Chapter 229 - Be Equal In Every Way
Chapter 229 – Be Equal In Every Way
The meaning of life was accepting death. Alice had known that. Therefore, when Daniel's claws slowly made their way to her chest, a welcoming smile appeared on her face.
She looked so peaceful, unlike the suffocating silence in the whole west district.
THUD!
Cora slumped to her knees, eyes on the two figures in the middle. Daniel held Alice with his hand on her back, his other hand plunged into her chest. Han was also on his knees, unable to speak a word after witnessing the fierce battle slowly crash to a painful end.
Alice smiled as teardrops landed on her cheek, washing down the speck of blood on it. Her eyes softened, raising her hand to cup Daniel's face.
"Daniel, my brother," she whispered softly. Despite that her voice was only above a whisper, it echoed in our ears, muffling the screams that never left everyone's throat.
Daniel gritted his teeth, almost choking in his own saliva at the sight of her. What was even more painful was not killing her with his own hands. But she was glad and happy she finally met her end.
They could've done things better, was what his heart wanted to speak. But his voice was stuck in his throat, straggling him in a timely manner so he could feel its grip tighten.
"I love you, Dan," she added as life slowly slipped away from her, coughing out blood. "But… I'm not sorry."
Daniel ground his teeth, eyes bloodshot and blurry with tears. He used every bit of his strength and roared while ripping her heart out of her chest.
Her smile stretched for the last time before she took her last breath. Hands cupping his face slowly falling down to her rear. Those were her last words; her last brave and unregretful words before succumbing to the eternal darkness.
Alice found her peace, but the people she left behind would take some time to accept this.
The sound of her still-beating heart rolling on the cold ground beat along with the breathing of the earth. Every movement, every breath, every teardrop, and everything sounded so distinct. And yet, we couldn't do anything but listen.
Daniel slowly went down on his knees, shifting back to his human form, cradling her lifeless body under the soft beam of the moon. His back trembled, holding her, only to feel his sister's warmth slowly fade.
No one made a sound. We couldn't. It was just utter silence. Even a pin drop could startle it.
"No…" Cora whispered, staring blankly at Alice's unmoving hands. She crawled weakly, only to stop when Garrett squatted down to her side to embrace his wife.
"No." Yet Cora's eyes were fixed on Alice and Daniel. "No…" shaking her head, unable to accept her sister's death.
"My wife," came out a worried voice from Garrett, holding her securely so she wouldn't break down completely.
"Rett, Alice… she…" she choked, almost hyperventilating as a tear rolled down her unblinking eyes. "She can't — no, this isn't real. Alice, she —"
Garrett remained silent as he simply held his wife as her voice started to raise, denying what had already happened. Her series of denials slowly grew into desperate cries, releasing the inexplicable pain by screaming her lungs out. All we heard for the next several long minutes was Cora's screaming; she was weeping for all of us.
I blinked ever so slowly, taking a deep breath. I turned my head to my side, eyes up at Hugo's side profile. His expression remained the same, but his eyes were burning fiercer than ever. My lips opened and closed, but no words came out. So I ended up not speaking at all.
'I'm sorry,' were the words that faded in my head, averting my eyes away from my husband.
At one angle, I killed Alice. I wasn't the one who ripped her heart out, but how she ended up in this state was my fault. It was the lamb and the wolf's fault. Alice simply paid for the price of our sins and selfishness. And yet, I couldn't shed a single tear.
Although I couldn't deny the pain that was currently gripping my heart, squeezing it tightly. I had acknowledged her death a long time ago.
'According to the prophecy, they say wherever the lamb goes, destruction would happen,' I whispered in my head, narrowing my eyes slightly as I gazed at Daniel's back. 'Before I came in here, everyone was just happy and content.'
And the atmosphere slowly changed for the worse. It was not like I blamed it entirely on me, but I couldn't turn a blind eye and deny it all. To win this fight against fate — against what was already foretold — I must be equal in every way with Her.
My thoughts were cut off when Hugo turned around. I gazed at him, watching him walk away from the scene without a word. With every step he took, the distance between us seemed to grow ten times wider. It broke my heart, but we're already on the path of no return.
Just as I planned to avert my eyes from him, Hugo stopped. He looked back at me, offering his hand to me.
"Let's go, Bambi," he suggested under his breath. "Don't let me leave on my own tonight or let go of my hand. I might find myself in another place."
I pursed my lips, staring at his determined crimson eyes. I skipped my steps and clasped my hand around his large hand, holding it securely even though his temperature was scalding. This level of heat… Hugo was hanging by a thread.
He wasn't holding my hand tightly, but I made sure to never let him go. At this time, this was the least I could do for him. We fled the west border, hand in hand, and in deafening silence.
Tonight, the entire empire would be rattled by the news of the first princess's death. And her death… would also fuel all the tension between both empires, for her death would be known as a sacrifice in her battle with the vampires.
Alice had died for her country, and not as a traitor…. was what they would all know.