Mira watched the muscular orc strike back at his opponent. The stubble on his chin shadowed his face more with the golden helm highlighted in the sun. Her mind drifted as she watched him masterfully fight his opponent. His form fitted armor wasn’t polished as she imagined other great warriors of his tribe would be. He wasn’t a mage, but he was a damn fine warrior and strong enough to keep up with most.

The next few months would be odd as they traveled back to Agrowl and dealt with the fallout of his proclamation. She thought back to his journal and the poem he wrote for her. She smiled as her Bobabano fought against the wicked man that tried to harm their friend.

Bo was a warrior. He knew how to fight. He would be okay, she reassured herself.

The sparks coming off the fighters’ swords flashed in the midday sun. The orc cornered his opponent and it seemed the battle would be over soon.

As Bobabano moved in for a final strike, Mira’s eye caught something. His opponent gripped onto a gem embedded into the pommel of his sword. The bloody red stone sparkled beneath the sunlight as Vernent moved his arm back. She stood and watched as he threw the stone at Bobabano.

The explosion rattled the walls of the stadium. Mira couldn’t feel herself move as she launched from her seat. The thunderous crack of shattered stone behind her caused the audience to scream a second time. She landed in the dusty battlefield and searched for him. The protective blue bubble caught her eye and she raced towards it. Bobabano wheezed and held his hand against his bleeding stomach.

“Mira,” He coughed.

Her fist crunched the bubble beneath it, “Healer!”

“I’m not sure that will help,” He struggled to laugh, “I can’t feel my legs.”

Mira looked down at the damage in horror. The bones and organs shown told her that nothing short of a miracle could save him. He reached out towards her, and she knelt at his side. His blood moved towards her as she pulled the golden helm off and wiped the dirt from his face.

“Healers!” She screamed, “Help!”

“Hey, hey,” He wheezed and grabbed her hand, “Listen. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be awake.”

“You can’t leave me,” Mira whimpered, “Not you too.”

He spoke in orcan, “Then take my soul and I will stay with you.”

“I can’t do that,” She shook her head, “You’d—”

“If that is where you are going, then I want to be there,” He smiled cheekily despite his situation, “You’d come find me. I know you’d save me.”

As his breaths became more infrequent, the swarm of white robes surrounded her and pulled her away. He reached towards her.

“No, I want her here,” He coughed, “I want to see her as I move into the next cycle.”

“Don’t say that,” She cupped his face.

“I can’t feel my legs, Mira. I can see my insides. I know I’m not here much longer…” He winced as he laughed, “I just want you here with me.”

“You have to live,” She pleaded, “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“I’ll always be with you, my mermiana,” He squeezed her hand, “I wish I could see what you could do with the world… In the next life, I’ll find you again. I don’t know how, but I will.”

Bo laid his head in her lap and struggled as the healers tried to save him. Glowing hands pushed energy into his failing body. They tried to close his wounds to stop the bleeding, but it was too late. His grip on her hand weakened as his breathing slowed down further. His black eyes blinked up at her as she stared down at him. He reached up and touched the curls of her hair.

“You are the spark that set my heart ablaze,” He coughed, “My sunset eyes –”

“Bo, please,” She begged, “Please stay with me. I’ll do anything you want.”

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“One last kiss… Like you love me?” Bobabano smiled sadly, “Nothing would make me happier, Miradash.”

She leaned down and kissed him gently on the lips. His hand wrapped around her head and pulled her closer. She treated him as tenderly and passionately as she wanted him to treat her. She felt his hand tremble as he played with her hair. As it fell from her head, she felt tears stream down her face. Her vision blurred from the tears as his breathing stopped. She wailed and reached toward him. Someone ripped her away from her him and she clawed at them. Their hands firmly grasped her shoulders to pull her back.

“Mira!” Amethyst yelled as she wrapped her arms around her waist, “You have to calm down!”

“No! Let go of me” She thrashed about and screamed at the healers, “Save him!”

“I needed to pull you away!” She threw her to the ground and held her down, “You can’t help him!”

Mira felt the dark energy inside of her broil her alive. She screamed and tried to get away from all of them and back to Bobabano. She wanted to hold him again. She wanted to hear him laugh and to see his smile again. She wanted to feel his touch and taste him again. Her mind filled with the spiraling thoughts of things she would never get to do with him.

