Run, I had to run, get away from them before they captured me.
“Tristan,” one of the females pleaded, but I backed away faster when she reached for me. “Don’t do this.”
I bared my teeth at her, snapping my jaws in warning before I turned tail and sprinted out the doors, through the stone courtyard, and across the fields, my claws digging into the dirt as I kicked up grass and howled again.
Unbearable pain consumed me the harder I ran. How could I keep living like this? I reached the trees and wove between them, pleading for the agony in my chest to stop. What had happened to me? Why was I being punished like this? I ran blindly, slamming into trees and tripping over roots until I found myself sprawled in the mud amidst bushes and piles of leaves.
I sniffed hard… and paused.
Prey, there was prey close by.
I lifted my head and sniffed again, grunting as I pushed to my feet and stalked through the trees. Hunger. That’s all I felt now.
Hunger…
I paused for a moment, a whisper of a word drifting close to my ears but didn’t understand the words.
I was a predator of the night, nothing more.
And out there was the one thing that would sate my hunger.
20
Sabella
I felt fuzzy. Strange somehow. And I couldn’t see anything. Voices surrounded me, but I recognized none of them. I listened closely and heard them mention a king and gods. There’d been a fight and every voice I heard rang with the loss. I tried to remember, but there were no memories for me to find. Nothing.
Light glowed behind my eyelids, and other sensations eventually came to me.
I was lying on something soft, and the air was pleasantly warm.
Crying, someone cried close by and squeezed my hand. I wanted to squeeze back, but my hand ignored the command.
Someone else kissed my forehead and tears splashed wetly on my face. Another and then another person touched their fingers to my forehead as they said goodbye. Why were they all so sad? Where was I going?
“I never thought I would like you,” another female voice whispered roughly, “but you gave your life to save the pack, save our alpha. That makes you our beta, and our queen, in life and death.”
Those words hit me hard, and I expected my lips to part on a gasp, but they remained closed.
“We can’t let him stay out there,” a man said, his words filled with sadness. “I refuse to let him be another taken by the curse.”
“There’s no use. His mind is lost.”
“He is our alpha. He would never just abandon us, so we can’t abandon him.”
“Nothing can bring him back to us, just like… just like we lost Sabella,” another said harshly.
That name. Why did I know that name? And who were they talking about? An alpha. Whoever this person was, they all loved him dearly. My heart ached being surrounded by their pain. I wanted to help them somehow. I felt my fingers twitch the longer I concentrated on moving, but none of the voices stopped their heated discussion about their missing alpha. He was hurting, broken. I had to help.
Why?
The voice inside my mind confused me. Why wouldn’t I help? That’s who I was, right?
Who are you?
My name… what was my name?
“I’m not staying here, I can’t, not while he’s out there.”
“And what are you going to do, huh? What? He’s given in to the curse. There’s no breaking that. He’s doomed to wander as a mindless beast for the rest of his days.”
No… there’s a way… yes, there is.
How did the voice know that? Or did I know it? My fingers twitched again. I was here to help these people. I knew I was. My purpose was… was what? I’d been sent to them. These people, these voices, I knew them all, didn’t I?
Who are you?
I was… I was… it slipped from my mind, and I wanted to scream in sudden frustration.
“Tristan will come back to us, I know he will,” a woman said.
That name. It hit me harder than the first, and I dug through the mess that was my head, trying to put a face to that name. He was important, their alpha. The alpha of the pack and I was something to them, too. Here to help, that’s all I could remember. I had to help them. They needed me before the end. The darkness was still coming for us all, and the worst monster yet was soon to rise…
“Baladon will be coming after the gods we saved,” a man growled. “Our focus has to be on keeping them safe and figuring out how to end this nightmare. They have returned to the few realms untouched by him, but if Baladon still has the gateway, once he recovers from Sabella’s attack, he’ll just go after them again. We have to destroy him.”
“How?” a woman snapped.
Yes, how indeed?
I cursed the voice and its useless questions.
“The riddle Sabella told us, that has to be the key, but without her, I’m not sure we can decipher its meaning.” The woman who spoke sniffed hard and I heard a man comforting her quietly. “I’m sorry, I just can’t accept it’s going to end like this for them. It’s not supposed to. They’re meant to be together, not one dead and the other cursed.”
“Life isn’t fair, we of all people should know that,” a man said bitterly. “Come on, we should leave her be until tomorrow. The whole pack will be gathered then, as well as all the others who will come to mourn in Torolf.”
No, no, they were leaving.
I begged for my hands to move, my mouth to open, but the steps left one by one, and then a door closed. The silence fell heavy around me like a blanket. Was this really it? I was forced to lie here and listen to their despairs, but not be able to do anything about it?
What are you going to do, Sabella?
Sabella. That name sounded so familiar, but was it really mine? The question was repeated over and over again until I mentally screamed for it to stop. I knew exactly what I was going to do. I was going to fight, fight for these people, fight for all of them. I’d been sent to them for a reason, and my job was far from over yet.
