Everybody knew how much I despised being in hospitals, so it was a big deal whenever I visited Ethan in his.

The date was the twelfth of March, meaning it had been nearly three weeks since the most recent battle. Objectively, it had been a huge success for RoCity, but many people thought otherwise.

Firstly, Ethan refused to call his fight with Maltor a ‘victory’, insisting that it was a ‘draw’. But Maltor had been in far worse shape than Ethan, so I’d heard, so that was a victory for Ethan in my book.

Secondly, there had been huge losses outside of the battlefield. Despite not doing any damage to The Tower, the shells fired by the French Navy inflicted heavy casualties on the people living in the Valley. Two hundred and fifty-six people had been killed, and way more had been injured. Some people claimed this to be my fault, which certainly did not help me and how I was feeling.

That is why our victory was purely ‘objective’. We had succeeded in pushing back the French naval fleet on the east coast, largely due to my power over water. And, in the north, we had driven back Maltor’s army massively.

But the thought of another attack of such magnitude scared me. More defences had been placed on the north side of the Valley and near the Western Suburbs, and makeshift bases had been set up further away from the city, near some other permanent bases.

I stared down at Ethan, who lay in his hospital bed. He smiled back at me and Cecilia.

His face was bandaged because he had sustained a few injuries to his head. But that was barely even noticeable next to the huge bandages around his left shoulder and arm, which is where his main injury was. Ethan said it hurt like hell to move it, but he was due to be released soon; his three weeks were almost up.

‘That bastard has ruined my sleep,’ Ethan muttered angrily. ‘Do you know how difficult it is to sleep when you can’t lie on your left side?’

‘Sleep on your right,’ I answered, smirking at him. ‘Simple solution to a complex problem.’

‘You’re lucky I’m bedridden, you cheeky prick.’

I knew his annoyed façade wouldn’t last long. Every time I visited, he would get distracted by something for merely a few sentences before going back to insulting Maltor.

‘It’s so annoying,’ he grumbled. ‘I’ve been in hospital for three weeks, and he was probably fine after like ten minutes.’

‘That’s not your fault,’ Cecilia chimed in. ‘It’s not your fault he can heal like that.’

I, of course, knew what gave Maltor that healing power. I had it, too. But I couldn’t say it. Not only could I not reveal it, but I didn’t want to seem as though I was showing any sympathy towards Maltor.

The urge to tear him apart was now greater than ever. He had reduced Ethan to this state. I wouldn’t stand for it.

‘I don’t care,’ Ethan muttered. ‘It’s still annoying.’

I smirked to myself. Even though he was in such a terrible state, he was still himself. He was still the same Ethan that he had been before fighting Maltor.

‘The hell are you laughing at?’ Ethan croaked.

‘You,’ I shrugged. ‘Nothing else, just you.’

To my left, I heard the door to the room open with a creak. Ethan did share the room with another injured fighter, so I at first assumed that the new visitor was for them. It was and was not at the same time.

‘There he is!’ Ethan roared, grinning, staring at the door. ‘Took you long enough didn’t it?’

Cecilia and I turned our heads to look at who had arrived to visit Ethan. I had not expected Jeremy in the slightest.

His dark brown hair had been styled to the left when I had last seen him, which had been over three months ago when we arrived at Apercaput. Now, however, it was clear that he had not made an effort to keep it tidy. It fell over his head like strings on a mop, slightly covering the top sections of his blue eyes. I hadn’t realised that his hair was that long.

Jeremy grinned at Ethan. ‘There’s a lot of people here, sorry, man.’

‘Nah, don’t worry about it, I know you’re busy,’ Ethan replied, still grinning, as Cecilia stared wide-eyed at her brother. ‘How is everyone?’

‘As good as they can be,’ Jeremy sighed, sitting on the end of Ethan’s bed. ‘Two are up and out today, which is good. How are you feeling?’

‘Shit,’ Ethan spat, his grin faltering. ‘I’m nearly done with my three weeks, so the last stretch is gonna be agonising.’

‘It’s gonna be worth it when you’re out, though, mate,’ Jeremy said warmly. ‘Then you can kick Maltor’s ass again.’

