by Marian Tee
Lysander could feel that something was badly wrong, but time was running out on him. In the end, all he could do was look at her. I'll come back. Wait for me.
She gave him a wobbly smile. Waited for him to go before she let herself answer.
I can't.
It was time for her to leave.
Forsythe Industries was an old and abandoned factory, its existence deleted from human history because of its remarkable similarities to the many failures and casualties associated with Chernobyl. It made a lot of sense for the vampires to establish its base there...except for one thing.
"As Alain had pointed out," Domenico said, "Ivy had eluded capture all these years by avoiding places frequented by her kind. From what we know of her, she's also a creature of habit like most of her race is. For her to suddenly change M.O.s is highly suspicious to say the least, hence the joint operation between my pack and the Faes."
At the Lyccan prince's nod, Alain stepped forward to take over. "While surveillance footage by our spies did confirm Ivy's presence at the site, the ease in which such footage was obtained was also similarly suspicious or questionable at the very least. The possibility of this means that we either had another traitor in our midst or one of our spies' covers was blown. For this, we approached the Moretti pack to launch a parallel investigation into the matter."
"Observe, do not engage. Retreat if necessary. Those were my exact rules for the Lyccans we've assigned to the job," Alessandro enumerated, "and we've made it explicitly clear that they were only to join in the action and offer aid if and when either Alain or Aluin Fournier requests for it."
The debriefing ended several minutes later, and as the soldiers filed out, Estrella found herself alone with her brothers and the Fournier twins in the war room.
"Estrella..."
It was the first time Domenico had directly addressed her since her return, and she unconsciously tensed. "Yes?" Save for a brief glance at the telltale marks of tears on her face, her big brother had only welcomed her back with a nod when she arrived at the family compound and told him her marriage to Lysander was over.
"What do you wish us to do?"
Estrella was stunned and confused. "You're asking m-me?"
"Who else is more uniquely qualified? You are my sister, thus a princess of this pack. But you also wear the crown of the Faes. It must be you who'd decide if our pack members are to join in this fight...and for what purpose."
Oh. All at once, she realized that Domenico had already figured out what went down between her and Lysander - and Fina, too. He had always had the uncanny knack of analyzing and deducing things, and now he was putting that skill of his to give her a choice.
Did she want to take revenge and have the Lyccans act exactly as Fina had so brazenly lied about? Tonight's offensive wasn't just about capturing Ivy. It was also to show the Faes' strength to the L'Alliance and disabuse the world of any notions about their race being an easy target.
If the Lyccans were to join in, she could use her pack's strength to defeat both vampires and make the Faes appear weak and ineffective.
"Let our spies remain and keep an eye on the battlefield," Estrella said finally. "Unless the tide drastically turns against Ly--- against their favor, it's best that they win this on their own merit."
Domenico simply nodded. "It shall be as you wish---"
The doors to the war room suddenly burst open. "Your Highness," the soldier gasped. "We've captured one of the vampires---"
They all came running out, but by the time they made it to the gates, it was too late, and the vampire had already killed himself with poison.
Domenico swore under his breath. Vampires used to be low-functioning monsters, unable to think of anything beyond sucking the blood out of their victims. But ever since Danilo had taken over, the vampires had changed. They had started acting smarter---
What the hell?
Estrella had suddenly dropped to her knees as she started doing a body check on the vampire's corpse. "Remember when I fought against them at the Miller Mine, I told you all about scraps of papers we found in their pockets?"
Aluin frowned. "They were nothing but torn pieces of receipt---"
"I still have them with me," Estrella answered without looking up. "I've analyzed them in every way. Tried to see if there was any hidden message until I realized those papers weren't meant to be seen. They were---" Estrella stopped speaking when she finally found what she was looking for: a scrap of plastic this time, torn out from what could've been a coffee cup.
"They were meant to be sensed in a different way," she said shakily as she rose to her feet. She held the scrap out to Domenico, who was probably the only one among them whose abilities to hunt by smell could match the newly strengthened powers of vampires.
Domenic bent his head. "Vampire blood. His, I take it?"
Estrella nodded. "But there's something else." She watched her older brother frown as he attempted to take another whiff.
The Lyccan prince reared back a moment later as recognition struck. Shit. His head jerked up. "The second scent...it belongs to the spymaster."
The Fournier brothers appeared stunned, and Alain said slowly, "I will be the first one to admit that Fina is many things, but to suggest that she's betrayed us---"
Estrella quickly shook her head. "It's not that, but I'll explain on the way. We need to get to where Lysander and the others are before it's too late."
With people's lives on the line, no other questions were asked. Domenico had his younger brothers rally all the able packmates they could find to join them while the Fournier brothers instructed their men to get ready.
