Chapter 101 Chapter 101

Chapter 101 Chapter 101
"Yes, we definitely did." Daisy scoffed.

"Great." Ivan nodded from across the room. "Now that you're both here, you can help us lure the other two creatures into this trap Lilith is setting." He said the word trap as if it were a question, and I, once again, rolled my eyes.

"What are you planning?" Daisy asked me.

"Just trust me, okay?" I pleaded.

She gave me a long look before nodding, and once again the twins set off to help. Luring the other two inside the circle was surprisingly easy enough, and I could hear my mother from behind the thrones sighing in relief. 

A pang of longing shot through my heart as I heard her talking to my dad, both of them grateful to see my siblings doing well. They hadn't noticed me yet, and I was grateful. No one needed to be distracted.

As the two creatures were cornered with the other eight, I knew it was time.

"Now what?" Ivan asked as he shot another attack at the creatures.

"We need to drop the barrier."

"What the hell?" He screamed.

"I need to get in the middle."

"Lilith, what the hell are you planning?"

"Just..." I sighed. "Just trust me. Please."

"Can you just tell us what you plan on doing?" Luka pleaded.

"Not if you're going to stop me, and if I know you three, I know you'll try your best."

I gave each of them a long look, pleading with them to let me do this. I couldn't tell them what it was I wanted to do because if I were honest with myself, I didn't know if I could survive it. It was a suicide mission.

"Lapsus." With one word, Daisy brought the barrier down.

The Grim ones didn't waste any time to try and get to us, but neither did I. Dashing towards the middle of their formation, I flung my body in the middle of the circle, and within seconds, I was lit ablaze.

The flames kept getting bigger and brighter, and I willed all of my energy into them. From the tip of my head to the bottom of my feet, I was nothing but a blazing inferno, and as I watched the world around me through the orange haze, I couldn't believe that I was ever afraid of my power. 

It spread around me like wings, a phoenix rising from the ashes of the dead -would-be queen. Tortured screams erupted from around me, the Grim ones crying their surrender before they were consumed whole, and I basked in the glory of a soon-to-be-won battle. 

I couldn't bring myself to feel sorry for them, after all they had put us through, I was happy to be able to avenge my fallen friends and family and end the torturous battles.

One by one, the shadow-like creatures were consumed in the blaze, and after what seemed like forever, their shrieks came to a halt. I looked around me, the world still on fire (or was that me?), and was happy to notice that we were finally free.

Slowly, I pulled my fire back, magic coursing through my veins like a drug. As it sizzled and crackled, I looked at the faces of my family and friends, all staring at me like I just manifested a miracle.

Did I?

The fire was finally reduced to a tiny flame dancing over my palm.

I smiled as I heard my parents call my name.

Within seconds, I was consumed by the soothing darkness. 

\---

My consciousness was floating through an empty, dark space. Throughout it, my heartbeat pounded loudly, echoing in my ears alongside the fading pleas for help. 

I was blissfully unaware of what was going on around me. The silence that surrounded me hung in the air like a gaping void, needing to be filled with sounds, voices, anything. 

It gnawed at my insides and lingered in the air, thick and heavy, like a blanket luring me to a deep and dreamless slumber.

Am I dead? Was the first thing that crossed my troubled mind in that unresponsive state, and the idea of me not surviving sounded reasonable and rational after the dangerous and self-sacrificing stunt I pulled to defeat the high-ranked Grim Ones.

It seemed almost tragic to finally figure out who I was and what I was meant to be, only to lose everything in the blink of an eye again. But I couldn’t bring myself to regret the decisions I had made, for they resulted in the safety of everyone I held dear. 

After all, what were my powers even for if I didn’t use them to save my people, my family, and my friends?

Whenever I tried to move or ponder about my condition, that silence followed, always watching, never fading, like my own personal shadow. 

It has spread into my veins, drowning my mind in its thick nothingness. Not long after, my thoughts deserted me as well, leaving me drunk in a deep exhaustion. Quickly enough, the silence became eerily tempting and inviting, and I found myself drawn to it and its quietness. 

I wanted to fight it, to push back against it, so I could go back and check on my people, but the darkness was too tempting.

The silence was too peaceful.

And so, I drifted.

I had no idea how long I was drifting in that state of nothingness before my senses started functioning again. At first, it was faint, a barely audible sound that hardly disturbed the silence. 

Then it started growing louder and louder until it was all I could focus on. It wasn’t exactly clear, nothing like the screams for help that plagued my mind before I finally surrendered to the peace. 
It was more like a white noise machine spitting unidentifiable murmurs as you fought the polar pulls of sleep and consciousness. 

I tried to move, to push back against the darkness one more time, but my limbs wouldn’t cooperate. So I focused my attention on the sounds instead.

After what felt like an eternity, the murmurs turned into jumbled words which soon started making sense. I recognized the voice of my mother- Queen Annabelle- ever so soft and melodic, talking to someone else.