The Grand Duke's Soulmate-Chapter 556: Threads of Desperation

Noah moved first.

He charged straight at Brone with his signature move, a swift leap that brought his heel arcing toward the Bargesian leader’s exposed flank.

It was the sort of blow that would have knocked grown men out instantly, but Brone caught his leg mid-air and twisted it until it broke, making him scream in pain.

Drystan burst in from the right, his sword arcing downward in a cleaving strike meant to split Brone from shoulder to hip. Sparks exploded as the Bargesian leader caught the blow on the flat of his blade.

At the same time, Alex and Callis swept in from the left—Alex with a rapid flurry of his dagger aimed at Brone’s neck, and Callis with a blazing sweep of her magic that howled as it cut through the air.

Steel flashed, and magic flared as all four converged at once in a seamless timing and high momentum. For the first time in the battle, Brone was driven onto the back foot, forced to tighten his stance and defend rather than strike.

Across the field, Eli and Luke sprinted toward Derek, seizing the opening. Luke reached Derek first and slashed across the mage’s arm. The blade ripped through flesh, sending a spray of blood across the snow.

"Argh!" Derek shrieked.

Before he could recover, Eli jumped in and kicked him from behind. The mage fell to the ground with a thud, crying out in pain. The dark current feeding Brone sputtered and died.

The moment the connection broke, the Bargesian leader faltered—just for a heartbeat.

The knights seized this opportunity.

Noah drove his blade into Brone’s shoulder, forcing him back a step. Drystan’s strike slammed into his ribs, slashing through hardened muscle. Alex thrust into his exposed flank, pushing the advantage with a roar.

Callis shot forward the instant the Bargesian leader was momentarily contained.

"Hold him!" she shouted. "Don’t let him get away!"

The knights obeyed without hesitation, throwing their weight into restraining the massive brute. Brone roared, fighting their grip as the ring around him tightened.

The Mederian Princess reached over her shoulder, pulling the arrow from the quiver. Her fingers closed around the enchanted shaft, the one meant to end this.

She thrust it forward to the Bargesian leader’s chest, but Brone twisted violently. The arrow missed his heart and plunged deep into his lung instead.

Brone shouted in agony, the sound shaking the air.

"Curse you!" Derek cried, voice cracking with fury and fear as he saw this.

Lightning flared between the fingers of his hand, wild, uncontrolled, and born of pure rage.

He launched the spell. The lightning bolt struck Eli and Luke point-blank.

Both knights convulsed with a scream. Luke was hurled back, crashing into the dirt with a broken, choking gasp. Eli collapsed on the other side, unmoving.

"No!" Callis cried, but the word barely escaped before Brone erupted.

With monstrous force, he hurled everyone around him outward.

Noah, Drystan, and Alex collapsed like rag dolls, tumbling across the frozen ground. Callis hit the earth hard, the impact ripping the air from her lungs.

Brone reached to his chest, tore out the embedded arrow, and spat a vicious snarl.

Dark magic pulsed, and the wound knitted shut before her eyes.

The Bargesian leader’s attention was locked on the Mederian Princess. She barely had time to rise before his massive hand closed around her throat.

"Heuk!"

A choked gasp escaped as he lifted her off the ground, squeezing. Her legs kicked in the air, while her fingers clawed at his iron grip.

"You meddlesome little—" Brone growled as he let out a barrage of strikes.

Once. Twice. The impact reverberated like cracking stone. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

A brutal punch smashed into her stomach. Another hit shattered against her ribs. Blood began to spill from Callis’s lips.

The final blow hit her face with a brutal fist, crushing her jaw before he threw her onto the cold ground like a rag. The Mederian Princess fell onto the snow, breathless and limp.

Then...

"Stop!"

***

[Moments after the explosion...]

Crouching behind the scene, Anna watched the chaos unfold. Everything happened too quickly.

One moment, she was running with Clara toward the horses; the next, an explosion had scattered the animals and frozen them in place.

Soon after, the knights and her friend Callis were in a violent fight with Brone and Derek.

"Get up, my lady! We need to go!" Clara urged, tugging her arm.

But Anna didn’t move. She couldn’t.

Her wide eyes reflected the battlefield: Noah bleeding, Callis beaten, and the knights struggling to keep Brone contained. Her heart twisted with sorrow and guilt.

They were fighting, bleeding, risking everything for her. Too many sacrifices. Too much pain.