Inside the car, Estrella quickly explained her theory about how their brother, now a Sceleri, was able to still keep vampires in line even when he wasn't present. "He's been extremely cunning with these little scraps. They're easily overlooked because the dominant scent you'll get from it is the vampire's blood. But that blood isn't just for show," she said tensely. "I have a feeling all these vampires have been tortured, and that blood is to remind them of what they'll suffer if they dare disobey him."
"And Fina's blood?" Aluin demanded. "If you say it's not there because she betrayed us, then why---"
"It's a basic reminder of who not to kill," Estrella answered.
Alessandro had been quietly digesting the information his younger sister was feeding him, and at her last words, everything finally became clear. Fuck. He glanced up and saw the same fears in Estrella's gaze. "You're saying Fina's cover's blown."
"Y-Yes." Estrella could feel herself paling even as she forced herself to nod. "And worse - I think they've been on to her from the start, and Ivy was just bait to lure Lysander to their trap."
23
The beast inside Lysander was pacing and prowling in agitation as his solders slowly advanced up the hill. Everything about the place smelled wrong, more so to the beast inside him, and it wanted Lysander to back down.
Trap.
The beast snarled the word out.
TRAP.
Growled it.
TRAP!
Lysander's teeth gnashed. Fuck this. The beast knew what it was doing, and what it sensed was the same thing he had sensed from the very start. He lifted his hand in the air, and his soldiers immediately halted at his gesture.
Fina saw the look on the prince's face and knew that he had sensed the same thing as well. Everything about this place...it didn't smell right. It reminded her of all those places she had been spying on and inadvertently become a silent witness to murder and mayhem.
That was how this whole place smelled. It reeked of treachery, danger, and death---
But when Fina saw the prince's lips starting to move.
She just couldn't do it.
If she let the prince call out a halt to their mission, it would mean admitting that this whole thing was a trap, would mean admitting that Fina herself had been played for a fool.
And she just couldn't do it.
"Our p
rince says charge!"
Her scream was the point of no return. In a flash, Fae soldiers charged up the hill, driven by a command that was nothing but a lie. And the moment they made it to the top---
"NO!"
But it was too late. Each and every one of his soldiers had disappeared.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
The whole damn place was a portal, and three quarters of his men had fallen into it. He looked at Fina, and the spymaster's pallor told him she already knew what he was thinking of.
"Your Highness, no." Fina was still shaking in horror, aghast at seeing the soldiers disappear into the enemy's lair. Alain was right, she thought sickly. There had been so many red flags sticking out about the whole operation, but she had ignored them all in her bid to steal the prince from Estrella.
And now, the prince was going to pay for her selfishness.
She turned to Lysander, intending to offer to rescue them even if it meant that she'd die trying, but the prince didn't even let her speak.
"Get the rest of my men to safety. Ask for backup from L'Alliance---"
"But Your Highness..." Fina's voice was weak. "If we ask for their help, they might---"
"I don't give a fuck what they think, Fina. Can't you see how many lives are at stake?" Violet eyes blazed at her. "So can you fucking do this or not?"
"Y-Yes, Your Highness."
"Don't fail me again."
And then Lysander was charging up alone...and in the next moment, he, too, was gone.
Lysander shifted into a beast as he crossed the portal, and he wasted no time digging his claws into the soil the moment he landed.
The only reason he had agreed to fighting an uphill battle was because of his ability to reshape the land. His powers were meant to even the battlefield and take away whatever terrestial advantages the vampires had working for them.
Or at least that was the plan...until he realized that nothing was happening.
Fuck.
He yanked his claws out and dug them back deeper. Come on, come on. But nothing happened, and when the beast inside him started howling -
FUCK.
They were all fucked.
Lysander managed to rip his claws out before the poison could completely infiltrate his system, but not fast enough to escape unscathed. The poison had found its way to his inner beast, flaying it alive, and what it felt, Lysander felt, too. The pain was excruciating, and it drove him to his knees as he struggled to keep his senses intact. He cast a wild look about him and swore under his breath when he saw his men vastly outnumbered. Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Fina's cover was blown, and the vampires had been playing her from the start. It was the only reason for the vampires to have had the time to prepare a trap of this scale. A Sceleri - perhaps not Danilo hismelf, but someone else - had gotten to his spymaster, retrieving information from Fina's mind without her even knowing it was happening.
Vampires were crawling all over the place, and his men were vastly outnumbered. The poison slowed him down, puncturing him from within, but still Lysander forged on, leaping into the very front of his troops so he could take the brunt of their attack.
They launched themselves at him like full-sized leeches, but he swiftly swiped them away even as he looked back at his men and roared at them. Leave, goddammit. He wouldn't be able to hold the tide back forever, but he was determined to keep the vampires away until his men were able to travel back to their realm.
He forged forward, using everything he still had in his power to keep the vampires from running after his men. His horns began to drip of blood and torn flesh began to build under his claws. He fought with all his might, but when he heard a Fae soldier cry out, a part of him already knew...
Even as he fought harder, took every damn risk possible, a part of him already goddamn knew...