My fingers twitched, and then I was able to lift my hands, one after the other. Muscles groaned in protest as they came alive and a white light filled my mind, shooting through my body. With a gasp of air, I shot upright, and my eyes opened wide.
Flickering candlelight filled the room giving it a soft glow. This room, it looked familiar, the rich tapestries on the walls and the rugs and furs on the floor. The bed itself was soft and warm with more furs piled around me. Why did I know this place? I waited for the voice to taunt me again, but it was silent.
Gingerly, my bare toes touched the stones, and after a few wobbly seconds, I managed to stand upright. I wore black breeches and a loose black blouse, my hair hanging around my shoulders. The sleeves were crusted with something, so was the middle of the shirt and there were several rips in the fabric. I’d worn these before, hadn’t I? Knew what my hair looked like as it ran through my fingers.
Images of me and another in this room flitted in and out of my mind’s sight. Each time I tried to focus on them more, they vanished, and I frowned in annoyance, taking a few cautious steps forward. Each one seemed to return my strength to me, and I managed to make it to the door, sagging against it. Those voices, they’d drifted much further away than I expected. It took almost all the strength I had to open the door, and I stumbled out into the corridor. Empty. I opened my mouth, trying to call out, but all that came out was a croak.
I breathed deeply, feeling that white light fill me again and used the wall to support me as I found my way down the corridor. Black banners were draped over several paintings I passed, also over the mirrors in this stone palace. They moved me here… I was sure of it.
Before… before there’d been glass, but still, this place was familiar to me. More black silks hung over the railings.
I found myself at a set of stairs, but still met no one else. The air was heavy with sadness, and I urged my feet to move faster.
How I knew where to go, I wasn’t sure, but let my instincts guide me. The castle was my home, somehow, I knew that to be true, but nothing else came to me yet. The voices I’d heard in my room drifted to my ears again, and I found myself outside a set of double wooden doors. They were just on the other side.
Now is your time, Sabella, the voice whispered as I reached for the handles. Show them who you are. Show them what you are made of. Prove that there is light in the darkness.
Arms straining, I shoved open the doors. They swung inward soundlessly, but the voices stopped one after the other as the familiar faces all turned to stare at me. One by one, their eyes widened, or their jaws dropped. There were a few gasps, a curse, and a chair fell over as one of the women leapt to her feet and rushed toward me.
“Sabella. You… you’re alive.”
She hugged me hard and then I was surrounded by them all. They hugged me and kissed my forehead, looks of disbelief on their faces, asking me what happened.
I shook my head after they guided me to a chair and sat me down.
“I’m sorry,” I finally managed to get out, “but I don’t know who Sabella is.”
The woman who hugged me first shot a worried glance at one of the men as he reached out and took her hand. “You’re Sabella. A seer.”
“And the beta of this pack,” another woman stated proudly. “And our queen. You have to remember.”
“The name sounds familiar,” I admitted, “so does this place, but… nothing else is coming to me.” I took in every face staring down at me and willed myself to know who they were, but my mind was a blank. “I do know I’m here to help you. That man you spoke of, the alpha, you need him back, right?”
A few of them exchanged hopeful glances as the woman with fascinating green eyes nodded.
She reached for my hands and held them securely. “His name is Tristan, and though you don’t remember, he means a great deal to you. To all of us.”
“What happened to him?”
“He left because he thought… he believed the woman he loved was dead.”
I frowned. “That’s horrible. Is she?”
Tears shimmered in her eyes as she laughed warmly. “No, no somehow she isn’t, but he doesn’t know that, and now he’s in danger of being lost to us forever. There was a curse, and he’s forgotten who he is.”
Could I bring him back? All he needed to know was this woman, she was alive. I stood, nodding firmly at them all. “I’ll find him, and I’ll bring him back.”
“How are you going to do that?” she asked worriedly.
I opened my mouth to explain then shut it again, tilting my head. I wasn’t sure how to explain it myself, but I smiled at them all. “I just will.”
Then I turned on my heel and strolled for the door.
“Wait, Sabella,” she called, but I couldn’t waste time.
They needed this man back for the final battle. That much I knew for certain. I was here to help and to get him back. I picked up my pace and then I was running, out of the castle, through the front gate, passing more people who gasped and muttered in astonishment. I wanted to stay and reassure them all their alpha would be returned to them, but the light inside me spurred me on until I was nothing, but a blur of white light in the darkness.
I streaked through the shadows, slicing through them like a knife as my bare feet barely touched the ground. I felt lighter than air, my red hair whipping out behind me like a living flame. I cut right, then left, jumping over low hanging limbs and laughing at the sheer thrill of being so alive.
The hair on my arms rose, and I slowed my pace, the light making me glow amongst the trees. Something was close… something large.
I peered into the trees and saw one shadow detach itself. The beast walked on four legs, and when it crept closer, I carefully raised my hand to shed more light on it. It growled fiercely, not backing down, and I admired the dark brown and red fur of the great wolf before me.