"No," she whispered, voice trembling. Then louder, "! I can’t let them die for me! I must save them!"

"You can’t!" Clara countered, desperation rising.

A tear slipped down Anna’s cheek, but her gaze hardened.

"I am the Khasif. I should be the one protecting them."

"You’re in no condition to face the Bargesians!" Clara snapped. "You’re carrying a life within you!"

Anna’s hand instinctively moved to her belly. She loved her child more than anything.

However, she could not allow others to suffer or die in her stead. They were more than mere companions; to her, they were like family. She couldn’t permit them to be hurt when she knew the responsibility to end this solely rested on her.

"They have lives too!" she cried. "I can’t just run away! I won’t! I’m the only one who can stand against those who wield dark magic!"

Clara saw it then... The unshakeable resolve burning in Anna’s eyes.

"Even so," the knightess said, "even if your mana were fully restored, you’d be putting yourself and your child into grave danger. Please, listen to me!"

"At least, I must try!" Anna’s voice came hard.

She stretched out her hand, reaching desperately for Kyren’s mana. But nothing stirred—no warmth, no pulse of power—only a hollow stillness. The connection had been severed.

The grand duke’s controlling spell, learned from Kiev, had shut the conduit completely.

After Jessy explained the risks of Anna using magic in detail, the grand duke had sealed her access entirely, mainly to prevent her from invoking a long-distance demand. Now, no matter how fiercely she willed it, the mana refused to answer.

It was futile, and the princess felt that truth crush her hope. Kyren would never grant the power without knowing the purpose behind it—and for that, he would have to be near her.

Right at that moment, Anna saw Brone’s hand clamped around Callis’s throat, lifting her like a doll.

Blow after brutal blow struck the knightess’s body, and the final hit crashed into Callis’s face. Her body then fell to the ground.

"No!" Anna cried.

She struggled to stand and lunged forward, but Clara’s grip locked around her arm, holding her in place.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Anna screamed, desperate and shaking.

"I won’t!" Clara shouted. "I’m your escort! Even if I’m crippled, I’m still one! My duty is to protect you!"

Anna looked at her with blazing eyes, her face rimmed with red from fury and grief.

"And I am the Ro’an Empress," she said, voice trembling but resolute. "Let go of my arm, or I will disown you, Dame Clara Verns! One more interference and I shall do it!"

Clara froze. The princess had never spoken to her like this—never with such authority and unshakable determination. This was the first time Anna had ordered her with full imperial weight.

The knightess’s lips quivered as she slowly pulled back her hand. Faced with a direct order from the Empress, she had no choice but to comply.

The moment her arm was free, Anna surged forward towards the battlefield, voice breaking as she screamed, "Stop!"

Brone’s gaze snapped toward the princess, watching her sprint toward him through the chaos.

"Let them go! Please!" Anna cried.

"My... lady, d-don’t..." Noah wheezed, lifting a trembling, blood-soaked hand.

His armour was shattered in several places, his body slick with blood, and his every breath ragged. Still, he tried to rise to protect her.

A low growl rumbled from Brone’s chest, displeasure at the sight of the knight daring to stand again.

"Stop hurting them! I’ll go with you!" Anna shouted.

That caught Brone instantly. The Bargesian leader’s attention shifted entirely to her, dismissing the weakened Noah without a second glance.

Brone scoffed, amusement curling darkly at the edge of his lips as he saw the desperation etched across her face.

"You tried to run moments ago," he said coldly. "And you expect me to trust you?"

Anna faced the Bargesian leader with tear-streaked cheeks and unshakable resolve. She did not fear him... neither his strength, nor his cruelty. The only thing she feared was watching the people she loved die for her.

"You want me," she said. "Without me, all of your effort will be for nothing. Isn’t that why you came?"

Brone barked a laugh. Derek stepped up beside him, eyes fixed on Anna like a predator sighting prey.

"You truly think you’re that precious?" Brone sneered. "I thought the Ro’ans were mighty like the myth claimed them to be. Yet you are just a pitiful little weakling who does nothing but cry and beg."

Anna bit down on her lower lip, swallowing the sting of his words.

Her gaze drifted across the ground; Noah struggling to breathe, Luke barely conscious, Alex, Damon and Eli unmoving, while Drystan and Helen groaning in pain. And then she saw Callis.

The Mederian Princess lay on the ground, battered and barely conscious, her eyes cracked open just enough to meet Anna’s. Her lips moved soundlessly, but Anna understood.

