Maybe he really does love her. Maybe that's what I think for Elodie, because I would follow her blindly into the darkness, just like this fool seems to do. Only he's chosen the wrong beacon of light to guide him.
“What now, Willow?” Elodie grunts, and Tiran scoffs, stopping at the edge of the path as Willow trudges forward.
Elodie does the same, refusing to back down as they stare off with one another.
“You think you can continue to show up here, wreak damage and havoc where it's not needed, and get away with it?” Willow snarls. “My mother has continued to warn me about you, but it's about time I didn't follow their orders and took matters into my own hands.” Her eyes burn amber as her wolf creeps to the surface, and my spine stiffens.
I will defend my Echo at all costs.
With my hands ready at my side, I take a single step forward, but when Elodie subtly shakes her head, I immediately know it’s not at Willow.
I know it's aimed at me.
“You’d better watch your back, because there's no way in hell you're going to make it to the end of the Institute Games, which means you are never going to ascend. You’re never going to simply exist here, either. My duty is to bring you to your end,” Willow warns, turning with a huff, and I wonder if she ever gets a jaw ache from all of the bullshit she talks.
She storms back toward Tiran, tossing her hair over her shoulder with unnecessary dramatics, and Elodie turns to me, rolling her eyes as she waves her off.
Anger vibrates through her veins, but she doesn’t bother to waste her energy on Willow. Instead, she mutters under her breath to herself.
“One day, I’m going to?—”
“Elodie!” I yell, my gaze darting over her shoulder to where Willow storms back toward her.
My shadow magic floods from my palms, spreading across the floor in a bid to ward off the evil that is this bitch, but Willow is quicker than I anticipate, claws extended as she reaches for Elodie.
I snarl. Drowning in the vision that flashes before me, just like it did on Elodie's first day.
Elodie hisses as Willow’s claws cut across her chest.
Over my dead body does she get to lay another finger on my girl.
Trudging toward them, my muscles clench as I wind my thick, black smoke around the pair of them, ensuring Elodie remains untouched, a beacon in the darkness, channeling all of my anger and rage at Willow. I'm ready to bring her to her knees so Elodie can finally finish her off.
I'm done with this bullshit.
I'm done with the danger.
But before I can make good on my promise, I'm impacted from the right. Knocked clean off my feet and landing with athud.I snarl, scrambling to stand, only to find Tiran with his full vampire senses activated. His teeth are elongated, his eyes black, and his senses heightened. He’s ready to charge at me again.
I crack my neck from side to side, prepped for him, but I realize a moment too late that I'm not the target of his anger.
Elodie is.
Willow growls, shifting into full wolf form as Elodie clambers to her feet, eyes fixated on the wolf before her, unprepared for the vampire approaching from behind.
“Elodie!” I snarl once again, rage vibrating in my throat as I charge toward them.
My girl takes my warning, turning just in time as Tiran approaches. Her palms slam instinctively against his chest, and I watch as her magic unfolds, dropping him to his knees and weakening his strength as she gains it for herself in one swift move.
Her chest heaves with every breath as blood pours from the open wounds, but it seems they’re not done yet.
Willow launches through the air, and I jump at the same time, aiming for the space between her and Elodie. I make it moments before they collide, and the two of us hit the dirt with athud. She snaps and snarls in my face, drool dripping down my cheeks as I tug at my shadow magic.
It pulses through my veins, coiling visibly around my arms before it takes aim at her.
My intentions are clear, my anger fueled by the protective instincts I have for my Echo, and I watch as my shadows infiltrate Willow’s body. They shoot up her snout, in her ears, and shadow the amber of her wolf eyes as she whimpers and howls in discomfort.
Falling to my side, on the cusp of death, I’m ready to be the one to take her life, but Elodie cries out from behind.
