Archer saw the look of panic in her eyes. But when he turned around her was too late to react, too late to defend himself, too late to stop himself from dying. The pain was shocking; vicious he couldn’t breathe over it as the tip of the silver blade went into his side. The blow crushed his lungs so that he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. He heard a whisper of words then he felt the blade tear out of his body. Archer felt his body drop to the ground. He could taste a mix of dirt and the coppery taste of his own blood as it filled his mouth.
He could hear his heart beat, slamming and slamming in his chest and his head. He tried to gasp for air but the pain was too much, and the fear beyond the pain overwhelmed him. His first instinct was to get up, pick up his sword and protect his family and his loved one. But his body didn’t seem to be responding.
***
Adalia was trapped in her fear. But when she saw his large body drop on the ground, she regained the use of her limbs. The liquid darkness of the man slipped back into the trees. She tried to hold Archer but her amour was in the way. She clawed it off and tossed it aside. With all the strength her shocked muscles could master, Adalia pulled Archer to her laps and into her arms and cradled him.
“Breathe!” she shrieked. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, leaving her face stained with blood and dirt. “Please-please-please-please-please just take one breath for me.”
***
Archer could hear her. But through the shuttering explosions of pain that ripped through his chest, he couldn’t grant her, her wish. He held onto her hand and felt her warmth wash through him, as the cold began to set in his body.
“I love you, I love you. Please don’t leave me,” Adalia was trying to use her free hand to rip his armor off. She needed to see how much damage had been done and if he could be fixed. “You are going to be fine. I won’t let you die.”
Archer could feel his body go weak. He knew he was dying but he wasn’t going to let Adalia watch him die. He stopped her desperate hand from removing the armor. “I love you,” he whispered before he felt himself slip out of consciousness.
Xander ran into the clearing, his clothes torn and a smudge of blood on his armor. “We need to leave, more of them are coming!”
“No,” Adalia whispered. But when Xander tried to get her up, she shouted desperately. “No!”
“He’s dead, we have to leave him,” he pulled her into his arms.
***
Lionell reluctantly left the clearing with his daughter, as his heart remained with his son’s lifeless body.
Adalia fought against Xander’s tight hold. But she was no match for him. She didn’t stop screaming even when they pulled away from the clearing and headed back to the North Kingdom.
Gabrielle held his daughter in a vice as he dragged her into the palace doors.
“Daddy I have to go back. I need to go get him, he’s waiting for me,” she managed to kick out of his strong hold.
“He’s dead sweetheart,” Gabrielle said slowly. He needed her to understand. The faster she accepted it the better it would be for her.
Adalia swung around from him, shaking her head wildly as if she were throwing something off. “No he’s not,” she pounded her fist in her chest. “I feel it here.”
Liora was pulled into the great room by the sounds of her daughter’s terrified voice. “Why is she so hysterical?” She tried to hold her but Adalia wouldn’t let her. Liora watched helplessly as her daughter’s red eyes went round in shock, her head still shaking her raven hair wild.
“It’s Archer,” Gabrielle began but stopped when Ilana walked into the room. He would have to wait for Lionell to explain it to his wife first.
“Where is my son?” She looked around the grief stricken room. There was no sight of Archer and fear began to weigh down her heart. “Lionell where is my son?”
“My dear,” Lionell chocked out. “There was a surprise attack. Archer didn’t see him in time. He’s dead.”
Ilana sank to the ground, her husband’s quick hands catching her on her way down.
A deathly silence fell upon the room. Even Adalia had stopped crying. She just stood there, lifeless, motionless.