"Ten hours. This is my final offer, Xena."
I didn't even hear Carlos. A bitter smile crept across my lips. Three days… three long days I'd been trapped here, and still no sign of Kiel. Hope was slipping through my fingers. Anxiety gnawed at me, too—what if Damian had done something to my adoptive father, preventing him from coming?
"Xena," a soft voice called my name. "You need to get out of here."
Tears streamed down my face at the sound of Ace's voice. "I'll die here. Your father is trying to kill me. If his plan fails, Kiel and my father will die…"
"Xena," the voice coaxed again.
I squeezed my eyes shut, sobbing. "Ace, please… stop! You're dead! Leave me alone!" I screamed, voice raw and ragged, but…
"Xena."
"You're dead! You're dead, Ace! You're not real!"
My cries echoed through the room, accompanied by the clinking of the thick chains wrapped around my hands and feet, anchoring me to the iron chair. I tried to fight the effects of the PCP, but Ace's voice kept ringing in my ears. Pain and fear gnawed at me—even knowing he wasn't real, I felt his presence.
"Xena, wake up," he said again, followed by the sharp crack of a gunshot. My eyes flew open. There he was—kneeling before me, working the chains free.
"We're getting out of here," he said.
"Please… leave," I whispered, desperation heavy in my voice. "Kiel will die if I leave or try to fight. If I go back to that hell, Kiel dies. If I escape and Damian finds out, Kiel dies. There's nowhere else to run—I have to die here. Please, Ace, just go!"
I heard more gunshots, but I didn't pay attention. They were probably hallucinations—but like Ace in front of me, they felt real.
"Xena, what are you saying?"
He frowned, grabbing my arms. Anger flashed across his face, and I could do nothing but stare at him.
"I'm scared, Ace. Why isn't anyone coming to save me? Kiel promised he wouldn't let me die here…"
His expression softened. I could see the disappointment in his eyes, yes, but also sincerity. He gently cupped my left cheek.
"Xena…" he whispered my name.
I couldn't speak as the hallucinations swirled—gunfire, chaos—but Ace leaned in and kissed me softly on the lips. My heart raced, caught between reality and hallucination. He didn't move again; the kiss lingered only briefly, but it jolted me awake.
"L-Leo…" I whispered, confused.
He looked away, then back at the chains binding my legs. "We're leaving," he said coldly, taking my right wrist in his hand.
"Wait," I stopped him before he could move.
Leo froze, frowning. I studied him, trying to discern whether he was real or another hallucination.
"Xena, let's go," he urged, another gunshot echoing somewhere.
He was real. The noise was real. But I was still confused.
"W-what are you doing here?" I asked.
"No time to explain—"
"Leave!" I cut him off, glancing at the floor. "If Carlos finds you here, you'll die too."
My eyes fell on one of Carlos's men sprawled on the floor, PCP syringes scattered, a gun tucked into his waist. I moved past Leo toward the corpse, but he grabbed my arm.
"What are you thinking? We have to leave now!" he hissed. I batted his hand away and grabbed the spilled PCP, but he knocked it out of my hand, shattering the vial.
"What's wrong with you?!" he shouted.
"What's wrong with you?! Why don't you want to leave?!"
Tears pricked my eyes. If I left, I knew I'd find Kiel's body at the mansion. I wasn't naive—Leo wouldn't magically save me from this place. Damian wanted me dead. Why was he risking himself to get me out? I pushed him away and snatched the gun from the dead man, pointing it firmly at him.
"Try to come closer, and Damian will meet the two of us," I warned. Leo froze. Tears streamed down my face as I glared at him. "You Fontanillas are monsters… nothing like you is human."
"Xena," he said softly, almost a whisper. He shook his head and took a step forward. I leveled the gun at him.
"Xena, please. If you're angry, let it out when we're out of here!"
"Just get out, Legolas!"
"Xena!"
I shut my eyes tightly, inhaling deeply, keeping the gun trained.
"I'll die here, but you save Kiel. Hurt him, and I'll rise from the grave to kill you all."
"Xena, what are you saying?"
Leo's shoulders tensed. I saw the shock in his eyes as I held the gun to my head. He stepped forward, and I shouted:
"LEAVE!"
