My enemy

My enemy
Note: Thanks to the readers who left comments. It made my day and to be sincere, those comments made me feel alive. Thank you for reading this book even though I haven't been consistent with updates. Life wouldn't always go the way we expects... But I will try my best to finish this as quickly as I can. We are slowly moving towards the end. Lots of love.

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Dyvian surfaced slowly, dragged back into consciousness by pain.

It was everywhere, deep in his bones, threaded through his muscles, lingering in places frostbite had kissed too long. His fingers felt distant, numb, like they didn’t belong to him anymore.

His eyelids were heavy, reluctant, but when they finally cracked open, the world bled in blurry and pale.

He felt a warmth, saw wooden beams overhead and heard the hearth crackling somewhere close.

He remembered the cold first. Then the snow. Then... Avaris.

The image came unbidden: wide eyes, shaking hands clutching at him, fear naked on his face, relief breaking through it like light through glass.

Dyvian didn’t realize he was smiling until a voice cut sharply through the silence. He wasn't the only one in the room.

“I don’t know why you’re smiling, Your Highness.”

The words were brittle with contempt.

Dyvian lifted his head slowly. His vision steadied enough to meet a pair of cold, unyielding eyes staring down at him.

It was Prince Theodore.

Dyvian's smile faded at once.

Dyvian’s expression hardened, irritation replacing what little softness had slipped through. He pushed himself upright with a low exhale. Though his body still ached, something had change, his core felt steadier, power reverberating faintly beneath his skin. It wasn’t hard to guess why.

Avaris was close.

That alone was enough to replenish him.

Theo stood near the hearth, wrapped in a thick coat, his posture rigid. He looked like a man who hadn’t slept. Or perhaps one who hadn’t allowed himself to rest.

Theo’s voice was cold. “You seem remarkably pleased for someone who nearly froze to death after causing chaos wherever he goes.”

Dyvian pushed himself upright, ignoring the protest from his muscles. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood, unsteady but determined. Nearby, his dark clothes had been folded neatly. He pulled them on without ceremony, movements stiff but purposeful.

When he finally spoke, his voice was rough, scraped raw by cold and exhaustion.

“Where is Avaris?”

Theo stiffened. For a moment, he said nothing. Then he drew in a slow breath, like he was bracing himself.

“Dyvian,” he said. It was the first time he’d ever used his name without a title. “How can you ask that? After what you’ve done? After what you’ve dragged him into?”

His composure cracked. Anger bled through the lines of his face, restrained only by effort.

“How can you look for him,” Theo continued, “after your world ruined his life? After your father...?”

Dyvian met his gaze without flinching. His expression was distant, unimpressed.

“Theodore,” he said evenly, “tell me where Avaris is.”

Theo’s jaw clenched. He paused for a while, considering his next words. His hands curled into fists.

“I told him I loved him.”

The words landed heavy.

“I told him I don’t want him anywhere near you,” Theo went on, his voice shaking now, bitterness seeping through. “You hurt him. Again and again. And now your father is hunting him like a prey. If there’s one decent thing you can do, it’s to leave him alone.”

A short laugh escaped Dyvian.

“I always knew,” he said quietly. “Your feelings were never subtle.”

But beneath the dismissal, something unsettled stirred. Avaris cared deeply for Theodore. That much Dyvian had never denied.

And for the first time, the thought crept in uninvited:

What if Avaris chose him?

Dyvian shoved the question aside before it could root itself.

“I don’t care if you hate me,” he said. “I probably deserve it. But right now, I’m the only one who can protect him. Maybe I don’t deserve to stand beside him, but I won’t make decisions for him. I need to hear it from Avaris himself.”

He turned toward the door but before he could reach, Theo moved fast.

He grabbed Dyvian’s arm, shoving him back. The first punch landed clumsily but hard, anger guiding it more than skill. Dyvian staggered, surprise flickering across his face before irritation snapped into place.

The second strike never landed.

Dyvian caught Theo’s wrist and slammed him into the wall. The impact rattled the beams. Theo retaliated immediately, driving his shoulder into Dyvian’s chest, sending both of them crashing into a table.

Wood splintered. Chairs fell. It wasn’t a clean fight.

Theo fought like a man with something to lose. Dyvian fought like someone who refused to lose anything else.

Their fists flew around and their breathing turned sharper and louder than their voices.

Footsteps thundered toward them.

“Your Grace!”

“Stop! please stop!”

A voice cut through the chaos.

“Dyvian!”

Dyvian froze instantly but Theodore was too invested in beating up Dyvian, so he didn't stop.

The hesitation cost Dyvian, a fist slammed into his jaw, snapping his head to the side. He staggered back, the room falling silent in the aftermath.

Avaris stood at the doorway, his chest rising too fast, his eyes wide with fear and fury.

“What are you doing?” he demanded. “Both of you, stop!”

Dyvian straightened slowly, barely feeling the ache in his face.

Avaris looked… furious. And somehow still unbearably soft in the same breath.

The sting of the punch faded instantly.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Avaris snapped. “Why are you fighting like children?”

Dyvian pointed at Theo without missing a beat.

“He started it,” he said. “I was trying to be calm.”

Theo scoffed quietly. He didn’t respond, just looked at Avaris with eyes full of something fragile and unspoken. And it hurt more than he expected when Avaris didn’t look back.

Avaris’s attention stayed on Dyvian.

That alone told Theo everything he’d been avoiding. Avaris would never choose him.

Avaris exhaled sharply and rubbed his face. “This is not the time for this. We have a common enemy, my enemy, if we’re being honest. Instead of tearing each other apart, we should be figuring out what to do.”

The room was quiet. Then Avaris turned away from them, his shoulders tense.

“If my fate is already decided,” he said quietly, “there’s no reason more people should suffer because of me.”

The room stayed silent.