A Glaive’s Promise - Chapter 7 - Insomnia_Skye (2024)

Chapter Text

M.E. 756, May 16. Insomnia’s fall.

Nyx

When we got to Section D, I instructed Lunafreya to stay hidden behind a pillar and I walked out to the center of the plaza.

“Ulric reporting,” I called out. “I have the princess! She’s alive and well!”

A shot rang out the air, and I jolted forward to a bullet piercing me. Before I could recover, a second shot rang out, and white pain ripped into my torso as I fell to my knees.

Luche walked towards me, holding out a pistol. “You’ve got some fight in you, Nyx. I’ll give you that,” he sneered.

I gasped in pain, trying to catch my breath. Get up, I commanded myself.

“Run, now!” I bellowed to Lunafreya, trying to get to my feet to stop Luche.

With a kick to knock me back down, he hissed, “I can’t believe you’re still moving!” His foot drove up into my stomach where I had been shot, and I cried out in pain.

“With that hollow-point in you. All Crowe could do was scream when one tore her insides apart.”

Crowe. “Why’d you do it?” I demanded, struggling on my hands and knees. GET UP! I was screaming at myself in my head.

“Because the Kingsglaive is nothing. An old man’s battle fodder, sent to die in Insomnia’s war! While our homes are bound and shackled,” Luche spat, venom in his voice.

“Niflheim took your home,” I gritted out to Luche. “Took all our homes! Nothing will ever change that!” I yelled.

“You never were too smart,” he responded bitterly, “You could’ve had a new future with the empire.”

I fell again, unable to withstand the pain, laying on my side as he walked away towards the direction Lunafreya had ran. GET UP, DAMN IT! My head screamed. My torso was on fire, feeling just as Luche described with Crowe. My insides felt like they were shredding. The pain in my leg from the fall earlier throbbed. I can’t fail like this. King Regis, Crowe, Libertus, Selena. I gave the king my word. I made a promise. I had to get up.

Just then, a car pulled up, the headlights blinding me. I couldn’t help the relief that flooded my body when the driver stepped out. It was Drautos.

Libertus

I couldn’t feel pain, even as the limp in my leg grew more prominent. All I could feel was my heart pounding violently inside my chest, and all I could hear was the sound of my feet hitting the pavement and my gasps for air.

Nyx! I had to make it. I heard a humming sound nearby and turned towards it, seeing an unmanned car still running. Ripping the door open, I threw myself in, pressing my foot to the gas. The tires screeched to life and I sped in the direction of Section D.

I pulled up, seeing two people in the center of Section D’s plaza, and slammed my foot down on the break. There he was, my best friend, my Galahdan brother, Nyx. Strewn on the ground, his face twisted in pain. Drautos stood next to him, his head lifting towards my car as I drove in. Up above, a bloodcurdling voice screamed, and I saw two figures standing on the ramparts to the fluorescent billboard. A body was on fire, plummeting over the rails, and Lady Lunafreya stood up there, alone. Drautos and Nyx turned their heads towards the commotion, and with the distraction of whoever the falling man on fire was, I stomped down on the gas pedal, straight towards Drautos. The impact of the collision shook the car as I slammed his body into the concrete.

Just as I breathed out thinking that I had succeeded, I was flying, The car flipped over to crash upside down.

Nyx

The car went flying, and instead of seeing Captain Drautos wounded by the collision, a familiar figure stood before me. General Glauca.

“Captain?” I was incredulous.

Behind him, I saw Libertus, crawling out from the overturned car. He had come. Lunafreya then ran to my side, trying to support me, grabbing onto my arm.

Captain Drautos, no, General Glauca began to take menacing steps towards me, the sword that had murdered King Regis grasped in his hand. “It’s over,” his distorted voice said. “The daemons are unleashed. Lucis is fallen. Surrender the ring.”

Lunafreya then let go of my arm, and I saw her pull out the Ring of the Lucii, about to slide it onto her finger. I grabbed her hand, closing my fingers around her fist.

“Plan on giving those kings a piece of your mind, Princess?” I slurred in pain. “You got a destiny to take care of here, remember?”

“So do you!” She cried. “Remember?” She echoed my last word. “You have a future to fight for!”

“Exactly, I’ll do the fighting.” I managed a pained smile. “Besides, didn’t anyone tell you? I’m the hero around here.”

I snatched the ring from her grasp, just as Glauca lifted his sword to swing down on us. I made eye contact with Libertus as I brought the ring to my other hand. “I have to do this, Selena.”

