by Sara Snow
Once we stepped through the pillars that took us back to the waiting world, I felt the familiar tension return as we all went on high alert.
As we left the world of the Nephilim Sisters behind, we paused for a moment, opening our senses to see if there was any danger close by.
When we neither smelled nor heard anything amiss, we began our journey back through the forest Tor had guided us through. We walked for hours without stopping, passing where we had camped the night we had met the centaurs.
Although we didn’t cross paths with the centaurs again, something told me they were okay, at least for now. Though I’d only briefly met Tor, I knew he’d do everything in his power to protect his people from being killed or used for food.
After hours of walking, the sun set and we stopped for the night. The next day, we’d pass through the town we'd helped, and then, the day after that, we should reach the pack. I was eager to see my family and learn what progress they'd made with persuading the other species to help us.
At this point, I doubted it would take much convincing. Vampires were targeting all the species, but none had the power to fight them alone.
Hours later, I stared up at the stars, unable to sleep even though Cyrus was the one on watch.
Beside me, Skye snored softly, and it reminded me of the night we had spent like this before reaching the sisters’ territory. For most of the others, it had been less than a week ago, but for me, four years had passed since that night. I closed my eyes after a moment and welcomed sleep as Darian took over from Cyrus. I awoke to the sun shining brightly overhead, and once we were all ready, we continued on our way.
Will’s cloak covered him from head to toe, a symbol of his return to the shadows. My heart ached to see him in hiding once more. I reached out and brushed my hand against his side, and he moved his cloak back to take my hand in his.
We made it to the town at noon, and the people welcomed us, thanking us once again for our help.
“Welcome back,” Sybil called, making her way through the crowd surrounding us. “I wasn’t expecting to see you all again so soon.”
“We’re just passing through,” I told her as the crowd led Skye and the others to a tavern for food and something to drink before we continued. “Heading back to my pack.”
“The Blackmoon Pack, right?”
I hadn’t told her the name of my pack when we had first arrived, so I looked at her sideways. “How did you know?”
“Faelen," she answered. "I spoke to our Queen just before Faelen visited her to ask for her help. Faelen had spoken of you, the white wolf of the Blackmoon Pack. You’re the daughter of the Alpha.”
I nodded, looking around the town. Many buildings still showed damage from the attack and were under repair. I stared at a burnt patch on the ground where they created a bonfire to burn the dead.
“I am, yes,” I answered. “I’m a firstborn.”
"So am I." Sybil looked around the town as well, her dark, curly hair peppered with a little gray braided down her back. "I know what's asked of werewolf firstborns who are women. You become Lunas more often than not, with the sole aim of strengthening an Alpha’s bloodline." She looked at me. "It's the same for witches. But I wanted to become a coven leader, not a warlock's wife."
"Kindred spirits," I chuckled, and she did, too.
She began leading me towards the tavern when a little girl ran in front of me. She threw herself against my leg, and I placed a hand atop her thick auburn hair. It was the little human girl I'd healed.
"You're back!" She looked up at me while still attached to my leg.
“I am.” I bent down and poked her stomach. “Staying out of trouble?”
She looked at Sybil. “I’m trying to.”
I laughed at her honesty, and so did Sybil. "Good."
We stayed in the town a little longer than we had planned, but it was hard to move on quickly. It had even been more brutal to say goodbye this time. Eventually, we left and continued on our silent journey through the evening.
“That felt good just now.” Skye looked back at Will and me, then at Cyrus by her side. “It felt good to help those people.”
“It was,” I agreed, my hand in Will’s.
He had stayed just outside town, even though he still had a heartbeat and Angelisa’s spell to cloak his scent was still working. He had done his part that night to help and deserved to be thanked as well. One day, I hoped he wouldn't have to hide, but I knew other species would hate vampires even more after this war than they had before it.
Our journey back wasn't as rushed as when we first headed this way, so it took us some time to get to the spot in the forest where Vivian had revealed herself to me and what she was to Will.
As the others continued on, I stopped.
I bent down at a patch of black earth and looked around at the countless others. My lightning bolts had scorched the grass and trees in the area as well. I exhaled, remembering how I had almost killed Will—and Cyrus, as well. It was funny how people looked at me as lucky, as gifted. Some maybe even wished they could do what I did, but none of them had a clue how hard it was.
Will stopped beside me, and the others followed suit some distance away when they realized we weren’t following them.
“Elinor?" Darian called, and I held a hand up.
“Just a minute.”
I closed my eyes and listened to the voice of the earth. It didn't take long for me to hear, and I gasped at its pain. I reached down, laying my hand flat on the burned soil, fanning the spark of life buried deep down where my lightning hadn’t reached. I wasn't creating it, just giving it a nudge to grow.
I lifted my hand, and flowers sprouted from beneath the soil. Roots climbed up broken trees, and within a few minutes, life had returned to the forest.
I stood up, smiling at the soft whispers in the wind. The earth’s voice no longer sounded sorrowful, and I exhaled with relief. I looked up at Will, and he cupped my cheek, wiping at a tear I hadn’t realized was there.
