CHAPTER 123: I AM NOT WEAK.

CHAPTER 123: I AM NOT WEAK.
~ Kieran’s POV~

Damon stood beside the door like a guard who didn’t trust the air itself. Ava remained close to the fire, her arms wrapped around herself even though she tried to hide it.

I could still feel the burn of the poison in my veins. Not enough to kill me anymore, but enough to remind me how close I’d come.

Damon cleared his throat. “We need to anticipate Livia’s next move.”

“No,” I said flatly. “We need to anticipate the one after that.”

Ava looked up. “Why?”

“Because Livia never plays once,” I replied. “She stacks traps. If you dodge the first, you fall into the second.”

Damon crossed his arms. “So what’s her second trap?”

“Me.” I held Ava’s gaze. “She’ll come for me directly. And she knows my weakness.”

Ava blinked. “What weakness?”

“You.”

She sucked in a breath. Damon muttered something under his breath that sounded like, “Of course.”

Ava stepped forward. “I’m not a weakness.”

“You’re the thing she knows I will die for,” I said quietly.

Ava swallowed, eyes glistening with something she tried to blink away.

Damon broke in. “Romantic. Stupid. Irrelevant. Focus.”

I ignored him. “Ava, she is coming to use you. To pull me out again.”

“I won’t let her,” Ava whispered.

“You won’t have a choice,” I said. “She’s not going to ask permission.”

Damon lifted a brow. “So what? We hide Ava?”

Ava shook her head fiercely. “No. No hiding.”

“Agree,” I said. “If she hides, I lose focus. And Livia will use that distance to strike.”

Damon rubbed his forehead. “You two are going to kill me.”

“Join the club,” I muttered.

Ava stepped closer to me, voice trembling but firm. “Then what do we do?”

“We turn the trap back on her.”

Ava blinked. “Meaning?”

“We let her think she still controls the board,” I said. “We let her think she can get to me through you.”

Damon straightened. “Absolutely not.”

“It’s the only way.”

“That’s the same thing she tried last time,” Damon snapped. “You almost died. Ava almost died. We’re not repeating that.”

Ava glanced at me. “Kieran… he’s not wrong.”

I looked between them, then spoke slowly. “Last time, we didn’t expect her. Now we do.”

Damon’s jaw tightened. “Explain.”

“We choose the location. The timing. The setting. We control everything.”

Ava shook her head. “She’s unpredictable.”

“Not to me,” I said. “I grew up with her. I know exactly how she thinks.”

Damon muttered, “Lucky you.”

Ava stepped closer still. “But what exactly is the plan?”

I hesitated.

Damon narrowed his eyes immediately. “Oh no. I don’t like that look.”

Ava frowned. “What look?”

“The look he gets when he’s about to sacrifice himself,” Damon said.

I sighed. “I’m not sacrificing myself.”

“You’re halfway dead already,” Damon barked. “Don’t push it.”

Ava grabbed my wrist. “Kieran, talk.”

I drew in a breath. “Livia wants me weak. She wants me desperately. So we let her think I am.”

“Kieran,” Ava whispered in warning.

“I act like I’m dying again,” I said. “She’ll come close. Close enough to strike. That’s when we end it.”

Ava stepped back as if the room shifted. “No.”

“Ava…”

“No.” Her voice cracked. “You’re not pretending to die just to lure her.”

Damon nodded vigorously. “I support that message.”

I looked at her. Really looked. Her eyes were wide and wet, fear choking the edges of her voice.

“Ava…”

She shook her head. “I almost lost you. Don’t ask me to sit there and watch you pretend to slip away while she circles like a vulture.”

I reached for her hand. She didn’t pull away this time. “I won’t really be dying.”

“But you will look like it,” she whispered. “And that’s enough to break me.”

Damon exhaled. “Please listen to her. For once.”

I stared at the floor. “Fine. Then we adjust.”

Ava let out a breath of relief.

“So what’s the new version?” Damon asked.

“We still use her expectation,” I said. “But instead of pretending to weaken… we pretend to fall apart.”

Ava blinked. “Meaning?”

“Meaning I break,” I answered. “Emotionally. Mentally. Publicly.”

Damon’s eyebrows shot up. “Acting?”

“Livia believes I’m unhinged already. Poisoned. Unpredictable. If she thinks I’ve snapped, she’ll reveal herself to control the situation.”

Ava frowned hard. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Damon scratched his chin. “Actually… that might work.”

Ava still looked worried. “And what do I do?”

I met her eyes. “You stay close. You stay calm. You let her think she’s scaring you.”

She swallowed. “But she is.”

“I know,” I whispered. “But she can’t know that.”

Damon looked at us, rubbing his temples. “This is insane.”

“It has to look insane,” I said. “Livia responds to chaos. She thrives on it.”

Ava squeezed my hand. “If she comes for me…”

“She won’t get you,” I said immediately.

“But if she tries…”

“Ava.” My voice turned firm. “Look at me.”

She did.

“I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Her eyes glistened. “You say that you can stop death.”

“I can stop her.”

Damon muttered, “Arrogant idiot.”

I didn’t bother responding.

Ava whispered, “Okay. So… we act. We pretend. But what happens once she shows herself?”

Damon answered before I could. “Then we trap her. Permanently.”

Ava looked between us. “Trap… how?”

I hesitated again.

Damon sighed loudly. “Oh great. Another plan you don’t want to tell her.”

Ava stepped closer. “Kieran. Be honest.”

I met her gaze. “We’re locking her away. No trial. No council. No speeches. Just… ending it.”

Ava flinched. “Ending it?”

“Yes.”

“Permanently?” she whispered.

I didn’t answer.

That was enough to answer.

Ava shook her head slowly. “Kieran… she was once…”

“She is not that person anymore,” I cut in. “She’s a threat. A killer. She poisoned me. She would’ve killed you. She will again.”

Ava swallowed. “I know. I just… ending someone…”

“It’s the only way,” I said. “She won’t surrender. She won’t repent. She’ll attack until one of us stops breathing.”

Ava’s voice trembled. “I hate this.”

“So do I.”

Silence.

Damon clapped his hands sharply. “Alright. No more sorrow. No more guilt. We will prepare.”

Ava nodded slowly.

I looked at her once more. “When she comes… don’t run. Stay by me.”

She whispered, “I will.”

“And don’t look afraid.”

She tried to smile. “I’ll try.”

“And trust me,” I said softly.

Ava’s voice cracked. “Always.”

Damon groaned. “Okay, e

nough romance. Let’s plan murder.”

Ava shot him a look. “It’s not murder.”

“It absolutely is,” Damon muttered.

I didn’t deny it.

Because he was right.

And when Livia walked into our trap…

It would end with blood.

Hers.