He might be able to save a few. Maybe even save a good number of them. But he would not be able to save everyone.
Only a miracle would keep all of them alive---
A dozen of vampires launched themselves at Lysander, like mindless animals being commanded by a master that didn't care for their lives. He threw them off, but for every vampire he was able to kill, two more came at him, until they started weighing him down and he could feel himself bleeding out as fangs pierced multiple parts of his body.
He saw his men trying to get to him, but he roared at them to leave. No more Faes dying for rulers like him. No more. His vision began to blur even as he continued to fight them off. Star. Her image started to swim in front of his eyes. My Star. How he must've hurt her, to believe the spy's lies over his wife's own words.
His strength was flagging, but he didn't feel any fear. All he could feel and think of was regret. He wished he had the fucking chance to tell her---
A battle cry rose from the distance, the sound forcing Lysander to open his eyes, just in time to see his Star leap into the air like a warrior goddess of old, her dark hair flying, her eyes a fierce shade of green as she locked gazes with their sworn enemies.
"Die!"
She shifted mid-air and landed on all fours, a silver-white wolf that immediately whipped off the vampires that had been sucking on Lysander's blood. Her courage and determination sparked a fire among the Faes, and as her brothers shifted into wolves and followed her into battle, Lysander's soldiers raised their swords and renewed their attack.
This, Lysander realized, was the woman whom everyone was talking about. This was the woman who had won the battle at Miller Mine. She was real, and he had been so fucking wrong about her.
Later, he would beg for her forgiveness, Lysander swore to himself, and do everything to make it up to her.
But for now, he had a battle to fight and win by her side.
Having the wolves help his men allowed Lysander precious extra moments to consider the poison still burning through his veins, and it was then he realized the strategic mistake he had made. The potency of the poison meant it was certain to be fatal, but every poison was double-edged, and in this case its potency also meant it had been specifically formulated for the beast inside him.
The vampires had been counting on Ammon's inability to counter the poison, and while they were right on that score, it was apparent they had forgotten one crucial thing about him.
Only half of his soul was Ammon's. The other half was still Fae, and while in most instances this would've been a weakness, it turned out to be Lysander's greatest weapon. Shifting back into his Fae form, he reached deep into himself and used the self-healing powers that all preters possessed to hunt for the poison inside him---
Gotcha.
And kill it.
Fae magic crushed the poison inside of him, and it was like having an invisible stranglehold around his neck suddenly loosened. As his powers burst back into life, Lysander wasted no time in shifting into a beast and jabbing the earth with his claws.
And this time, it listened and moved. It reshaped according to his will, and in seconds, vampires were falling into sinkholes that suddenly opened and swallowed them up. In moments, the tide had completely turned, and they were winning. In moments, his gaze found hers, and he began running.
Faster and faster as her eyes began to shimmer.
Closer and closer, so damn close that he could now hear her thoughts, so fucking close that he realized she wasn't really seeing him because she was too busy remembering---
Oh God, no.
His beautiful Star, standing outside the stables, hearing him say nothing when Fina joked about him marrying her instead---
God. No. God.
His Star, listening to the twins tell her that the note he wrote wasn't for her---
Please God. Noooo---
His Star, crying her heart out because she believed that while he had chosen Misty, had chosen Fina, he had never chosen her.
I'm sorry. I'm so goddamn sorry.
The lines from the prophecy unfolded itself in his mind---
A wall that breaks his heart
The one that shines to make it beat once more
A beast to overcome
And a betrayal that may ruin all
Everything made fucking sense now. Only when it was too goddamn late, he finally understood that the betrayal the prophecy spoke of...
It was him, he realized numbly. It had never been Estrella. It had always been him, betraying her love and trust in him---
Lysander.
His head jerked up, her shaky voice hauling him back to the present. The vampires were dead. His men were cheering. Fina was running towards him while her brothers circled around his wife protectively. So many damn things happening, but all he had eyes for was her---
Goodbye.
And then she was running away.
Wait. Please. Wait.
The prince sounded desperate in her mind. But she told herself not to listen. He was just going to lie again. And she was tired, so, so tired of being second best.
Star---
She ran faster even as she choked back a sob. Don't call me that!
The pain in her voice drove both man and beast insane. Please. Just give me another chance---
The sound of hysterical laughter cut him off. A-another c-chance? Another hysterical laugh lashed his mind. I know everything now, remember? So I know...I know you never wanted a chance with me--- Her voice broke.
And the beast of him howled as it sensed Estrella's own heart shattering in pieces.
I know you'll d-die if you try to destroy our bond.
Lysander whitened. Once broken, their bond could never be repaired again, and he could not - would fucking not let that happen. He gazed at her shrinking form in the distance, despair having given her extraordinary speed. Star, please---
I'll d-do it for the both of us---
He knelt down and dug his claws into the soil, and the earth began to move. He heard her cry out as the soil under her started changing.
Estrella fought hard to regain her balance. Stop this!