by Sara Snow
“Prepare yourself, girl. You won’t be getting any help from me or any of your friends. This is something you have to do if you want to kill the Vampire Queen. You do, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I growled.
She twirled her staff and pierced the earth with it. It shrunk a little to allow her to rest her chin on its tip that had returned to being flat. “You have five minutes before we’re surrounded, wolf. Are you fighting or leaving?”
13
Elinor
“You’re one of the Nephilim Sisters, aren't you?" Will asked.
“Yes, my name is Tien, the second-born Nephilim Sister. I'll learn all of your names later, but right now—" She pointed at me. "You should prepare yourself for a fight."
Will walked up to her, and even though she was taller than him, he didn't seem intimidated at all. "Then you're meant to help Elinor. That's why we came here—because she has power. I can understand if you need to test that power, sure. But not like this."
"I'll do as I please, Vampire, because like you said, she was sent here to us. She's now our responsibility. My responsibility."
"If this is your home, why are these creatures here to begin with?" Skye inquired, and Tien took a deep breath.
"Leviathans were released from the Underworld many centuries ago, the same time that there were many white wolves. The Leviathans and wolves fought, killing many on both sides.” Tien released her staff, and it remained standing. "The last few Leviathans were trapped here with my sisters and me as a way to keep the rest of the world out and further our isolation. Plus, we're the only ones capable of killing them.”
She walked over to the flames burning around us and stuck her hand through them. When she pulled her hand out, the tips of her fingers were on fire.
I couldn't help being impressed with the way she carried herself. She wasn't at all friendly, but she was powerful and confident with that power.
"I can handle one or two Leviathans, sure, but a horde of them would pose a threat even to my sisters and me, and that’s how they typically travel. So we created our own barriers to keep them away from us. Still, they are effective deterrents, guarding us from those who would only try to use us for our gifts." She turned around and released an exasperated breath. "History lesson is over. I'm still waiting for you to make a choice, Wolf. You can hear them coming, can't you?"
This was far from the welcome I had expected from the story Tor had told us.
In the distance, a Leviathan’s scream rang through the air, and I swallowed hard. Killing one of these things seemed impossible, even for someone as powerful as Will. There was no way I'd be able to kill one by myself.
I came to the sisters looking for help, protection, and training. Instead, Tien was sending me headfirst into danger the moment I arrived. I shouldn't have expected anything different from people who associated themselves with Levi.
However, I knew that I had no choice. I couldn't give up and leave now. Not when we'd come so far.
"I'll fight," I told her.
Will hissed while Darian growled in protest. Cyrus's eyes were black pits, his jaws clenched tightly, and Skye's brown eyes shifted to black, her face reddening.
I turned my back to Tien and the others as the air grew rank with the smell of Leviathans.
I could hear them gathering outside the circle of fire Tien had created, their forms somewhat visible through the shifting flames. I took a deep breath and called on my power, allowing it to build slowly, a small percentage at a time, so I'd remain in control.
I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling the power in the earth below and the sky above. Will had been surprised when Tien’s staff had easily pierced the Leviathan's skin, so I needed to prepare myself that my claws wouldn't be much help.
The flames parted, and a Leviathan slipped through. The black-skinned creature with sharp yellow teeth like daggers came rushing at me, and I sent a bolt of lightning to crash down from above, but the creature was swift, dodging to the left and skidding along the ground.
It pushed forward with a loud screech. I lifted my hands, and a spike shot upwards from the earth. It didn't pierce the Leviathan's skin, though the momentum was enough to propel it into the air. It vanished in the trees above, and I clenched my fists, trying to locate it in the darkness.
“Come on,” I growled, my ears perking up as I listened closely.
It fell from the trees, plummeting very close to the others. Tien slammed her staff to the ground, causing the Leviathan to change direction and land on a barrier, then fall to the ground. It vanished, and before I could figure out where it had gone, it slammed into me at full speed. I howled in pain as a claw pierced my hip to the bone.
“Elinor!" I heard Skye scream, and as Will ran forward, he slammed into the invisible barrier erected by Tien.
“Drop the barrier! She’s going to be killed!” When Tien ignored his demands, black veins appeared on Will’s neck. “Drop it!”
“Be quiet, Vampire, and allow her to use the power she was given!"
I’m already doing that, and I’m getting my ass kicked!
I placed my hand against the creature’s chest and shoved, sending it flying backward as my power electrified its body. I winced as its claw was torn from my hip, and I fell to a knee.
I dazed the Leviathan for a second, but it recovered swiftly, pushing forward, and I threw myself to the side, rolling on the ground to avoid being trampled.
Before I could get to my feet, its claws grabbed me from behind, piercing my shoulder as it lifted me off the ground. I thought about shifting into my second form, but I wouldn’t have enough time to fully shift. The Leviathan wasn't pausing between its attacks, even for a second.
The earth rose between us, creating a wall, and the Leviathan released me. I fell to the ground, coughing violently from having the wind knocked out of me.
The Leviathan charged into the wall I had created, shattering it, and I pulled myself upright, biting down on my tongue as pain shot up my side from the wound on my hip. I called on my wolf, gathering all my strength, and opened myself up to even more of my power.
