LION

I watched in horror as the poison turned Euphoria’s skin purple and red.

I yanked Cid’s hand out of the concrete and started punching him again, harder this time.

I didn’t know what else to do to make it stop.

Cid cackled loudly at my efforts.

He knew I was trying to hurt him without killing him.

And he knew it was the only thing I could think of doing.

Just as I raised my hand to strike again, Cid started shaking.

His entire body began to glow.

I stepped back in confusion.

Then my father’s reinforcements arrived.

The Brown EyEs rushed forward, using their signature ability to suppress Cid’s abilities for a limited amount of time.

I quickly moved out of their way as they surrounded him and forced him to the ground.

“Lion!”

I turned toward Hezron.

He was holding Euphoria’s body in his arms.

I dashed toward them.

I bent down to look at her.

She didn’t even look like herself.

Her skin had turned dark purple and red. Her eyes were completely swollen shut, and her skin was torn open in several places, oozing pus.

“Fuck!”

I threw my hands over my head.

“Someone call for a healer! NOW!”

Panic surged through me.

The image of her Gold Eyes staring back at me in despair was already burned into my mind.

I held back.

I let her die.

I should have just killed him.

This is my fault.

“She’s still breathing.”

Hezron’s words cut through my thoughts.

A healer rushed past me and dropped to her knees beside Euphoria.

“Oh my God…”

I could hear the healer whisper under her breath.

“Can you help her?” I asked impatiently.

“I can try my best, but we need to get this poison out… now.”

“Do it then, damn it!”

The healer glanced back at Euphoria.

“I need tools to get the poison out. If we don’t get it out soon, she could burst.”

“Fuck!”

Hezron threw his hands up to his head.

“She needs to be taken in so we can properly—”

“Fuck it!”

I gently picked Euphoria up into my arms.

“Send the strongest healers to Victor Fox’s Tower immediately!”

There wasn’t time to waste.

I took off.

————————

My fist barely hit the door before it swung open.

Victor stood there looking irritated, but the moment he saw Euphoria, the irritation on his face turned into absolute horror.

“She needs attention now,” I panted.

Victor immediately took her from me and rushed inside. I followed closely behind.

“Oh my God… no!”

Valoria screamed as we passed her.

Victor carried Euphoria into what looked like an examination room and immediately laid her down, connecting her to several machines.

I quickly explained everything that had happened while he worked.

When I finished, Valoria silently sobbed as she stared at Euphoria.

Victor moved around the room so quickly that I could barely keep track of him. He practically looked like a bolt of electricity.

Before long, her body was covered in tiny, carefully placed needles that began draining the poison from her body.

I watched, hoping I had gotten her there in time.

I looked toward Valoria.

“I have the strongest healers on the way to help in any way possible. Is there anything else I can do?”

Valoria kept her eyes on Euphoria.

“When will they be here?”

Almost immediately, an alert sounded.

A projection screen appeared, showing the healers on their way.

“I’ll bring them in.”

Valoria simply nodded.

I escorted the healers inside, and they immediately began working alongside Victor.

Slowly, Euphoria’s skin began returning to its normal color. She was still purple, but not nearly as dark, and her skin no longer looked like it was about to burst.

I silently exhaled.

Maybe she would be okay.

I needed to get back.

It was time I had a talk with my father.

————————

When I arrived at the palace, I rushed straight to my father’s office.

He was probably there.

My father was writing when I entered, barely looking up at my abrupt entrance.

“Lion, how wonderful. I was beginning to think I wouldn’t see you at all this month.”

I ignored the comment.

“Father, did you know Cid got out?”

“Yes.”

He continued writing.

“He seems to have a vendetta against Victor Fox’s daughter.”

I stepped closer to his desk.

“He almost killed her. Victor is working on her as we speak.”

My father finally looked up.

“Then she will be fine.”

“But how could he have escaped? You told me you were going to speak with him after your speech. So how the hell did he suddenly end up out of that room?”

My voice rose.

“I was actually pretty disappointed with the outcome of that fight.”

He leaned back in his chair, casually resting his hands behind his head.

“Victor and Valoria are extremely powerful EyEs. I was expecting a little more from their daughter.”

“Seriously?” I stared at him in disbelief.

He chuckled.

“I’m just saying, son. You would think a mixed EyE of Purple and Gold would be able to handle Cid.”

“She was announced as a Gold EyE.”

“Yep.”

He said it so plainly that I stared at him.

“Do you know how Cid got out?”

I asked again.

Something was off.

I could tell my father was avoiding the question.

He chuckled at my impatience.

“Yeah. I spoke with that EyE. He kept raving about Euphoria Fox taking his place at EyEU. Apparently, he thinks it belongs to him because he’s stronger.”

My chest tightened.

“So?”

I stared at him.

“What did you do?”

“I told him that if he could break out of his room, he could try to fight for his spot at EyEU.”

I closed my eyes.

“Why would you—”

“You gotta understand, I didn’t think he was actually going to break out of that room.”

He shrugged.

“I waited outside for maybe four hours, listening to him bang around and try to get out. Then your mother sent me this picture and—”

He stopped himself.

“…I got hungry.”

I slowly opened my eyes.

