Kieran's POV
An assassin was coming to kill me tonight.
I stared at the bleeding messenger, my brain refusing to process his words. Daelon Shreve. The third male lead. The man whose twin sister Lysander had murdered in cold blood.
And he was already in the capital, hunting me down.
"How long do I have?" Theron demanded, his hand still resting on my throat from our interrupted conversation.
"Reports say he entered the palace grounds ten minutes ago, Your Highness," the messenger gasped. "He's already bypassed two guard stations. He's incredibly fast—"
An explosion rocked the entire room. The windows shattered inward, sending glass flying everywhere. I threw my arms up to protect my face, feeling sharp stings as shards cut my skin.
When I lowered my arms, a figure stood in the broken window frame, silhouetted against the night sky.
Silver hair. Crimson eyes that glowed like blood in moonlight. Dual daggers already drawn and dripping with fresh red.
Daelon Shreve had arrived.
"There you are, Lysander," he said, his voice cold and dead. "I've been searching for you for two years. Did you think you could hide forever?"
Theron immediately stepped in front of me, his hand moving to his sword. "Assassin. You've just committed an act of war by entering the royal palace."
Daelon's crimson eyes didn't leave my face. "I don't care about politics or consequences. I care about making him pay for murdering Selene. My sister. My twin. My other half." His grip tightened on his daggers. "He killed her because she rejected his marriage proposal. Stabbed her seventeen times in front of witnesses and laughed while she bled out."
My stomach turned. I'd known Lysander was evil, but hearing it described out loud made bile rise in my throat.
"I didn't—" I started, then stopped. I couldn't say "I didn't do it" because Lysander's body had done it. These hands had held the knife. This face had smiled while an innocent girl died.
How could I convince anyone I wasn't that monster anymore?
"Stay behind me," Theron ordered, drawing his sword fully.
But Daelon moved like lightning. One second he was at the window, the next he was right in front of us, daggers slashing toward my throat.
Theron's sword met the attack with a metallic clang that rang through the room. They fought—Theron's powerful strikes against Daelon's impossible speed. I stumbled backward, hitting the wall, completely useless.
The System blazed in my vision: [CRITICAL QUEST: Survive Male Lead #3's assassination attempt. WARNING: Cannot rely on Prince Theron's protection. You must face Daelon yourself.]
"What?" I whispered in horror. "He'll kill me!"
[Correct. Survival probability if you hide: 12%. Survival probability if you surrender to him willingly: 34%. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Offer yourself to him the same way you offered yourself to Prince Theron.]
Offer myself to a man who wanted to stab me seventeen times like he'd done to his sister? That was the plan?
But the System had been right so far. Kneeling to Theron had worked. Showing genuine remorse to Caius had at least made him hesitate.
Maybe—just maybe—surrender was my only option.
"Stop!" I shouted, stepping around Theron even as he tried to block me. "Daelon, wait!"
The assassin's crimson eyes locked onto mine. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."
"Because I can't give you your sister back," I said, my voice shaking so badly I could barely get the words out. "No matter how much you make me suffer, Selene will still be dead. And I know that. I know nothing I do will ever make this right."
"Then why shouldn't I just end you?" His daggers twitched like he was barely restraining himself.
I took a deep breath and did the craziest thing I'd ever done. I walked straight toward him, past Theron's protective reach, and dropped to my knees at Daelon's feet.
"Kieran, what are you doing?" Theron shouted.
I ignored him, looking up at Daelon's shocked face. "I deserve to die for what I did to Selene. I know that. So if killing me will give you even a moment of peace, then do it. I won't fight back. I won't run."
Daelon stared at me like I'd lost my mind. "You're... surrendering?"
"Yes." I bowed my head, exposing my throat. "Seventeen stabs, right? That's what you want? Then take them. I owe Selene that much."
Silence stretched between us, broken only by Theron's harsh breathing behind me.
