Page 140 of Shattered Jewel

“I thought he would be better off without me.”

The whisper barely leaves his lips, but it carries the weight of years he’s been carrying this burden of guilt. “I wanted to protect them both from this world … from the fate of the Cimmerian Court. But we failed. We failed you all. I’ve spent every moment since then trying to rectify my mistake. To help him, to guide him ... but from afar,” he mumbles, each word forcing its way past his cracked lips.

How exhausted he must be.

“Can you ... Elara...” His voice falters for a moment, but he grits his teeth and pushes on. “Can you tell him? Tell Axton?”

My throat tightens. But I decide to give him a small gift before he dies. One I wish my father received. “Axe is not a good man because of the sacrifices you made. He’s scarred, mutilated inside, and hates himself. But I see him. The real him. The man who will do anything for family, who protects me with a fierce pride, who has been reforged. Axe is strong, he is loyal, and I will take up where you failed. He won’t suffer any longer.”

Orion’s expression softens, drifts. “Thank you.”

I wish there was more time. Axe deserves so much more.

“I’ll tell him,” I manage to murmur. “If you tell me exactly where Marianne is.”

His body relaxes slightly at my promise, a sigh slipping past his bloodless lips. I lower my ear to his mouth so I can hear him better as he confesses.

“I’m sorry...” he finishes, a mere whisper of sound.

His eyes linger on Axe one last time before his gaze grows vacant. His limp hand falls from my grasp.

Grief for Axe threatens to swallow me whole, but I force myself to stand, Orion’s final words resonating in my ears.

I have a promise to keep.

I leave Orion behind. A father who had made too many mistakes and lost too much—just like mine.

Axe’s ash-blonde hair clings to his forehead. He’s injured, wet with sweat and blood, but fights like the demon the Sovereigns were so intent on summoning.

I sprint towards the ruby Heart. It’s just lying among the debris, forgotten in the turmoil.

I scoop it up and its weight feels oddly comforting.

Axe thrashes against the High Sovereign with boundless fury. I can’t hear anything as I make my way to him, clutching the ruby tight against my chest.

There’s a terrifying beauty in the way Axe fights, each movement a sinuous dance laced with anger and grief so palpable, it’s almost a visible aura. He’s a masterpiece of muscle and fury, poised despite the years of cold conditioning under the Sovereigns.

“AXE!” I cry out, my voice ripping through slice of the High Sovereign’s blade through the air, so close to Axe’s neck.

He looks over. His attention rests on the Heart clutched in my hand, understanding dawning.

Axe maneuvers himself between me and the High Sovereign. He strikes out with a ferocity born from years of abuse. His hair whips across his face as he moves like a wraith.

Locking onto the High Sovereign’s mask, a surge of determination shoots through me—for Axe, for my dad, for my brother, for my men?—

I leap, my arm shooting forward with all the strength I possess.

The High Sovereign turns just as the Heart connects, his porcelain mask cracking upon impact. The sheer force of the blow sends him sprawling backward.

Time freezes, every sound coming to a sudden halt, drowned by the sharp intake of breaths. His mask shatters, revealing his true face in all its fury and disbelief.

His eyes lock onto mine—a faded blue, devoid of any humanity. I see him for who he truly is—an ogre who will stop at nothing to hoard power.

The true Exalted Regent.

His lips curl back in an subhuman snarl. “You little cunt—you can’t take the Heart away from me.”

“I just did,” I retort.

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