Untarnished: Hope and Sacrifice by Jack Braxton & (A.K.A) JackOfHeart

Author:Jack Braxton & (A.K.A) JackOfHeart [Braxton, Jack & (A.K.A) JackOfHeart]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-07-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Vale knelt on the sand, a single tear running down his cheek. He wiped it away with the back of his hand, his expression changing to one of determination as he pushed himself to his feet. He stumbled toward Champion Lance’s back under the stunned gazes of the four candidates beside him. They look at each other but none of them know what to do.

Vale staggered towards the duo completely unchallenged. But unexpectedly, he stopped, dropping to his knees at Luna’s side. He gently cradled her head onto his lap and he leaned close, ear facing her chest. A moment later, he sighed in relief, all tension leaving his body. Her heart was still beating.

The world around him faded into the background as he carefully lifted Luna from the sand, cradling her in his arms. Vale teetered under the extra weight with his numbed arm but didn’t allow it to deter him, taking a shaky step toward the grand door behind him. He was a tragic figure covered in blood and gore. It was a mixture of his and the two fledglings he had killed.

The blood seeping from the wounds on his back and side had fortunately slowed to a trickle. Luna sighed in his arms and Vale looked down to watch her slowly open her eyes. She blinked around in confusion, realising she was being carried. She tentatively reached up and brushed his overgrown auburn hair to the side, staring deeply into his green eyes.

“Hello, lover boy,” Luna breathed. Her gaze rested on Vale’s firm expression and his face slowly softened into a loving smile. She leaned into his chest while closing her eyes. “Is this a dream?”

The magical moment lasted for only a second before reality sunk back in. Luna looked around from her vantage point in his arms. First seeing Grenda’s lifeless corpse, and then the broken bodies of survivors whimpering in pain on the sand. Her body tensed as her hands balled into fists, baring her sharp teeth in anger.

“Don’t look any more. We’re finished here and we survived. We owe it to Grenda to live on and escape this place,” Vale softly admonished, fixing his gaze forward, and staring into places unseen.

He continued to stumble from the battlefield. The sand stirred as his foot left the ground, the weapon rack lifting from the place he had just stepped. Tunsdale saw Valeleave, tossing aside his sword in contempt and teetered after him, holding the bloody stump of his other arm. The unnamed cat-man grunted with pain, using the wall behind him to push himself to his feet.

Both staggered to join Vale on each side of him as he carried Luna in his arms. It became much harder to hold her as his cuffs magnetically slammed together and he lowered her to the ground. The group waited at the closed exit and turned to appraise the carnage.

“Heh, sorry Grenda. You didn’t get to take one of the brats with you. But we sent a couple to journey with you into the afterlife with you and the others,” Vale lamented.

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