“You got hungry?”

“Yeah.”

He nodded as though this made perfect sense.

“I went to get something to eat.”

I stared at him.

“And after I finished eating…I fell asleep.”

I rubbed my forehead.

This was exactly why talking to my father could be so frustrating.

He acted like he cared about everyone, but sometimes he was so careless it was unbelievable.

I was thankful for people like Victor Fox. Without him, I wasn’t sure how long our nations would have lasted.

“Do you care at all that your most important partner’s daughter just almost died because of your foolishness?”

My father looked back at me.

“Of course I care.”

His tone was casual, almost amused.

“But like I said, I didn’t think Cid would actually escape.”

He smiled.

“Besides, I made a special room for Cid. He won’t be getting out again.”

The longer I stared at him, the more frustrated I became.

Something about this didn’t feel right.

I couldn’t explain what it was.

But I was going to find out what the hell was going on.

I left his office without saying another word.

————————————————————————-

The next couple of days consisted of trips to Victor’s Tower. I kept checking in with the healers, asking if they needed anything and making sure to bring them the best herbs.

I couldn’t help but feel guilty. Cid and Hezron were my first friends when I started leaving the palace on my own. They never treated me like I was some royal prince. They treated me like I was just another one of the guys.

All three of us were supposed to attend EyEU together, but once we heard Victor Fox’s daughter was attending, Cid was suddenly deemed too emotional to attend.

I was a bit upset about it myself. I thought maybe Euphoria had only been brought in because she was Victor’s daughter. That was why I wanted to test her when I took her to the roof that first day.

And she actually surprised me…

I told Cid I would try to convince my father to let him in and that he just needed to be patient.

I never thought he would…

I snapped out of my thoughts as I landed in front of Fox Tower. It had been a long eight days, and I’d been hearing whispers that Euphoria was awake.

When I arrived, the door opened, and Valoria greeted me warmly instead of the healers who usually met me at the door.

“Good morning, Mrs. Fox. Um, I heard Euphoria was awake, and I came to see if that was true.”

She smiled gently.

“Yes. She woke up yesterday.”

I smiled.

“That’s great. I’m… I’m really happy to hear that. Do you guys need anything else?”

“No, no. We have plenty of herbs and everything else we could possibly need.”

I stood there awkwardly. Deep down, I wanted to see her, but I wasn’t sure how to ask.

Valoria laughed softly.

“Would you like to see her?”

“Oh, uh, yes, please. I just want to apologize to her. I feel horrible.”

She looked at me.

“Don’t you dare blame yourself. And I’m sorry we didn’t say it before, but thank you. We’re both very happy you brought her straight to us. That was a very smart move.”

She stepped aside.

“Please, come in. I’ll bring you to her.”

We didn’t go to the same room she had been in before. Instead, we stepped into a room that transported us to another floor.

She led me down a small hallway before turning and opening one of the double doors to a much more comfortable room.

Euphoria was sitting up in a huge bed, eating ice and watching a show being broadcast from the Purple Nation.

I smiled.

“Glad to see you’re doing well,” I said, catching her attention.

Valoria left the room, giving us some privacy.

I sat down in a nearby lounge chair.

“Hey, um… thank you for the herbs.”

She wasn’t making eye contact.

“No problem…”

I hesitated.

“I just wanted to say I’m really sorry for what happened.

If I had taken him out sooner, I could have prevented the poison.”

I could hear the frustration in my own voice.

She didn’t respond. She simply looked down at her cup of ice and continued eating.

I stared at her, confused.

“So, what happened with Cid this time?” she finally asked, looking at me.

“Uh, he was taken down by reinforcements and put in stronger containment. He shouldn’t be getting out again.”

She blinked before looking down at her fists, which were clenching and unclenching.

I could tell there was something she wanted to say, but she wouldn’t.

“Cid has always been really strong… Even for me, he’s a challenge.”

She looked up at me questioningly.

“I’m just saying you should understand. Cid isn’t an average—”

“I get it,” she cut me off.

I didn’t know why I cared so much about trying to make her feel better, but I could tell she was bothered by what happened.

And it wasn’t fear.

I admired her ambition, but she needed more experience. Her dad had trained her in combat and taught her how to think quickly in the field, but she couldn’t plan for everything.

And she seemed to be a late bloomer when it came to her first ability.

“Let me train you sometime,” I blurted out without thinking.

She frowned.

“Why?”

“I can help you. I know we’re the same age, but I’ve been where you are with your ability.”

“Tuh. And what do you know about my ability?”

“I know… that you currently don’t have a fully functional ability, and that you need help.”

“I don’t need help. No, thank you,” she said, shutting me down.

“I’m not trying to offend you. I’m just saying that you could use my help.”

“I don’t.

Need.

Your help. Now please leave it alone.”

I huffed in frustration.

“Fine.”

I stood to leave.

“I’m happy you’re okay. I’ll see you once school is back in session.”

I started making my way toward the door.

“Lion,” she said weakly.

I turned toward her.

Her eyes gleamed as the sunlight fell across them.

She really did have the most beautiful Gold Eyes I’d ever seen.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile.

I smiled back.

“You’re welcome.”