When the Leviathan rushed at me again, I clawed its chest. It staggered backward, its skin slashing open a little, and for a second, I froze in shock. I looked down and saw electricity dancing along my claws. Then I smiled. My claws, imbued with my divinity, could hurt it. I had a chance after all.
It shrieked loudly, the sound earsplitting. It hissed at me as it clawed at its chest, and I moved my legs from side to side, grounding myself in the earth.
Before me, the Leviathan was watching my every move. I held my hands up and called forth another bolt from the sky. It struck me, and I held back a scream as my body absorbed the enormous amount of power it offered.
I took a deep breath, commanding the electricity to flow steadily through my body to my hands.
My eyes turned white, and I released a calm breath. “Come on, then. Are you tired?”
The Leviathan screamed, its mouth stretching open wide, and it raced towards me. I hunched forward, counting the seconds as it grew closer and closer, and when it was finally close enough, I commanded the earth to engulf it, trapping it to its waist.
The Leviathan began to break free almost as soon as the earth trapped it, so I had to act fast.
When my hand pierced its chest, its eyes widened in shock. Blood poured from its mouth, and I pulled my hand back, removing its heart. I crushed the black organ in my hand and threw it to the side as the earth crumbled around its body, allowing the lifeless demon to fall to the ground.
I pressed a hand to my hip, but when I pulled it away, my hand was covered in blood. My wound was too deep to heal quickly. I could also feel blood running down my shoulder, but I dared not look while pain danced down my hand. I feared that if I acknowledged my wounds, the pain would consume me, and I'd pass out.
Nevertheless, despite my injuries, I had killed a Leviathan. As wounded as I was, I had won.
“There, I
killed one of your guard dogs. Are you happy now?”
“Good,” Tien said after I stepped back to rest against a tree trunk. "You're a capable enough fighter. You stay on your feet. Consider this your first lesson. But don't get comfortable just yet. You have two more to kill."
I wanted to ask her if she was kidding, but I didn’t get a chance to before the flames parted and another demon slipped through. As its mountainous frame bore down on me, my power flared to life.
14
Elinor
A lot had happened during the Werewolf Guards examination. Too many lives had been lost, but the point of the training, of battling actual vampires and dark creatures, was for the trainees to gain experience. And even though I’d failed, I’d learned a lot.
Tien forced me to kill four Leviathans before she was satisfied. And all while she’d stood to the side and watched, even when I thought the Leviathan might kill me. I had heard Will grinding his teeth behind her, and Skye screamed every time I got hurt.
I thought fighting multiple vampires in a closed arena was brutal, but battling those dark creatures an hour ago was a thousand times worse.
Though she clearly understood the danger she put me in, Tien had simply watched me battle the Leviathans one by one, never taking her eyes off me as I battled for my life. I was convinced the woman was crazy, which made me wonder if Levi had sent me to her to be tortured, not trained.
Now that it was all over, I just felt like lying on the ground and staying there as my wounds healed at an agonizingly slow rate.
My body was covered in bruises as well, and I limped along behind the group, trying to ignore the large wound on my leg where the last Leviathan’s claw had pierced my calf.
Will remained close to me but had been given a stern warning by Tien not to help me. I needed to learn how to function when my body wanted nothing more than to rest, she had said. Easy for her to say when she wasn't the one slowly bleeding out.
Battling creatures that even Will and Cyrus could not take on alone had drained my powers completely. Killing the Leviathans made me feel stronger, more powerful somehow, though Tien had made it a point to let me know the ones I had killed were all young.
Still, I was proud of myself.
We walked in silence through the forest with her leading the way, her black hair blending into the darkness and shielding her body. As hard as she had been on me, I couldn't help being inspired by her. She oozed strength, and not just physically. She spoke her mind freely—actually, she was blunt and not at all friendly—but I’d ignore that because it was clear I could learn a lot from her.
Despite my aching body, I was eager to meet the other two sisters, but I hoped the others didn’t share her cold personality. One of Tien was enough for me.
“This wasn’t at all what I had imagined after Tor told us about the sisters,” Skye whispered to Cyrus. “What she just did wasn’t training. It was torture.”
“I assure you, none of you have endured actual torture,” Tien said from up ahead. “That was necessary because I needed to know if Elinor was strong enough to survive training with my sisters and me and if she stands a chance against the Vampire Queen.”
“With all due respect, don’t belittle us,” I growled, pulling my leg along the ground. My eyes were blurring, but even so, I pushed on. I refused to allow Tien to treat me or my friends as if we were weaklings. "We might not be as old as you are, but we've all been through a lot."
She didn’t respond right away but just kept walking, which was surprising. I had expected to be hit with one of her barbed responses.
We’d all endured horrible things on this journey—some things that would stay with us forever—and I wouldn’t let her act as if those things hadn’t been difficult.
“I meant no disrespect,” she said after a moment. “You wield a great power, Elinor. But if you don't become stronger, you will die. There is no doubt about that. I'm telling you this so you know the truth and understand what might happen to you. The more power you unlock, the more your mortal body will strain. You could kill yourself."
