by R. C. Reigh
His eyes went wide and he quickly tossed Amelia out into the courtyard like garbage.
I roared as rage shot through me, and I tore off after him. Adrenaline shot through my veins like a bolt of lightning.
The vampire did the smartest thing he could think of. He ran. I chased, gaining ground with each lope. He turned down an alleyway and his footsteps faltered. It was a dead end. Those few seconds of uncertainty were all I needed.
I barreled toward the vampire, slamming into him with such force that it sent us both tumbling head over heels in a heap of fur, legs, and feet. As we rolled, my jaws snapped at any piece of him I could reach. When we finally stopped, I had him pinned to the cobblestone beneath me.
I ignored his pleas and shrieks, and in a fury of growls and teeth, I tore into him, quickly separating life from limb. With the violent shaking of my head, I shredded him to pieces.
The vampire had been no match for the werewolf in me, but for a human-like Amelia, he’d been a formidable opponent.
Amelia. I had to get to her.
My eyes snapped to where he’d carelessly tossed my princess like a discarded toy. Even from this distance, I could see the tremble in Cora’s shoulders as she toiled over Amelia’s body and worked her magic into her injuries. They needed me.
While my brethren dispatched the remaining vampires, I rushed through the fray. As I neared, I slowed to a stop. I’d need my human side to work my healing magic.
I quickly transformed and swiped my arm over my mouth to wipe away the acrid vampire blood. I stumbled forward still off balance from the shift and the horrific sight of Amelia’s mangled limbs.
Finding the strength in my need to save Amelia, I steadied my feet beneath me.
“Cora, what do you need?” I barked as I quickly grabbed the satchel, pulled on my pants, and knelt beside her.
Amelia
The growling drew nearer and I tried to look, but Cora forced my gaze back to her. Within moments, I began to feel like I could move my jaw.
“Tell me where,” she said frantically.
Her expression was overwhelmed. She looked at me like a puzzle with far too many pieces to ever solve.
“My ribs,” I barely whispered through the gurgling in my throat.
I heard the pad of paws approaching.
I felt drowsy as muffled voices began cutting in and out.
“I’m not sure. . . definitely internal. . . broken ribs. . .” There was a desperation in Cora’s voice. “... maybe a punctured lung. . . I don’t know.”
I couldn’t comprehend the barked out reply I had heard before my eyes met the chaos and anguish in the honey-colored ones that stared back at me. It was Dane.
“Can we move her?” the same voice barked.
“I will do my best to stabilize her,” Cora replied.
She was working tirelessly, even though I knew she didn’t have it in her to fix me. We were running out of time.
I could hear Cora and Dane shouting my name as my eyes flickered closed.
DANE
Cora wasn’t working fast enough. We were losing her.
A low whimper came from over her shoulder. Ivan appeared, carrying Amelia’s amulet in his maw. I knew what he was hinting, and I nodded. As quickly as I could, I grabbed the amulet and strung it around Cora’s neck, tying the broken chain in a knot. Hopefully, it would give her some extra power.
I began assisting Cora by pushing my own healing magic into Amelia’s broken body, but even with the two of us working to heal her, nothing seemed to reverse her injuries. Fear consumed me like floodwaters sweeping across an open plain. A sense of hopelessness shivered through me.
We were losing her.
The amulet began to glow an array of colors. Amelia’s breath hitched as Cora’s magic flew into her at an impossible speed. Maybe it was the surreal state of the desperate moment, but suddenly, her hands began moving faster than humanly possible. Without warning, a massive pulse of energy radiated from Cora, thrusting me backward and leaving her temporarily dazed.
Amelia stirred. With several rapid blinks, I looked down at her in disbelief. Moments ago, she was mortally wounded and clinging to a thread of life, but now she looked as if she’d only been in a scuffle. Those beautiful hazel eyes were wide and alert. They flickered to each of our faces in response to our voices.
“What the hell just happened?” My gaze swung up to Cora, but she shook her head and stared at her hands like they had suddenly grown twenty fingers.
Amelia tried to sit up and quickly pressed her hand to her forehead and winced.
“Amelia, do you think you are well enough for us to move you back to the Bastion?” I asked.
She nodded, and I scooped her up in my arms before glancing over to her cousin. Ivan and Ellis, still in their wolf forms, each supported a dazed-looking Cora under one of her arms and helped her stand.
“Go,” Cora managed to say. “I’m fine. I just need a minute.”
Amelia wrapped her arms around my neck and, without another ounce of hesitation, I hurried away.
“But, the vampires. . . we can’t let them get away. They’ll hurt others. You have to go after them,” she mumbled in her disoriented state.
“They’re all dead,” I grumbled.
“How did you know?” Her eyes had become clearer now, more focused.
“Cora came to me.”
I chanced another glance down at her curious expression as if to reassure myself it was really her in my arms speaking to me and not some kind of dream.
“You came for me,” her voice was almost a whisper as she stared back at me.
All I could do was nod back in reply. I didn’t have time for conversation. I needed to get her back to the safety of the Avonlee tower at the Bastion.