I pulled the trigger, but the bullet hit the wall—Leo had deflected it. We fell to the floor together, and he wrested the gun from me, throwing it out the window.
I froze, staring at him, tears streaming. I couldn't process everything. I stayed silent, crying beside him.
"Xena, we're going home," Leo whispered, wrapping me in a protective embrace. "It's over. We're going home now."
The words felt incredible to hear, believable… yet I knew the truth.
"Kiel will die if I don't deliver Carlos's head to your father. Kiel will die if I go back, Leo…" I sobbed.
"That won't happen. Kiel's fine. He's waiting outside," he assured me.
I froze. "Kiel's here?"
The door opened before he could answer. Kiel staggered in, gun in hand, a cut on his left cheek. His anger was obvious, but when he saw me and Leo, it melted away.
"Kiel!" I weakly shouted, running to him, clinging to him tightly.
"Sheii," he murmured, exhaling deeply. "Sorry, I got held up."
"Kiel…" was all I could say, still crying, holding him like a child long lost to a parent.
"I couldn't let that happen," he chuckled.
I was still exhausted and weak even after a long ride in Leo's car, silent, staring out the window. I was far from that nightmare place, but fear lingered—Damian still awaited me.
I stayed with Leo because I had questions. How had he and Kiel arrived at the exact moment to rescue me?
"What happened?" I asked.
"I'll take you to the hospital," he replied. We spoke at the same time, silently syncing.
"Take me back to Oxemburge. I'd rather rest in the dorm," I said after a moment, glancing outside.
"So tell me, what happened?"
"Where?" he asked, eyes on the road.
"With Carlos, with your father. Why were you with Kiel to save me?"
"One thing at a time," he sighed, taking a deep breath. "Carlos is dead. Kiel brought me, and I didn't know it was you he was after. I didn't save you—"
"Really? Then why did you grab the gun from me?" I interrupted.
He looked at me, then away. "I—I didn't know. Should I have let it happen?"
I said nothing, staring straight ahead. I was thankful they had arrived. If only he knew how terrified I'd been when Carlos told me Damian wanted me dead… But Damian's son—trust didn't come easy.
"Can I ask why you tried to hurt yourself?" he finally said.
I frowned. "Your father wants me dead."
Leo stayed silent, jaw tight. That ended the conversation for now. I leaned back, closing my eyes, exhausted, and felt his hand gently touch mine. The contact sent a jolt to my fresh wounds.
"Ouch!" I yelped.
He handed me a small bottle. I frowned—it was sedative medication, likely to counteract the PCP.
"I'm not high anymore," I said.
"I know. I gave it to you so you could throw it away. You didn't notice because you were hallucinating, calling me Ace."
I frowned, recalling the last hallucination.
"Wait…" I said. "Don't tell me…"
A mischievous grin spread across Leo's face. He laughed, shaking his head. I closed my eyes, running my fingers through my hair. That had been a hallucination—he was teasing me.
I stayed silent, annoyed. But then he spoke again:
"Do you have a thing with Ace?"
"No," I snapped. "With the way I hate your family, I could never even think about it."
Leo sighed.
"Why…"
I frowned. "How many reasons do you need?"
"Why do you always call me Ace?" His question caught me off guard. "I don't care that you're mad at Dad. I want to know why you call my brother Ace every night? Why do you mistake me for Ace when you're not yourself? Why… don't you see me as me?"
I frowned. I didn't realize how often I called him Ace, and I didn't know how to answer. I had no memory.
"What… do you mean?" I asked, looking away. "You said it yourself—I wasn't in my right mind. How do I answer?"
I heard his knuckles crack on the wheel. He didn't say anything else, and we drove in silence to Oxemburge. He parked, got out, and I followed slowly, still weak from my wounds.
As I climbed the dorm stairs, someone grabbed my hand. I looked at Leo, who stood holding a plastic bag, expression blank.
"Maybe this is how an assassin treats themselves, huh?" he said coldly, handing it to me.
I couldn't respond; he was gone immediately. I peeked inside and saw a medical kit, probably taken from the clinic.
"What's with him?" I whispered to myself, shaking my head as I continued upstairs toward my dorm room.