“Only he can take my life,” Hadjar said the next line of the poem quietly.
After all, according to the law, Nero, as a bastard, practically hadn’t been born to a woman. Maybe this was when the Mad General would die. If Fate was too lazy to come up with anything new, he would die at the hands of his own brother.
Chapter 250
“Get out of my way, Nero,” Hadjar said. Behind him, the battle still raged, but the outcome was inevitable. Only an idiot wouldn’t be able to see that. “Take your wife and leave. No one will touch you. I’ve arranged everything. At the city gates, a cart and the best horses will be waiting for you. As well as provisions, money, and documents. Everything you might need on your way to the Sea-”
“Shut up!” Serra cried. Hieroglyphs began to dance around her staff. “Shut up, General! And you, Nero, you shut up too.”
The Prince, who’d just opened his mouth to say something, hastily closed it.
“What is the matter with you two? Both of you constantly lied to me, to each other, to everyone around you! Now what? Have you decided to kill each other right here and now? And for what? For the Kingdom? Or maybe for revenge?”
“You don’t understand, Serra-”
“Shut up, Hadjar! Don’t say another word! Gods curse me, but I agree with Nehen on one thing — you’re a fool.” Under the high, golden Palace ceiling, three people stood on the white marble. Three friends. Two brothers and a wife. One family. Tears streamed down Serra’s cheeks. For only the second time in his life, Hadjar saw the witch crying. “Please stop. Don’t do this. Even if you win, Hadjar, what comes next? The Darnassus Empire will send one of its legions here and will raze Lidus to the ground. You know that’s what will happen.”
Hadjar remained silent. The battle was still bloody, people were shouting, but he was silent. Because he knew it would really end that way. Darnassus wouldn’t allow itself to lose even such an insignificant resource as the Solar Ore Mine. After all, while it was a trifle to them, it was still an advantage. The war between the Empires was determined precisely by these small things, which could give them a victory when combined. For the sake of its own survival, Darnassus would destroy not only Lidus, but also all of the surrounding kingdoms, if it came down to it.
“Do you remember that day by the lake, Hadj?” Nero’s voice was quiet, soothing, as if he were really trying to reason with a madman. “Do you remember us discussing the journey we’d go on? We can still do that.”
Hadjar lowered his sword. Drops of his enemies’ blood quietly dripped down from it. They soiled the snow-white marble, spreading like oily stains.
“Let’s go together,” Nero continued. “Right now. Leave this cursed Kingdom and Empire behind. Let’s take Elaine and go to the Sea of Sand. From there, we’ll find a ship and leave all of this in the past. We’ve shed enough of our own and others’ blood for the sake of Balium, Lidus, Darnassus. We’ve washed off any debts that we had to our homeland and ancestors. It’s enough.”
“I can’t, buddy,” Hadjar sighed. “I can’t... This is what I lived for. For fifteen years, I’ve dreamed of this day. The day when-”
“You lived with it, brother,” Nero interrupted. “Fifteen years ago, you were obsessed with revenge because you were alone. You were surrounded on all sides by enemies,” Hadjar was startled by these words. “Now you have us. And we have you. Are you ready to give all that up for the sake of revenge? Just to murder Primus? Think, Hadjar. My father isn’t a good man, but he is my father. I won’t let you go any farther, but I’ll be happy to leave with you.”
“And you’ll just leave your father?” Hadjar asked. “What will happen when the Moon Army charges in here? How do you plan to stop them?”
“I don’t,” Nero shrugged. “All actions have consequences. My father will have to face them. But not you, Hadjar. Because you are my brother and I can’t forget or forgive what you’re planning to do. Therefore, I beg you, let’s leave, together. Just run away. Let’s go on that journey that we’ve dreamed so much about. This is our moment, buddy. Ours and no one else’s.”
Hadjar looked into the eyes of the man with whom he’d passed through the many flames and storms of life, as well as countless fights. How many times had they stood shoulder to shoulder, fending off hordes of enemies fearlessly? They’d fought for each other in hundreds of battles. They’d saved each other’s lives and covered each other’s back.
In a world of practitioners all striving for freedom and power, it was incredibly difficult to find a person you could love and spend forever with. However, it was even more difficult to find a faithful friend who would give their eternity for you and for whom you would do the same.
What was more important to Hadjar? His friend or his revenge? If Nero was ready to give up his crown, his name, even his own father for his sake... Hadjar would be cowardly and dishonest if he couldn’t do the same for his friend and brother. If one of them was willing to give up his life, then the other was as well.
“I hope there’s enough space for four of us in the cart,” Hadjar sighed, sheathing Moon Beam.
That moment when he sheathed his blade too early would haunt the Mad General for a long time to come. Some nights, he would wake up, asking himself: What if he’d taken just a bit longer to sheathe his blade? Would