The sound of a pair of boots was closing the distance behind us. With a quick glance over my shoulder, I saw Cora, with Ivan and Ellis still in their wolf forms, as they fell into a pace several yards behind me.
The waiting Bastion guard parted to allow us to pass and I didn’t stop as we entered through the gates. I kept moving, doing all I could not to jostle Amelia around too much.
A flicker of movement near a camellia bush caught my attention. I could just make out the hooded figure lurking in the shadows from the corner of my eye.
Kessara.
That witch was something else. I bet she had come to see what would happen. I doubt it would be to help. I wouldn’t give her that much credit. It was more likely she showed up just to be nosey, spying and sneaking around to confirm that her location spell had worked or our deal would be null. No, she had her own interests. She always did.
I wish I could destroy her.
“Dane,” Amelia’s sweet voice pulled my attention away from the witch. “You need to know what I was doing out there.”
Her hazel eyes looked up at me from under her long lashes as we made our way toward the main building of the Bastion.
“Save your strength,” I hushed.
“But, you need to know,” she pressed.
Of course she would argue.
“Cora and I already figured it out,” I assured her.
“Then you know I went to see Adam, but it’s not what you think.”
She looked alarmed.
“Please, Amelia, we can talk after the healers have seen you. For now, let’s just make sure you are ok,” I tried to convey as much calm and kindness in my voice as possible.
“I promise I wasn’t going back to Adam,” she swore.
“I believe you.”
The sincerity of my tone satisfied her for the moment, and she rested her head onto my shoulder.
Moments later, we arrived back at the tower. The Bastion medics were already waiting in response to the message Cora had sent ahead.
As they ushered her inside, all eyes fell upon me, and I did a quick check to make sure I was wearing pants. Thank gods Cora had the foresight to look out for me there.
Cora, Ellis, and Ivan rushed fo
rward. As Cora stopped to speak with the guard, I dismissed my emissaries to our turret to dress. Cora approached me, still working to catch her breath.
“The school will go on lockdown,” she quickly informed me. “I need to go in and meet with the healers. They will need to know the injuries I saw,” she looked at me nervously for a second before adding, “as well as what happened.”
“Ok. I’ll wait here until my Carpathian guards arrive,” I replied with a ghost of a smile on my lips.
“Thank you, for everything,” Cora said.
We exchanged a knowing expression between us before she trotted up the steps.
The uncertainty of what was going on upstairs was sure to drive me insane, but I forced myself to remain calm. It wasn’t but a few moments later when one of the healers came down the steps. My rush of concern must have been apparent because he held up his hand.
“It’s alright, your grace,” he assured me with a kind smile. “She’s just been asking for you.”
He waved me toward him and the guards parted for me to pass. I cautiously took the first step toward him. He patted my shoulder and pointed the way up to the room where Amelia had been taken.
We still weren’t certain if what Cora had managed to do in the courtyard was enough to save her, so it was with a mix of both relief and anxiety that I began to ascend the steps.
Amelia
My eyes fluttered open. Everything was a blur, like a blanket of thick mist had clouded my vision and muddled my mind. My head felt heavy, and a dull ache coursed throughout my body. The smell of antiseptic and healing tonic overwhelmed my senses before I recognized the din of people moving about my room.
I had no concept of time or how long I had been there, but the dark sky outside the window indicated it was still past nightfall. Which night, I wasn’t sure.
I blinked through the fogginess and slowly my vision began to clear. I noticed the healers bustling about the space before my sight fell on Cora seated to my left. Her eyes were cast downward, scanning her paper as her quill raced across a letter. Movement drew my attention to my right side.
My gaze focused on Prince Dane. Leaning forward in his chair, his elbows propped up on his thighs, as his long fingers rubbed at his weary brown. My eyes lingered on the lines of his face as he sat there, lost in thought. From the deep furrow that creased between his brow I could guess what he was thinking about. An odd sensation overcame me, almost as if I could feel his agony, his regret, his pain.
Suddenly I yearned to end his torment. I gave a feeble attempt to clear my throat, but the sound came out barely audible. Luckily, his wolfish hearing picked up on it anyway, and his head snapped up. His gentle honey eyes searched over me before finally resting on my own. After a few brief moments, he let out a sharp exhale of relief and the tension in his shoulders eased. He shifted toward the bed and his hands twitched as he stifled the reflexive urge to reach out to me.
“Amelia,” he nearly whispered.
“Finally,” Cora drew my attention to the other side of the bed, and I reluctantly tore my gaze from his.
“Can you talk?” she asked.
As I reached toward my throat, I gave my head a little shake.
“Here, drink this,” she said as she held up a chalice to my lips.
I took a small sip as she spoke, “We thought we lost you there for a moment. The healers put you under to treat you. I’ve sent word to your parents and they are on their way to the Bastion. How do you feel?” She didn’t get much else out before we are swarmed by the numerous healers in the room descending upon us.
My eyes found Dane’s again. He stepped back away from the bed to give the healers room to assess me. There was so much I want to tell him. A feeling of urgency was creeping up on me, but with all of the fuss around my bedside, I knew it had to wait.
