Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Fairy Tail—The Master and the Dragon

Chapter 71

The sounds of fighting echoed through the small town of Calione. Jarvan looked to his left where Cliff and Cahill were dueling. He looked to his right where the Fairy Tail members were trapped in a fiery tornado courtesy of Ash and Sky. He sighed as he looked straight ahead into the distance. "How boring. The one fight I wanted to see is too far away to watch. What a bother." He ran a hand through his hair. "Oh well. It can't be helped. The Half-Dragon project was just the icing on the cake after all." He grinned. "I will achieve my dream of obtaining the Dragon Rider armor. I won't let it slip through my fingers again, Gracie Amier."


Steel met steel with a loud clang as Cliff managed to block Cahill's swift strike. He pushed him back and stood at the ready while trying to catch his breath. Blood trickled from the multiple scrapes that covered his muscular body. Cahill had never let up on his onslaught and continued to land blows on Cliff's body. And Cliff had yet to land a single hit on Cahill.

"Just give up," Cahill said. "You're just putting yourself through unnecessary pain by not letting me finish you off."

Cliff spat off to the side. "Sorry, but I ain't someone who would ever just surrender. You're gonna have to work for it if you want my head."

"Not very wise."

Cliff gripped his sword tightly and glared at Cahill. "You're the last one who should be saying something like that, kid."

"Would you stop calling me 'kid'? I'm in my forties now," Cahill snapped.

Cliff charged forward and swung his sword down at Cahill. Cahill blocked it and the two pushed against each other. "I'll stop calling you 'kid' when you stop acting like one! Stop doing whatever Jarvan says and think for yourself, damn it!"

"I am thinking for myself!" Cahill shouted. "This is what I want to do. I want to help the Boss however I can!" Cahill stepped quickly to the side so that Cliff's momentum carried him forward. He then dashed forward and slashed through Cliff's side, leaving behind a deep gash.

Cliff hissed in pain as he gripped his side. Blood was quickly staining his shirt. He turned around to face Cahill. "I thought you respected Blaine and Jewel! How could you stay by the side of the man who had your heroes killed?"

"The Boss took me in and looked after me when I had nowhere else to go and no one else to take care of me. He is my hero, not Blaine and Jewel!" Cahill replied.

"Bullshit! I saw the way you looked at them. You idolized them!"

"And then I woke up and realized who my true idol was."

Cliff winced as he readied his sword. "If you model yourself after Jarvan, you'll only be bringing about another monster."

"The Boss is trying to make this world a better place. I would be honored to be like him."

"He's trying to create a war zone!"

"He's trying to bring about a new world where there is peace for all!"

Cliff charged Cahill. "Get your head out of the clouds!" The two clashed their swords. Vicious strikes were blocked by swift parries. Cliff's wounds screamed as they stretched wider with each swing, but he ignored the pain. He was determined to beat some sense into Cahill. However, his body couldn't quite keep up with his determination. The more he swung, the slower his movements became.

Even without enhanced eyesight Cahill could tell that Cliff was tiring. The injuries were wearing him out quickly. "Time to finish this up, Iron General." With that, he quickly dodged Cliff's strike and plunged his blade into Cliff's stomach.

Cliff grunted and froze at feeling the cold steel pierce his flesh. He coughed, sending small droplets of blood flying through the air.

Cahill smirked. "I guess I was too much for you, old man." Suddenly, he felt a strong grip on his wrist. He looked down to see that Cliff had used his free hand to hold onto his sword arm. "What?"

"I told you I ain't that old, kid," Cliff said.

"How?" Cahill said as he tried to escape Cliff's grasp. However, he couldn't budge. "How do you still have so much strength left? You were slowing down so much!"

"I told you that you were too green," Cliff chuckled. "You couldn't even tell that I was doing it on purpose."

"On…On purpose?" Cahill repeated as he continued to struggle in Cliff's grip.

"Yeah. How else was I gonna keep you still?"

Cahill gritted his teeth. His perfect eyesight may have given him the advantage with a sword, but in terms of physical strength Cliff still had an overwhelming advantage. "You should have bled out from your injuries by now."

Cliff smiled wide, revealing his bloodied mouth. "You called me the Iron General. Do you even know why I was called that? It's 'cause it takes a hell of a lot more than what you can dish out to take me down." He chuckled. "Whenever I ticked him off, Blaine would always say that he would use me as a shield on the next assignment. He said no blade could pierce my thick skull."

