Chapter 243

“Fuck!”

I rolled over and tried to see what was happening as I sucked in breath after breath. I choked, trying to catch my breath as I saw a glint of silver cut through the air. The man barely choked as his head tumbled through the air. His body went up in flames. Then, I saw Raven’s face. Her eyes were filled with blood-red light.

She walked toward me. A flash of silver went by me and the gag loosened. I spat it out and my hands fell apart like the cuffs were broken. Her sword was aimed at me. Her expression was cold as she looked at me. Her hand trembled. Tears streamed down her face. Her jaw trembled. Then, she lowered her blade.

I couldn’t believe it. I looked around, searching for someone else, but there was no one. It was just the two of us behind the barrier. Then, the wall of light shimmered and started to fade.

I heard a stroke of thunder and turned as lightning fell from the sky and slammed into the side of the mountain. I smiled. Candido was using his power and winning. We were going to be together. A glow started to come from behind me.

I thought it was odd, so I turned back. The glow was coming from Raven. Raven’s hair pulled out of the braid over her shoulder and waved in the wind. She walked forward in front of me as more thunder crashed. No rain fell, but the thunder was so loud that it shook the hair. Lightning struck, but it wasn’t normal lightning. It was a bright red as it crashed into the side of the mountain, striking down the vampires that were swarming up the side. It shot out through the trees around the mountain as well. The trees looked like they were on fire all the way up the mountain in a flash. The bright red flashed through the night before vanishing.

I looked at Raven’s back as her communication mirror chimed. She took a deep breath as the wind started to pick up around us. She opened it.

“That’s enough, Raven.” It was Ian’s voice. “He can take it from here.”

Raven said nothing, but the clouds started to disappear. My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe that had been Raven and not Candido. The ground continued to shake. More silver filled the valley, turning it completely silver. Moonlight made the surface glow like moonlight. The light seemed to fill the night and reflect through the area.

Raven turned around and looked at me. The tears hadn’t stopped. They glowed on her cheeks.

“Everything in me… hates this,” she said. “But… I’m a woman of my word. This… is the last time I’ll ever see you. It’s the last time I will even think of the promise I made to her.”

I struggled to push myself off the ground. “What do you… You said—"

“I hope… you’re happy with all of your decisions.” She set her jaw as she sheathed her sword. “And don’t bring up anything related to that woman. You aren’t a member of our family, remember?”

A flicker of light flashed between us. It flew out of me. The other flew out of Raven. The two lights twined and burst into spikes. She looked even sadder. She closed her eyes, and more tears streamed down her face.

She let out a soft, painful sob before the wind picked up and she vanished in place, leaving no trace behind. I pushed myself onto my feet and hurried towards the battlefield to find Candido. If what she said was true, then that meant that my future with Candido was so much closer than I thought.

People were fighting with just the few vampires who were left. I saw the remnants of vampires around, their clothes and shoes. There had to have been hundreds of them before Raven had done whatever she’d done.

The ground continued to shake and I saw the vampire who looked a lot like Marius running forward and avoiding the spreading fissure as it continued to fill with silver. He glared up at the top of the mountain. I looked up where I could see Candido. He wasn’t in his human form any longer, but in his wolf form. His golden fur glowed like a star.

I looked down to where the vampire had been. Just as he about to reach the base of the mountain, Wren appeared out of nowhere, seemingly stepping out of the rock like it was a cave. He kicked the man viciously in the chest and sent him flying into the widening crack. The man flailed and screamed, but her fell into the fissure just before silver flowed into it. I heard him scream as it closed and smoke drifted up out of the closing fissure.

Silence drifted over the area. Then, there was a loud roar of victory screaming through the air. I looked at Wren. He glared at me, snarling even as he traced his steps back into the wall. His eyes continued to burn across the distance as he faded into the dark.

The sound of cheering grew louder and louder. Then, I remembered my vision. Candido would be at the top of the mountain. I looked up, looking at him. The glow vanished like a light going out. He swooned and collapsed.

“Candido!”

I pushed off the tree, heading up the side of the mountain. I heard the sounds of cheering below and it angered me. No one else seemed to care about Candido. No one was coming after him. My eyes burned. Where were his family members now? Where was Wren? They all wanted to make it seem like I was the un-loyal one, but when Candido needed them, they weren’t there.

But I would be there when he woke up. Then, he’d have to see that we were meant to be together. He had to see that I was the only one for him.

And if not, I would find the Heart of the Moon to make sure that he loved me. I pushed through the trees and tried not to fall on all the clothes left on the ground. I didn’t see anyone. I was so proud that he’d managed to kill all these vampires, but I knew that he was so strong.

“Candido!” I called up the mountain. “Candido!”

The image of his collapsing flashed behind my eyes. It was so much scarier than my vision, so much worse. Fear filled me, but I tried to push through it. I just had to get there. I just had to be there when he woke up, so he would understand I headed up the mountain, stumbling through the trees until I reached the top of the mountain.

I saw him lying on his side. There was the faintest figure made of light over him. It kneeled over him. I ran forward as fear clenched my heart. Was it the Moon Goddess? Was she taking him from me? She couldn’t. I had given everything that she wanted to make sure that she would give him to me.

“You can’t!”

The figure turned, and the eyes started to glow red. I ran into a wall that I couldn’t see, and I started to panic. This wasn’t a part of my vision. I couldn’t breathe. I turned and screamed down the mountain as I could.

“He’s hurt!” I screamed. “The alpha king is hurt!”

My voice didn’t carry down. It didn’t seem like anyone was looking. I could still hear them celebrating from below. I heard no one coming. I turned back and saw the light still wrapped around him. The figure turned into a screen around him. He didn’t move more than breathing.

The wind picked up. His fur ruffled in the wind. The gold fur flickered with light. It seemed to run over his body and melted into the ground. Nothing changed under him, but I could feel the air start to change. I pushed at the wall, but it didn’t budge. I saw the light starting to fade. It rushed into the air and swirled around. It turned into sparks before rushing into the sky.

As it winked out, I screamed in terror. I didn’t know what it was, but my whole body seemed to be full of fear.

“Come back!” I stumbled forward as the wall fell. “Come back!”

I fell to the ground and tried to push myself up, but I felt the wind blow over me, tumbling me back. It was so powerful I couldn’t fight it. I slammed into a tree, and I felt it creak behind me. It snapped behind me and I slammed into a rock. It felt like a force pressing against my chest. My breath was forced out of me. I thought I would pass out. Just as I thought I was going to pass out, it stopped.