Sasha was standing in her nightgown at the window, looking out towards the tower. Her stomach was full of soup and her eyelids heavy. She couldn’t understand why the queen had let the king get away with his deeds for so long. Love was blind sometimes.

“Take some rest Elias, we will stay with Sasha.”

Sasha turned around and saw Isaak and her sister.

“I will not leave her”, Elias said.

“If you and Isaak could play watch guards outside I would prefer”, Sasha said. “I would like to change clothes.”

She knew her sister. She wanted to tell something, and she needed some alone time with her as well. She had missed her.

“Oh Sasha”, Ivy said, her eyes filled with moisture.

She hugged her close, the feeling of her sister's arms around her finally letting it sink in how close to death she had been. She had made mistakes before, and she had been injured, but there had always been security nets around her. Isaak had been there, Ivy had healed her, and even Denise had played watchdog. But not this time. This time had hit home.

“I hate him”, Sasha whispered, hating the tears that had sprung into her eyes in the safety of Ivy's arms.

“I bled for you”, Ivy said. “I did change the fate this time for you sister.”

Sasha let her sister's word sink in. If Ivy had felt the pain, she had been close.

“You warned the queen.”

It was not a question. The queen had not known anything was wrong until the link to her sister had opened, until she already had started to walk the road of the deads.

“Elias wants us to leave, but I don't want to go until I learn what is inside that tower”, Sasha said, pushing her thoughts of what if out of her head. She didn’t need her sister's vision to know she had to go to that tower. Her sanity was relying on her to finish that job.

“Yes, you have to help him with the tower sister”, Ivy agreed, “You owe him as much.”

“I do”, Sasha said. “I guess I do.”

Her fingertips massaged her temple and she closed her eyes.

Was becoming a monster what was needed to kill the evil in front of her. Was it even worth it?

“Besides, with the latest events. I think we need to wait to bait the king anyhow.”

“Yeah, I guess I need to grow stronger. Or trap him in the same trap he trapped me”, Sasha said, a sudden life back in her voice. She would love to treat him the same way he had treated her. Only she would finish him off.

“You need to wait Sasha. I have visions of death in all directions at the moment. We need to withdraw. Besides Greg has asked of you.”

“Greg? Why?” Sasha asked.

“Greg heard about the incident with the king.”

“Well, I guess you better talk to him yourself”, Sasha said. “I am in no mood to talk about it with him.”

“Greg wants to talk to you, I think he is regretting helping you.”

Sasha sighed. Greg had a faint heart, she should never have let him get involved in this.

“I will go into the tower tonight Ivy, and then we will leave. I overheard the queen before. She will rebuild our cottage. I need to heal, and then we need to plan. Greg will have to wait.”

“Something feels off about this”, Ivy pondered. She laid her hand at Sasha’s looking outside the window at the dark tower. “The king, the queen, and Elias, it is just so twisted”, Sasha said.

“Yeah, I know.”

Sasha turned towards the bed, sighing heavily. She was tired, her body far from healed. It was the orb within her that kept her upright, the soft strokes of Elias healing her although she had had the orb twisted into a dark totem. Still, his soul shone through.

“I think the healing is stronger in Elias than in the king”, Sasha said.

“Well, our mother survived them putting fire to our cottage”, Ivy said, “maybe you are right.”

“She was not there”, Sasha said. “Elias let her out before he put it on fire.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“So they say”, Ivy caught Sasha’s eyes, with a worried look upon her face. “You are not fit to go to the tower tonight.”

“No, I am not, and if you tell Elias I will not forgive you.”

She sat down on the bed, resting and closing her eyes briefly. She needed the strength and the energy. She would not leave here with unfinished businesses. She couldn’t allow herself to sink deeper into the mess of feelings forElias than she already had.

“I will not tell, but I will get Denise to pick us up tonight. I want you to leave with Isaak, me and Elias will come later.”

Ivy laid her hands around Sasha’s shoulder, hugging her gently. The healing force from her sister stroked her skin, and a warm feeling of security and calmness filled Sasha.

“We will wait at mothers summer cottage until you are a stronger sister, and until the queen has rebuilt our home”, Ivy said. “Now I will help you with your clothes.”

Ivy picked up a pair of black soft trousers and a blacktop. The cardigan, also that one black, would cover the small dots from the hooks. Her skin still had the red marks from the incident. She was not sure the wounds would heal, they looked like something that would leave permanent scars.

The door burst open. It was so sudden Sasha’s heart started to pound in her chest. She hated it. She pushed the clothes to her breast, glaring at the intruder.

“What is taking you so long? You ain’t dressed yet.”

“I told you we should give them some time”, Isaak was coming after Elias, putting a hand on his shoulder and having him turn around.