Cahill kept on trying to pull his blade from Cliff's stomach and his wrist from Cliff's grip. "Let me go!"

"Tell me, Cahill; do you truly believe that Jarvan is in the right?" Cliff asked as his smile faded.

"Of course! I will help the Boss achieve his goals!" Cahill sneered.

Cliff lifted his sword above his head, an expression of sadness washing over him. "Suit yourself," he whispered as he swung his sword down, slashing through Cahill's chest vertically. Blood sprayed from the wound as Cahill's body went limp. Feeling his pulse stop, Cliff released Cahill and allowed his grip on the sword to slip away. He looked down at Cahill's lifeless body. "You're finally free, Cahill. Rest in peace." He then dropped to his knees as the blood loss had made his entire body go numb. He fell onto his back and stared at the sky as his labored breathing echoed in his ears. "Damn. Maybe I'm older than I thought. I guess it's all up to you, kiddo."


Sky landed next to Ash and observed the roaring, fiery tornado that they had created together. "I believe we've won, sister."

Ash smirked. "Of course we have! As long as your tornado keeps on spinning, the flames will never die down. I doubt they can figure out how to stop it. They'll burn alive in there before too long."

"Ash! Sky!" Jarvan called out. "Do not forget; Gracie Amier is not to be killed. Do you understand me?"

The two girls turned to him and bowed. "Of course, Master Jarvan," Ash replied. "Sky made sure to put a wind barrier around her during our first attack without anyone noticing. She will not be harmed by the flames."

"Excellent," he complimented. "The rest can die as you see fit. And be creative with it. You always want to remember your first kills."

The girls straightened up and nodded. "Right, Master Jarvan," they said. They then returned to looking at the fire tornado.

"Sister," Sky said in her breathy voice, "I'm a little scared. We've never killed anyone before."

"Yeah I know that, but what's there to be scared of?" Ash asked.

Sky looked sadly at the ground. "Isn't killing scary?"

Ash crossed her arms. "Please. We finally have power, Sky. We have the power to fight. So we don't have to be scared anymore. It will never be like it used to ever again."

Sky nodded. "Right, sister."

Ash put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Master Jarvan has never led us astray. He took care of us after Mom and Dad were killed. We will do as he asks."

"I know."

Ash smiled at her sister. "It'll be alright. We can do this. It'll be like therapy for all of the shit we went through as kids."

Sky nodded. "Right."

Ash put her hands on her hips. "So how should we do it then? We could…umm…we could…"

Sky looked at her sister. "We could what?"

Ash closed her eyes and huffed. "Okay so I have no ideas. What about you?"

Sky lifted a thin finger. "I could make them spin around in circles."

Ash sighed exasperatedly. "How will that kill them?"

"They'll get really dizzy and fall down."

"Again, how will that kill them?"

"They may scrape their knees."

Ash smacked her face. "Really, Sky?"

Sky pouted. "Scraped knees hurt a lot."

"We need to kill them! Did you forget?"

"No. I didn't."

"Then what kind of plan is that?"

"I don't know. You didn't come up with anything, though."

"At least I didn't say something that made no sense."

"Then what should we do?"

"We can…we can…umm…"

"See?"

"Shut it. I'm thinking."

"Ash?"

"What is it?"

Sky fumbled with her hands. "Are you sure you want to kill?"

Ash looked away. "Of course I do! Master Jarvan ordered us to kill them, so we'll kill them. There's nothing more to it."

"Right."

Ash stretched her arms. "I guess I'll just burn them alive. You think you can make the flames big enough?"

Sky nodded. "Mhm."

Ash cracked her knuckles. "Alright." She gulped. "Let's…um…let's get started."

Suddenly, the fire tornado began to waver and expand erratically.

"What the hell?" Ash said with surprise.

The fire tornado burst apart, revealing the Fairy Tail members within. Standing in the middle of them was Wendy, her hand whipping around her head slower and slower. Erza was wearing her Flame Empress Armor. Mira had taken her Satan Soul form. Gracie stood with a confident smile with her katanas spinning in her hands. "Surprise!"

"How did you do that?" Ash asked incredulously.

"Sky Dragon Gale Force," Gracie replied. "Nifty little move, huh? Kinda overpowered your combo attack, didn't it?"

Ash gritted her teeth. "Let's do this, Sky!"