We watched each other, and he screamed my name as the ring slipped over my finger. And then I was enshrouded into darkness.

Libertus

“NYX!” I was screaming his name just as our eyes met, and I screamed his name in horror as this ring worth killing for slid onto his finger. Then, just as Glauca’s sword was about to make impact and cut him down, everything went black.

I opened my eyes, surprised to find myself lying right next to Nyx. His own eyes mirrored my confusion, and then glanced away to look around the darkness we lay in.

“Show yourselves, kings of Lucis,” he demanded to the dark.

My mouth hung open in wonder as blue flames and sparks shot to life around us, giving light to large spirits clad in armor that mirrored the stone statues of old kings scattered throughout the Crown City.

“You call upon the wards of this world’s future, mortal,” a powerful, foreboding voice spoke from the Founder King’s figure, the Mystic King. “And if you come lusting for our power, you must first stand in our judgment.”

My body was heavy where I laid. The pressure of the voice felt like it was driving me into the ground, and I gasped in shock as Nyx fought the gravity to rise up on his elbow.

“How long will you do nothing whilst Insomnia burns?” He called out, his voice raising with each word. “Old or New, or whatever it is? Summon your Wall!” He shouted out.

“You do not command us,” a voice thundered from the Oracle King, “Yours is not even royal blood.”

I realized that this was the power of the ring. The old kings of Lucis. The Ring of Lucii. The legend we had all been told of the Kings of Yore, who supposedly waited to defend their land in times of crisis. We had traversed to communicate with them through the power of the ring.

“It does not fall to us to guard your city,” the Mystic King continued. “Man is a fool creature, clinging to his past and cowering from his future. Wasting his strength on bygone days.”

“And what future are you wards of?” Nyx argued back.

“So shortsighted. And cursed never to rise above it,” the Oracle King boomed.

“Wait,” another voice rang out, this one clearer than the others, and a familiar voice I had heard before. “I have seen what this brave soul is prepared to do. He too, seeks to safeguard the future.”

“Your Majesty,” Nyx breathed out at the same time I mouthed the words.

“Very well, young king,” the Mystic replied to King Regis. “We will weigh your warrior’s worth. But our boon does not come cheap. The cost is a life.”

“His,” the blue light suddenly illuminated over me.

“Or hers?” Lunafreya’s body, frozen in time, appeared before us out of the darkness with her arm stretched out towards Glauca’s stilled blade.

“No. To hell with your power!” Nyx shouted back. “I’m not here for it. I only came to tell you, you are no kings,” his voice drifted in a dry chuckle.

“Your worth has been weighed and found wanting,” the Founder King rumbled. “Now, burn.”

A fire ignited on Nyx’s hand with the ring, and he cried out in pain as he burned, the cry transforming into a bitter laugh. I tried to shout his name, but still, no sound came out.

“You’re going to lose your precious ring,” Nyx strained out. I could see his teeth gritting together. “But it’s not too late to save it.”

“You mean to barter for your life?” The Oracle King mused.

Nyx shook his head. “No, no. My life is nothing,” he said, his voice cracking.

“Nyx,” I finally managed to croak out. It came out as barely a breath.

“Giving a future to those who want to see it… is everything,” Nyx then stated.

“Hmm,” the Oracle King replied. “You do not fear, even if that future is doomed.”

The Fierce King then joined his voice with the others. “If that sentiment is not false, perhaps you are worthy.”

The figure of the Wise King glowed. “We will grant you our light. But know it will set when the sun rises.”

“And the price for it will be your life,” the Founder King finished.

At that, I found my voice at last. “No!” I roared out. I grabbed Nyx’s wrist and snapped my eyes to the old kings. The voices stayed silent and I turned back to Nyx. “No, Nyx.”

“Libertus!” Nyx tried to pull his arm from my grasp. “What are you doing?”

“Nyx!” I cried. “My life is yours. You’ve saved me many times. I will bear this burden for you, brother.”

He shook his head. “Libertus, I made my decision.”

“Fuck your decision!” I screamed. ”Are you hearing yourself again? Your life is not worth nothing! You have a future in store for you. With Selena!”

His eyes widened at her name.

“Choose her! Choose what you really want this time, damn it! Damn you all!” I roared out to the shadows of kings.

