CHAPTER 365: IN THE DARKEST OF TIMES

[KAWAI]

Igor looked at the space that was left when Tamiko portaled away. He stared at the people around him, the ones who were supposed to protect his Erasthai and him from any danger.

He stared at Danny, the man who had been her for a while now, and he hated what had happened Kosta despised everything that had gotten them to this point. There wasn’t even a need to deny it.

And then...

Kosta stared at the door that led to the one place that should have been their happy place. There should have been a different ending to the day that had begun so well, so prettily and so perfect.

And yet Igor stood there, his heart aching as he struggled to come to terms with what had just happened. This was too huge a gamble, and he was not ready to let Tamiko take it.

So angrily, he stormed into his house, where Yilena was seated.

He knew that there was no point in calling Nana anymore. She had almost lost the right to a name that had been given to her by his sister, the one woman who had trusted her to be the best option for her brother.

This wasn’t what Kosta had wanted, and nothing about this screamed better.

"You knew he would do this, didn’t you, Yilena?" Kosta asked, and for the first time, Yilena looked up at the kid who was calling her by name. It was something so simple and yet it held the weight of the bonds that had been shattered that evening.

It held the reminder of what pain lingered and what Kosta had had to deal with. He was angry and rightly so. Perhaps they should have expected this from the man, but then years had passed.

So many years that Yilena had gotten used to being called Nana by her best friend’s brother. It was always what reminded her of home and yet as Kosta stood there staring at her with so much rage, the Hinata woman knew she was done for.

There was no point in playing hide and seek with Kosta anymore.

"Yes. I did," Yilena said, her voice unwavering. It still held the same warmth it always had when she talked to Kosta. It was like there was nothing that would change for her, even if the kid she had protected for years was starting to hate her.

It was inevitable, and perhaps that was a fate that Yilena had given in for the hundredth time.

"Why?" Kosta asked defeatedly.

"Why?" Yilena asked amusedly. She knew that the questions seemed like a weightless one and yet it was the one question she had been waiting for from Kosta for years on end.

The question that would trigger the answer to a past that had never really been explained back then. It had been over thousands of years and time always said number on the things that Yilena did.

But on this one, she had waited knowingly.

She knew that this particular day would come, but she had hoped that she wouldn’t have to tell Kosta about it. He didn’t deserve to be thrust into the past again, but what else was there for her?

****

[Flashback, A Thousand Years Ago, The Evening The Konstantin Household Had Been Attacked]

"Yilena... Please," Sahina spoke softly as she stared at her best friend.

She knew that this was the last time they would see each other but there was someone that still needed one of them. Sahina was leaving, and as much as she hated it, she didn’t know who else she could trust to protect her little brother.

The boy had always been kind and always conformed to the customs of the kingdom. He was the reminder of their humanity in the Konstantin household. He was the reminder of their happiness and even Yilena knew that too.

On the surface, the Konstantin household were law-abiding citizens who had nothing to worry about, but beneath all of that, was a crew that had been specifically recruited. A family that had been forced to protect the Hinata lineage.

It was the one thing that the Konstantins had been assigned, but when there was an omega in their midst, the rules got a little bendy. The focus was split between the Hinata household and the boy who knew nothing of life.

The boy who had only ever been loved wholly and the boy who didn’t deserve to go through all of this at such a young age.

"No. I’ll tell Zaffuto to come and fix you up. He can save all of you without getting drained. My brother has the breath of life. He will save you and your family. And if not for you, then he will do it for Sadako. You know how close they are.

"I will be back," Yilena insisted, her desire to make things right for her best friend so obvious in her desperation. She wanted to save them because she knew that Zaffuto would do anything she wanted.

She was the youngest of the Hinata family.

The one hidden in plain sight at the time that Zaffuto had started going on a rampage. No one truly understood what had happened to the king back then, but the Konstantins knew that Yilena was the only one who could get through to Zaffuto.

But even then, as Sahina bloodied herself on the ground, she knew that there wouldn’t be enough time for Yilena to portal to the palace and come back to her with Zaffuto. There was a huge risk involved, and Sahina only cared about her brother.

Igor needed to live, even if he had to be the only omega in Kawai.

"It will be too late, sister. You know it too. Please, protect my brother. Save him, please," Sahina begged, and Yilena stared at her defeatedly. This was not how their friendship was supposed to end.

This wasn’t how life was supposed to be, but then here they were – the pains of a life they knew nothing of lingering so desperately. It was like the shadows had refused to listen. But Yilena had to act.

"I’m not leaving you. You’re my best friend in the whole realm. Sahina. I am not leaving you here to die. Why didn’t you call Sadako?" Yilena scolded as she struggled to carry Sahina around, even though she was too tiny.

Yilena had been protected from everything by her brother. Zaffuto never let her train or learn the art of her magic, despite being one of the most powerful women in the kingdom.

Zaffuto had wanted her to live a mundane life, and that’s what she had left. Maybe if she had been a warrior like Sahina, if she had known a few spells from the Hinata house, she would have saved her best friend.

Maybe she would be able to fix the mess before it even began. And yet she was defeated. She knew it too. There was no coming out of this. And nothing would ever be the same for her.

"Please. My brother needs to live. Igor is in the free lands. You know what the rogues will do to him. He is just an omega, Nana. Save him, please. If you love me as you say, save my brother, even if you have to ask your brother for this.

"I swear I will return the favor someday," Sahina begged and Yilena wiped her tears. She had been crying a lot and so did Sahina. but this right here was the one thing that Yilena hadn’t wanted to be a part of.

She never wanted to witness her best friend leave.

The poor girl always believed death was too cruel a way to leave, and yet this was what he had to come face to face with. It was the one thing that he had to lean into, even if it meant choosing between Sahina and Igor.

"You’re making me choose, Sahina. You’re doing the one thing that you promised you wouldn’t. How is it supposed to make it all better?" Yilena complained, and Sahina just let out a laugh at her stubbornness.

That was also how she knew that her best friend would save her brother. Igor would be fine regardless of what the hell happened along the way. She didn’t have to live because at the end of the day, her brother would.

Igor would live, and that was all that Sahina cared about.

"In my next life, I will still choose to be your best friend, Nana," Sahina laughed softly, so close to breathing her last, while her best friend was still trying to think of a way out that they both knew would be a little too late.

"With my life, Sahina. I will protect him with my life," Yilena promised when she turned to see her best friend slowly fading. This was not the only way out, but there wasn’t time. Besides, Zaffuto would always prove to be a stubborn man most of the time.

But this time, Yilena would make sure her brother never had the time to choose. She would see to it that Zaffuto saved her best friend’s brother, and if Zaffuto refused, then Yilena would do the one thing she had promised never to do.

She would let the world know of her presence, and that was not the best of ideas truly. Then again, she was a desperate girl who had made a promise that she intended to keep, even if that was the one promise that would probably ruin her relationship.

"I’m going to find a way, Sahina. I swear it," Yilena swore one more time before he left for the palace, her body bloodied and her heart shattered at the loss of her best friend and the family that had meant the world to her.