Announcement 

Thank you for reading " The Legend of the North ". This book is fully published on Amazon (under the same name), it would be very helpful if you buy the book to support me. 

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“Are you okay?” Ezer asks the man who seemed to have the appearance of a red demon, his dark skin was now stained with blood giving him a terrifying appearance.

“…No, I'm not.”

"Hold on a little longer." Ezer gets to his feet with Anjani's help.

"Is that the woman? Lyaria? Now I understand why you had so much faith in her.” Anjani tries to direct his gaze towards the strange white-haired lady, but something prevented it. His instinct forced him to lower the head in her presence.

“Ezer! She doesn’t have much time!”

Ezer's face darkens, he knew it was very likely, but didn't want to accept the reality.

Nataña was pale, even more so than Ezer, despite the fact that no drop of blood was visible outside her body. Only the black dagger embedded in his chest was a sign of death.

“Y-your… name is Ezer…” She breathed in a ragged way and it seemed that not enough oxygen reached her lungs.

“Yes, sorry for lying.” He takes Nataña's hand trying to transmit some heat to her increasingly cold body.

"You don't have to make that face...”

“I failed, everything I promised you… now…”

“You gave me freedom… hope to see another sunrise…” Nataña had to take breaks between words, each sentence stole the breath that she had so hard to get. “You kept… your promise… you have nothing to feel guilty about.”

Ezer looks away momentarily at Lyaria asking her if there was nothing they could do. Though she slightly shakes her head. Cool fingers caress his cheek, returning his attention to Nataña.

"Can I… ask for something one last time?"

“Anything.” Ezer suppresses the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes and speaks over the lump in his throat.

“A…kiss…that makes my heart race and warms my body.” Nataña says those words with eyes that looked at nothing, unfocused.

Ezer can no longer hold back his tears as he approaches and gently kisses Nataña's lips, leaving a taste of blood. When the ephemeral kiss ends, Nataña's eyes lose life as blood runs from her mouth to the ground.

That would be a moment that Ezer would never forget, the bitter taste of his first kiss and the hatred that welled up in his heart.

“We have to go.” Lyaria looks sadly at the exchange, whoever Nataña was, she meant a lot to Ezer.

The dagger that was now stained red, is withdrawn by Ezer with a complicated expression, his most precious possession was the weapon that brought him so much pain. For a moment the desire to throw it into the sea crosses his mind, but he knows that the murderer was to blame... No, for him, it was his fault.

"Let's go…" Lyaria gently places her hand on Ezer's shoulder having found a worn blanket to cover her body with.

“Where? My lady.” Anjani speaks in a respectful voice, still afraid of the mysterious woman.

“Following the beach to the west, there is a ship waiting for us to set sail.”

Ezer closes Nataña's eyes and then gets up and walks forward, leaving the body behind.

The three don't say a word as they move as fast as they can through the waves and sand. A huge column of smoke is seen rising from a corner of the town, screams and crying are also perceived.

A small one-sail boat was ready to sail, its faded paint and twisted timbers leaving something to be desired, but at least it was afloat.

“Lyaria! I bought us some time and also paid my last few coins to some friends for giving wrong directions, though the distraction won't last long. This time the shock is too much… we have to go now.” Grige approaches and notices the deplorable state of the group, does not question and simply directs them towards the ship.

Ezer doesn't have the strength to ask questions, with the dizzying events that were happening, he just accepts everything head on, once again having someone to lean on.

The waves hit the front of the ship causing the nose of the ship to rise and fall, although not enough to make it dangerous to stay on deck. Ezer was clinging to an edge watching the town recede into the horizon. He simply couldn't believe all that he had experienced within those walls, within that prison.

His memories go back to that fateful night, to the last moment in which he said goodbye to his mother, to the moment of escaping through the woods, his encounter with Relen, the mountains, the beasts and above all... Lyaria.

"Thank you…thank you for finding me." Ezer turns around and surprises the woman behind him with a big hug.

"I'm always going to look for you... and I'm always going to find you." Lyaria returns the hug with the only arm she could move and a big smile on her face.