Louisa's POV
"Is she awake?" Zackery asked.
"Yes, Your Excellency. She's doing well. The bleeding has stopped and I can barely see the wound," Jafar said.
"How are you doing, little girl?" Zackery's face appeared in my sight.
I stretched out my arms towards him.
He caught my hands and said, "I'm here, little girl."
"Darren..." I whispered. "I need Darren."
"Who's Darren?" Zackery frowned, drawing himself closer to me.
"Warlock... Darren... I need to see him," I said.
The smile on Zackery's face immediately disappeared.
"He's a dead man now, Louisa. Stop thinking about him," he said.
"No... Please let me see him..." I said in a scratchy voice.
Jafar wiped my mouth with a wet towel and I saw the blood stains on it.
"Your Excellency, she can't get emotional now. Her internal organs might still be bleeding," Jafar said.
"Let me see Darren..." I whispered.
"You can't see him, little girl. He's been tortured by Lucas and I don't think you should see him now," Zackery said and carefully stroked my hair behind my ears.
"They're going to kill him. I can't let this happen to him... He just wants to protect me..." I said.
"He violated the rules and he must be punished. But don't worry, little girl. You're with me now, and I won't let anyone hurt you," Zackery said.
"No... I have to see him... now..." I started to cough and more blood was dripping from my mouth.
"OK. OK. Stop struggling. I'll let them bring him to you. But you have to promise me that you will remain calm when you see him," Zackery said.
I nodded and lay my head against his chest.
I needed to hear it.
The beating sound of the heart. It regulated my breath and made me tranquilized.
"Let me see her! I want to see her!" I heard Will's voice from outside.
"Will..." I whispered.
Will rushed into the tent and immediately got next to the operation bed.
"Louisa!" He jumped on the bed and curled up in my arms like a wounded little puppy.
"I'm here, Will. I'm here," I tried to comfort him.
Will stared at Zackery and tried to use his legs to kick him away from me.
I held his legs in my arms and said, "Will, I'm so sorry to put you through this. I should have been more careful. It's my fault."
"It's not your fault! It's Leo's fault! He went out of control and he almost killed you!" Will said.
"Where's Leo right now?" I asked.
"He was locked up by Lucian because Lucas was so mad at him. He wanted to see you, but Lucas didn't allow him to do so," Will said. "Snow was terrified and he didn't want to leave Leo alone. Are they going to kill Leo?"
"No, Will. It was an accident. We went on an excursion in the mountains and it was an accident. I will explain everything to Lucas. Nobody should get punished except me," I said.
Will shook his head violently and said, "But..."
He didn't finish his sentence, because Lucas walked into the tent.
The soldiers behind him were carrying someone who was wrapped in a blanket.
When I saw this man's charred face, I immediately knew it was Darren.
His eyes were closed and I couldn't see any sign of life.
"You... You!" I shouted at Lucas, trying to get up from bed. Will also tried to jump off the bed.
Zackery stopped me and pulled Will back.
"Your Excellency," Lucas took a slight bow and said, "His Highness Beta Zabel was looking for you just now. He looked very upset and I guess he needs some assistance from you and doctor Jafar right now."
Zackery looked at me and said, "Sorry, little girl. My brother has mindlinked me just now and apparently, he needs my help right now. Can you promise to be civil with Lucas and wait for me for a while? I'll be back in a minute."
I nodded with clenched jaws.
I didn't know what Lucas was about to do to me, but I wasn't afraid because Will was with me.
As soon as Zackery was gone, I shouted out, "You killed him! You killed Darren!"
"Shut up, she-wolf. I didn't kill anyone. He's still fucking alive," Lucas said. Then, he kicked Darren, and Darren's body twitched.
"Stop kicking him! You're hurting him! Haven't you hurt him enough?!" I cried out desperately.
"No! Fuck, no! I'm going to torture him even harder!" Lucas said furiously. "He fucking betrayed me! He liaisoned with those fucking traveling druids and tried to ambush me! He tried to steal the moonstone statue and pass them on to those fucking imbecile tuna heads. He fucking tried to kidnap you and sell you to those fucking druids! Can't you see that he's fucking lying to you, she-wolf?!"
"Darren was just trying to protect me because you wanted to kill me! Yes, Leo told me about your argument with Lucian! You wanted to kill me and Lucian tried to stop you! What have I ever done to you to make you want to kill me?!"
"You're always fucking accusing me of something that you've messed up! Blaming me for everything, because it's just that fucking easy! This starts to become a habit and I have to put a fucking stop to this once and for all!" Lucas rubbed his temples and roared.
"What are you going to do?! Reject me?! Yes, reject me right now and I'll take it! Do it!" I shouted.
I'd fed up with Lucas' brutality. He had got a violent and criminal nature that could never be changed.
I didn't care what had happened to him. Nobody in their right mind would torture a man in such a cruel way.
Lucas charged at me and held my neck in his hand.
Will snarled and bit Lucas' arm, but he didn't seem to care.
He drastically pulled Will off his arm and threw him on the ground. Will landed on the ground, and spat a big chunk of flesh out of his mouth on the ground.
Lucas didn't seem to notice his wound. He strangled me with his hand, lifting me up in the air.
"You've ruined everything!" He squeezed these words from his mouth. "You want me to reject you, but I won't. I will torture you to death, just like what I'm going to do with that fucking warlock."