I'd Give Up The World For You

Rukelion had to find her. If Daisy was out there, there had to be some way to locate her soul. 

He would recognize it anywhere at this point. It definitely wasn't here but that didn't necessarily mean it wasn't somewhere else. But would his magic reach that far? He had never tried doing anything like that before but that didn't mean it was impossible. 

If it was possible he was going to do it. Even if it completely exhausted his magic reserves. Even if he could never come back to this world again. Even if he died trying. Nothing else mattered but finding Daisy and telling her he was sorry for ever dragging her into his mess. He had to because otherwise there would be absolutely no reason for him to keep living. 

She had been all he had. Money, power, revenge…none of that mattered to him without having her nearby with her warm smile and tinkling laugh. 

"What are you doing?" Ira asked tremulously around his tears. 

Rukelion didn't answer because he was too busy concentrating. He didn't know what he needed to do exactly but, as if by instinct, his internal flame shot up so hot and bright that it melted a hole through the castle ceiling and went so high up into the sky and no one could see where it ended. 

After seeing the ceiling melt everyone either ran out of the room in fear or instinctually scrambled backward before continuing to watch, entranced. He sent out the most desperate plea of his heart into the sky and poured it into his flames.

Find her. Bind their internal flames together. Take him to her. 

The flames grew progressively higher but also wider, spreading out over the entire sky so citizens all over Mirea and beyond thought the world was ending. Rukelion wasn't aware of anything going on around him, closing his eyes as he let the flames engulf him. He trusted them. They would take him where he needed to go. 

Just as he locked onto the location of Daisy's soul and the flames swirled around him even more he felt something grab his arm. "No! I won't let you destroy this world! You can't!" 

Rukelion's eyes snapped open and he saw Juliet braving the flames to cling to him. He desperately tried to shake her off but she wouldn't budge.

"Get off!" he roared. 

Why wasn't she burning? Was it because these flames were somehow different than his usual ones? But she wasn't a fire mage. There was no reason she shouldn't be reduced to ash right now. 

He couldn't exactly fight her because he was trying to concentrate on where he needed to go. He did his best but she was stuck to him like a leech. He couldn't tell where they were going at this point because he was too busy trying to get the woman who resulted in his wife's death off of him. The two of them yelling at each other was the last thing he remembered before everything went black. 

===

Ira couldn't do anything but blink at the place where the light had suddenly vanished, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake. What remained of the walls of this room were red-hot, half-melted stone and all of the books had been destroyed. 

The only reason none of them had perished in the flames was because those who had been unable to run were protected by his water film. The fire hadn't been aimed at them anyway but the heat was unbearable so he supplied a continual stream of the coldest water he could to prevent their bodies from giving out. 

It may have been easier to run but after a certain point the flames blocked the only exit. He did the best he could and there were all in one piece…except for Professor Gallagher, who seemed to have vanished into thin air.

The rest of the room may very well be destroyed but Miss Veronica's body was still intact. Ira hadn't had a chance to properly grieve yet because he had been too shocked by the fire and preoccupied with keeping everyone else alive but now he felt his throat constricting at the sight of her. 

This was his fault. He hadn't warned Rukelion Blaze that Demetria was an ice mage or Professor Lucien was a light mage. 

If he had known, he would have escorted them to the dungeon personally to make sure nothing happened. He would have put precautions in place. And none of this would have happened. 

Ira sunk to his knees next to her body and let out a low moan. She didn't look like herself anymore despite having the same curly hair as always. She had dried foam on the side of her mouth from when she was poisoned and her green eyes were open and staring without seeing. 

That was what finally made him break. He bent over and sobbed with his forehead on her pregnant belly and the child that would never be born. 

This was wrong. He had come here to save her but was the reason she was dead! How was he supposed to live with himself? He had held her back for so many years when she could have gone to the capital to be with the one she loved and after doing that he had wanted to help her. 

After going to the academy Ira wanted to work hard and accomplish his dreams but he also wanted to make her proud. She had promised him she would always be the home he could come back to but now she was gone. 

He had really thought he had a family again with her. She had been so warm, bright, and lovely. So understanding of his situation. Always willing to work with him and go at his pace when he had felt like there was nothing worth working for after losing his way of life. 

All he had ever wanted when traveling around with his parents was a permanent home. He had that with Miss Veronica but now he was homeless and family-less again. 

She hadn't deserved to die! She was such a good person and even though she was almost always smiling he could somehow tell things hadn't been easy for her. She had deserved to be happy. To have her baby and live happily ever after with her husband. 

What was Ira going to do without her? Had he even told her how much he appreciated everything she did for him? How much she meant to him? He had told her he loved her a few times over the years but that didn't feel like enough. He hadn't gotten the chance to drop the formalities and call her Mother either though he did truly feel that way about her. 

Did she know? She had referred to them as family on and off and said he would be the honorary big brother to her child. He knew she thought of him as a son but he had never been able to tell her he thought of her as his mother too.

He would never be able to see her smile at him again when he did something helpful. Or have her ruffle his hair. Or make him some sort of accessory out of flowers the way she always did when he was younger. 

The years he had lived with her were the happiest of his life. He would never forget them or how much her presence meant to him. 

Ira had been so lonely bouncing from family to family, never wanted, never knowing what was going to happen to him next. The peace he felt with her…would he ever be able to feel that again? Or would he drown in a sea of grief the way her husband had and completely lose his mind?

He didn't want that and he knew she wouldn't want that for him either. If she was here she would tell him that it wasn't his fault, that she loved him, and to get back up and try again. The next time he was faced with an allergic reaction he was determined to know what to do so he would never lose someone to it again.

But it was going to be hard. He thought he was used to losing people but having lost three parents now he didn't know what he was supposed to do. 

A warm weight settled on his back and he realized that someone was rubbing it as he bent over and cried. They weren't saying anything and he knew it was Ciara. Sarabeth would have been trying to comfort him with words but words weren't what he needed right now. 

Words wouldn't bring Miss Veronica back. Words would very likely make him cry even more. She was simply letting him know that he wasn't alone as he went through this and he appreciated it more than he could say. 

Guards came to investigate what had happened and asked a flurry of questions. It was all a blur. Ira didn't know what would happen to the government now with the royal family dead but he didn't care. All he wanted was to bury his mother somewhere pretty and plant daisies on her grave. He was sure she would want it that way rather than being buried in the royal plot.

He whispered as much to one of the maids who tried coming up with funeral arrangements and fought with him. He didn't have the energy to fight but Sarabeth did. 

She had tear tracks on her face as well but that didn't stop her fighting spirit. She won the argument in the end since the queen had no royal blood and he was the next of kin.. That meant a lot to him and he was sure to thank her later at the funeral when he had the strength.