I waited for him to attack me, but he only growled in warning to keep me away.
“You,” I whispered softly, sliding a bit closer, “you’re the one they lost.”
He shook out his shaggy head, ears flattening against his skull as I took another step.
His eyes flared yellow, and I paused as a new memory slammed into me.
I gasped for air, seeing those eyes in another time… and on another face. A man’s face.
I blinked, catching sight of the wolf for another few seconds before more memories struck me.
I staggered backward, again and again, holding a hand to my aching chest as I struggled to understand them all.
Do you know now?
That voice… my mother. Tears sprang to my eyes as I felt her hand cup my cheek for a moment before it was gone. She died.
My mother died and I…
I was Sabella.
When I lifted my head this time and met the wary gaze of the wolf, I failed to blink back the tears at the lack of recognition in that face. A face I knew all too well.
“Tristan,” I whispered, knowing this was all my fault. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
The fight and rescuing the gods. I’d been hurt, badly. They thought I was dead.
I remembered saying goodbye to him as my eyes closed for what we both thought was the last time. I lifted my hand, and he snarled, flashing those teeth at me. I swallowed back any doubt in mind that he would hurt me and moved closer.
“Tristan, you have to come back to me,” I said sternly as tears streamed down my cheeks. “Please. Your pack still needs you, and I… I can’t do this without you.”
His deep growl rumbled through his chest, but his feet stayed planted.
“I know you’re in there. That curse? You can break it, you’re stronger than it. I know you are.” My fingers brushed along the side of his face, and I wanted to sag in relief against him, but stopped myself. “What we have together, that’s stronger. I know you believe it so please just come back to me. Please.”
He blinked and started to step back.
My heart sank, thinking I’d lost him, but then he grunted, and his whole body shuddered.
He threw his head back, howling into the night, and shifted right before my eyes until I wasn’t staring at Tristan the wolf, just the man.
He blinked furiously as he tentatively reached out a hand to my cheek.
I leaned into his touch, and he cursed before he wrapped me up in his arms and kissed me.
“You were dead,” he whispered against my lips. “I saw you die in my arms.”
“Guess I was right,” I said.
He frowned.
“The god part of me is stronger than we both thought.”
He kissed me again with a growl, and I sank into the warmth of his arms.
“I forgot everything,” he murmured. “Then I saw this light and… Sabella, you’re still glowing.” He stepped back just enough to stare down at me. “Why?”
“Something about fully awakening my godly powers,” I said simply, not getting into everything Farrah had told me before she died. “Sacrifice and all that.”
We held each other beneath the trees, not willing to let the other one go.
“I should get you back to the castle,” I said after a while. “I promised everyone I would bring you back to them.”
“I’m sure you scared them all, walking around after you were supposed to be dead.”
I cringed. “I wasn’t exactly myself when I came back, either.”
His arm remained around my shoulders and mine around his waist as we took our time walking through the trees, leaning into one another and not needing to say a word.
Was there still a war to fight? Yeah, there was, but none of that mattered.
I had died, or at least, come close enough to death as a half-god could get. I knew that, and Tristan had nearly been lost to the curse. All I cared about as we moved through the never-ending night was staying close to one another.
The castle was in view, and I he
ard Kate and Craig bellowing my name as well as horses being gathered outside the gate.
“Looks like they’re ready to send out a search party for you,” Tristan teased. “What am I going to do with you, Red? Always causing so much trouble in my realm.”
I shrugged and stood on my toes to kiss him again. “What can I say? It’s a gift, and at least you made it back to your realm. Otherwise, I would’ve been chasing you down in Silver Valley somewhere.”
He laughed until his brow furrowed, and he stared up at the sky. “What is that?”
“What?”
I leaned my head back as he pointed at the light growing larger overhead.
At first, I thought it was the darkness receding, but we hadn’t weakened Baladon that much, had we?
Then the light shot across the sky, crashing toward to the ground, and aiming for the castle.
Tristan shifted, and I climbed onto his back, digging my hands into his fur as he took off. I kept my eyes locked on that light as it slammed down, preventing me from seeing the castle and everyone who stood outside its walls.
Tristan’s paws dug in deeper, and I hunkered lower as he bolted.
Just as we pulled up short and he shifted back, the bright light of day dimmed until I saw a figure standing in front of Forrest.
Mori had returned, clear in the full glory of how she’d been before she’d been taken by Baladon.
Forrest was stunned into silence by her beauty, and I couldn’t blame him.
She was magnificent, and when she glanced around, her eyes were filled with stars from a night sky that I hadn’t seen in too many days.
Her skin was luminescent, and her silver hair trickled with more stars, dripping to the ground at her feet.
Tristan squeezed my hand as if to ask why she was here, but I was just as lost as everyone else.
“You,” she said as she forced her gaze back to Forrest.
“Mori?” Forrest asked in a breath. “You’ve come back. Why?”
Tristan and I cautiously stepped closer as she reached out to Forrest as if to calm him.
Visions (Dragon Reign Book 7) Page 17