Darrian's POV
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I charged with everything I had.
The part of me that believed I wasn't enough tried to hold me back.
But Heather's face cut through the doubt.
Her laugh.
Her pain.
Her belief in me even when I didn't believe in myself.
That belief became my blade.
I swung at the version of myself who thought power was everything. Who believed emotion was weakness. Who would've let Heather die and called it fate.
He blocked every strike, but he was faltering.
For every cruel word he snarled, I countered with a truth I'd learned from her.
"You only ever ruled with fear," I said as I dodged a crushing blow. "But fear doesn't make loyalty. It makes traitors like Mikaela."
He hesitated.
"You called love weakness," I hissed, slamming my shoulder into him, knocking us both down.
