I waited for the perfect moment to attack. If this man thought I would go down without a fight, then he was in for a rude awakening. Then again, I was probably playing right into Roxanne’s hand. If I had to guess, she’d find enjoyment out of a gladiatorial fight.

She was a mean one.

Why had I ever thought I could trust her? God, I had been such a fool.

Mavis stumbled forward, sauntering with every step.

Suddenly, I shot forward, tackling him to the ground.

He held on tight to the gun, slamming its butt into my head.

For a moment, I was dazed, seeing stars swarming in front of my vision. I blinked them away, but it was a second too late. Before I knew it, his booted foot came crashing into my jaw. I flew back, my body slamming into the concrete, my skull throbbing from the impact.

“You shouldn’t have done that, you dumb fuck,” Mavis growled, holding up the gun and firing.

I managed to roll out of harm’s way just in time. I scrambled to my feet, charging forward. We collided with the wall, grappling for the gun. I rammed my knee into his groin. He doubled over, dropping the weapon. In our scuffle, it skidded across the room, just underneath Cassandra’s chair.

Mavis threw a punch, socking me in the eye.

My vision grew blurry, but I kept fighting. I had to. Cassandra was depending on me. So when Mavis came for me, I grabbed him by the pants and flipped him over, hoping the blow would be enough.

It wasn’t.

He yanked on my leg, pulling me to the ground where we rolled, punching one another. Blood flew everywhere.

I was starting to fear that I would lose this fight.

Bang!

Just then, Mavis’ body grew limp.

When I looked down, a pool of crimson was already gathering underneath his skull. From across the room, Cassandra held the gun, her fingers shaking.

“Good shot…” I whispered, a little dazed. She could have killed me. Then again, maybe that was what she’d been trying for. After all, I was the reason we were in this mess.

“Thanks…” she answered, trying to get to her feet, but as soon as she did, her knees buckled. The gun slipped from her hand, clattering to the ground.

She was just about to pick it up when it was kicked aside.

“Ah!” she screamed as Roxanne’s talons tangled in her hair, pulling her head back.

I watched in horror as Roxanne pressed the barrel of a gun to her temple.

“Don’t you dare.”

She cocked it.

I froze. “Please. Don’t hurt her. She doesn’t deserve this. She has a daughter who needs a mother. If you want to torture someone so bad, then take me instead.”

Roxanne smiled. “Aww, isn’t that sweet? Trying to sacrifice yourself for her sake. But I really don’t understand. What do you see in this little runt?” She pulled on Cassandra’s hair even harder, eliciting a whimper from her lips that made my heart ache.

I wanted to help her – to protect her – to keep her safe – but in that moment, there was nothing I could do.

“I love her,” I answered, unable to do anything else.

Roxanne rolled her eyes. “Love is so overrated. It doesn’t do anything for you except make you vulnerable. Take it from me, you’d be better off without her. Besides, you deserve a real woman.” As she spoke, she shifted her hips, showing off her body.

Was she… flirting with me?

Really? At a time like this? This woman really was insane.

“Think about all we could accomplish together, Emil. Mavis was a damn idiot, but you’re different. We could take this city by storm. You know, every Queen needs her King.”

“You’ve completely lost it.”

“Have I?” She laughed. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’m at the top of my game while you’re just groveling on your belly. You don’t know a thing about the world, Emil. I could show you.”

“I’ll never be like you,” I said. “I’ve done some bad things, but I regret every single one of them. It’s about time I do something right…” Then, before she could react, I dashed forward.

She was taken by surprise, tripping on her obnoxiously high heel, giving me a point of advantage.

I grappled for the gun, but she held onto it with superhuman strength, refusing to let go.

“You’re going to regret this!” Cassandra hissed. “You’re a dead man!”

My only focus was on getting that gun.

But before I could wrench it away from her, it went off with an ear-deafening pop.

The world stopped.

At first, I didn’t know what had happened.

There was a weird buzzing noise in my ears. Everything felt numb. My tongue had turned to cotton.

And then, it hit me.

The pain was like a cinderblock to the chest – no, a sledgehammer – no, a whole goddamn freight train.

I screamed, but no sound emerged from my lips. My body crumbled into a heap, warm, sticky blood seeping from my chest.

In horror, I reached up to touch the bullet wound, my fingers getting lost in the hole.

No.

Was this how it would all end?

Click. Click. Click.

Faintly, I could make out the sound of Roxanne’s retreating footsteps.

A moment later, Cassandra was by my side. “Emil!” she screamed, the sound penetrating through my skull. “Oh my god, Emil…” She sounded so heartbroken.

I wanted to tell her that everything would be okay, but I felt my life slipping away second by second. I wouldn’t last much longer.

But I had saved her. That was all that mattered. She would live to see another day – to raise her beautiful daughter – to fall in love and get married.

She deserved it.

I did not.

With a final breath, I closed my eyes.