I grabbed his shoulders, shaking him. “To hell with loyalty. To hell with the Kingsglaive! Your life is worth much more than this loyalty to a crumbling kingdom.” I shook my head furiously. “Don’t you dare give that up. You haven’t lost anything yet.”

“I will sacrifice my life for you, Nyx Ulric. My best friend. My brother. For Galahd.” Tears filled my eyes as I continued. “For Crowe.” I wept in front of him, still gripping his shoulders, under the looming spirits of kings. “For… Insomnia,” I whispered.

“Libertus,” Nyx said softly, “You do not know for what you are offering your life. I accept this fate. Tell… tell Selena that I loved her. Tell her why I had to do this.” He brought his knee up, readying to stand.

“No, no! Fuck!” I roared again, keeping an iron grip of his shoulders. “Have you not seen me here this entire time, Nyx? I heard everything. I know the cost of saving this place in hopes of walking out alive. I will not let you make this decision and leave her alone out there. That’s our greatest fear, remember? Leaving those we love? Again?”

He was silent, his jaw tight in desperation.

“I’ve already lost her,” I said, my voice shaking as I cried. “I lost Crowe. At least let me do this for her, so I can see her again when the sun comes up.”

“Libertus,” he choked out.

The Fierce’s voice interrupted us. “We will wait no longer. The choice must be made.”

“Libertus Ostium,” King Regis’ voice rang out. “You would defy fate?”

I stood up then. “Screw fate. I give my life. This will be my final act and duty as your Kingsglaive, Your Majesty.”

“When a man has lost something that cannot be replaced, his judgement tends to suffer,” the Wise’s voice mused. “Reason knows no greater enemy than a sense of loss.”

“From my understanding, this is neither the place, nor time for reason. Lend us your power so we can defend Insomnia,” I called out. “The kingdom you all fought for and defended in your own time as kings.”

“Hmm,” the Oracle King pondered. “Is he worthy, young king?”

There was a moment of silence, and then King Regis answered. “Yes. Yes, let this warrior heed our boon.”

“Then know this, warriors,” the Founder King said. “Know ye that henceforth, anyone who turns their sword against Lucis shall not live to see another day!”

“Libertus, please,” Nyx pleaded.

I smiled down at him, still on his knees. “You’ve saved me many times, brother. This time, let me be the hero.”

Nyx

We were thrust back into reality in the plaza of Insomnia, and I shot my arm out, a shield illuminating around me and Lunafreya just as Glauca’s sword came down. The impact repelled Glauca’s sword, and just as he tried to recover, my other hand lashed out, blasting a familiar bolt of lightning magic. The same one the king used to save me earlier. Glauca’s body flew from the strike, rolling to a stop, his body unmoving.

The pain of Luche’s bullets and my injured leg no longer plagued me, and I jumped to my feet. “I could get used to this,” I said with a chuckle.

Libertus then stumbled to us, breathing heavily. “Nyx… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I cut him off. “You saved me. I’d say we’re more than even now.”

I put my hand on his shoulder, just as he had moments ago in front of the kings. “I’m gonna need another favor. Meet Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, our prince’s beloved bride-to-be. She has the future of the world in her hands. Keep her safe, get her out of Insomnia. Promise me.”

He nodded. “You‘ll owe me again. Where do I sign?”

I pulled Libertus in for a hug, laughing. “You drive a hard bargain, brother.”

“I got this, Nyx.” He returned my embrace.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Make sure you tell Selena that her big brother Libby stole your title of ‘hero’, won’t you?” He asked.

At that, I let go, nodding at Libertus and turned to Lunafreya. “Give Prince Noctis my regards,” I said, as I placed the Ring of the Lucii in her hand. “Libertus will take care of you from here.”

I looked between Lunafreya and Libertus. “Have a safe journey, Your Highness.” I turned to leave.

Libertus took Lunafreya’s arm, but Lunafreya pulled her arm from his grasp, calling after me. “What will come of you?”

“Following the King’s orders,” I replied, gripping my last kukri in my fist.

Resolve filled her eyes. “I will see the ring to Noctis. The future will be safe. I swear it.”

“It’s a promise,” I said back, just as I heard General Glauca coming to his feet.

“Hearth and home?” Libertus asked, holding out the Insomnian kukri I had lost earlier when I threw it at the MT engine.

I shook my head in refusal. “Planning on punching your way out of the city? Keep it.”

Libertus’ eyes widened in worry. “You sure? Two blades will serve you much better than one. We’ll be speeding out of here in the meantime.”