We rejoined the others, and Skye stood up from touching the petal of a flower that had bloomed right before her eyes.
“That was amazing,” she gushed, and Cyrus placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Thanks, I needed to do that. I could hear the earth's pain, and it was my fault.”
“How did you do that?” Darian stared without blinking at the life blossoming before his eyes and released a slow breath. “I didn’t know you could do that.”
"I can do a lot now," I told him smugly, and he bobbed his head.
We walked well into the night before stopping to make camp. Sybil made sure we were supplied with food, so we ate well before putting out the fire and settling for the night. By tomorrow at this time, I'd be with my pack.
"What was it like?" Skye turned on her side, and I did the same, facing her. "Training with the sisters, I mean."
“Hard.” I didn’t have to think too hard to answer. “They’re fierce in battle, that’s for certain. Tien was right. Just as they had promised, they did indeed break me, but also they made me into something new—something better."
"Did years really go by while you were in there? You look different for sure, but it's hard to wrap my head around the idea."
I turned onto my back in time to see a shooting star rush across the sky. “Yeah, years went by. During my first year with Ariel, I had . . . not forgotten, but managed to push aside everything that had happened here, in my world.”
"That's understandable, I suppose."
I turned my head back to look at her. "I cried after my training ended that year and only a day had passed here. I wanted more than anything to come out and hear that everything was already over."
Skye placed a hand on her belt lying between us, her swords strapped to it. "I understand that. For the few days we were with the sisters, I felt less weighed down by everything going on, by everything that had happened." She closed her eyes, and her voice cracked. "But I miss her. I miss my mother so much.
"
Reaching out, I placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know you do."
She shook her head, her lips curving with a sad smile. “She’d love to see me messing around with swords again.”
“I remember her carving us wooden ones when we were children. I’d forgotten about you having a thing for swords and daggers.”
“I’d forgotten it, too,” she admitted. “I’d found a new love for nursing. I think Angelisa spelled these so I'd learn to use them quickly—not that I'm mad about that. I never really had any proper training.”
"I don't remember that," Cyrus said. He was sitting close to Skye. "Really? Ms. Clementine made us wooden swords?"
I sat up, and so did Skye. "It was before you arrived at the pack," she told him. "We begged her for days, and she eventually gave in."
He looked away to stare at the smoke rising up from the campfire. No one spoke, and I lost myself in the past.
"Where had you met a Leviathan before?”
We all looked across the fire at Darian. He had aimed the question at Will, who sat behind me.
"You said you fought one once before and almost died."
I was curious to know as well, but I couldn’t believe Darian addressed Will directly and without hostility. Skye and I looked at each other, and our mouths fell open in surprise. She obviously had the same thought.
"I met one when I was a newborn vampire, fifteen years after the Queen turned me."
“What happened?” I probed, always eager to hear stories from his past.
“By that time, the Leviathans were already few and well on their way to becoming the stuff of legend. The war with them happened before my time.” His eyes twinkled with the ghosts of his past, then he frowned. "There was a General before me, Cassius. He could change into anyone or any creature as long as he possessed something of theirs, preferably hair or skin. We were out scouting when two Leviathans attacked us. At the time, there was an animal called an Epicyon. They were gigantic wolves, nearly the size of a bear. They're now extinct, but he was able to transform himself into one."
“Really?” Skye asked. “A normal wolf the size of a bear?”
"Yes, a normal wolf," Will said. "Back then, the creatures that roamed the earth preyed on every species, including vampires. They were that large and deadly, so even humans were bigger and stronger than they are now—they had to be to survive. Well, we were each fighting a Leviathan when a third appeared after Cassius killed his. The Leviathan was on him before he knew it and ripped his head clean off.”
Will shook his head. “I had just barely survived killing the one I had. I ran, knowing I probably wouldn't survive. But the moment Cassius died, my . . . Queen Amythia had sensed it and arrived on the scene. She killed the third Leviathan before it could kill me.”
“I'm guessing it didn't take much effort for her to kill it, right?" Skye mumbled under her breath.
I placed a hand on my stomach as I felt a sudden cramp.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked me.
A horrible taste surfaced in my mouth.
“She’s turning green!”
I scrambled to my feet, and everyone else did, too. I ran off, trying to hold down the vomit that was rapidly rising up my throat. My throat burned as I expelled all the food I'd eaten, my stomach cramping painfully. I sagged against a tree and let it all go.
Will held my hair back and rubbed circles on my back while the others stood by. A few minutes passed before I stopped throwing up, and I wiped at my mouth as I stood up. “Goddess.”
“You’re probably still recovering from being possessed by the Goddess,” Cyrus said as Will led me back to camp. “Maybe healing the earth wasn’t such a good idea.”
“Too late now,” I mumbled as I sat down, my hand on my chest. I desperately needed a glass of water, even if it was just to rid myself of the rancid taste in my mouth.
Darian growled, and I stopped dead as his eyes turned black. He was staring at Will, his eyes darting back and forth between Will’s hand on my shoulder to my face. I got to my feet as Darian hunched forward, his teeth elongating, and another growl escaped his lips.
