As Damien woke up, he found himself in shackles, bound in the dungeon with several strong guards nearby. He was held in the most highly guarded part of the prison.

Every limb was bound by two separate chains attached to unlinked cuffs, along with his neck and his waist, and although he could move around the cell, that was all he could do. The cuffs were laced with a contact poison that prevented a person from using their power, and it was designed for someone as strong as him.

He couldn't activate his power even though he tried, and the most he could do was warm up his body a bit, his pseudo inner breath barely reaching outside of his dantian.

He was leaned up against the wall, and he realized that Mei was leaning on his side, asleep. She wasn't chained up like him because she wasn't nearly as strong as him, and she wasn't considered a threat even without the chains.

As he took in what was happening, he hung his head in shame as he realized that he couldn't even protect the woman he loved from a fate like this.

For a little while, he just sat there, his head hung in shame. He had hate in his heart towards his brother, but he couldn't do anything anymore, no matter how hard he tried.

He felt nothing but shame at this time; shame that he couldn't protect Mei; shame that he couldn't avoid such a simple trick as the one his brother pulled. And most of all, shame that he didn't see it coming.

He truly felt trapped for the first time in his life.

After a little while longer, Mei woke up with a shiver. The cell was cold and damp, and she had been cold this whole time she was asleep.

She then looked at Damien, and seeing the look on his face, she said nothing. She knew that he was feeling defeated, and nothing she would say could change his mind.

"Don't worry. I'll get us out of here. I'll find a way, like I always do."

Damien's voice was quiet and sad. He wasn't confident like he normally was, but he reassured Mei nonetheless. He then pulled her in with his chained arm and held her close, circulating what power he could to help warm her up.

But before she had the chance to respond, another voice rang out nearby.

"I very much doubt that, brother.

Father has authorized me to kill you in whatever way deemed appropriate, and I say that someone who betrayed us for the blood order deserves to suffer like those who had family killed by the blood order."

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His cruel voice rang out, causing Damien to stare at him in hatred.

But as his words processed in his mind, he realized what he meant, and he instantly grabbed Mei and backed up into the corner, guarding her with his body.

She didn't realize what was happening until a moment later when she saw Damien get smacked to the side by a guard violently and she was dragged out of the cell and in front of Damien's brother.

She screamed for help, but none came as Damien was beat down by the guard every time he tried to help her. All he could do was watch her get dragged in front of his brother.

"Cedric, if you do this, I will hunt you down until the end of days!!!" Damien screamed out with a voice like thunder that boomed in Cedric's ears. He could be heard even outside the prison.

"Oh, will you? I don't think you'll ever get the chance." Cedric retorted with a laugh.

After saying this, Damien watched Cedric pull out a knife coated in poison and hold it up to Mei's body. She tried to back away, but she had had standalone shackles put around her body with the same power dampening poison on them, meaning that she was completely powerless to resist.

"Now how should I kill her? Should I make it quick and painless, or should I make it agonizing?" Cedric's creepy laughter rang out through the cell, and Damien's killing intent burst out like a fog of death. However, it was completely absorbed into the cell as it was made of power absorbent materials.

"LET HER GO!!!" Damien's voice screeched out as he was pinned down by the guard.

"Wrong answer," Cedric spoke quietly as he sliced the top of her chest with the poisoned knife, throwing her back into the cell with Damien violently.

The guard then unpinned Damien from the ground and left, leaving only the two princes and Mei behind.

Cedric watched with a smile on his face as tears streamed from Damien's eyes.

Damien scrambled over to Mei and held her in his lap, looking at the cut on her chest.

By now, vile green lines had already spread around part of her chest, and her breathing had become raspy. She was finding it hard to move as she quickly became partially paralyzed.

Her weak voice barely reached Damien's ears as tears welled in her eyes. "We had a good run. I hope we meet in the next life."

Her voice seemed to contain infinite sadness as she pulled in Damien for one last kiss before she died.

After the kiss, Damien's tears increased as he rested his forehead on hers. "You're gonna be okay. You have to be okay." His voice was choked and raspy.

By now, he was hugging her close, bent over her dying body. His tears fell directly on her face as it went white and green as the poison spread to it.

Her heartbeat then started to slow down as her life started to end. "I love yo-" her last words were cut short, now nearly imperceptible, as she was then fully paralyzed.

He then pulled her closer, whispering to her what, deep down, he knew would be the last thing she heard. "I love you too."

Then, her mouth foamed up and her body fell limp as her heart stopped beating.