‘If you don’t get him first.’

Jeremy scoffed and then looked back at me and Cecilia. ‘How come you’re here? I thought you hated hospitals.’

It was clear who his question was directed at, so I answered, ‘I had to come to see Ethan. And same for you; what brings you here?’

Ethan answered for him so fast that Jeremy didn’t even have time to open his mouth.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

‘He visits every day. Not only me; he checks up on everyone that got hurt in the fight.’

I stared at Jeremy silently for a moment. He had never struck me as that type of person. He always seemed cold and unforgiving.

Perhaps that was because I had only heard him talk about his brother. But I still couldn’t quite understand why he hated Maltor with such a deep passion.

‘Actually?’ Cecilia breathed, staring at the back of Jeeremy’s head. He was staring determinedly at the floor.

‘Yeah,’ Ethan replied indifferently. ‘Gives me a reason to get up on time.’

Neither Cecilia nor I said a word. It felt almost wrong to believe Jeremy incapable of such a nice act, and yet it seemed as though we both still did.

‘RoCity’s changed you, huh?’ Cecilia taunted. ‘The Jeremy I knew would just keep himself to himself, you know?’

Jeremy didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, wordlessly, he got to his feet and turned on the spot to face me and Cecilia. His blue eyes were filled with pent-up anger, but I could tell at once that it was not directed at anyone in the room.

‘I’ve gotta see what he did,’ he snarled. ‘This does nothing but make me more sure that I’ve gotta kill him.’

My mind went blank. There it was. The hatred towards Maltor.

‘That shrimpy twat has ended so many lives and ruined even more,’ Jeremy continued, balling his fists. ‘I’ll kill him.’

‘Yeah, he does this a bit,’ Ethan said, reaching over to his bedside table for his glass of water. ‘Reminds me of you, Albert.’

‘I don’t care who or what I remind you of,’ Jeremy growled. ‘I’m not forgiving him.’

Before I even had chance to formulate a thought, Cecilia whispered, ‘Do you really blame him for that?’

Jeremy stared at Cecilia, his eyes full of bitterness. ‘I can’t see how you don’t. And if you want me to stop feeling this way then you’ll have to kill me.’

Ethan’s eyes lit up. ‘Blame him for what? What did he do?’

I kicked the leg of the bed, causing Ethan to jolt and glare at me. ‘Shut it.’

‘It can’t have been anyone else, Cecilia,’ Jeremy breathed. ‘I’m telling you right now, Maltor did it.’

The urge to ask what it was that they were talking about was almost irresistible, but I didn’t want to pry.

Maltor had done something to his family. Something so heinous that not even his big brother could forgive him. I mean, I had never seen anyone as angry as Jeremy in that moment. The closest I could think of was when Ethan threatened to kill Emma. Did I look like that when I got angry?

‘Oi, Albert,’ Jeremy snarled, flicking his eyes at me. ‘Do me a favour, would you? When you next fight Maltor, don’t kill him. Have your fun with him but make sure he stays alive. I wanna be the one to do it. Please.’

I stared at him blankly for a moment. He was speaking exactly as I had thought. He was vocalising the level of anger that rose within me whenever I thought of Maltor.

‘No promises, but I can try,’ I said slowly. ‘You really hate him, huh?’

Jeremy balled his fists tighter, something which I previously thought to be impossible.

‘I’m a good wizard,’ he sneered. ‘I’ll make his last moments hell.’

Ethan and I stared at him. My expression was blank and emotionless, but Ethan’s eyes were shining with what can only be described as awe.

‘We can double-team him,’ Ethan said almost dreamily. ‘You’re not the only one here that wants him dead.’

‘There’s three of us,’ Jeremy continued. ‘I take his scrawny little arms and you two take a leg each. Then I take his head.’

‘Well aren’t you just a ray of sunshine?’ Cecilia remarked, in a tone that suggested both sarcasm and worry.

‘All my sunshine left when he did what he did,’ Jeremy grunted. ‘I hate him with every fibre of my being. I’ll kill him.’

‘‘Hate’ is a bit of a strong word, don’t you think? You don’t even know if it was him.’

