And I was the Chosen One.
***
Illarion
Everything happened so fast. The crash of power from Troy, the wave of destruction from Dalca and the opening of the portal by Ace.
As all five of us were thrown up into the air, we hovered dangerously close to the Source that now reacted and bent toward Ace.
Alex and Matt shouted for us to link hands and stop from being sucked away from each other, I gripped Aces and Troy’s and drew us as close together as possible.
There was no time to think, the portal was getting wider and the destruction that would come with it made my heart fall through the floor.
Dalca was shouting something I couldn’t understand, and Ace and Troy had determined expressions.
The seven soldier army was rooted underneath us, staring up at the Source and the light we were caught in.
Ace shouted to Troy and together they formed a new barrier, one Dalca couldn’t get out of. She was reaching down for the light and all I could think was that this didn’t seem right. It was too convenient, all of us here, at this very moment…no, it had to mean something more.
The warrior’s blood will open the door and in the morrow the battle will soar.
She died. It was her blood that opened this. But it wasn’t right. Something didn’t make sense.
Only when the door is sealed can the human race be healed.
We had to close it, I knew that, I saw the carnage enveloping the world as though I was seeing it through Ace’s eyes, the future, the destruction of everything on this world, not just us, not just Sensitives. Everyone would suffer…
The Dark and the Light will soon be one and there in the quiet the chosen one will come.
Dalca and Ace fought against each other. His Light and her Darkness were colliding. Even now as the end was so evident, he was relentless, and she was more determined than ever.
This couldn’t be it, there was no way they’d have put her through all of this only for her life to be taken again. There was no sense in it.
But with each second that passed and pull of energy from her, my heart sped up and my mind raced.
Warrior, lover, protector and friend, with their love it will finally end. I looked around the them. Matt and Alex, Troy and Ace…
Then, it slammed into me like the answer had been there all along. And in a way, I guess it had.
Operation Lullaby—I was her protector, I was the warrior, it was my blood that brought her back, it would be my love as her friend and lover to end this. It was me. They only needed to be here to complete the link, but it was me, it had always been me.
Alex shouted words I couldn’t hear because right now, the blood rushing in my head was all that sounded, and my own, forceful mantra, keep going, whatever it takes, her life above yours.
This was it. This was Operation Lullaby, it’s what it had always been about.
It was never about her life ending, it was never about keeping her safe for her sacrifice to one day come.
It was always about me.
It was about my sacrifice.
It was about this moment.
It was what I could do to keep her alive.
Warrior, lover, protector and friend, with their love it will finally end—protect her at all costs, her life above yours.
As the power around us surged and Ace’s final breaths were being stolen from her body, I reached into my pocket and retrieved the vial of Celestial blood and as the Source spread out in icy white tendrils coiling around her and Alex, Troy and Dalca, I closed my eyes and forced my mind to focus on her.
It all happened quickly after that.
Troy, understanding exactly what I was doing, brought himself closer to me and pushed Ace out of the way and as she screamed for me to get back, she reached out for Dalca’s hand, but I couldn’t let her do this.
This wasn’t her job. This wasn’t her time. Troy knew and he was doing everything in his power to let me do my job.
I forced myself forward between them and gripped Troy’s hand and Dalca’s.
‘No, Ila!’ She cried as the Source turned from her and reached out for me instead. ‘No, please, Ila, please don’t!’
And in the final moments, I kept my eyes focused on her beautiful ones, the Source coiled and tightened and with each blinding pulse, I could see her a little less but I’d committed her beauty to memory, I’d committed the love I shared and felt and would never know with another woman, to my heart.
‘No, Ila!’ She cried again. ‘Please, no!’
Troy gave me a knowing look and before linking me and Dalca to him, he turned his face to Ace and smiled.
Then, the Source surged one final time and in a burst of brilliant energy, it coiled around our hands where all three of us were joined.
Alex launched himself towards her and caught her in his arms. My heart slowed, as she screamed and cried but as our eyes connected for a brief moment, I knew Alex would love and protect her and I knew without a doubt, she would be safe now.
A scream was pulled from my lips as the burning intensified and I felt all the pain of a thousand centuries racing through the Source into me. I clamped my eyes shut and held myself together. Dalca bucked and shouted, but Troy’s grip was as tight as mine. There was no way I would fail. I squeezed tighter and ensured the bastard would never be free.
And with us at its center, the Source fired outward exploding with powerful uncontained energy and just before the portal closed, I opened my eyes and looked to Ace, smiling at the most perfect and caring woman whom I had ever had the privilege to love.
“Lyubov. I’ll always be with you.”
To be continued…
About the Author
Violeta M. Bagia is an author from Melbourne. She has a multitude of great ideas and very limited time to execute them all.
While her primary focus is writing about the worlds you love to read about, she is also completing her Master of Literature with hopes of completing her PhD in the near future.
Although she works and writes full time, she still manages to find time to hike and explore and spend copious amounts of time searching for the best scones in Victoria – so far, it’s Olinda Café!
She is now represented by Elephant Tree Publishing and her new young adult book, volume one in the Ceoran Chronicles, The Reaper’s Descent is due to hit shelves in March 2020.
Keep watching the space on her website to find out more.
More from this author
If you enjoyed this book, don’t forget to check out the other titles in the Hart of Darkness series:
Birth of The Darkness
Ace of Hart
King of Hart
Queen of Hart
Jack of Hart
And for YA readers, Volume 1 of the Ceoran Chronicles, The Reaper’s Descent is coming in March 2020 with Elephant Tree Publishing.
To keep up to date with news, you can find Violeta M. Bagia online:
w: violetambagia.com
f: Violeta M. Bagia
i: violeta.m.bagia_writer
t: @vmb_author
Acknowledgements
This book has a really special place in my heart. I had a really clear idea of where I wanted to go and what I wanted to say and for me, that became the driving force behind it.
Ace had a story to tell and I couldn’t let her down. The best part of writing something that has so many layers and so many dimensions, is that I can go on the journey and explore every aspect without fearing the dreaded word count.
So, you would have noticed that this one is substantially larger than the rest and that’s because after a few years of deliberation, cutting and editing and deciding whether I wanted to make this into two books, I realized that it would never work.
Jack of Hart and my Wild Card had a bigger story to tell than I originally thought, and this is the organic ending to this book.
It was the ending I needed to write and the one I needed to tell.
; I’m glad you’ve come along on this journey and trusted me with your emotions and heart and I’m so sorry for breaking it!
But, with great power comes great responsibility, and if you trust me one more time for Royal Flush Six, I promise I’ll make it up to you.
And as always, it takes a small army to make a book happen, in no particular order, these are the superheroes who helped bring this book to life:
Vanessa, my covers are everything I’ve ever imagined. Louise, you seriously know how to motivate me like no one else. And to my friend, Luke Maxitanis for your endless army and military knowledge. Thank you for helping me and thank you for your service to our country!
Thank you to my parents who are always supporting me and having conversations about my characters as if they were real people and thank you to my husband who always believes in me and my endeavors no matter how far I’m reaching into the sky!
Until next time, thank you and excelsior!
Jack of Hart- Wild Card Page 57