Van still wasn't speaking to him, of course. Folken had hoped that his own defection to Asturia, and all the military intelligence he was able to give the allies, would be proof enough of his good intentions. He should have known that he had betrayed his brother's trust too many times for the breach between them to heal so quickly. Hitomi, on the other hand, seemed eager to try; afraid of him and yet desperate to change fate by willing the future to hold the happiness she longed for. Did that future include her return to the Mystic Moon? He hoped not, for his brother's sake, and he sorely regretted the fate alteration he had worked on Hitomi and Allen. The Knight of Heaven could have any woman he wanted; but Van needed her.
And there was one other person to whom he had to make amends...
'You have some nerve, coming here.' Dryden stood between him and the hospital bed, his arms folded.
Folken inclined his head apologetically.
'How is she?'
'Alive. No thanks to you.'
'Believe me, if I could change what happened...'
A nurse came bustling up.
'Really, gentleman! The young lady should not be disturbed. If you cannot be quiet I shall have to ask you to leave.'
Dryden reluctantly stepped to one side. Folken approached the bed with a heavy heart. Carenza lay there unmoving, a yellowish bruise on her right temple. Lower down, the blankets were held up on a metal framework to spare her burned legs any friction. He reached out his good hand and touched hers. She did not respond.
'Oh, beloved,' he whispered. 'What have I done?'
On the way back to the makeshift lab he had set up in a burntout warehouse, Folken stopped by the palace. In the courtyard he peered down into the fountain until he spotted what he was looking for. He rolled up the sleeve from his left arm and reached into the icy water to retrieve the Heart of Fanel. Maybe he couldn't kill a dragon for her, but there was one last thing he could do.
Back in his lab, he sat down to write a letter. He was just finishing when Hitomi appeared in the doorway.
'Folken? Van's hurting. We have to end this war.'
He nodded in agreement.
'I knew you'd come...'
'But I saw... Folken...you're going to die in Zaibach, Folken...I saw something terrible-'
'You shouldn't be getting out of bed yet, miss, you're not well-'
'He was here and you didn't wake me?'
'Your brother comes here every day, miss-'
'Not him - Lord Folken.'
'The tall gentleman with the blue hair? Yes, he was here this morning.'
Carenza climbed out of bed, clenching her teeth against the pain. Ignoring the nurse's protests, she pulled on her gown and pushed her feet into soft shoes, thanking heaven for Asturian fashions, with their long skirts that hid all sign of her injuries. She tried to walk to the door, but her legs were so weak...
'Bring me a cane!' she snapped at the nurse.
'But...'
'Bring me a cane, or my brother the Regent will have something to say about it.' Which he would, though not in the way that Carenza was implying.
'Yes, miss.'
'Sir, the female prisoner has escaped!'
'What? Then find her!' growled Garufo. 'Really, sergeant, your men have become appallingly lax since the Strategos defected.'
'It has had a serious impact on morale, sir.'
'That is no excuse. Now find her and get her back to her cell.' The sergeant ran off, and the sorceror grimaced. At least Lord Folken was not here, so there was little chance of him finding out about this incident. That would be most...regrettable.
Carenza took a hansom cab to the palace, and from there to the old warehouse. Inside, the lab was deserted. Against the far wall, a large machine hummed and glowed faintly. She hobbled down the steps and over to the workbench. Amongst the test-tubes and clay triangles lay a folded sheet of paper. On top of it lay a large black feather threaded through a gold ring set with a pink stone. With shaking hands she set aside the feather and unfolded the letter.
My dearest love,
I wanted to wait for you, but it seems that we are not fated to be together. As you can see, my wings are now as black as they were once white. A reversal of fortune is shortening my life, and so all I have left is this last chance to atone for my sins. I go now to end this war and destroy the twisted monster who has blighted so many lives.
I do not expect you to forgive me for all the pain I have caused you. I can only say that I always loved you, even when I seemed to think only of my former cause.
Farewell,
Yours eternally,
Folken.
She dropped the letter and sank onto a nearby stool. No, this was not happening, it was some fever dream and she would wake to find herself safe in her hospital bed...
'Carenza?'
She looked up through tear-swimming eyes to see a blurry pink -and-gold shape at the top of the stairs.
'M-Millerna?'
'What are you doing here? Come on, I'm taking you back to the hospital.'
Carenza picked up the feather, and slipped the Heart of Fanel off its barbs and onto her finger. Then she allowed herself to be led away.
Folken stood below the emperor's life support machine, gazing up at his former master. Here was where it all ended, all the years of pain and loneliness and deceit. The machinery surrounding Dornkirk hissed open like a guymelef cockpit, and the old man climbed out. Folken winced. Dornkirk was nothing but skin and bone and long long grey hair, this man who had lived far past his normal span, sustained by his obsession with fate.
'Come on, Folken!' the old man jeered.
'You're insane!'
Spreading his black wings Folken flew, up, up, to the very summit of the machinery, to land in front of Dornkirk, his wings beating gently for balance. A faint cry came up from below.
'Folken! Don't!'
He raised his sword and brought it down on the old man's head. It cut straight through the fragile figure and smashed into the mechanism. Green fluid gushed out of the life support system, and Folken's sword shattered. He watched in fascination as the broken tip spun in a slow arc...
She stumbled along the corridor, both palms flat against the wall for support. Where was she? She remembered sunlight, trees - and a sudden darkness as a leviship loomed overhead, soldiers everywhere, penning her in. Then blackness.
She rubbed her eyes to clear them. Had to find him...
'Folken...'
Folken stared down at the sword tip protruding from his chest. So, Hitomi was right, he thought calmly. I have killed Dornkirk, and so I die.
He felt himself falling. There was a brief impact as he smashed against one of the lower levels of the emperor's machine on the way down, but he felt nothing. As he fell it seemed to him that a white-winged figure caught him and gently carried him down to the ground. Folken strained his eyes against the blinding white light that seemed to envelop him.
'Brother...' he whispered.