I decided to do my ANALYSIS here this time.

Please, please, please remember I still have a few more chapters to write. Do not give up on me now. It will be worth it.

And remember that the songs are told from POV of multiple characters.

Also, for any of my guest or others readers who I cannot PM, I'll answer any questions in the reviews. I'll even give updates of my current writing pace and when I will post next in the reviews. Also get ready for a Vampire Diaries reference/allusion!

2 Song Suggestions!

Queue: Perfect (Ed Sheeran Cover (Oh, yes. I'm bringing Ed into this!)) by The Piano Guys

MARE

My heart is beating so fast I think it may burst. It's rabid pulse thumping from the tips of my ears to my toes and fingertips.

I shouldn't have left Farley behind. She'll know where I've gone. I just hope she doesn't try to follow me.

This a is a mistake, I shouldn't do this. The smart thing would be to place the last box outside his bedroom door and walk away. To leave Maven to die alone and ignorant and I could figure the rest out later. It would be the best decision.

But you don't make good decisions, Alex teases. You need to know.

I clutch the bag tightly in my hand, the bomb still nestling at the bottom. I make my way to the door to his chambers. This is the only path I cared enough about to commit to memory. There is no sentinel guarding the door. They probably never made it to their post. Ptolemus came through after all.

Once at the double doors I stoop down and pick the lock as quietly as possible. It's as I remember it. White lacquered wood with a gold and silver trim inlaid with pearls and rubies. I silently wince as the large tumblers click into place. I stand and gently pull one of the handles down and push the door open.

Quickly I look down at my watch, I have eight minutes. It's not enough time to plant the bomb and run out of the palace before they all detonate. But I have Riley, who will be ready to jump me out of here with the press of a button.

It's dark and surprisingly cold when I enter the room. I creep down polished marble floors. When I come to the living area, I flash back to two months ago, two lonely teenagers sitting by a fire, plotting the end of a kingdom and sharing a pastry Alex had made. It still strikes me how much can happen in such an infinitesimal amount of time.

So much can change.

The curtains are drawn and if I didn't know my way around I would have to stumble my way in the dark.

I pause when I finally near the bedroom door. Maven is on the other side.

The father of my son probably lies asleep on the other side. Clueless of so many things.

Alex? I think. Are you still there?

Yes, Mare.

Can you?

I'll leave you two alone, she says. There is no bitterness in her tone, just simple understanding.

I drop the bag by the door. Then I place my hand on the cold doorknob and twist.

Only the curtains to the balcony are drawn open to where a weak beam of light shines through the room. Sun is teasing its rise just above the horizon, but the moon still lingers. I momentarily realize I've never truly seen this room in the daylight. Only a brief glance when I was a prisoner.

This room is also cold, it radiates loneliness. I'm surprised to see the small bed is empty, even more so that the man whom I thought occupied it is standing, looking onto the steadily brightening sky through the windows of the glass doors I walked through an untold amount of times.

He's fully clothed in a plain white collared shirt and black pants. The cuffs of the shirt are undone and sloppily folded. His ebony like hair is tousled in many directions.

His arms are crossed in front of his chest, his back is to me.

"I was wondering when you would drop by," he whispers.

"You knew." It's not a question.

"Yes."

"How long?"

"Since you came back after killing Evangeline. That's when I knew for sure. Before it was just a theory."

I expected his tone to be harsh, bitter and full of scorn. But I all I hear is pain. I almost prefer the former, it would make things much easier. And when he turns around, I wish I had never walked in here. But Alex was right, I need to know.

"The Scarlet Guard would never allow any king to live," he says, looking at his feet. "Deep down I always knew that. I mean, a Parliament? No, I suspected the second you walked through that door."

"Not all of it was fake," I assure him. I don't why, maybe because it's what I wish he had done when he betrayed me. "I didn't plan-"

I stop myself. It's then that Maven meets my eyes. A dark shadow crosses his face and the circles under his eyes are more pronounced than I've ever seen them.

"What is it, Mare?"

The words get jumbled in my throat and it's difficult to swallow.

"Mare," Maven takes a few steps towards me.

There is a ringing in my ears, and the only thing I'm aware of is the drum of my own heart. Maven takes another step closer and places his hand gently on my cheek. I don't take my eyes off him.

Then all at once, the ringing stops. And softer than a whisper…

"I'm pregnant."

I don't think he hears me at first. He doesn't move. It's the peak of the summer, but soon the room is leached of any warmth except that of our own bodies.

He drops his hand and takes a step back.

"What," he whispers.

"It's yours."

His eyes are wide with astonishment, he takes another step back, running a hand through his hair.

His eyes flash to mine, then down to my stomach and back again, "why would you tell me this?"

I take a daring step forward and place a hand on his neck.

"Because I need to know two things… Knowing what you know now . . . would you go back?" I mimic the words he spoke to me so long ago. "No," his answer is what I expected. "No, I wouldn't."