‘Hate may be a strong word but it’s the only strength I have left, Cecilia.’

Nobody said a word. Everybody stared at Jeremy wearing a different expression.

‘Holy Tartarus, you should write a book,’ Ethan breathed. ‘That was the greatest thing I have ever heard.’

‘You’re not helping,’ Cecilia said, but she was smirking.

Jeremy was telling the truth. He did hate Maltor with every fibre of his being. And Maltor had done ‘something’ to make Jeremy feel this way. Cecilia was adamant that it could have been somebody else, but her brother was certain that it was Maltor.

What could it have been?

‘I’m going to the next room,’ Jeremy muttered angrily. ‘See you all later.’

He began to walk solemnly to the door at the other end of the disgustingly white room, but I bounded across the room in a single stride and grabbed his shoulder just before he touched the door handle.

‘Good luck passing the test, man,’ I said, gently shaking his shoulder. ‘We’ll get him. Together.’

He shrugged my hand off, not looking back.

‘Thanks, Albert. Thanks a lot.’

Then he left. The sound of the door closing behind him somehow made me feel slightly empty.

‘Excuse him,’ Cecilia murmured. ‘He feels really strongly about our brother.’

‘Really? I thought he loved him,’ Ethan replied quickly, in mock innocence.

‘Shut it, or I’ll make the hospital keep you for another week,’ I said, staring at him.

‘Sorry.’

‘Anyway,’ I continued, turning to Cecilia, ‘it’s understandable why he hates Maltor so much. I mean, I don’t know what exactly he did for Jeremy to feel so strongly, but I’m sure it’s justified.’

‘If Jeremy’s right then, yes, he has every right to feel that way,’ Cecilia said, still quiet. ‘But I’m praying to the Gods that he’s wrong.’

Ethan and I exchanged a silent glance, but both of us knew better than to press Cecilia any further.

‘He might hate Maltor even more than Albert,’ Ethan added unnecessarily.

‘Maybe,’ I breathed. ‘He definitely does have some strong feelings.’

Cecilia’s face seemed paler than before. Maybe we had already gone too far, despite not pressing her.

I hurriedly walked over and tried to offer words of apology.

‘You okay? We can stop talking about it if you want. Sorry if we went too far.’

‘I’m fine,’ she mumbled. ‘It’s not you. Just…nothing. Jeremy might be right. I don’t know.’

‘I hope he’s not,’ I replied quickly. ‘I don’t know what it is I want him to be wrong about, but I hope he is.’

She scoffed. ‘Thanks, Albert.’

I smiled at her as she looked up. ‘Do you wanna go now?’

‘I might have to, but you can stay,’ was the response that I was given.

‘Are you joking?’ Ethan spat. ‘I don’t wanna be alone with this guy!’

Cecilia scoffed once more as I rolled my eyes.

‘Yeah, yeah. You need me, Ethan.’

‘You need me, too.’

‘Shut up.’

‘My bad.’

The two of us grinned at each other.

‘We’ll bugger off, then,’ I smirked. ‘Let you get your fifteenth nap of the day.’

‘I’m on seventeen, actually,’ Ethan mocked.

Our grins grew.

‘See you, Cecilia,’ Ethan said warmly, wiggling into a more comfortable position in his bed. ‘And, Albert, get outta here.’

‘Already on it.’

***

It was as Cecilia and I worked our way down the street outside the hospital that my worry began to truly grow.

‘Hey, Cecilia?’ I tried as we walked. ‘If you need to talk, I’m here, yeah?’

She smiled. ‘I know, Your Highness. Thank you. But don’t worry about me.’

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that worrying about her was all I had been doing.

‘I can try,’ I teased. ‘It’ll be difficult, but I can try.’

‘Worry about Jeremy,’ she said. ‘He’ll kill someone if he doesn’t get to Maltor soon.’

‘When he comes back next I’ll be sure to give Jeremy a call,’ I replied, grinning. ‘For the both of you.’

Jeremy needed it. He needed Maltor’s blood. He was feeling such a raw level of hatred towards his brother that even I struggled to comprehend it.

We had to end this damn war.