Levi's body trembled under the weight of her broken wings, chains biting into her wrists. Blood pooled beneath her knees where the iron dragged her down. Yet her eyes, burning with pain and fury, never left Jane.
Jane knelt only a few feet away, her lip split, her glasses broken, her body shuddering from Shax's blows. Still, she stared back with unyielding defiance. It was that defiance—fragile yet burning—that made Levi's heart break.
Shax towered between them, wings casting both women in shadow. His grin was sharp, venomous. "I wonder, Leviathan… how long before your pride finally dies?"
Levi lowered her head, her golden eyes softening on Jane. She thought of the centuries she had ruled, of the countless battles she had fought, of the weight of a kingdom lost. None of it matters now. Only Jane.
Her voice broke the silence.
"Enough. Take me. Do what you will. Just… let her go."
Jane's eyes widened. "Levi—no!"
Shax stilled, then laughed, a low, rumbling sound that filled the chamber. "So. The proud demon queen bends at last. For a witch?" He tilted his head, feigning thought. "Very well. I accept your surrender."
He strode to Levi, crouching to meet her eye to eye. "You will kneel. You will call yourself mine. And in return, the witch walks free."
Levi's chains rattled as she forced herself forward, collapsing fully to her knees. Her broken wings dragged like shadows behind her. Her voice shook, but she spoke with finality:
"I am yours. Only… spare her."
For a moment, silence hung thick in the chamber.
Then Shax's smirk widened. "Oh, Leviathan. Did you truly think me bound by honor?"
Levi's heart stopped.
With a snap of his claws, the guards dragged Jane to her feet. She struggled, crying out, her voice hoarse with terror. "You promised—!"
Levi screamed, chains tearing at her wrists as she lunged forward. "NO! You swore it!"
Shax turned to her, eyes glowing with cruel delight. "I swore nothing. You surrendered. That is all I wanted."
Jane's scream echoed as she was pulled toward the shadows, the sound cutting through Levi like a blade.
Her hair streaked with white at the tips, her eyes burning crimson as she thrashed against the chains, her voice raw.
"JANE!"
The chamber rang with her cry, a queen's roar turned to helpless desperation.
Shax only laughed, the sound echoing long after the guards vanished into the dark with Jane. He stepped closer, pressing a claw beneath Levi's chin, forcing her head upward.
"You see now? It was never your kingdom I wanted to ruin. It was you. And now you are mine to break."
Levi's golden eyes filled with rage and despair, but she said nothing. Only the echo of Jane's screams answered him.
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