I nod. "Those who know what it's like in the dark will do anything to stay in the light."

"We had this conversation before."

"Now the roles are reversed."

"Yes, but the difference is I'm not sorry."

I shrug. "How could you be? You were made not to be."

He shakes his head again. "And now I will pay for my sins and you have for yours."

"And our son will pay for both."

Maven's neck bounces as he swallows. "A boy, how can you know so soon?"

"Jon."

Maven sighs. "Of course."

"He also told me something else. He says I have a choice to make."

He scrunches his eyebrows.

"What's the other thing you wanted to know?"

"What if I told that you could tell the difference between your mother's ambitions and your own. And not only that but we could take away her poison without making anything worse. All I ask of you is to run. Run away with me and we can just be ourselves. No crowns, no politics, no division." I take his face in my hands. "Maven, choose me."

And there it is, my decision. Running. Something I've always been good at. It's the best way.

When Alex and Davidson first suggested it to me I was hesitant. Davidson said he could hide us in Monfort, get new us new identities. Alex offered to "help" Maven if he wished it. But how could I leave my family behind once more but this time make them think I was dead?

But this child is my family too.

Clara will never know her father, but she will hear tales of his heroics, but it will never be the same. How could I deny my son of the chance to know his father? If he grows without Maven, people will only tell him what a monster he was. They may even kill him for it My child will never know the person I've know is trapped deep down within.

My son deserves a chance to be himself and Maven does too. I've seen him during our passion. How he mourns for a future we may have had as he mourns never knowing what it is to be himself-

"No." Maven moves away and to the balcony doors. The sunrise coming soon.

"No?" I say with irritation.

"I can't do it, Mare. How can you expect me to retreat back into the shadows? To become as I was and less?" He turns his back on me and bays at the horizon like an idiot.

QUEUE: Say Love by JoJo

"So that's it?" my voice steadily rising. "That's how this ends. Another brother choosing that stupid crown over me, after everything that's happened between us. Why?"

Maven whirls around, gradually becoming as frustrated as I am.

"Because I'm selfish. I make bad choices that hurt you. Because that's who I am, Mare. And I'm not going to change. No whisper can save me now. And there's no apology in the world that encompasses all the reasons that I'm wrong for you. Leave me here because I would whether die as someone than no one at all. Like I said, I'm not sorry."

In the morning light, I see Maven's eyes turn glassy. I realize I've never seen Maven cry. It pains me in a way I can't comprehend. And with a startling realization, I know why.

The anger that once drove my murderous plot against him now turns into a new fire. A new goal. I won't let this man get away this time.

"Fine, then I'm not sorry either," I say, nearly spitting the words. "I'm not sorry that I met you. I'm not sorry that knowing you has made me question everything. That when I felt weak, alone and dead in inside, you were the one that made me feel strong, whole and alive. You've been a terrible person. I thought there was no redeeming you after what I saw what you did to that baby in Templyn. I thought, how could I possibly let this monster anywhere near my son?" Quicker than I expected, the hot angry tears come, but I can't stop the words from flowing from my lips. "You've made all the wrong choices. And out of all the choices that I've made, this will prove to be the worst one, but I am not sorry that I'm in love you."

His head turns so quickly I think it might snap.

"Mare."

This time, softer, "I love you, Maven."

And then in a heart beat, Maven closes the space between us. Our lips clash for what feels like the first time. I pull him down by his hair so much it must hurt. But he doesn't complain. His focus is on me. We kiss for an eternity and when we finally do let go, tears are both freely falling down our faces.

I once told Maven I can't say I love him. I don't feel it anymore but I still remember the pain of Cal breaking my heart. It hurt me so much that it drove me to cut it out completely.

Maybe there is something wrong with me for a loving a man who has ruined me. For loving a man who plots to kill his own family and murders children to get my attention. When I was with Cal I felt weak, but every second I spent with Maven I am strong.

"Let me be your strength," I whisper against his lips. "Let me be the strength you need to let go of all this. To free you from this hell. Let this child be your redemption. Let us be your second chance. Choose us and together we can be each other's light."

I fear he may say no again, but when I feel him nod in my hands, my heart leaps.

"Yes," he whispers. I can barely comprehend the pure joy that courses through my veins. The pure love I have for this new family seems imaginary. And I would do anything to keep it.

I pull Maven down again, I know he feels the smile on my lips and I feel it on his. I close my eyes, but I know we'll have to break apart soon. I'm about to pull away and press the button on my watch to alert Riley. But before I can, I feel a sudden pinch in my chest. It hurts, to say the least. I try to move away from Maven, but a look of pain crosses his face and the tightness in my chest magnifies. Something is terribly wrong. I try to reach for my lightning. But it seems far away. It's a sensation I've never felt before. My vision darkens. The last thing I see is a flash of red and silver.

And then nothing.