He kissed me like he owned me.
Like he had waited lifetimes for this single moment to consume me whole.
But as his lips collided with mine, I didn't feel butterflies.
I felt a wildfire.
A slow, suffocating blaze spreading from my mouth to my chest, threatening to devour the parts of me I thought I had buried with my former self. His hands cupped my face, thumbs trembling slightly, betraying the storm behind his steady eyes. Leo was never hesitant—but in that breathless second, he kissed me like he was terrified I'd vanish.
And for a moment—I almost did.
I let him taste the fire he helped ignite.
Then I shoved him back.
Hard.
He staggered a step, stunned. The soldiers behind him looked away awkwardly, sensing something sacred was unraveling between us.
My voice came out ragged, filled with a fury I had tried so hard to hide.
"You don't get to do that. Not after everything."
He didn't move.
"I didn't come here for a second chance, Lira," he said softly. "I came to fight with you. To burn this world beside you."
I glared at him. "Then don't confuse the battlefield with your desires. I'm not yours. Not anymore."
Something flickered in his gaze. Hurt. Longing. Acceptance.
And yet... resolve.
"I'll follow your orders. But don't ask me to kill the part of me that still loves you."
I turned my back to him before the tears could surface.
Not now. Not here.
The flames had just begun.
---
Down in the lower chambers of the palace, Kai stood inside a cold, torch-lit cell. The very prison where I had once begged for water. For mercy. For my son.
The irony wasn't lost on him.
He didn't ask for freedom.
Not even when the guards kicked him to his knees, or when Celeste spat at him with all the disgust she could muster.
He simply stared at the bloodstained walls as if they were more honest than the people who once applauded him.
"You'll die tomorrow," she hissed.
He didn't respond.
"You should beg her for a quick death."
Still silent.
I watched from the entrance, my cloak pulled tightly around me, heart guarded like a vault. There was no satisfaction in seeing him weak. Only a dull ache. Like pressing a bruise that never healed.
I stepped forward. "Look at me."
Kai's head lifted.
His eyes found mine—no longer cruel or arrogant. Just... hollow.
"You said you loved me once," I said quietly.
He nodded.
"Then tell me something true before you die."
He hesitated... then whispered, "I never stopped."
My heart twisted.
I wanted to scream. To strike him. To demand why love wasn't enough to stop him from betraying me. But instead, I stepped away.
"No. You just loved yourself more."
I slammed the cell door shut.
---
Later that night, the council chambers blazed with firelight and fury. Leo stood to my left, Celeste to my right. The surviving nobles, once proud and haughty, were now pale and trembling as we read their fates aloud.
"For crimes of conspiracy, murder, and abuse of power," Celeste announced, "you are stripped of titles, lands, and privilege."
"And your families," I added, "will live under the care of the people you once crushed."
Some cried. Some cursed.
But no one dared argue.
Kai would face trial tomorrow, in front of the same crowd that once cheered for my execution.
This time, the noose would swing for the king.
---
As midnight bled into the palace stones, I walked alone to the garden where my son used to run barefoot, chasing fireflies.
I dropped to my knees at the spot where I had buried the last letter I wrote to him.
"I'll come back for you. I promise."
"I kept my promise," I whispered to the wind.
"You did more than that," a voice replied.
Leo.
I didn't look at him, but I didn't stop him from sitting beside me either.
For a long time, we just sat there, quiet. Watching the stars blink like distant ghosts in the sky.
"I want to believe you," I said eventually.
He leaned closer. "Then let me earn it."
"You already had me once, Leo. And you let me walk into hell alone."
He didn't flinch. "And now I'll walk into hell with you. Every time. Every war."
I turned to him. "And when the war is over?"
He didn't smile. Didn't promise forever.
Just whispered, "Then I'll stay to help you rebuild."
---
But fate wasn't done testing me.
As the first rays of morning pierced the horizon, Seraphine entered the throne room with blood on her hands and news on her tongue.
"There's been an ambush," she said.
My chest went cold.
"Who?"
Her lips curved cruelly.
"Kai's loyalists. They've taken the southern children's home hostage."
My hands clenched the arms of the throne.
"They want him back... or they'll start sending pieces."
Celeste growled. "We strike now."
Leo stood. "We can't risk the children."
I met Seraphine's eyes. "What's the count?"
"Twenty-three children. Three caretakers."
And a dagger in my gut.
Because I remembered the children from that home.
One of them looked just like—
"Get my horse," I said, rising.
Leo grabbed my arm. "You're not going."
I stared him down. "If I don't, they'll die."
Seraphine smirked. "Finally, something interesting."
Celeste cursed. "You go, I go."
I gave one sharp nod. "Then let's end this."