“You will dress now”, Elias said, his back to her. “I am not letting you out of sight until we are leaving.”

Sasha wanted to reply with something sassy, but the truth was that she had lost towards the king and misjudged the danger. She was in no position to fight for yet another couple of days. Ivy took the lump of clothes from her, sighing loudly as she pulled the top over Sasha’s head.

“I will send for Denise. We could meet at the graveyard. It's big enough for her to land and isolated enough that no one will notice”, Ivy said.

Sasha let herself get dressed and went to stand by the window again. The light was out in the queen's tower.

“I need some fresh air. I will see you at the graveyard”, Sasha said.

“We will not leave tonight”, Isaak said. “You need to be in a better shape before we travel.”

She walked slowly towards the door, her energy levels poor and her body dizzy. She wanted nothing more than a full night's rest but knew she would not get any sleep when the king was still around.

“We will leave tonight”, Ivy said, her voice stern.

“I disagree”, Elias said, “Isaak is right. Sasha needs to rest.”

Sasha didn’t care to listen to them. She went out the door, they could argue all they wanted, she wouldn’t sleep in the castle. And Ivy had already said they would leave tonight. If she had walked the dead for her, she would trust her to know which path to follow. She always had.

She heard footsteps behind her, an arm taking her elbow and steadying her.

“You are too stubborn”, Elias said.

“I will just go and take some fresh air. You don’t need to babysit me”, Sasha pointed out.

“Don’t I then?” Elias said. “As I remembered things ended pretty bad last time you was out all by yourself in the night.”

“I am not afraid, and neither should you”, Sasha said. She didn’t want him around, but his arms steadying her felt warm, the yearning to lean on him very real.

“I am the head of the guards”, Elias said. “They trust me.”

“Of course they do. They adore you”, Sasha only stated the obvious. Elias was a role model for them, strong, skilled, and with a heart big enough to care for them. “But I don’t need a bodyguard. You know that.”

“The king has asked some of the oldest of them, to get rid of you. Nice and clean, preferably as an accident.”

“The feeling is mutual”, Sasha muttered. They were out in the fresh air, the tower just some ten meters in front of them. Elias stopped and pulled her closer.

“This is enough with fresh air. I will not let them hurt you, Sasha.”

He engulfed her in a tight embrace, the warmth from his skin suddenly got the warm night to feel chilly. She closed her eyes. She felt his lips on her forehead.

“So what do you suggest?”

“If you stay away long enough he will forget you and lose interest. I hope at least, he has always just cared about mother”, Elias said. “I have always wanted to travel. Would you like to visit our neighbors? It was a while since I was in Ebenhow. It's a nice kingdom, you would fine-tune your sword man shift and technique. I know some of their masters, and then there are the woods.”

“The werewolves?” Sasha had heard about the woods in the north. No one entered there.

“I happen to be on the invited list. We would both benefit. If they train you, you would be able to sharpen your senses.”

He was tempting her. Sasha almost groaned with displeasure. The werewolves were formidable. She would love to go, the possibility one in a lifetime. Even better than her newfound friend, the soon-to-be guard.

She stepped out of his embrace, shaking her head in the dark of the night. Without answering she started to walk towards the tower. She needed to finish this before she got burned.

“Sasha”. Elias was beside her again. “We should walk back.”

“No Elias”, Sasha said. She continued steadily and laid her fingers on the doorknob to the tower. “We will finish this, and then I will disappear.”

She saw the contour of Elia's smile in the night. He thought they were going for the woods, when in fact, she would be going solo and reappearing as the angel of death.

“How do I open this one?”

He stepped up behind her, one hand on her shoulder.

“You are still weak. How about I carry you back to your room? It's enough with fresh air and both this and the wood can wait.”

“How about you helping me and letting me make my own decisions? Denise is already on her way, and we will never get a better opportunity. I will not stay another night in this castle Elias.”

He sighed, she could feel his breath along her neck. He had wanted to get into that tower for years.

“You could carry me to the graveyard later? Please, Elias, I need to do this.”

He sighed again, even louder this time, but he had resigned. Elias took her other hand, carefully putting it towards the wall of the tower.

“It should be enough that you are of the right blood and strong enough”, he said, as he gently spread out her fingers on the wall. She felt the coldness of the stone, the warmth of him, and then, a sudden glow underneath her hand.

“It is working”, she whispered and turned the doorknob. For a short moment, she swayed back, let herself rest against Elias's frame. This was her last debt. Then there would only be her and her lies left. She would be free of Elias.

The door slowly, silently opened.

Elias swept her up in his arms, entering the building and closing the door behind them. The stairs in front of them were dark and steep.

“Let's do this rebel”, he said.