Sky nodded. "Right," she replied as she leapt up and disappeared into the wind.

Gracie stopped spinning her katanas. "Alright, just like we talked about before. Now disperse!" Gracie ran to the right with Wendy, Mira, Gray, and Christina following behind her. Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gajeel, and Levy ran straight for Ash.

Ash peered at Gracie's group from the corner of her eye before returning her attention to the group charging right in front of her. "Trying to attack me from different directions? That's not gonna work too well for you. Sky!"

"Right," came Sky's breathy reply.

"Now Wendy!" Gracie exclaimed.

Wendy stopped in her tracks. "Right! I'll do my best!" She then began to deeply inhale, taking in the air in vast quantities.

Just as before, Sky was pulled towards Wendy and to avoid being devoured she took her physical form to attempt to deal a blow to Wendy. However, Gracie anticipated this. "You're up, Gray!"

Gray leapt for Sky and grabbed onto her leg. He then activated his magic and encased her right leg from her foot to her mid calf in ice. "All set!"

"What?" Sky said in disbelief.

"Sky!" Ash cried as she spat an ember at her sister. "Melt the ice with that!"

"Not gonna happen!" Natsu shouted as he leapt for the small flame. He let it fly into his mouth and swallowed it. He wiped his mouth and smirked. "We're not gonna let you two fight together anymore."

Ash gritted her teeth as her arms became fire. "Stay out of my way!"

Meanwhile, Sky was trying desperately to get her foot free, but for some reason she couldn't turn the part of her encased in ice into wind. "Why can't I get out?"

"Because that part of you is now a solid instead of a gas," Gracie explained. "It's basic chemistry. Chill something to a certain degree and it becomes a solid."

Sky leapt into the air and disappeared into the wind. However, the part of her that was frozen remained visible, making it appear that a severed leg was flying through the air.

Gracie giggled. "You're still fast, just as I predicted. However, I have a plan for that. You're up, Mira!"

Mira took to the skies. "Right!" she said as she chased after Sky using her incredible speed.

"Give her a hand, Christina!" Gracie said while pumping her fist.

Christina nocked an arrow and pulled back on the string. "Right! I'll hit the target!" She aimed carefully and fired her arrow. The arrow sailed true and buried into the flying ice. Christina beamed at Gracie. "I hit it!"

Gracie gave her a thumbs up. "Perfect! The plan is working so far. Now it's up to Mira."

While Mira chased after Sky, Natsu was in hand to hand combat with Ash. Ash's punches were strong and fast, but Natsu had no problem blocking with his own fire. He was smiling the entire time. "You're pretty strong!"

"You're not so bad yourself," Ash admitted.

"You know it's not too late to ditch that Jarvan creep and join us," he offered.

Ash shook her head. "Shut up! Master Jarvan is my savior and I would do anything for him! I will not abandon him!"

Natsu gave a tiny laugh. "Suit yourself. I guess we'll just have to beat you first! Go ahead!"

Ash raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Go ahead and what?"

"Sorry. I wasn't talking to you."

"SOLID SCRIPT! HOLE!" Levy cried as she wrote the word HOLE in the air and sent it on the ground to Ash's left. The word vanished and left behind a massive hole.

On Ash's right, Virgo popped out of the ground, leaving behind a large hole. She landed beside Lucy and bowed. "I've done as you've asked, Princess. Shall I receive punishment now?"

"Good work, Virgo! And no, no punishment," Lucy said.

"As you wish," Virgo said as she vanished.

Ash continued to fight with Natsu as she observed her surroundings. "So what? It's not like I need to make any lateral movements."

"I think you might," Natsu said as he leapt backwards to create some space. He then began deeply inhaling as he pulled Ash's fire away.

Ash could feel her flames being pulled from her body. She leapt backwards in an attempt to gain some more distance and perhaps sever the flow of flames. However, she did not anticipate someone being behind her.

Out of nowhere, Erza appeared behind Ash with her sword at the ready. "On guard!" she cried as she began to swing her sword.

In a panic, Ash redirected her body and breathed deeply. She then released a steady stream of fire at Erza.

Erza took the hit, but was unaffected thanks to her armor. "Gracie was right; she can turn her breath into fire as well."

Ash was shocked. "She wasn't affected by my fire?" She then felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her body from behind. She turned her head to see a grinning Natsu holding onto her firmly. "Let me go!" she cried as she ignited her entire body in powerful flames. Natsu just landed on the ground with his strong hold in tact and blinked. "What?"