Mira screeched and fought against Amethyst to get off of her. The shrill sound echoed through the deadly silent stadium. Multiple people pinned her to the ground as she thrashed about in agony. She felt the calming spells enter her body from the multitude of healers around her.

“Save him!” She screamed.

Amethyst reeled back and slapped the deranged woman with all her might. Mira’s eyes turned a fierce white at the audacious orc.

“He’s gone, Mira!” Amethyst croaked out a yell, “He is gone.”

The icy chill washed over her as spread it from her hand. She felt frozen beneath it as Amethyst called for more healers to calm her. She looked over to Bobabano and sobbed. She grabbed his limp hand and pulled him closer.

The life was gone from his beautiful dark eyes. He had a stolen lock of her hair in his hand and a peaceful smile on his face. She reached for him with a shaking hand as she sobbed. Hands clamped down on her and pumped her full of cooling calm.

In the end, Isaan took from her again. He took another person she cherished. She couldn’t protect anyone from him. With that revelation, something inside of her snapped.

“You need to breathe, Mira,” Amethyst pulled her face from the ground to focus on her, “You are panicking.”

“I am fine.”

“You are crying,” She slapped her, “I have never seen your eyes this glaring white. You are clearly not fine.”

At the orcs words, a manic cackle echoed in the otherwise silent arena.

“Get off me.”

The orc winced as the mark on her chest burned at the command. She rolled onto the ground as Mira stood up. Her eyes scanned the field to find Vernent resting in a chair surrounded by healers with only minor wounds. Their eyes met and he jumped as she stalked towards him. Her hand twitched as a weapon formed.

“We will need to discuss the outcome of this battle,” Queen Azalea announced quickly as she saw the madwoman sprint towards him, “Lady Mira, please… tend to your fallen.”

She hesitated at the queen’s words then decided her path. Mira walked to the edge of the arena and looked to the crowd. Encante’s magic flowed from her. The invisible vines found every orc in the audience. The biggest concentration pooled around a single, wailing pink orc.

She looked to Ravenna and held her head up high. She grabbed her fiery curls and held them high above her head. With a swift motion of a summoned knife, the short cut swept all the hair away.

“May Her flame lead him home!” She yelled in orcan.

The cascade of stomping feet soon after her words shook the broken stadium. She walked to Bo’s body and wrapped his hand around her hair. She grabbed the golden sword. She tied her cut hair in an quick knot. As she swung the sword to rest on her shoulder, she turned to the queen and prince with a new sense of rage and anger. Amethyst stood by her side and place a hand on her shoulder.

“See to it that he is taken care of. I expect no expense spared,” Mira ordered, “You know the customs better than me.”

“You knew them well enough to give him the proper send off.”

“He died fighting for me. It is what he deserves.”

The custom in Agrowl blessed any man that died fighting for the woman that claimed him. Her hair would be woven into a bracelet that tied his weapon to his hand for his funeral pyre. The words she shouted at the crowd would be chanted until the body turned to ash.

Tiero held Ravenna in his lap as she wailed uncontrollably. She threw her arms around him and sobbed.

“I knew something bad was going to happen! I knew it!” She yelled between her heavy sobs.

“Lady Mira honored Captain Bobabano,” Tiero’s voice quivered, “Agrowl will bless his passing. That is all we can ask for now.”

“I don’t want him to go!” Ravenna yelled, “I want to see Mira! Take me to her!”

Tiero grabbed her shoulders, “I don’t think that is a good idea. We should prepare for his trip home.”

“No!” Ravenna pounded her fists against his bare chest, “Take me to Mira!”

“Ravenna, please,” He lowered his voice pulled her into a hug, “Please, just stay here with me. I am hurting too.”

“You… you called me Ravenna?”

“I am not your protector right now,” He patted her back, “I am your friend.”

“I told him he should have forfeited,” She cried, “Why didn’t he?”

“Because he would never look weak in front of anyone. You know this.”

“He would have –”

“He wouldn’t have been our Bobabano,” Tiero looked at her, “Mira won’t let this stand. She will burn the world down in his honor.”

Ravenna melted like a puddle in his arms as she cried. The stomps of her kin around her boomed through the stadium. When she felt the beat of their pain in time with her heart, she stood up and looked down at her friend.

“She yelled, “Make him suffer!”

Mira’s only response was a manic sparkle in her white eyes on her otherwise dead expression.