Belmont kneeled closer. “Do you remember the day you came to Mar. You met a little girl and little boy. I was the little boy.”
“Annabelle’s friend,” Xia whispered.
“Yes. You remember now. Rin gave us both small wooden carvings of dragons. We were so happy to see you. We looked up to you. Then the next day, everything changed. Annabelle died, my parents died, and the city of Mar died with them.”
“I…I’m so sorry. We tried. We tried to save them,” Xia said.
“I know you did, but you failed. And now you’ll pay for that failure.”
Belmont gripped his sword tighter, preparing to slice Kaiden’s throat. Xia and Dorian cried frantically, both struggling to transform. “Don’t do this, Belmont. Please. He’s just a child!” Dorian pleaded.
“This is for you, Annabelle,” Belmont murmured.
“No!” Xia s
