The royal prison was not as bad as Akila had imagined: the dark corridors were lit by oil lamps in some places, though not everywhere; it was not as hot as upstairs, where one would break out in a sweat just from existing, but not so cold that one would be covered in frost.

  But what could not be denied was that being here completely blurred the boundaries of time; after only an hour here, Akila was unsure how much time had passed and what time of day it was. It wasn't so much the absence of sunlight as the oppressive atmosphere and gloomy surroundings: damp, smelly, covered in cobwebs and surrounded by the squeaking of rats and mice crawling in the cracks in the walls and floor.

  She saw fresh red blood flowing from some of the prison cells, and dark, dried blood from others, which no one had even bothered to clean up. On the other hand, the maids already had plenty of work to do around the palace; what was the point of making them clean up blood that would reappear anyway?

  Akila did not know how much time had passed when she heard voices approaching.

  But even though she was in a slight delirium from wild thirst and hunger, she was lucid enough to recognise the voices. Or rather, one particular voice.

  The voice of Prince Arenor.

  When he approached the bars separating them, she saw a dagger in his left hand. She didn't have time to think about why he needed it, since she was to be executed tomorrow anyway, when he suddenly said:

  "I must admit that I sincerely hoped you wouldn't go through with it."

  She blinked:

  "What are you talking about, Your Highness?"

  "About the fact that you tried to find compromising evidence against me, putting my closest person in danger," he replied, crouching down on the cold, smelly, damp and wet floor.

  Akila smiled:

  "Really? I thought you were the first to take the person closest to me away from me."

  "I didn't mean to," Arenor said suddenly, making the smile on Akila's face disappear. "It was an accident."

  Fury flashed in her eyes.

  "What are you talking about? I wonder how, in your opinion, it is possible to accidentally stab someone to death?" Her voice rose, but Arenor paid no attention to it.

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  "I really didn't want to kill him," he continued. "On the contrary, I only wanted to help him."

  "Would Your Highness kindly explain to me how a dagger in the body can help a person?" Akila asked sarcastically.

  "He was very naive and foolish; he talked too much..."

  "You—"

  "...he reminded me of myself as a child."

  The Prince's words silenced Akila, for she had expected to hear anything but that.

  "What are you talking about?" she asked.

  "He was too open; too honest. I too... used to be like that," he paused for a second. "And one day I had to face the realisation that such qualities lead you only to death... either your own or that of someone very dear to you."

  Akil didn't dare speak; deep down she wanted to scream, to say that he knew nothing about it, that how could he, the Prince, even think he knew how complicated life in the palace was. But the look on his face... the look on the face of a man who had once been broken.

  She didn't dare interrupt him.

  "I just wanted to help him. I tried to explain how it all works, but... he didn't understand. He kept telling me things that were right, but... not in this world. And then..."

  "...you killed him?" Akila continued.

  "No!" the Prince exclaimed so unexpectedly that Akila even flinched. "I didn't kill him! I told him he had to learn to hold his tongue and not talk nonsense... but it didn't work on him, so I decided to scare him; to show him what could happen to him if he didn't learn to keep his mouth shut," he paused to take a breath. "I told him I would teach him that with your help; I said that if he didn't want to do it the easy way, I would do it the hard way; I would make him listen by putting pressure on you, the person closest to him."

  Tears streamed down Akila's face.

  "He begged me not to touch you, promising he wouldn't talk anymore, and I agreed, but then he started thanking me and talking again, saying that you were the only thing he had left and that he loved you very much, and I realised that he hadn't understood anything and just decided to put more pressure on me... I asked my guard to bring you to my office," his voice cracked and tears streamed down his face. "I swear, I didn't want to hurt you or him; I just wanted to scare him; to make him understand that if he continued to behave the way he was, he would endanger not only himself but you too... but he couldn't take it."

  Tears streamed from Akila's eyes in an uncontrollable flood; she covered her mouth with her hands to keep from screaming; her body shook with silent sobs.

  "He broke down, and... and then... he lunged at me with a dagger," he continued. "I didn't expect it. I acted instinctively. I didn't want to kill him. I swear I didn't. But... my body... it acted on its own. It was just defending itself. And then... I grabbed the dagger from his hand and stabbed him with it."

  A cry escaped Akila's lips, but Arenor paid no attention to it, being completely absorbed in his own thoughts.

  "You became an unwitting witness. And I knew... I saw in that moment from your face that you would not forgive me for this. That you would definitely try to take revenge on me," he continued. "That's why I set traps. I specifically asked the senior palace maid to act out a certain story... I specifically allowed you to enter my office, my bedroom, and even Airena's bedroom..."

  "So that's her name," thought Akila. "Airena..."

  "I sincerely hoped you would change your mind, so I didn't catch you right away, but gave you several chances to stop. But when you entered Airena's room... when you saw the inscriptions on the wall and the royal family heirloom... I couldn't give you another chance. I couldn't let you live with the information you had learned."

  Arenor wiped the tears from his face and stood up.

  "You may deny it... but you and I are alike: we have the same intention. All we want is to protect those we love. To avenge them. But, fortunately for me and unfortunately for you, I have much more power than you do... which is why, from the very beginning, it had to end this way." Pause. "Tomorrow will be your execution, but... I don't want to execute you. You don't deserve that shame before you die."

  "Do you pity me?" asked Akila.

  "Yes," Arenor said honestly. "I pity you; I pity that you were unable to protect the one who was so important to you."

  He threw the dagger in her direction; it flew between the bars with a loud clang and fell to the floor next to Akila.

  "I am giving you the opportunity to leave on your own terms: with pride and without shame," he said. "Try to make your decision before the execution," he said and turned to leave when he heard Akila's voice.

  "You are right, Your Highness; we are indeed very similar. And that is precisely why you, like me, will not be able to protect your closest person," she said. "After all, no matter how much power one has, you cannot change your predestined fate."

  Then a sound that cut through the air and more filled the Prince's ears, causing him to leave without looking back.