Victoria Tiger
My face was blank as I stabbed him through the heart—just like he taught me. The sword remained in his back, its tip emerging from his chest.
When my senses returned, the shock hit me. I staggered back, eyes locked on the blood-slicked sword, then my trembling hands. I stabbed Killian. I stabbed Killian.
My thoughts were chaos, tangled and fraying. I dropped to my knees. "I'm sorry—I'm sorry—I'm sorry—I'm sorry—I'm sorry…"The words spilled from me in a chant. Over and over.
I crouched down, covering my ears, shutting my eyes, trying to shut out the world. This had to be a nightmare. I was still in the forest. Killian was just watching over me as I slept. I didn't stab him. I couldn't. I wouldn't.
It must've been someone else. An enemy. Not me. Not me.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! You weren't expecting that, were you, Your Highness, Demon Prince?"Katya's voice cut through everything, gleeful and cruel.
Killian still stood despite the blade through his chest. He stared down at it, then turned his gaze to me—still crouched, still whispering apologies.
"Oh, how tragic," Katya mocked, his voice high with amusement. "You were so close to the border of Mythos… so close to returning the Princess home. Good thing the drug worked just in time!"
The drug?
"I heard she had the Hunting Urge curse," Katya sneered. "Figured I'd twist it against you. And look at that—it worked beautifully."
Killian's violet eyes stayed fixed on Katya—blank, cold, unreadable. No panic. No fear. Just calm.
"You're awfully composed for someone dying," Katya said. "Think we'll both go down and the Princess will escape?" He shook his head. "No. Reinforcements are on the way. And once you're dead, we'll take her—and your corpse."
He chuckled, wiping blood from his lips. "Besides, look at her. She's broken. She's not running anywhere."
A noise cracked through the trees. Killian froze. Reinforcements.
"Too bad, Demon Prince," Katya grinned. "Time's up."
Killian growled low in his throat. With both hands, he shoved the sword straight through his chest and out his back, freeing himself. He grabbed my arm and flung me over his shoulder like a ragdoll.
I was too lost to react. The shock of what I'd done crushed everything else.
A pale blue light wrapped around Killian's body as he raced toward the forest across the river. His wounds hadn't healed—but he didn't stop. He wouldn't stop.
Mountains loomed ahead—the border.
Then—impact.
Something slammed into us from the right. We were flung into a tree, bark exploding around us. Pain lit up my side.
A new voice echoed.
"Ha! Crazy Katya wasn't lying. Guess you really did try to kill him."
Killian groaned and rose. Before us stood a giant man clad in gleaming silver armor, a massive war hammer resting on his shoulder.
"So you're the brat who inherited that monster's name. The War Demon King's successor, huh?"
The sun dipped lower, painting the sky in orange and red. Killian scanned the trees. I could barely lift my head—still lying in the snow, still trapped in my own spiraling thoughts.
"Huh. Rude kid," the armored man said. "But smart. You noticed you're surrounded."
"Damn it, why'd you tell him?!" another voice complained.
A fat man with a bushy beard and a bald head stepped out from the shadows.
"You're the War Demon Prince?" he scoffed. "You're not all that."
"He did beat Katya, though," said the armored man.
"That's impressive… Really impressive, you damn brat," the fat one muttered, stroking his beard.
"Still," the armored one added, "looks like he's hurting bad."
"Doesn't matter," the fat man said. "Our job's the same. Capture them both."
Killian chuckled lowly.
"You think you can touch this King?" he taunted, his voice like thunder.
Both men stiffened.
The fat man scowled. The armored one… grinned. Killian's presence was shifting.
"This brat's still got guts," the armored man said, amused.
"Tch. He's lost it," the fat man snapped and stepped forward.
But Killian's grin widened into a smirk. His body shimmered pale blue. His pupils narrowed into slits.
The night had fallen fast.
The stars blinked into place. The moon hung high above.
Killian's smirk became something else. Something inhuman.
A predator's grin.
A demon's grin.
And both men, warriors as they were, felt something ancient crawl up their spines.