and Damian."

"What about the others?" I ask, my throat restricting with concern.

"Damian was only passed out for a while, and Layla had a concussion and a head injury, but the doctors said it would heal fine," Valentine says. "And, Kaito...I can take you to see him if you want. The nurse wouldn't want me to, but--"

"Please," I nod desperately.

Valentine looks at me with sadness in his eyes before he stands up and helps me out of my IV. He then places his arms under me and scoops me up bridal style, gently cradling me to his chest. He carries me out of the room and down a grey hallway with white tile flooring and to a room across the hall from mine, three doors down. Valentine pushes the door open with his back and carefully maneuvers us both through the doorway. My breath stills in my chest when my eyes land on Kaito as he lies still in a white bed, tubes connecting him to the wall, his chest rising and falling.

"He lost a lot of blood, and he was revived twice on the way here," Valentine says quietly, his eyes trained on Kaito. "The spear hit close to his heart and would have killed him instantly if it were any closer. They put him on life support, and they're not sure if...they're not sure if he'll make it. He's fighting hard to survive. I'm willing to bet it's for you."

"I couldn't save him," I say quietly, unable to tear my eyes away from Kaito's unconscious form. "I can turn seconds into minutes, but I still couldn't save him. I can control the flow of time, but I didn't have enough of it."

"This isn't your fault, Akari," Valentine says.

"What kind of Patience am I, Valentine?" I whisper brokenly, my eyes frozen on Kaito. "What kind of Patience..."

"One who's been through Hell," Valentine says softly, and tears well up in my eyes before I begin to sob, shattered inside.