I took a step back from him, smiling at him for the last time. “I’m sure. For hearth and home. For Crowe, and for Galahd. Goodbye, brother.”

“Nah, I’ll see you back in Galahd. We’ll settle up then.” he said.

I smiled sadly. “I’m counting on you, hero,” I said to him, turning away to face General Glauca. Drautos.

Almost immediately upon turning around, Glauca flew at me, and I met him, parrying his sword with my last kukri. It was a completely different feeling to when I fought him back at the ceremony hall. I knew this time, I had the strength of the kings of Lucis.

“So,” Glauca said, “The power of the Lucii returns. No matter. You are out of time.”

I smirked. “For you, I’ll make some.”

Sounds of explosions and bullets filled the air as we fought, bringing further destruction to the city. The Diamond Weapon the Kingsglaive had faced together just days ago loomed over crumbling skyscrapers, glowing red amongst the smoke and dust in the air.

“What can you hope to do? One man against an empire. Against the daemons. How will you save Insomnia with no wall to protect you?” Glauca mocked me.

“You’ve got it all wrong. I’m not fighting to save Insomnia,” I answered.

I held my arm up, willing the kings to aid me. A thundering groan filled the skies, drowning out the sound of Diamond Weapon and artillery. The enormous statues of old kings came to life, waking from their long slumber.

“Took you long enough,” I called out to them.

The Mystic warped to Diamond Weapon looming by us, stunning it, then swung his gigantic stone sword down on the building we were now inside, slicing it plainly in half. I warped out, meeting Glauca once more in battle among the falling buildings. We constantly warped and leapt, meeting briefly on the colossal shoulder of the Oracle King, blades clanging together. We fell as the king threw their trident.

The Old Wall, the Kings of Yore warped around us, joining the battle against magitek airships hovering in the air and Diamond Weapons laying waste to the city around us.

“Why’d you do it?” I demanded of Glauca.

“Lucis. Niflheim,” his voice rumbled, “It isn’t who we fight for that matters, only what. We fight for our homes. That is where our allegiance lies.”

Home. I scoffed. He failed to remember who it was that took his home from him in the first place. And who it was that graciously brought him into theirs.

Our fight was a race with no end. I warped onto a king, only to be met by Glauca shooting towards me from a Diamond Weapon. We advanced at each other in the debris of the ground, and atop wreckage that fell from the sky. Projectiles flew all around us, the varied weapons of the old kings razed by. A mace, a throwing star, a trident, a sword. All illuminated by the blue sparks of their warp that followed.

We met again on the ground. I stood watching, waiting to pounce, as Glauca struggled to get back to his feet from the fall. My entire body stung with the familiar pain of overuse of the loaned magic within me. Magic came with a price. Regardless of it being blessed by the Lucii this time. But as Glauca came to his knees, I leapt, striking him with another bolt of lightning magic.

“How could you serve the empire? After everything they did?” I yelled after him as his body was thrown from the strike.

His mask had broken on one side, and his voice fluctuated back and forth between the distortion and his true voice. “I do not fault them for taking what was given. I fault the man who gave it. The man who cowered behind his wall and abandoned us to save his throne and his son.”

Drautos stood, taking a step towards me. “Give me the ring, and our homes will be free again. The empire has promised it.”

“I don’t see much of a future, on the other side of that promise,” I shrugged. I now knew the power of the Ring of the Lucii, and I knew the old kings would never allow the empire that power. No matter the cost. Any foe who tried to wield the ring again would end up like Luche. Like Lunafreya’s brother.

“Don’t be a fool,” Drautos spat. “Save your friends. Give your dead sister peace.” He leered at me. “Flee to that girl of yours, the Minerva girl. Selena, was it? What do you fight for if not that?”

At the sound of her name from his traitorous lips, I felt fire raise within me and sprang towards him again, raising my kukri to strike. “Keep her name out of your mouth!”

This time, he parried my blade, disrupting my warp, and I fell at his feet. I spun, throwing the kukri again to distract him and distance myself. But from the cover of dust and wreckage that enveloped him, he vaulted towards me, his sword crashing down on my arm, igniting it into flames. The blade I had thrown laid a few feet away, and I warped out towards it to escape him, stumbling and falling to my knees once more.

Drautos stood over me, silently watching me as I struggled in pain. Cracks lit up all over my arm from his blow and the waning magic of the kings. Instead of swinging his sword towards me once more, he bound away to go after Lunafreya, Libertus, and the ring.

