Daybreak Ch. 12

"Andrae-"

"I refuse to live without you."

"I can arrange something," Zaide offered. He laughed when the half breed growled at him. Though he understood the frustration, he had no intention of stopping it. "Choose, Jameson."

"Jameson, choose me." Charisma nodded slowly to emphasize the order. Nadia was like a sister to him and the love of Andrae's life. She loved him enough to do what she had to do to keep his family together.

"I can't," Jameson said with a shake of his head. He was terrified; he loved both women and though his love for them differed, he still couldn't choose. How was he supposed to live without Charisma? How could he be the deciding factor of the end of his sister's life? He couldn't choose, but if he didn't he'd lose them both. For the first time in his life, he hated his father. "I can't."

"You can't take her from your brother."

"He has to," Nadia interrupted.

"No!" Andraemalek shouted.

"Jameson, I'm begging you to choose me." Nadia ignored the tears that slowly rolled down her face. She had to get him to understand why he had to choose her. "If you expect to get out of this, I have to die. Choose me."

Andraemalek kept his eyes on Nadia as he said, "If you choose her, I'll kill you myself."

"Andrae, no. Remember what I said. Charisma has to live."

Andramalek looked at his brother. He knew that Jameson was in a tough spot, but he didn't care. Nadia came first. "If you ever loved me, you will not take her away from me."

"Think of the greater good," Nadia reasoned. "I don't want to die, but I have to do my part in protecting the Brethren."

Jameson shook his head and brought he focus on the ground before him. How was he supposed to do this? Kill the love of his life and hate himself, or kill his sister and have his brother hate him enough to want to kill him. It didn't matter what he chose; someone was going to die. "I can't."

"Choose or I take both."

"Don't you do it, Jameson." Andraemalek warned.

"I'm getting impatient."

"I-" Jameson looked up and found his eyes connecting with Nadia. Her eyes showed her support; there wasn't even the slightest flicker of hate or resentment. She nodded slowly, as if making the decision for him. He was going to be sick. "Nadia..."

"It's going to be ok, Jameson." Nadia nodded again and forced a smile for his benefit. "I forgive you."

With that simple statement, Jameson hung his head in shame. He couldn't bear to look at anyone as he said, "Nadia. Nadia dies." He allowed his tears to fall and felt his stomach lurch at Andraemalek's soul-shattering bellow. He'd betrayed his brother because he was too selfish to let go of the love of his life.

Zaide applauded the scene in front of him. It was better than any movie he'd ever seen. "This just keeps getting better." He walked to Nadia, who kept her concentration on the murderous half breed. "You would have been fun to keep around." He leaned forward to place a kiss on her cheek. "But this is fun too." Her eyes didn't give him any hint of her emotional state, which he found interesting. Zaide prided himself on being able to get anyone to reveal their emotions to him. Yes, she would have been a lot of fun to have around. "Just think; at daybreak, you get to live out your greatest fear. Three for one deal. I like it."

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Another short installment. Sorry guys, but this pretty much the length of the chapters for the remainder of the story. You'll understand why as you read on.