SGE His Broken Heart (Sequel to His Darkened Heart)

~ Preview II of Chapter 26 ~

"In dark times, there is light."
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~ JAPETH'S POV ~

Kei's dead body laid lifeless upon the ground. Kei's blood mingled with the blood of fallen Students scattered across the ground.

The smell of death hung in the air, strong and pungent.

Japeth stared at the puddle of blood staining the ground where Krushem had laid just seconds ago. For a moment, Japeth couldn't get Krushem's words out of his head; "He didn't care about anything or anyone except for killing his mother...But, there—there was something else. Someone else; You. You were always there in his head. He tried to hide it. He tried to hide his pain, but I could see it."

Part of Japeth had wanted to believe that Aric had felt nothing when he left Arbed House. Japeth wanted to believe Aric wasn't in pain during his time at the schools. But Aric had been in pain, and there was no denying that.

Krushem had only confirmed what Japeth had already known deep down; Aric had been hurting despite his unwavering determination to take his mother's life.

As much as Japeth wanted to dwell on the thought of Aric and sympathize with Aric's pain, he had to get the ring.

He'd passed two out of three of the trials in the Storian's test. But in order to be truly victorious, Japeth had to get that ring from Tedros.

Japeth's gaze found Tedros. The prince was staring at him. His face was white as a sheet. Japeth felt the corners of his lips tug upwards into a mischievous smile at the sight of Tedros looking like such a frightened little boy.

"Look who's on top now, prince," Japeth sneered, unable to resist mocking the prince. "Just give me the ring. We both know you've lost."

Tedros shook in rage. Japeth watched him, waiting for Tedros to attack him compulsively. But instead, Agatha tugged at Tedros's arm, bringing the prince's attention to her.

Agatha whispered something in Tedros's ear. No normal person would be able to hear what she was saying to Tedros from the distance they were from Japeth.

But thanks to Japeth's super hearing Scims, he could hear what Agatha said clearly. She uttered just one word, and that single word was enough to let Japeth know of Agatha's plans.

"Sophie."

The heroes wanted Sophie. Take Sophie, regain Sophie's memories, and Sophie would be theirs. Japeth would lose Sophie to them.

But to become the One True King, Japeth had to steal the ring from Tedros and keep Sophie loyal. Sophie was long gone from here. She'd run off a while ago. With any luck, some Camelot guards or Camelot allies had stumbled across her while they were off transporting an injured Krushem back to Camelot.

Sophie was safe. That was Japeth's hope now.

Now, Japeth was squaring off with the prince.

The false king of Camelot and Camelot's true heir glared at each other, their fists clenched and their bodies tense. Japeth felt his scims stir to life, eager to run Tedros through, and he watched Tedros's golden fingerglow flicker.

It was the same shade of gold as Rhian's. For a moment, Japeth was distracted by the golden hue.

"In dark times, there is light," NotRafal's familiar voice said.

Japeth saw NotRafal standing there. The School Master—or Not School Master or the Storian or whatever—was staring upon Japeth. There was a wisdom in NotRafal's blue gaze as he gazed at Japeth, the winner of the trial.