Cerdina gazed at Leah, smiling as if they had not just cornered her.

“You dare to defy me with such simple tricks?” She said quietly, and Leah’s lips tightened with sudden anxiety. This was not what she had expected to happen. Cerdina was recovering much faster than she had planned.

And suddenly, Cerdina’s eyes shifted away. The trembling Count Weddleton nearly fainted when her gaze fell on him.

“Father,” Cerdina said in a soft voice.

“Queen…Queen Mother,” Count Weddleton said quickly. “I had no choice, I have been threatened–!”

“And I do not want to do this,” Cerdina said. “But I have no choice…”

There was no more powerful sacrifice than a heart that beat with her own blood. She smiled faintly.

“You’re willing to die for your daughter, aren’t you?”

Count Weddleton was not permitted any final words. There was no time for anyone to do anything. The black smoke lashed toward him in an instant and Ishakan yanked Leah into his chest.

The sound of flesh tearing filled the room and Leah squeezed her eyes shut, burying her face against him.

“Hahahaha…hahahaha…”

Laughing like a madwoman, Cerdina devoured her father’s heart before the eyes of the horrified, frozen wedding guests.

When it was gone, she licked the blood from her lips. The writhing black smoke stopped. There was a long moment of silence, and then the smoke billowed in all directions as Cerdina’s body rose upward into the air, and darkness enveloped the whole palace.

Cerdina spoke.

Her voice sounded strange.

The black smoke filled the hall, and brushed the back of Ishakan’s hand.

“……”

Ishakan frowned. A red mark appeared on his hand.

Cerdina’s strange voice screeched, her face filled with joy.

They looked like puppets. They looked like puppets watching a show.

Smiling, she looked down at Leah.

The words were filled with malice.

“Mura,” said Ishakan softly. Mura approached from behind as Ishakan gently pushed Leah toward her. “Take her to safety.”

Mura caught Leah.

“Ishakan…” Leah stretched out a hand toward his, and Ishakan caught it and lifted it to his lips.

“You go first,” he said. “I have to finish this.”

But even as he took her hand, she saw that he had been injured by the smoke. In spite of his immunity, Cerdina’s magic could touch him.

Leah didn’t want to get in the way, but how could she leave him behind? Anxiety filled her eyes, and Ishakan smiled.

“Don’t worry. We’ll see each other soon.”

He was so calm, in spite of the danger. Leah pressed her lips together to hold back a sob.

“I have crossed the desert for you,” he said suddenly, and she looked up at him, listening. “There were so many nights I couldn’t sleep, thinking of you…and I always realized the same thing.”

In spite of the darkness, his eyes shone so bright.

“I’m not afraid of anything, so long as I have you. Nothing is worse than losing you.”

Leah couldn’t speak. She could only nod as he smiled down at her, lifting a hand to caress her cheek.

“I thought of a name for the baby. I’m sure you’ll like it,” he whispered, his final words. “I’ll tell you when I get back.”

And then he said goodbye.