’Run! Don’t surrender!’

But the princess couldn’t do that.

Her hands curled into fists at her sides as she straightened, breathing through the ache in her chest.

"Maybe I am weak," she said, voice gaining strength, "but my blood is valuable to you. It’s the only thing that can feed the power you’re after."

She took a single step forward.

"So let them go, and you can have me. Completely. I won’t resist. I won’t let them pursue you. You can take me wherever you want."

Anna lifted her chin, ready to give up herself if it meant saving them.

Devastation washed over the knights at her words—horror, disbelief, and heartbreak etched into every wounded face.

Anna felt their sorrow like a blade to her chest, but there was no other way. If this stopped them from dying, then she would bear the burden alone.

Derek stepped closer to Brone, his voice strained with urgency. His injured arm had now fully healed.

"Let’s just take her and go. There’s no need to drag this out any further."

The mage’s eyes flicked sharply toward the Bargesian leader, silently urging him to end it. The longer they stayed in the fray, the more magic they burned—and the more their strength withered.

The princess offering herself willingly was the best outcome they could hope for. It spared them precious power for the next ritual.

Brone caught the unspoken warning instantly.

"Fine," he growled. His lips curled into a predatory sneer. "Get over here, you worthless little b*tch."

Anna obeyed, stepping towards the Bargesian leader with determined steps. The instant she came close, his hand shot out and clamped around her arm like an iron shackle.

"Try running again," Brone hissed, yanking her closer, "and I’ll make sure your friends suffer for it, especially that silver-haired w*nch."

Noah tried to stand, but his twisted ankle buckled beneath him. He caught himself on one knee, breath ragged, fury and despair burning in his eyes.

"Don’t come after me," Anna ordered, turning to him with a voice that wavered but did not break. "No one fights back. This is an imperial order!"

Noah’s eyes squeezed shut. They had fought until their bodies broke, yet still failed. And now, all their desperation had cornered the princess into sacrificing herself.

Brone smirked approvingly.

"Smart girl," he said. Then his gaze swept over the fallen knights. "You heard her. The moment any of you try to follow, I’ll snap her hand, then crush the brat she’s carrying. Clear enough?"

"You... you won’t get away with this," Callis croaked, barely able to lift her head.

The Bargesian leader’s grin twisted.

"Keep talking, b*tch. I’ll smash that pretty face again and make sure no one recognises you when I’m done."

Callis clenched her fist weakly. If only she had more power... if only she had her brother’s strength.

’Kiev...’

His name brought back the reminder he had left her before the departure:

"If an emergency ever arises and you need me, shoot the arrow into the sky. I’ll sense it and come to you immediately."

The Mederian Princess’s breath hitched. Her hand instinctively reached her quiver. She still had one arrow left to send the signal.

But she would need height. The tallest point in this area was the ridge near the fallen pine. If she could crawl there and fire the arrow directly into the clouds, Kiev would sense it.

Even if the chance was slim... it was still a chance — the only one they had left.

Callis pushed her palm against the snowy ground, forcing her battered body to move inch by inch. She had to reach that ridge. But then...

As Brone and Derek were about to move, hauling Anna with them, the mage’s eyes fell onto Helen, who was writhing in pain.

"All of this trouble wouldn’t have been if not for you!" he snarled, his hate-filled eyes locked onto her.

Before anyone could process it, Derek thrust his hand forward. A lightning spell erupted from his palm, a blinding spear of crackling blue aimed straight at her heart.

Helen froze, helpless.

The lightning was a breath away from striking her when a body threw itself in front of her.

"Sir McQuinn!" Anna shouted in surprise.

The bolt slammed into him with a thunderous crack.

Every knight froze. None of them had expected Damon to rise again at the very last instant, let alone throw himself into the line of attack.

Helen’s face registered bewilderment. As Damon collapsed into her arms, smoke rising from the hit and limbs trembling uncontrollably, her scream reverberated.

The knight’s body then went still, his breaths turning faint, thin and fluttering remnants of life.

With tremendous effort, he forced his lips to move, his voice a faint, broken thread, "I’m... sorry... couldn’t... protect you... sooner... Wish I was... stronger... and... had more time..."

His eyes fluttered shut, his chest rising shallowly several times before it halted.

"Sir McQuinn! Sir McQuinn!"

Helen’s anguished cry echoed through the tumultuous scene as she pulled his body into her arms, shaking him desperately.

However, Damon no longer moved.