“Get up!” I screamed at myself out loud this time, finding my footing and vaulting to the shoulder of the closest king to me, the Founder King, the Mystic. As if reading my mind, the Mystic King warped to where Drautos was pursuing the car. Libertus had steered it to pin Drautos against the cement wall as the car sped. The Mystic then swung his sword to knock Drautos away.

I panted to catch my breath from the king’s shoulder with a death grip on my Galahdan kukri. We faced Diamond Weapon. I lifted my head to see Drautos, mimicking my exhaustion from atop the weapon. Looking towards the horizon, sheets of violet and gold inched into the sky, signaling the sun’s rising. I turned back to Drautos, clenching my fist as my arm burned and cracked with dwindling magic. I had to finish this quickly. The power lent to me would run out as soon as the sun rose.

“What of your king’s power now?” Drautos called to me. “They’ve given you a burden you cannot hope to bear. I told you before. Just wanting doesn’t win wars!”

Flipping the blade in my hand, I thrust it down into the king’s shoulder signaling him to bring us to Drautos and the weapon. The Mystic obeyed, and we flew towards them. I met Drautos between the giants, falling between them as we battled midair, warping to whichever giant limb was closest. The king’s sword had shattered on impact, and he now pummeled at the weapon with his colossal fists. This had to be our final fight. I had to finish this now. I was able to lodge my blade into Drautos’ armored chest midair, and we fell down to the ground again together.

Upon our crash to the ground, I rolled in pain as Drautos stood, stumbling towards me. He ripped my blade from where I had lodged it in his chest and threw it aside. I could feel my entire body burning as the magic drained from me.

“For the honor of my home, I fought and killed under a king I loathed. And still he betrayed me,” Drautos voice strained. “He betrayed us all.”

I fought to my feet again with a loud cry of pain. “He betrayed? No, Drautos. It was you! We fought for the same thing. All of us. But you’ve looked too long on the past. You’re blind to the future.” Stumbling where I was, I continued, “Want to know something the Lucii said?” I planted my feet into the ground. “Man is a fool creature, clinging to his past and cowering from his future,” I repeated the words that the Mystic King had said.

I warped to the kukri blade Drautos had thrown aside, only to be intercepted and caught in his gauntlet as he lifted me by my neck, choking me as I kicked my legs in struggle.

“Predictable,” he still mocked. “Unlike you, I learn from history.”

“But you’re a slave to the past,” I choked out.

“A man’s past is his pride,” Drautos answered.

The last remaining king, the Mystic, fought behind us against the weapon. Filling the smoking air with the booming sounds of strikes against each other.

I gripped the gauntlet choking me, as I used my energy to cast Fire, burning both of us with the last remnants of magic. “No. My pride is shaping the future.” Pulling from the last reserves of my strength, I gripped his arm, willing the flames to consume us both.

Drautos’ one visible eye widened, showing fear for the first time.

The metal armor Drautos wore began to melt from the fire, and my eye caught onto the Insomnian-forged kukri that Libertus had recovered earlier. It was lodged into Drautos’ back. He must have stabbed it into him when he had attacked the car.

A singular, dry laugh bubbled from my lips. “Heh. Looks like I’m gonna owe Libertus big time.”

The fire consumed us, and I used one last warp to the Insomnian kukri, ripping it from the armor and stabbing it into Drautos’ now bared chest. Behind us, the king simultaneously yielded a final blow to the weapon’s core, slaying and defeating it just as Drautos fell.

I collapsed to sit by Drautos’ body, knowing I was now completely drained of magic and strength. My body felt broken, so much that I couldn’t even register pain anymore; My arm was burnt and unrecognizable, and I knew deep down that this was the end. Regardless of Libertus’ sacrifice, I still ended up having to fight with my life to allow Insomnia to see the morning’s light.

“King Regis did what he did for the future,” I gasped. My lungs could no longer take in full breaths. “Because of him, there’s still hope for our homes.”

“Hope,” Drautos repeated in a final whisper as his life left him.

M.E. 756, May 17. Insomnia’s fall — Dawn.

Libertus

“I’ll be waiting for you, hero,” I had said towards Nyx’s figure kneeling on the shoulder of the Mystic. I knew he couldn’t hear me. He had saved me yet again. He had fought in sync with the Mystic King to throw Drautos from the car me and Lunafreya had been in. I prayed to whichever god might be listening that the kukri I had buried behind Drautos’ shoulder would aid Nyx. Despite his insistence that he didn’t need it, I knew my friend. He may have held an incredible affinity for magic, but he was just as beastly with two blades in his hands.