“Miraculous. . .”
“Impossible. . .”
“I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes. . .”
I could vaguely register the caretaker’s comments as they whisper to one another.
I tried to give Dane a reassuring nod. His bewildered expression managed the faintest hint of a smile in return and it set me at ease. Somehow something was different, and while I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, I could feel it down into my bones.
“It’s truly a miracle, princess. A blessing from the gods,” one of the healers proclaimed as she gently patted my leg. “Just stay here and rest. I will bring over something for the pain.”
Cora’s face smiled back at me next to her.
That was when it dawned on me. I was going to live. Whatever magic my cousin had performed with my amulet had saved my life.
The next hour was a dizzying barrage of questions from the healers and the guards of both the Bastion and Laramidia. I regaled them of the prince’s bravery and how my cousin’s miraculous magic saved my life over and over again.
All the while, Dane and Cora remained faithfully seated beside of me the entire time. By the time the questioning was over and the last healer excused herself to let me get some rest, I’d thanked my cousin so many times that she had finally told me not to mention it again or she’d find a way to undo it. She wasn’t serious, of course, she just wanted to put my mind at ease that she understood how grateful I really was.
Once the room had quieted, I turned to my cousin.
“Cora, could you give us a minute?” I tried to convey the intent in my eyes.
She looked from me to Dane before she rose to her feet and replied, “Finally.”
She chuckled and made her way to the door.
Before opening it, Cora turned back to us with her hand resting on the hilt of her sheathed sword. Without saying a word, she pointedly looked from Dane to the sword and back a few times, as if not uttering a threat to the prince out loud made it any less treasonous.
“Message received,” Dane smiled. “Thank you, Cora.”
She winked before she stepped through the door and quietly closed it behind her.
“First, I wanted to say thank you for coming to my aid.” Dane and I stared at one another awkwardly for a moment. “Without you and Cora, I wouldn’t be alive.”
He nodded as he rubbed his forehead. The idea of my death clearly upset him, but I didn’t want to wait a moment longer, so I continued.
“I owe you an explanation.”
“No, you don’t. We were able to sort it all out from the notes in your room.” There it was again, that ‘we’.
He looked down at my bruised hand that rested on the bed. I knew he wouldn’t dare take it himself so I gently raised and placed it on top of his.
“All the same, I’d like to explain myself,” I said as firm and gently as I could.
“Of course,” he nodded and swallowed as if he were expecting me to say something horrific.
“I didn’t come out to you while on patrol just to tell you about what happened to King Pythios. I came out to give you a reply to your letter.”
His eyes flashed up to mine in full attention.
“But I guess you had already known that, didn’t you? It was why you asked me what the real reason I came there was, and I chickened out.” I sighed before continuing, “When I went back to my room, I knew I had upset you. I was trying to figure out how to fix it when the letter came. I know now it was a trap, but at the time, I saw the opportunity to see Adam as a chance to finally put closure to what I hadn’t had the chance to before. It felt like something I needed to do before I could move on with my life. Which brings me back to your letter. . .”
I stopped for a moment and tried to shift my position to better look at him, but when a twinge of pain caused me to wince, he leapt to his feet.
“What’s wrong? Do you need me to summon a healer?” His eyes were suddenly back to that sea of pain and chaos I’d seen when he and Cora found me in the courtyard beyond the Bastion.
“We shouldn’t be discussing this now. You don’t need this kind of stress.”
“Dane, I’m fine,” I said softly. “Sit down, please.”
He regarded me warily for a few moments before he finally obliged. I waited for him to get settled down into his chair before I began speaking again.
“So, as I was saying, I came to you that night because I wanted to discuss your letter.”
“What was it you wanted to say?” He wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“I came to tell you I was sorry. It was wrong that the first day we met I demanded to be rid of you. I hated the idea of you, but I didn’t know who you really were. I wasn’t even willing to give you a chance. I was so angry that you wouldn’t let me go. I’m sorry.”
“I couldn’t Amelia. We are Fated.” As the words left his lips, an expression of anguish consumed his face.
I stared at him in wide-eyed shock as I let the words tumble around inside my head. It was all starting to make sense now.
“The treaty--” I pressed my eyes closed. “Your father knew, didn’t he?”
He looked down before answering me.
“Yes.”
“How long have you known?” My voice was barely a whisper as I attempted to conceal the emotion behind it.
“The beginning of the school year. The first day we met.” He dragged a hand through his hair.
“Why didn’t you tell me before? I know I would have been upset for a while. . .” I pressed my eyes tightly closed. “But, I would have researched it and processed it in my own way. I would have. . .” I trailed off, uncertain of what to say next.
“I know. I’m sorry,” His words began to rush out, “I understand that you are upset. You have every right to be. My father arrives in the morning. I have already asked him to strike the betrothal from the treaty. I won’t fight you anymore, Amelia. I’ll do whatever you ask.”
His misery and self-loathing were written all over his face. With his elbows resting on the edge of the bed, he dropped his head into his palms.