"I'm a Fire Dragon Slayer," Natsu said with a grin. "These kinds of flames are neat, but they won't do much against me."

Ash continued to struggle against her captor. "Let me go right now! I swear I'll kill you all!"

Gajeel walked over with his arm as a large iron sword. "Geehee. That's some spirit you've got there." He pointed the sword at Ash's throat. "If you feel that way, though, then you must be itchin' to die for your Boss."

Ash's eyes widened at the sight of the blade's sharp tip at her neck. Her flames died away as she slowly shook her head. "No…"

"What's that now?" Gajeel asked.

"I don't…I don't wanna die," she breathed as her body shook in fear.

Gajeel scratched his head. "I don't get it, though. You realize that dying for him is what that Jarvan guy wants, right? He could care less whether you live or die as long as you serve him. That's what you wanted, right? To do anything for him, even die?"

"I…," Ash began, but couldn't find the words.

Gajeel sighed. He turned his sword back into his arm and delivered a strong punch to Ash's gut. The girl let out a small cry before drifting into unconsciousness. "It's exactly as Gracie said. She really is sharp."

"I can't believe how well her plan worked," Lucy said, "but I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

Levy ran over to Gajeel and smiled at him. "You were a very good actor, Gajeel."

He blushed and crossed his arms. "Well Gracie's script was pretty powerful. It was easy enough to deliver."

Natsu carefully lowered the fiery teenager to the ground. "I guess we wait for the other team to finish then?"

Erza smiled. "It won't be long," she said while pointing ahead. "They're wrapping things up as we speak."

Sure enough, Mira had managed to catch up to the tiring Sky. She grabbed the arrow that Christina had lodged into the ice and used it as leverage to pull Sky roughly to her. She then grabbed the ice and flew to the ground. She slammed the ice into the ground with enough strength to shatter it.

The pain of her leg hitting the solid ground forced Sky from her wind form. She let out a small cry as she lay still on the ground with her eyes closed. She began to push herself up when she felt a foot on her stomach. She opened her eyes to see Gracie standing proudly above her and Wendy right beside her.

"I wouldn't bother moving," Gracie said.

Sky stared at Gracie before resting on the ground. "I lost."

"Yup. Ya sure did," Gracie said. "Glad to see that you're willing to admit it."

"How is Ash?" Sky asked.

Gracie smiled softly at the girl. "She's unconscious, but fine."

Sky nodded. "Good."

Gracie removed her foot and squatted beside Sky. "I'm glad to see you care so much for your sister."

"We've only had each other for so long," Sky said. "Before Master Jarvan found us and rescued us, we were alone with no one to look out for us or help us."

Gracie nodded her understanding. "I get that. But can you see now that Jarvan doesn't have your best interests at heart?"

Sky remained silent for a while. She turned her head away from Gracie. "He saved us from being alone and he gave us strength," she said quietly. "I don't want to leave because I don't want Ash and I to be alone anymore."

Gracie held out her hand. "It doesn't have to be that way, though. You can leave Jarvan's side and not be alone. You can be free."

Sky looked at her. "We can leave?"

Gracie gave her a big grin. "Yep!"

Tears began to fill Sky's eyes. "We just wanted strength and power so that we never had to feel weak and helpless anymore, but…I don't want to kill anyone."

Gracie leaned down and embraced her. "I know. I could tell. You and your sister didn't seem like killers to me. You felt like you owed Jarvan, so you told yourselves that you would become whatever you needed to be for him. But it's not true. You don't owe Jarvan anything. You two can leave and find a life that suits you."

Tears continued to flow from Sky's eyes. "I'm scared, though."

Gracie released her and helped her into a sitting position. "There's nothing to be scared of. We'll take care of Jarvan for you so that you never have to worry about him again. Then you and your sister can be free."

Sky nodded as she wiped away her tears. "Okay."

Gracie stood. "Go be with your sister while we handle things, okay?"

Sky nodded again and got to her feet. She jogged over to her sister and kneeled beside her.

"I gotta say that was really impressive," Gray said.

"I'm so glad we didn't have to fight them," Wendy said.

Natsu's team walked over and grinned. "That was awesome!" Natsu said.

"Your plan was flawless," Erza commented.

