Fury ignites in me, blinding. I lunge, every muscle taunt, but he’s faster. With a slow, deliberate movement, Alek drags his long, shadowed claw across Avilyna’s throat, not deep. But enough, and my world narrows to that one drop of blood leaking under his thumb.
“One more step,” he warns, voice now cold and coiled with threat, “and we’ll be twinsagain.”
The words hang in the air, laced with a heavy promise.
“You’re the raven”, I growl.
Alek tilts his head, studying me with amusement. "Took you long enough to figure that one out. I see that the rumour might be true. Lycans are just big, stupid dogs."
There goes my last thread of control and shift without hesitation. The familiar surge of power rushes through me, grounding me. I bare my teeth, claws digging into the frozen earth.
“Is that supposed to scare me?” Alek says in false mockery. “Because, as I was saying… Maybe your anger is a little misdirected. Shouldn’t you be pissed at the one who let Netherworld stroll right into Kallahan in the first place?”
His words stop me. A chord snaps tight in my chest. I’d been so consumed by rage, so desperate to relieve the pain, I never stopped to see the truth staring me right in the face.
The letter…
“Alek, stop! Let go of me. Let’s talk!” Avilyna struggles, pushing against him, but with her wings crushed under his grip, she can barely move. Her body trembles under the strain, breath catching as she fights to break free, my shirt falling limply on her figure. The world narrows to this moment, this choice. To actand risk everything, or to think and find a safer way. The lycan growls inside me, but I force it down. I can’t lose her, not like this.
“On that note, we Morweens have a lot to catch up on. So see ya, Kai.” Alek’s voice is cold as he turns around.
His demons flanking him as bodyguards step forward, their movements chillingly synchronized. Two varkuuns, their leathered grey skin gleams, and their backless eyes shine through the darkness. One of them steps forward, a massive brute, his face a grotesque tapestry of jagged scars. His lips curl into a cruel sneer.
"Move aside, mutt." His voice is a deep, guttural rasp, rocks grinding together in a forgotten tomb. The second, slightly smaller but no less ugly, cracks its knuckles in a series of sharp, echoing snaps. His sharp teeth gleam as he leans closer, his voice low, savage.
"Master commands, and we obey," breath foul as decay.
Despite every instinct in me screaming to rip them apart, I stand firm, my attention on her. Alek watches, enjoying the spectacle, his smirk widens with each passing second.
"You see, Kai?" Voice oozing with dark satisfaction. "This is how you lose. How the Brackwells finally lose! Not just the battle, but everything." Alek’s laughter erupts maniacally, and then his jaw unhinges grotesquely.
Stretching unnaturally wide, a monstrous grin splits his face, revealing two long, sharp fangs that gleam in the dark. Without hesitation, he plunges them into Avilyna’s neck. Showing his true self, a predator, a demon.
A vampyr.
I throw myself at the varkuun, my howl erupting from deep. They’re living nightmares. Beasts born for war, made to crush anything in their path. And right now, I’m in the way. The first demon roars, a guttural, earth-shaking sound that sends a chilldown my spine. He charges, its massive fists swinging in deadly arcs. I barely dodge the first blow. His fist, the size of a boulder, misses my head by inches, but the second one hits me square in the chest. Pain erupts through my body, and I stagger back, claws digging, and breath knocked out of me.
My vision is blurring, but I shake it off. Jaw snapping, aiming for its throat, but he’s too fast. His blade slices across my side, tearing through my fur and flesh. Roaring in pain, I claw at the demon and slice its arm. Staggering back in a pained growl, the smaller varkuun circles me. Its empty eyes locked on my every move. He’s calculating, waiting for an opening. I can feel him closing in, but I force myself to focus on the other one, already winding up for another blow.
Leaping to the side, barely avoiding the crushing fist that leaves a crater where I stood. The second varkuun charges, aiming its hammer brutally at my bruised ribs. It connects with a sickening force, and I hear a crack. My body buckles, the pain blinding. Using desperation, I jump onto its back, sinking my claws deep into its neck. The creature screams in agony. The sound invigorates me, and I twist, pull and rip through the vulnerable flesh. The monster gurgles, choking on its own blood, before its body goes limp, then it crumbles back to Netherworld.
My victory is short-lived as the other demon charges toward me. Enraged, its eyes are burning with hatred. The impact propels me, my bones screaming on impact. The damage is barely controlled by my claws scraping against the dirt. I struggle to rise; the varkuun already looming over me. Its fist comes down, but I roll over just in time. With a feral snarl, I push through the pain, my body thrumming with adrenaline as I explode upward, ripping the demon’s face.
Its eyes widen in shock as blood spills from the gash I’ve torn. Sinking my teeth into its jugular, I rip it free. Throwing the garbage to the side, but movement catches my eye as I jumpto the ground. Across the clearing, a rift burns open in the air, crimson light, a gate.
The vampyr stands at the threshold, Avilyna limp in his arms, her wings trailing behind her like broken dreams. Her hair flutters, a torn banner caught in the blood-red wind. The portal flares behind him, pulsing with infernal energy. Alek hesitates–just for a heartbeat. Then our eyes lock, and a dark smirk twists across his face. My heart lurches, I launch forward in a dead sprint, blood roaring in my ears. Lungs burning, lycan strength in full force through every limb, using that pulse to heal my wounds.
But dread crashes over me; I’m too late. My member pulls long, paw reaching out, except it only tears through Alek’s left leg. Then the gate seals shut with finality.
He took her to Netherworld.
The silence that follows is surreal. As the drum of my heart, the fire in my lungs, overwhelm my senses as I try to catch my breath. I stand frozen, staring at the place where the veil used to be. Where she was, a couple of seconds before. Now invisible except for the servant of the Demon King.
I lost her, again.
But this time… It’s different, worse. So much worse, because now I know. I remember everything, who she truly is, and what really happened that day. And I can’t ignore the truth any longer.
She isn’t the enemy, never was.
