"I will bring him to my kingdom. I will give him the life he wants. A peaceful life. Under my protection."
Erza's voice was steady, absolute, the voice of a queen who had made up her mind and would not be swayed by anyone or anything. She held Yuuta against her chest, her arms wrapped around him with a ferocity that spoke of desperation, her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt as if she feared he might disappear if she loosened her grip. Her tears had dried on her cheeks, leaving pale tracks like rivers on a map of grief, but her eyes, those violet eyes that had seen centuries of blood and battle, burned with determination.
Isvarn's heart stopped.
His body, which had been still as stone, tensed. His silver hair, long and braided with strands of deepest blue, caught the dim light of the apartment. His violet eyes, sharp as swords and deep as the ocean, widened with something that looked almost like fear.
He had known this was coming.
