Page 128 of Reign of Betrayal

Lukene steps forward hesitantly. “Stay back!” I shout, drawing a palm blade and holding it ready.

“What are you going to do, Reckless?” he asks, tears streaking his anguished face. “Stab me in the heart? Go ahead. You already shattered it.” He takes another step, his voice breaking. My own tears fall harder, my chest heavy as my heart fractures even more at the sight of my broken, dark prince.

“You killed him!” I scream, pointing to Elm. “You took him from me!”

“And he took Lilyana from me with your poison!” Lukene shouts back, taking another step. “Was that your plan all along? Make me fall in love with you, then destroy me and my family?” His eyes are haunted, dark with betrayal.

I must look guilty because he shuts his eyes, more tears spilling down his face. The sight of his pain crushes me, and my heart twists even more, torn between everything we’ve lost and everything that can never be.

“Did you plan to kill us, Reign?” Lukene asks calmly, using the sleeve of his tunic to wipe his nose.

“At first, yes… I planned to kill all of you, but?—”

Lukene stumbles back, clutching his chest. The shock and pure unadulterated anguish in his eyes makes it seem like my words have physically wounded him. Shadows pour out of him, dark and menacing. I grip my palm blade tighter, my heart shattering. I don’t want to hurt him, but I know he’s going to kill me, and the knowledge crushes my soul. Deciding on a non-lethal strike, I throw the blade, aiming for his leg. It strikes true, but not before his shadows slam me back against the wall, restraining my limbs.

He yanks the blade from his leg and steps closer, his expression broken. “I had hoped it wasn’t true.” Tears stream down his cheeks, and the light in his eyes dims, any hope of saving this shattering. “I thought what we had was real. I thought…” He pauses, his voice breaking. “I thought you loved me, Reign.” His voice is soft and broken.

“I do! I—” My words are cut off.

“Luke! Don’t do this!” James’s voice rings out as he rushes down the corridor into the entry room. Lukene throws up bars of shadows, blocking him from getting through. “Luke, don’t do this. Let’s talk. We’ve all suffered great losses today.”

“She planned to kill us all, James! My sister lies dead in the next room!” Lukene roars, his voice vibrating through me, shaking my heart and soul. Vanna approaches the shadow bars, tear-stained and full of hatred. It’s her fault, and yet she’s crying.

“Tell them! Tell them how you planned to kill us all,” Lukene demands.

Sucking in a shaky breath, I speak. “Vanna was having an affair with my husband. She sent guards to kill him—and me. I killed a guard and ended up in the Hollows.” Lukene’s eyes shift to Vanna, disbelief cutting through his rage. Vanna only shrugs, unbothered.

“I met Elm and Larah there,” I continue, tears streaming down my face, nausea burning in my stomach. “Vanna did the same to them. We swore if we ever had the chance for revenge, we’d take it. When we won the fighting ring and were brought to the palace, we thought it was time to make good on our vow.” My voice shakes. “But we decided no?—”

“Enough!” Lukene screams, unable to stomach any more, his anguish rippling through the room.

He walks over to my restrained body, my fractured heart starts hammering its tiny pieces into my chest, as I try to control my rapid pants.

“You have rattled me, my Reckless Reign,” he whispers, his voice strangled with pain. He runs a trembling hand down the side of my face, and twin tears stream down his distressed features. His eyes are pools of agony, so full of raw, broken emotion. Whatever, tiny pieces I have left of my heart just smash into dust seeing him like this. “You… have… rattled me,” he gasps, his breath hitching as though the weight of his sorrow is suffocating him.

“I said I would take a blade to my heart for you, not from you. Your betrayal is sharper than your blade. After all those threats, you finally stabbed me,” he says, placing a hand over his heart, his voice cracking as he tries to contain a sob. His face contorts showing his sorrow and deep-felt pain—the feeling envelops me like a thick fog.

“Lukene, please, listen to me. I decided not t—” I break down, sobs wracking my restrained body. “I decided I cou?—”

“Silence!” he roars, storming up to me.

James’s voice cuts through the tension. “Don’t! Don’t Lukene! Listen to me. You will never forgive yourself. Don’t hurt her.” His hands spark with lightning, little bolts zipping around his clenched fists. His voice quakes with desperation. “I will save you from yourself, Luke, if I have to. Don’t make me do it.”

Lukene stands inches from me, pressing the palm blade against my chest. His face is tormented, his tears falling like mine. Both of our chests heave, mirroring the heartbreak, the betrayal, and the cruel twist of fate that has brought us here. Two souls meant for each other, now destined to destroy each other.

“I love you, Reign,” he says, his voice breaking. “Thank you for showing me that I could love someone so deeply I’d lose myself in them. Thank you for teaching me to never fall in love again. Thank you for teaching me how weak love can make a person. You taught me to refreeze this thawed heart of mine.” He leans in and kisses my lips one last time, while I feel the point of the blade enter my chest, then stops.

Breaking the kiss, I grunt from the pain then whisper against his lips, “I love you, Luke.” Just as I feel the blade slip in the tiniest bit more, stinging as it tears some of my flesh, poking into the muscle underneath. I gasp, the pain sharp and real. Lukene’s anguish deepens, and he pulls away, his face twisted in torment.

With a sudden, heart-wrenching cry, he throws the dagger to the ground. The blade clatters against the stone floor, and Lukene releases a guttural, soul-crushing scream. Tears stream down his face, the sound of his heartbreak echoing through the room, shattering the air. He realizes he can’t do it. He can’t kill me—the woman he loves.

He releases me from his shadowy grip, and I collapse to the floor, gasping. He turns slowly to face me, his expression hollow and broken. “Today, I mourn the loss of my sister… and the love I have for you.” He spreads his arms wide, as if exposing his vulnerability. “I am just a man who loved a woman too deeply.”

My sobs shake me violently, as I feel the suffocating weight of the situation. Grief, sadness, unimaginable heartache, betrayal—all of them cloak me, weighing my shoulders down. “I trusted you, and you betrayed me,” he says, each word a dagger.

“I didn’t have Elm kil—” I start, but he cuts me off.

“Enough!” he snaps, stepping back as though trying to keep control. “Flee, Reign. Never falter, never fumble. But feel fear… for when I find you, I will fucking kill you.” He wipes his tear-streaked face, the hatred burning in his eyes.

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