“I have a special ointment that will heal those bruises right up; then we’re going to bed,” Ion promised, and I sank further into his arms, so glad that I didn't have to sleep alone tonight because I was sure to have nightmares.
22
KAZIA
The wind whipped through my hair as I was hurled through the dark void of my dreams. Within the blink of an eye, I soared over the familiar meadow of flowers. The twilight rays peeking over the horizon made me realize I was transported to this exact moment in time every time I dreamed.
A breeze caressed my cheek as I soared overhead, and I mumbled out a hello before I dove head-first through the dark and murky woods. As I moved through the thick, dark air, my momentum slowed, branches smacking me from every direction. Shielding my face with my arms, I tried to avoid getting an eyes gouged out. I hoped that whatever was gilding me knew what it was doing.
Once the shining rays of moonlight peaked at the end of the forest, hope bloomed in my heart, and I was pushed forward. Silently, I thanked whatever this force was for not leaving me in that gnarled, dank forest where it felt like death was waiting around every corner. I broke through the tree line and zoomed out faster, catching a glimpse of a familiar lake and shoreline. That’s when I remembered how the last dream ended—and where I was being taken.
Dread filled my bones as I saw the familiar-shaped rock. Nowhere was the wolf in sight, but a chill unfurled at the nap of my neck as I was placed in front of the rock where I’d last seen my doves. The air around me twisted and turned, spiraling up to the sky as it dissipated.
In the back of my head, needle-like pinpricks of a violent gaze had me twisting and turning to find its owner, but nothing was disturbed. Not a leaf among the trees or a rock along the shore. The only hint that the wolf was still around was the taut space around me, the eerie silence of a hunter's patience. Everything stopped, waiting with bated breath for something to happen.
A soft, broken coo pulled my attention away from the tree line, and there laid my doves, all three of them still mangled but alive.
I crashed to my knees, our hunter gaze weighed me down, helpless and unsure how to save us. How to get us out of this mess. This knotted feeling of being tied down, immovable, a waste, filled me. How can I help them? Their wings twitched like they were reaching for me. Even in their broken state, they’re searching for hope, needing that glimmer to get them through the darkness.
Delicate threads of despair weaved down my face, falling like rain and disappearing in the sand. Absorbing so quick, that if felt like all of that sadness and dispair meant nothing and that… that was unacceptable.
No more.
I will not be a victim anymore.
Those threads of despair turned into watery tendrils of fury as I glared at the tree line. We were not going to go out like this. I won't allow it.
It was just a wolf. Sure, it was scary and mean. Its teeth were sharp, and it had claws and agility that were hard for someone like me to combat, but the fact remained that it was just a wolf. A mouth-breathing, blood-pumping wolf… and wolves, no matter how strong they were, could be taken down.
The ground began to shake with my anger. The space around me reacted and my lips turned up. Scanning the forest line, I reminded myself that this was my fucking dream, and I was not about to lose inmyfucking dream.
The three dove tattoos glowed, shifting from inky black to a golden shimmer—filling me with strength as I had something worth fighting for. “Stay here,” I called to them, knowing they could hear me. “I’ll be right back. I need to take care of this first.”
I didn't look back at them when they began their weak squawking, trying to pull me back, but I wasn't swayed. I needed to end this with this wolf, once and for all.
At my foot was a rock with a bit of blood, the same rock that I threw last time. It must be my lucky rock. Bending over, I picked it up. The weight felt significant, running my thumb along the jagged edges, the whispers of fate telling me to avenge them.
A growl erupted, echoing in the wind, reminding me why I was there. My steps grew more sure and steady as I headed straight for the dim, predator-filled forest. If he wasn't going to come out, then I was going to go in.
It seemed like hours of trekking through the muggy, moss-covered forest, listening out for each rustle of leaves or sounds of twigs breaking underfoot, but still, the wolf had not shown its face.
Worry for my doves grew as the golden tattoos faded into their standard black color, and frustration filled my limbs. Kicking at the dark ground, I bellowed into the thick decaying air, “Come on! I know you want this! Come show me what you're made-.”
Something flung at my body, taking me down to the ground hard, and a menacing growl crawled in my ear. Those knife-like fangs sank into my shoulder, and I screamed out in agony. While this hurt like a bitch, it also woke me up, and I slammed the rock that I had in my hand along the wolf's throat.
Fangs retracted as it let out a cry and let go of my shoulder. Not wasting a second, I scrambled up to my knees, my shoulder on fire and my vision blurred. I tried to crawl away, but the mud I fell into was like glue, sticking me to the ground floor like it was helping this wolf.
With lightning reflexes, it switched tactics, and instead of going for me with its mouth, it raised its claws and shredded everything in its path. It didn't take long for my pants to be shredded, black fabric pieces blending in with the forest floor like it was nothing. Leaving no traces of this fight between us.
The cold, sharp talons didn't take long to carve their way through my flesh. A cry burst free as they pushed in deeper, nerves igniting like a wildfire coursed through my veins. Over and over, they kept going. The violent claiming of flesh painted in scarlet strokes on my body, and all I could hear were my screams bouncing around in the forest, echoing back to me.
The rock slipped from my fingers, and I thought to myself, this was how I was going to die. Fingers curled up, fisting the dirt and leaves beneath them. If I was going to die, I was going to go out swinging.
Throwing my first fist, I clocked the wolf on the side of the face. My hand crunched underneath the hard bone of its skull, but the whimpering noise it made was like a sweet melody to my ears. I never thought I would relish in violence, but here I was, getting all excited.
Pushing up with my other hand, I was determined to give this wolf another punch into its face, ready for it to be my last ditch effort, when a fluttering came from above. While the white and the gray dove swooped down in different directions, disorienting the wolf, the black dove fell straight down on top of the wolf and dug its feet right into its eyes.
A guttural wailing howl sliced through the forest, the depths of its agony wild and broken, like it can't believe what just happened. It swiped its claws in the air, a desperate grab to get vengeance, but without its eye, it was useless.
