Chapter 77  

~Valeria ~ Generals shout like alarms blaring in the night sky. Everyone has been alerted—and just in time. Deep in the forest, we can hear the enemy’s cry of war. “We are not ready!” my father roars at the King, his voice cutting through the clash of voices and the distant battle‑call. “There is no choice but to be ready,” the King replies. Raphael is on me with pleading eyes. “I know there is no use in telling you this—” “Then don’t. I am not going anywhere. Without me, you all stand no chance.” He closes his eyes. I cup his face, threading one hand behind his head and locking eyes with him. “I don’t know what will happen. I can’t promise to be careful, because I won’t. I can’t promise I’ll be safe, because I don’t know that—just as I don’t know if you will be safe, too. But I will fight, with everything I have. And if I should not make it… know that I am content. I lived, I loved, and I felt whole—because of you.” His eyes meet mine, steady yet shadowed with the weight of what is to