“A Leviathan could have killed her,” Will grumbled.
"I would not let that happen. When a child is learning to walk, do you rush and pick them up each time they fall? Or do you allow them to get back up and keep walking?"
"No one here has kids," Will argued, and Tien turned to look over her shoulder at him but said nothing.
Well, they won’t become friends anytime soon.
However, I knew she was telling the truth. I just had to think of the way my body had felt in the past whenever I had used my power. Many times before, I’d passed out right after accessing my divinity.
“When you lack control, you put more strain on your body, and your power goes wild,” Tien said when I stopped for a second to catch my breath. “When controlling lightning, has there ever been a time when it felt like it was burning you as well?"
I nodded and lifted my leg. The wound had finally healed enough to stop bleeding. “Yes, that’s happened before.”
“That’s because this body is just a mortal vessel and isn’t strong enough, not yet.” She released a breath and looked up to the starry sky visible through the tree branches. “I’m one of the Nephilim and was born with immense power, but I, too, had to learn control so I wouldn't hurt myself and others. It wasn’t easy; my sisters and I had to make our bodies stronger because creatures like us, Elinor, sometimes die at birth because the flesh we wear isn't enough to contain the power we have."
"I understand," I told her, and her bright eyes narrowed.
“Do you? Because what you just endured is nothing compared to what you’ll experience here. You’ll be broken and remade before we’re done.”
“Stop being dramatic, Tien,” a voice said, and floating violet eyes appeared beside Skye. “I told Angelisa I should have welcomed them instead of you.”
Cyrus pulled Skye to his side, and around the floating pair of eyes, the previously invisible body of a woman materialized out of thin air. Like Tien, she was tall, but she had thick and curly black hair reaching to her calf and gorgeous amber skin that glowed wherever the moonlight touched it.
Her purple eyes faded to black, and she looked at me and smiled wide. Like Tien, she possessed a gem at the center of her forehead, but hers was black.
"It's nice to meet you, White Wolf, and the rest of you as well," she greeted us. "Don't mind my sister. She's forgotten how to be civil." Her eyes fell on Will, and her smile flattened for a second. She arched a brow at Tien, who took a deep breath but said nothing. "Well, I'm Ariel. Our home is just up ahead. You can all freshen up and meet Angelisa.”
Tien turned away and started walking there without us, and Skye, Darian, and Cyrus followed her. Ariel sighed as she looked me up and down. Will remained by my side instead of leaving with the others.
"I had a feeling she’d do something like this. I'm sorry. Tien means well, but she lacks polish.”
“I can hear you,” Tien called from ahead of us. “And what's wrong with being honest and not sugarcoating anything?”
Ariel merely rolled her eyes.
"You can smile at the girl all you want, but later, you'll probably break her back or something while training," Tien said.
My eyes widened, and when Ariel failed to reassure me that Tien was joking, I looked at Will for help. Why did training have to be so brutal? But I already knew the answer to that. In order for my body to gain the strength I would need to defeat the Vampire Queen, I’d have to push it past its previous limits or it would be easily broken.
Ariel’s smile, wide and wolfish, was the kind that caused males to stop and do a double take. Her muscles were more toned than Tien’s, and instead of a staff, she wore a sword in a black scabbard strapped to her side. Both Tien and Ariel looked like warriors, but the short beige top with metal chains that Ariel wore exposed her firm abdominal muscles.
“Angelisa is the healer among us,” Ariel said. “She’ll take care of
your wounds.”
Thank the Goddess!
So we followed the others, walking in silence for fifteen minutes before Tien and the others vanished behind a barrier, much like the one we had passed through to enter their territory.
I closed my eyes as I entered, then opened them to see a lush garden.
It was still nighttime, but I could make out an enormous castle beyond the vast greenery. I could hear running water like a river and chirping insects, and I felt an acute sense of peace. It made sense that they would live like queens. Why wouldn't they make their home as comfortable as possible, since they were trapped here for all eternity?
We made our way through the garden and over a bridge to the castle. Once inside, I stopped in my tracks, speechless. I’d never been in such a beautiful place.
We all watched as a floating, transparent man carrying a pot of flowers appeared from around a corner and began floating up a grand staircase to the second floor.
"The rest of you saw that, right?" Skye whispered.
“Many have tried to find our home over the years and lost their lives fighting the Leviathans,” Ariel answered. “Some of their spirits remain here with us.”
"So we don't kill each other," an unfamiliar voice added, and I turned around to see the third sister making her way towards us.
This sister’s snow-white hair reached the length of Tien’s, and in the center of the unmarred alabaster skin on her forehead, she had a blue gem. Although she was the same height as her sisters, her features were softer. In sharp contrast to the warrior attire her sisters clearly favored, she wore a long white dress that trailed behind her when she walked.
She walked over to me and took my hand. Her hands were warm, and she directed that warmth into me. It ran through my body, healing my wounds in a matter of minutes. I wondered if this was how others felt when I healed them, and when she released my hand, I took a deep breath.