Holding back tears for my dear friend, I got back into the car which miraculously still hummed with life. Pressing my foot on the gas, I reversed myself and Luyafreya away from the ongoing fight of giants and warriors. I tried to ignore the violet hue that had begun to fill the far horizon in the sky.

I raced the car down the empty highway. Chanting to myself that I had to make it.

“You made a promise,” I repeated. “You promised to keep her safe. Out of Insomnia.” Lunafreya stayed silent as I repeated the mantra. Over and over.

When we approached the exit sign for the west gate, Lunafreya placed a hand on my trembling arm. “Almost there,” she reassured me. The sky began to break and brighten in reds and purples.

“Almost,” said back. I pressed my foot down on the pedal harder to speed up as I watched as my fists that gripped the steering wheel begin to gray and crack into dust.

We made it outside the city, outside the west gate, finding a group of refugees fleeing Insomnia by foot before us. This was as far as my body would take us. I couldn’t drive anymore.

I pushed opened the car door and fell outside, laying on the road and panting as I watched my body continue to dissolve into ashes and dust. It didn’t hurt. But I knew this was it. This was the price I paid to the kings of Lucis for the sake of my best friend and brother.

“You should move,” I said to Lunafreya, nodding my head towards the refugees in the distance. “It ain’t safe here either.”

“Thank you, Libertus,” Lunafreya said, placing a hand on my chest. “You kept your promise. You delivered me to safety. Do not worry about Nyx.”

“Come on. You need to go. This is where we part ways,” I forced out. And then my eyes clouded with tears. “I’m… scared.” I confessed.

She shook her head. “There is nothing to be afraid of. You are a hero, Libertus. Your brother is proud. This Crowe you spoke of is proud. I am so proud and overcome with gratefulness for you.” She wiped a tear from my face that had fallen. “I pray we see each other again soon. All of us.”

I managed a final smile and strained out, “Hey, Queen Lunafreya.”

She smiled back at me. I thought I saw tears in her eyes too, but my vision was now so blurry, I couldn’t tell anymore “Yes, Libertus,” she whispered.

“You and the king are always welcome in Galahd. Bring Nyx and Selena. I’ll be waiting for you. With Crowe.”

My vision began to go dark, and I said to sky, the new dawn, “You… owe me big time.”

M.E. 756, May 17. Insomnia — Dawn.

Nyx

Falling to my back, I looked up at the sky filled with reds and oranges. The sun had risen with a new dawn. “Not the worst way to go,” I mused, a final smile on my face.

“Rule well, young king,” I said to the sky, hoping my words might reach Noctis.

I closed my eyes. We had always been told that our lives would flash before our eyes when we were on the cusp of death. A faint huff left my lips. A failed attempt at one last laugh. All I could see was her. She had told me the first night we forged our relationship that she refused to be a sad memory in my life. I guess even her will stayed true as I struggled to take in air.

I could see her striking smile from the day I accompanied the Brotherhood on their first hunt. After I had called her remarkable. With dual horn blood marring her golden skin, and the most breathtaking smile as her brown eyes twinkled at mine.

I could see the thoughtful look in her chocolate eyes from when she sat on the floor of my room with three fingers held up as she counted the things she knew about me. The way her eyes lit even brighter when I finally closed the distance between us and sat beside her. The pink that spread across her cheeks and stained her swollen lips after we first kissed.

I remembered the flicker of candlelight across her skin on the night of her 20th birthday, and the tears that had fallen from her eyes as we spent our first night together and shared the experience of love between flesh.

I saw the tranquil peace on her face as she slept, the last night we had spent together just days ago. Her smile the next morning and her face as she came apart in my arms. The way her eyes had widened when I gave her the coeurl ring. The sadness that flickered in them when she left me to leave Insomnia. Her back as she rode away.

And I could still see her sweet smile in the photo of us together. My fingers itched to pull the photo from my pocket. I wished I could pry my eyes open to look at the picture one last time. I could sense the folded wad of paper still in my pocket against my thigh. But my body had long since gone still.

On the cusp of death, I realized that this life flashing before my eyes was all her. Selena was my life. She was everything to me. She was…

My lips opened one last time with a final breath. “I’m sorry, Selena. I couldn’t keep… our promise…”

A Glaive’s Promise - Chapter 7 - Insomnia_Skye (2024)

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