“Darian, what do you think you’re doing?”
He didn’t answer but just snarled at Will.
“Darian!”
He started shifting, and we all backed away. His skin ripped and his bones broke as he fell to his knees. I was so confused by what was happening, my legs still weak from throwing up, that I could only watch in horror.
Will vanished from my side, and as Darian shifted into his first form, he went running after him.
My legs moved without my command, my blood rushing in my eyes as they darted through the trees. “Darian!”
He caught up to Will, and they both fell to the ground. I shifted as Skye and Cyrus stood to the side, unsure of what to do. Will wasn't fighting back and was only doing what he could to get Darian off him. Darian, however, was ripping into Will with everything he had.
I wasn't sure what had gotten into Darian, but I would not let him hurt Will. In my final form, I closed the space between us and barreled into Darian, knocking him off Will.
Hurting Darian wasn't what I wanted either, but I had to put an end to this. I snarled at him as he got to his feet, warning him to calm down, and he growled back, his black wolf brimming with fury. It was as if a fire was lit inside him that would only go out by killing Will.
As an Alpha-born, I was born with the power to command other wolves, and I tapped into it. I snarled at Darian, and my body shook with dominance. I heard Skye whimper somewhere behind me, affected by it as well, and Darian crumbled to the ground.
He shifted back into his human form, and I waited to see if he'd attack Will again. He didn't. He looked as shocked as we were as he looked me up and down. I shifted into my human form, my breathing labored as I glared at him.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
He held his head as he got to his feet. He looked at Will and then at me before closing his eyes. “He—he attacked you. I saw him attack you.”
“What are you talking about? You attacked him!” Skye shouted, but Will and I shared a knowing look.
“I know what I saw!” Darian yelled. “He—” He shook his head. “I know what I saw.”
"I believe you," I told him, and his hand fell to his side. "You were hallucinating. You saw your greatest fear just now."
“What’s going on?” Cyrus was already on guard, his eyes turning to black. “Is it who I think it is?”
“Yes.” A wound on Will’s cheek healed as he looked around the forest. “My brother’s near.”
Skye's swords, which she’d had the foresight to grab, glowed, and the stench of vampires drifted to us in the wind. Will hissed as he turned in a circle. If Cain was near, we were in for a fight.
“We need to go.” Cyrus’s wings appeared, their red feathers bright despite the darkness.
But Will shook his head. "If my brother's close, it's too late. We can't run."
23
Elinor
I watched as Cyrus’s crimson wings flapped high above the trees.
I swallowed hard but not out of fear of the coming danger, even if it was Will's brother. This would be the first time I'd use my abilities since training with the sisters, and if we could get Cain out of the way now, it would be better for us once we attacked the Queen.
Skye's swords were glowing bright blue on my left, becoming brighter the closer the vampires got. She swiped the blades through the air, looking every bit of the warrior she was. It was hard to believe she had changed so much in only four days. I was proud of her. She looked at me, nodding, and I did the same as our eyes changed to black at the same time.
My wolf was howling because I could now hear trampling footsteps rushing towards us.
Will’s red eyes were scanning the forest as Darian shifted into his final form. Darien’s body shook as he growled a threat that rolled through the woods, and Cyrus flew back down to the ground.
<
br /> "There are too many of them," he said as he walked over to us, his wings vanishing as his gray eyes changed to red.
He very rarely used the power he received from his father. Usually, his eyes were black, signifying his normal demon side, but once they turned red like the Demon King, he meant business.
It was a side of himself he detested because of his strained relationship with his father, but judging by the footsteps and the pungent stench in the air, the situation called for it.
“How many?” Skye asked him, and Cyrus turned to stare into the darkness within the forest.
“Over fifty, vampires and the Resurrected alike.” He turned to us. “We’re surrounded.”
Will hissed. “I should have killed Cain when I had the chance. We don’t have a choice but to fight.” He removed his cloak and allowed it to fall to the ground. “All of you need to keep your mental barriers up, or my brother will use your fears against you—and the rest of us.”
"Can you take him?" Cyrus asked, and Darian's towering wolf held his head back to sniff the air.
Will's lips parted, revealing his fangs as they elongated. "I spared him once before, but now I won't have to. Just leave my brother to me. The rest of you, fight your way out of here.”
"You've lost your mind if you think I'm leaving you behind," I growled, and Will's jaws clenched at my defiance.
His skin paled as he changed into his vampire form. Black veins appeared on his arms and neck up to his cheeks and below his eyes, and his cheekbones became a little more pronounced. His nails grew to the length of his fingers, and he stepped away from us.
“Fine,” he said, the word coming out as a hiss. “But it’ll do you all some good to put some distance between yourselves and my brother.”
As my fingers tingled with electricity, I stepped a safe distance away from the others. I held my hand up, and the sky above opened at my command. A lightning bolt struck me, and I consumed it, closing my eyes as I allowed it to course through my body. My claws elongated, and my eyes reopened, turning from black to white.
It made no sense for me to wait to call on my divinity. The more power I used, the quicker this fight would end.