Although leaving the Capital leader behind causes guilt to bloom in my chest, my heart constricts more at the thought of Nari being cornered by Nights and utterly helpless. I sprint down the stairs and head straight for the first floor, where the invasion must have taken place. As soon as I burst past a closed door, I am inundated by a sudden eruption of noise. I barely duck behind an unaware Night before a knife shrieks past my head. I keep my head low and move past the bodies that seem to be knotted in a disarray of blood and weapons.

If I were the kidnapper, I would have taken Nari to the first floor so that I could pass her to the rest of the Nights, even if that meant having to maneuver through such a crowd as this. Already my breathing comes in rapid gasps of air. My hands are clammy with sweat. I wipe my palms against my shirt and use my shoulders to push past a barrage of hips, knees, and legs until I am given enough space to straighten my back, lift my weapon, and search for the nearest exit.

It is there I see Nari; a knife in each hand, blood on her clothes, and the fiercest smirk I have ever seen.

And I remember what it was like to be her protector – as a boy, as a bodyguard, as of now – and it fuels me with enough zeal that, like a stone charged from a slingshot, I madly dash toward the grown-up version of Ada, whom I still have the privilege to protect and whom I also have the privilege to fight alongside.

As a reflex, the second I see Nari’s opponent, the knife leaves my hand and plunges into his stomach. He stumbles backward and is easily replaced by yet another man, who has two wide blades with hilts that cross over his wrist like a cage. Before I can react, he punches Nari in the jaw, causing her to fall and inciting me to throw my last knife. It misses his head by an inch.

He grins as he grabs the shoulder of one of the Capital’s own and decapitates him. “You’re the one Han has been talking about, aren’t you?”

“I’m certain I am.”

“It doesn’t matter. Whether you were a Night or a bodyguard, I’m going to kill you.”

I squint at the man’s surly face. He isn’t familiar. “Who are you?”

He raises his hand. I prepare to block his attack, but he simply shows me an almost invisible mark between his fingers. A star.

“Capital’s Rebellion.”

“This isn’t your battle.”

“Anything that involves the Capital is our battle. Look around. Do you only see Nights here? Do you think they would win on their own? There’s a chance they would. But victory would be assured if we joined them.”

Han didn’t tell me he was planning to ally with the Rebellion. By that time, I must have already given him reason for suspicion. “Leave her alone.”

“Why? I know who she is. If I kept her, we could use her for ransom.”

I laugh satirically. “I’ve tried that. It doesn’t work.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m telling you that you’re a fool.”

He sneers, “Tell me again.” While Nari uses her palms to push herself up, he kicks her back to the ground. Without thought, I attack him, but my blind reaction gives me a disadvantage, and in one motion I am on the ground with the large man’s fists beating upon my face.

Strangely, the only thing I can think of is that it has been a long time since someone ruined my features.

“Tell me – “ He says between punches, “that – again.” I can almost feel the bones in my face shifting as his heavy knuckles burrow into my cheeks. The world starts to turn black, and I feel something warm slide down my lips. In my state of consciousness, I recognize the color to be as red as the stain on Nari’s garments as she weakly pushes the man off of me. She screams at me to stand up, and although my ligaments feel detached, I jump to my feet and lunge at the man with all the force I can muster. We collapse together. I steal one of his knives and inscribe a deep gash across his abdomen. Nari helps me to my feet, and then she wraps me with her arms.

“Thanks,” she whispers, and I laugh even though I know she won’t be able to hear me.

“You should’ve … called me … I would’ve found you sooner.”

“I knew you were going to find me in time.” She holds my ringing head between her soft hands. “We can’t stay here.”

“Of course not.”

“We have to end this, Tao.”

“I know.”

“Let’s go.” She grabs my hand, then pauses. “Where’s my father?”

Those words revive me with a newfound energy. I keep her close as we make our way back to where I had left the Capital leader. Without answering, I intentionally weave past the tangled warriors until I reach the stairwell. There, lying against the steps, is her father; and not far from him is Han, with a pool of blood forming near his head.

Nari runs to her father, and I drop to my knees beside Han.

“Wake up!” Nari yells the words I cannot say to a brother who is not mine. I shake Han’s shoulders, but he doesn’t move. I press my fingers to his wrist in an attempt to find a pulse, and although it’s quiet and slow, it’s present.

“He’s alive,” Nari says as the Capital leader stirs. “I’m sorry … I’m sorry. You’re okay. I’m sorry. You’re okay.”

I helplessly watch her as she cries over her injured father. I feel a gust of warm wind on my hand, and I look down to see that Han is having trouble breathing. After a series of congested coughing, he smiles.

“For an old man, he wasn’t so bad at fighting.”

“You could’ve killed him.”

“Thank you.” He closes his eyes. “But maybe I never wanted to.”

“You’re going to die, Han.”

“Yes, I could. If I stopped trying, I could die right now.”

“You can’t do that,” I beseech. “The battle doesn’t stop here.”

“What are you saying?”

“The world doesn’t die with you.”

He groans as a wave of pain erupts in his head. “I can destroy, not repair.”

“I know you can stop this, Han. You just don’t want to.”

“And why would I?” He retorts. “I can die happy. I met whom I wanted. He’s probably dying, too. We could die together. It’s a great story – the father, who betrayed his son, and the son, who hated his father, both die in the midst of a historical battle that they inadvertently caused. And we will go down in history with tarnished names.”

“This isn’t a game, Han. It’s not my life you’re trying to control anymore. It’s an entire generation. There are consequences to that.”

“I can’t believe you’re lecturing me when I’m dying like this.”

“You will not die.”

Even in this state, Han can insult me. “You can’t do everything.”

“I can do something.” Although my own body aches, I heedfully lift Han’s body onto my back. When he shouts in pain, I ignore it and carry him out of the stairwell. I reach the third floor, where lifeless men are strewn across the hallway. After the first Night sees Han on my back, he alarms the others, and in a random sequence, the Nights as well as the Capital’s own cease their fighting to look at me.

“Release your weapons,” I announce. “It’s over.”

Not a single person drops their guard. Han mutters a phrase in my ear, and because I am too tired to ask him to repeat it, I assume it’s a jibe.

“I need you to help me.”

“There’s nothing to do.”

“They need to leave.”

“You’re not very good at this sort of thi – “

Behind me, a number of footsteps echo from the stairwell. I turn to see a team of surgeons pour into the hallway. Their casual clothes are splattered with blood, but they hold their tools with confidence.

“We’ve been ordered to treat the wounded,” one man says.

I glance at the Nights that stand waiting for me. “I don’t think that – “

“ – both the Nights and the Capital’s own are to be treated.” The surgeon clears his throat. “The Leader’s orders.”

Han grunts in dissatisfaction, and an unusual bubble of laughter starts in my stomach. Kindness truly must be the best way to kill a problem.

“Your call, Han.”

He stares at the blood that drips from his finger like a broken faucet before making a decision. Speaking as loud as he can, he faces the stricken Nights. Although his voice cracks and his eye his swollen, he has never sounded nor looked more admirable than when he proclaims, “We’re finished here.”