Then Daelon's dagger pressed against my throat—sharp and cold. One quick slice and I'd bleed out in seconds.
"Look at me," Daelon commanded.
I raised my head slowly. His crimson eyes were filled with pain so raw it hurt to see.
"Selene was everything to me," he whispered. "We were born minutes apart. Shared everything. When you killed her, you killed half of me. Do you understand that?"
"Yes," I said honestly. "And I'm sorry. I know it doesn't help, but I'm sorry."
His hand trembled on the dagger. "You never apologized before. You laughed at her funeral. Told me she deserved it for rejecting you."
Tears spilled down my face. "I was a monster. I don't expect forgiveness. I just want you to know that I see what I did now. I see the evil I caused. And I'd do anything to undo it."
"Anything?" His eyes narrowed.
"Anything."
He studied my face for a long moment, his dagger still pressed against my throat. I could feel my pulse beating against the blade. One twitch of his hand and I was dead.
"You've changed," he said finally, confusion bleeding into his voice. "This isn't an act, is it? You're genuinely different."
"I'm trying to be," I whispered.
The dagger lowered slightly. "If I let you live, what will you do?"
"Whatever you want," I said. "If you want me to suffer, I'll suffer. If you want me to serve you as payment for Selene's life, I'll serve. If you want me dead tomorrow instead of tonight, I'll accept that too. My life belongs to you now. Do with it what you will."
The System chimed: [BOLD STRATEGY: +15% devotion gained. Current status - Daelon Shreve: 15% Devotion, 85% Hatred]
Daelon's crimson eyes flickered with something I couldn't read. "You're offering yourself to me? The same way you offered yourself to the prince?"
"Yes."
"That's insane," he breathed. "I could torture you for years. Make every day worse than the last. You're giving me permission to destroy you slowly."
"I know." My voice cracked. "But maybe that's what I deserve. Maybe that's the only way to pay for what I did."
His free hand suddenly grabbed my chin, forcing my head back further. His face was inches from mine, his breath hot against my skin.
"You're either the bravest person I've ever met," he said quietly, "or the most broken."
"Maybe both," I whispered.
Something shifted in his expression. The pure hatred wavered, replaced by dark curiosity. His thumb brushed across my lower lip, and I shivered.
"Interesting," he murmured. "Very interesting."
Behind me, Theron made an angry sound. "Get away from him, assassin. He's already sworn himself to me."
Daelon's eyes never left mine. "Is that true? You belong to the prince?"
"I belong to everyone I've hurt," I said. "That includes both of you."
A slow, dangerous smile spread across Daelon's face. "I think I'll keep you alive. For now. I want to see how far this repentance of yours really goes."
He released me suddenly and stood, sheathing his daggers. "But don't mistake mercy for forgiveness, Lysander. I'll be watching you. Testing you. And the moment I think you're faking this transformation, I'll finish what I came here to do."
"Understood," I whispered, still kneeling.
"You're not taking him anywhere," Theron said coldly, his sword still drawn. "He's my prisoner."
"Then we have a problem," Daelon replied, his smile turning sharp. "Because I'm not leaving this palace without ensuring I can access him whenever I please."
The two of them stared at each other, tension crackling in the air like lightning about to strike.
Before either could move, the chamber doors burst open for the second time tonight.
A man in violet robes swept in, gray eyes crackling with barely contained magic. His presence made the air itself feel heavy and electric.
Evren Quillan. The fourth male lead. The mage Lysander had publicly humiliated.
"Well, well," Evren said, his voice dripping with cold amusement as he took in the scene—me kneeling, Theron with sword drawn, Daelon ready to attack. "It seems I've arrived just in time. I heard Duke Corvith was causing quite the stir tonight." His eyes locked onto mine, and I felt magic press against my skin like invisible hands. "Hello, Lysander. We have so much to discuss about how you destroyed my life. And I've spent two years planning exactly how I'll make you pay."
All four male leads were now in the same room.
And every single one of them wanted me dead.