She closed her eyes tightly yet the abyss of darkness was the only thing she saw. For a fleeting couple of seconds, she thought she was dead. And when a greasy hand touched her, she squaked loud but noticed it was a humans hand.

"Newton?"

He groaned with labored breathing as she helped him into his feet.

"Let’s go," he said staggering forward, and though it was dark, Isadora could smell the fresh scent of blood. If it was the wolf’s or Newton’s, that, she didn’t know. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Finally they saw sunlight. The portcullis hang high at the end of the abyss, the distant voices a wolf’s growls sounding in the distant. A stream ran just beside the portcullis making the metal to rust. Newton lifted it high, the metal screaming and screeching, a sign it hadn’t been used for ages.

The sudden light invaded their eyes when the portcullis was completely pulled. Isadora blocked the light with the back of her hand as her eyes tried to accommodate it. She pushed through the outgrown leaves and stood there on the rocky path. The narrow river stretched as far as the eye could see and acted as Arcadia’s moat. There was a boat by the side of the river, fortunately.

She walked further down the rocky road when she heard something fall behind her. On turning, she saw Newton sprawled on the ground, a pool of blood quickly forming where he lay. She hurried up the rocks and pulled him so that he was facing her. A gasp escaped her lips from the sight that welcomed her. Claws ran deep into his chest, his blood coming out in uncontrolled gushers. The wolf had dug deeper into his bones!

"You have to continue alone," he said, seated on her lap like a little baby. He coughed out some blood rendering his pearl white teeth scarlet. She had to be strong if she had to make it alive. Alexander would never forgive him if any harm happened to her.

"No," she cried, shaking her head lightly. Why was this happening to her? First, she lost her men, then Sir Brandon and now Lord Newton was on the same journey too.

"You have to," Newton said, his voice a whisper now. She tried blocking his wounds with her hand but that could not help. Her dress got painted with Newton’s blood, and when he placed his bloody hands on her cheeks, all hope left her with the wind.

He looked sad, she had never seen him that sad. His eyes had sunk in his skull within seconds. He must have lost a lot of blood. She owed him her life.

"Why did you do it?" She asked, her voice pained. He could have just let the wolf tear her into pieces. That would have been good than being teared by the world into pieces!

"Because..." He choked on his blood and coughed. "Because... I love you... I wanted to tell you... but ..." He choked more as Isadora rubbed his back, tears rolling down her bloody face.

"I wish I could love you back," she shook her head, biting her lips so hard that it hurt. He had been hiding his feelings for her all this time, yet he was ready to marry Roselyn.

"What about her?"

"I wanted to show her who she really was. I never loved her...," he coughed some more. "If you see Zed, tell him... tell him..." And he stared at the cruel world, no more lips moving, no more blood gushing out, no more pain, he laid in her lap, his face pained but his eyes peaceful.

Isadora didn’t know whether to cry or not, but maybe she did, or already was. She wanted to cry but she was already crying, yet she felt as though she had not started crying. Newton’s unmoving body in his laps was the saddest thing she had ever experienced. Still, his death was a shock to her, too hard to accept. She felt like screaming at the world yet she feared she’d get caught. But did it matter anyways? They’d kill Alexander, and what would that make of her? A coward?

She stood on her feet after placing Newton’s now cold body on the rocks, determination written on her face. She had lost Newton, and Alexander, she could not let them harm him while she was alive. If they were to die, then they’d die together. They were The One, and they were made to live and die together. It didn’t matter if she’d take a thousand stabs to reach where he was, but she wanted to hold him in his arms, smile at him one last time and touch his face.

"There is nothing dangerous than a person who has nothing to loose," Griffin used to tell her this, and now she wanted to be that person. If it meant killing everyone in this damned city, then so be it. She had made up her mind.

"Archers!" She heard someone yell from the height of the wall. ’They found me at last,’ she smirked. Her hair fluttered in the wind as she left Newton behind and walked down to the boat as if she cared for nothing in the world. She stepped into the wood and pushed the vessel into the river but never boarded it.

"Load!" She heard the captain yell again, yet a playful smirk danced on her lips. ’Loose,’ was the only command left yet she knew it was somehow impossible.

The captain stretched his hand to give the command but the wall got enveloped by a shadow so large it enveloped half of the city. He craned his neck to look at the skies. "Oh shit!" He cursed before the flames descended on them, burning the men all lined on the whole.

Isadora smiled. She didn’t know what made her happier; the screams of the Arcadian men burning or the warmth of the flame. At last, The Whirlock had answered her call.

"Burn them All!" She whispered.