Gracie looked at the two sisters. "I'm glad I was right. They're just a couple of kids who were saved by the wrong person. Had they been shown kindness, they would have turned out much differently. I could sense thier desire behind their cold facades. They wanted to be free, but they just didn't know what freedom was like."

Christina smiled. "I hope they find happiness elsewhere."

"They will," Gracie said. "They're stronger than they realized even without their abilities." Gracie looked around. It was then that she noticed that she couldn't see anyone else standing. "Where's Uncle Cliff?"


Nikolias leapt to the side just as the Half-Dragon was about to slash at him with its claws. He shrouded his scythe-like black blades in shadows. "SHADOW DRAGON SWORD SWIPE!" he cried as he drove his left blade into the Half-Dragon's side.

The creature roared in pain as it stopped in its tracks. It grabbed Nikolias' arm with its massive hand and ripped him out of its side. He then proceeded to lift him high into the air and slam him into the ground. The Half-Dragon then lifted one of its feet and stomped on Nikolias' chest.

Nikolias coughed up more blood as the intense weight of the Half-Dragon weighed down on his rib cage. He felt like his ribs were on the verge of snapping. He tried to push it off, but he simply didn't have the leverage to do so. "Shit…"

The Half-Dragon narrowed its eyes at Nikolias and gathered flames in its mouth.

"Oh no you don't!" Nikolias shouted as black flames gathered in his mouth. "SHADOW DRAGON INFERNO!" A jet of black flames shot from his mouth just as the Half-Dragon released its flames. The two attacks meshed together for a while before Nikolias' flames overpowered the Half-Dragon's. The black flames entered the Half-Dragon's mouth and the large creature roared in pain at feeling the intense flames burn its tongue and gums. Seeing its disoriented state, Nikolias collected an orb of shadows in his right claw. "SHADOW DRAGON PULSE!" he cried as he fired the attack at the Half-Dragon's head. The attack collided and the discharge sent the large creature sprawling awkwardly backwards.

Nikolias rolled onto his feet and panted heavily. "That was close. If my ribs snapped and punctured my organs I may have been in trouble." He growled at the Half-Dragon that was recovering from his latest attack. "This thing is strong. I need to end this soon. Let's see now…its only ranged attack is that weak fire. It relies on its physical strength. Normally keeping my distance would be fine, but its scales are extremely protective. I guess I have to try and break through with my own strength then."

The Half-Dragon stood and roared angrily at Nikolias. It once again charged forward.

Nikolias waited patiently. "Let's try something new here." As soon as the Half-Dragon was nearly upon him, Nikolias lowered himself slightly. "SHADOW DRAGON ASSAULT!" Nikolias leapt off of the ground with incredible speed and seemingly disappeared as he struck the Half-Dragon with powerful blows in various locations.

Scales flew off of the Half-Dragon as it randomly slashed at the air, trying desperately to hit the invisible assailant. However, it was coming up empty as more and more blows connected with its thick body.

Nikolias stopped his assault and appeared behind the Half-Dragon. Before the large creature could react, he grabbed onto the base of its wings, pressed his feet against its back, and pulled with all of his strength. The Half-Dragon roared as, with a sickening crack, its wings were torn from its body. Nikolias threw away the wings and took to the skies.

The Half-Dragon roared at Nikolias and leapt into the air, but could not chase after him without its wings. It tried to attack him with fireballs instead.

Nikolias dodged each one easily and snarled at the Half-Dragon. "Now stay put so I can finish this already." Shadows danced around his wings as he stretched them out. "DARK WIND!" He flapped his wings and sent a shadowy haze towards the Half-Dragon with each flap. The darkness surrounded the Half-Dragon below. It tried to move, but it soon found itself paralyzed. Nikolias stopped flapping his wings and rushed towards the Half-Dragon. Shadows surrounded his right arm as he cocked it back. As he descended, the shadows around his arm became more intense and began to whip wildly around. "SHADOW DRAGON CRUSHING BLOW!" Nikolias unleashed a powerful punch that connected with the Half-Dragon's head, sending it deep into the ground. The earth cracked around it as it lay motionless in a crater.

Nikolias stood above the downed Half-Dragon and held his claws above his head. Shadows gathered and danced around between his claws as they began to take shape. "Time to die, abomination." The shadows solidified in the shape of a massive axe that Nikolias grasped firmly in his claws. "SHADOW DRAGON GUILLOTINE!" With a powerful roar, he swung down the axe, instantly decapitating the Half-Dragon. Its body twitched for a brief moment before lying completely still as blood pooled beneath it.

