Leah's POV
After hanging up on Leo, I tried to focus on steering the wheel toward the south.
If we kept heading south, we would get to Huffner Bridge.
After passing that bridge, we would bid goodbye to all the chaos in Mediland and go back to civilization.
Darren leaned against the mast. He intentionally kept a distance from me, which made me mad at him.
I thought he would want to say something, but he didn't, which made me even madder.
"Don't you have to go back to the cabin and hold Josephine's hand? If she woke up and you're not there, she might cry her eyes out before killing someone again," I scorned.
Darren stared into my eyes with passion and said, "Leah, you don't have to act like this. Jo's my mate. I don't have a choice but to follow the will of the Moon Goddess."
"Stop looking at me like that." I turned my head away, avoiding making eye contact with him. I couldn't stay mad at him when he stared at me.
"Leah..." Darren approached me and said in a soft voice.
I didn't look back and threw his hands away.
"Don't touch me," I said in a cold, stern voice. "From now on, I don't want to have anything to do with you."
Darren looked calm, but his eyes betrayed him. Years of military service taught him how to withstand torture and extortion, but it didn't teach him how to lie in front of his beloved woman.
He was heartbroken. The light in his eyes dimmed. I destroyed him. I witnessed the tower of faith and devotion in his eyes collapse, replaced by a void full of sadness and sorrow.
"Leah, you have all the rights in the world to banish me, but you're in great danger now. You need all the help that you can get," Darren whispered. His voice was low. It was almost like he was begging me not to let go of him.
The cold wind swept through the dimly lit sky as we stood facing each other.
His gazes filled with a mixture of anguish and despair.
So did mine.
I was in great danger. I knew it. That was exactly why Darren had to go. I couldn't bear the thought that he would risk his life again to save me.
I mean, fighting with a mad tailor with a pair of scissors was one thing. Fighting against an unknown creature lurking in the dark was another. They just weren't the same.
Darren, once an unyielding military officer, now stood before me, his heart must be aching with the knowledge that our time together was slipping away.
Taking a deep breath, he said in a low voice, "Leah, please listen to me. Let me stay with you. That was the reason for my existence..."
I cut him short, "No, Darren. You just don't understand. I..."
I hesitated and whispered in my mind -
I love you and I don't want you to get hurt because of me. Go back to your family and spend the rest of your life with your father, your brother, and... your mate.
I clenched my fists.
I knew I could have chosen such a subtle way to tell him to go away, but I knew it just wouldn't do the work.
So, I changed into the most bone-chilling voice I could pull and continued, "Don't be so arrogant! Who do you think you are? I've been doing perfectly well all these years without you! It was because of you that I got involved in so many accidents and troubles! I don't ever want to see your face in my life! You're fired and this is the end of our conversation!"
Darren's piercing blue eyes widened. I could tell that his heart was sinking with each word that fell from my lips.
He reached out, his trembling hand grasping for mine, desperate to hold onto the last string of fragile connection between us.
"Leah, please don't do this. I can't..." he pleaded, his voice laced with vulnerability.
"What's going on?" Jospehine's nasal voice appeared.
I followed her voice and saw her rubbing her eyes while walking out of the cabin.
"Nothing," I replied in a cold voice while looking away. "I have just fired Darren. Now he's all yours. Congratulations. You've finally got what you want."
"Oh, no! Darren! That's terrible!" Josephine batted her long eyelashes as an innocent little doe at Darren. I could see the evil smirk on the corner of her mouth. She could never hide it when she was smugging like that.
She took a glance at me and said to Darren, "I hope Leah didn't fire you because of me! I could go back to Mediland and stay there for the rest of my life. I didn't want to be the one who jeopardizes the relationship between you and Leah!"
As she was talking, she leaned against Darren's chest and peeked at me with menace through the gap in his arm.
I rolled my eyes at her without saying anything.
I turned my head away. A single tear escaped my eye, silently tracing its path down my flushed cheek.
I pulled my hand up to pretend to rub my eyes, but this physical action made me even more agonized.
More tears fell down and before long, my face became tear-streaked.
I didn't know why I was crying.
I knew nothing about Darren other than he had saved me multiple times from all the dangers in my life.
I shouldn't have parted with him in this cruel way, but at that time, it seemed to be the only sensible way.
Then, I heard the swirling sound of a helix.
I lifted my head and saw several helicopters appearing on the horizon. They were circling above gigantic warships, which were cruising at full speed.
I saw the emblem of the Royal Army printed on the side of the ships. But unlike my Father's emblem, which was printed in gold, these emblems were dark purple.
They were Lucian's emblem.
I squinted as one of the choppers landed on the ship. A tall, dark figure jumped out of the chopper and landed on the deck steadily.
I recognized that it was Jalin.