SGE His Broken Heart (Sequel to His Darkened Heart)

~ Preview of Chapter 26 ~

A/N—Since I've been taking such an incredibly long time to update, I thought I'd give you guys a special preview of what happens in the next chapter of this story.

Enjoy!
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SNEAK PEEK OF Chapter 26 The Dying Hope:

Before Japeth could react, Sophie had fallen to the ground as if she'd been pushed by an unknown force. Sophie tried to get to her feet, but a sudden blast of gold hit her square in the chest, flattening her back to the ground.

Japeth's head swiveled to see Tedros, his golden fingerglow raised menacingly. There was a determined expression upon the prince's face, but deep inside, Japeth thought he glimpsed a look of pain in Tedros's blue gaze. Tedros's hand was trembling as if the prince was dreading whatever he was about to do.

Japeth felt his scims stir and his lips curl into a snarl as he prepared to lung at Tedros, suspecting that Tedros was gonna take Sophie away. Instead though, Tedros didn't grab Sophie in his arms like Japeth had suspected.

Much to Japeth's surprise, Tedros pulled out an object from behind his back.

Excalibur glinted in the dusky light, blinding Japeth. Then, with a cry, Tedros brought the sword down upon Sophie. Japeth's heart lurched as he watched Tedros plunge the blade through Sophie's gut, and a scream of rage ripped from Japeth's throat.

No! No, no, no!

A Scim tore from Japeth's suit to rocket towards Tedros and the prince stumbled back, Excalibur ripping free from Sophie's flesh. For a second, Tedros sat there on the ground, sadness brimming in his gaze as he stared at a bleeding Sophie before he wiped his eyes and fled.

Japeth would've gone after Tedros, he had Excalibur after all, the same sword that tied his blood to Camelot's throne. The sword that proved Tedros was king. But Japeth had Tedros's ring, the final ring he needed to burn to destroy the last shred of faith left in the Storian. And Japeth couldn't leave Sophie behind.

Tedros hadn't just stabbed Sophie out of the blue. He'd done it with the intent to take her life, because marrying Sophie was the very last thing Japeth needed to do to become the One True King. Japeth couldn't marry Sophie if she were dead.

So Japeth scrambled to Sophie's side and pressed his hands against the stab wound on her abdomen. His palms were sticky with her blood, but he was focused on only one thing; saving Sophie's life.

Sophie's face was pale and clammy. Strands of her blonde hair stuck to her forehead with sweat, and her chest was rising up and down rapidly as it were a struggle for her to breathe. Her green gaze was alight in pain as Japeth applied steady pressure to her wound to prevent the blood flow.

"Shhh, little minx...I've got you," Japeth tried to soothe her, pressing down harder and a gasp escaped Sophie's parted lips. For a moment, she looked dazed as if she didn't know where she was before she met Japeth's gaze with her own.

"I—I've felt this before," Sophie rasped, her fingers wrapping weakly around Japeth's wrists as if in an attempt to keep herself grounded.

Japeth could barely hear her words. He was too busy tending to her wound. It was only when Sophie's fingers tightened around his wrists that he looked at her.

There was a confused look upon Sophie's face. Her mouth parted but no words came out, only a wheezing breath. Japeth figured she was in shock until he glimpsed her expression suddenly darken in surprise. Pure surprise. The sort of surprise one would feel after discovering something terrible or crazy. Or perhaps it was the sort of surprise one would feel after coming to a great realization.