The axe vanished and Nikolias looked down at the dead Half-Dragon. "Finally. Damn thing took too long to kill." He spread his wings and took to the skies as he flew back to where he had left Gracie and the others. "Now to see how everyone else is doing."


"UNCLE CLIFF!" Gracie cried as she ran to her uncle's side. She had been searching the area where he had fought, praying that he was alright. However, upon seeing him lying on the ground badly wounded with a sword buried in his body, her heart felt incredibly heavy. She allowed her katanas to disappear and she dropped to her knees beside him as tears filled her eyes. "Uncle Cliff, wake up!"

Slowly, Uncle Cliff opened his tired eyes and looked into Gracie's green eyes. He smiled. "Hey there, kiddo."

"Don't try to talk too much," Gracie begged. "Wendy, please!"

Wendy was already beside her and held her hands over Cliff. "Right! I'll do my best!" Magic began pouring from her hands towards Cliff's wounds.

Cliff let out a small breath that was most likely intended to be a laugh. "Don't waste your energy, little one. I've already lost too much blood. There's no hope for me."

"Don't say that," Gracie rasped. "We'll save you."

Cliff slowly lifted his hand and Gracie immediately took it. "You really are so much like Jewel. She'd be so proud of you if she could see you now."

Tears began pouring out of Gracie's eyes. "Uncle Cliff, I don't wanna lose you again. Once was hard enough."

"I'm sorry, kiddo, but it looks like my time is up. Such is the life of a killer."

Gracie squeezed his hand tightly. "We'll save you. We will."

Cliff's eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. "My one regret in life was leaving you behind all those years ago. I should have stayed. But I'm so glad that I got to see you again. It was a gift most undeserving for someone who committed so many atrocities."

"Stop. Don't talk anymore. Save your strength," Gracie begged softly.

Cliff's eyes were starting to close. "Take care of yourself. Stick close to your friends. And always remember that your father, your mother, and I all love you very much."

"No, stay with me!" Gracie shrieked.

Cliff no longer had the strength to speak. 'Blaine. Jewel. I can't wait to tell you all about your little Gracie.' Cliff's eyes closed as he breathed his last breath, a smile on his face as he held the hand of his beloved niece.

"NO!" Gracie shouted as she buried her face into Cliff's bloodied chest and cried. Once again, she had lost her beloved uncle and this time it was forever.

Wendy stopped healing Cliff as she began to cry. "I'm sorry, Gracie. I did what I could."

"It's not your fault, Wendy," Erza said. "His injuries were too severe. We were simply too late."

Christina sat behind Gracie and wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist as she cried into her back. "I'm sorry, Gracie."

"Everyone!" Nikolias called out as he landed next to the group. "What happened?"

Mira threw herself into his arms as she cried into his chest. "Nikolias…Gracie's Uncle Cliff just died."

Nikolias held Mira close and turned to look at Gracie. "Gracie…"

"Niky," Gracie sobbed, "I couldn't save him."

Nikolias let go of Mira and walked over to Gracie. He squatted down and put a clawed hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Gracie. But to me, at least it looks like you made him happy in the end. I don't think he'd smile like that if he wasn't at peace."

"But still…"

"This life can be cruel, Gracie. It can take people you love away from you right in front of you. But always remember that you are surrounded by people who care for you and want to help you. Everyone around you loves you and will support you whenever you need it. And you know who helped me to see that? It was you. You were the first person to help me see that. This is a sad loss, but we can get through it together."

Gracie lifted her head and stared at Nikolias with tear-filled eyes. "It's hard."

He pulled her into a hug. "I know it is. I know it's hard. But you're strong, Gracie. You'll be fine."

She sniffed as she rested her head on Nikolias' shoulder and tightly wrapped her arms around him. "Thanks, Niky. I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Gracie."

She pushed back gently and wiped her eyes. She then looked at Nikolias with determination. "Niky, can you help me with something?"

"What would that be?" he asked.

She stood up and faced Jarvan. "Help me take this bastard down. He needs to pay for everything that he's done, for all of the pain that he's caused me and everyone else."

Nikolias stood and growled at Jarvan menacingly. "It would be my pleasure."

Gracie cracked her knuckles. "Sweet. Let's do this, Niky!"