Chapter 156
## Elowen's POV
The world twisted.
One second I stood facing Raven, staring into his burning red eyes. The next, ice crawled through my veins. Everything around me warped and stretched like some grotesque dance.
My stomach lurched. Panic clawed at my throat.
"Where—" I spun around. Searched for an exit. Any exit.
Nothing but darkness. Thick. Suffocating.
"Elowen!"
Casper's voice. Rough. Desperate.
"Little freckle!"
My head whipped toward the sound. Hope surged through my chest.
"Save her!" Kade's voice cracked through the void.
Then Alaric. Then Ronan. All of them screaming my name.
"Juno!" I whispered. My hands trembled. "Juno, please. Fight for us."
Silence.
No. Not silence. Worse than silence.
I felt her. Trapped. Sealed away in some soundproof cage deep in my mind. She couldn't even hear the bond anymore. Couldn't reach Casper or Cassian.
My throat tightened. Tears stung my eyes.
A portal shimmered in front of me. Black edges. Red light pulsing from the center. It pulled at me. Demanded I look.
I forced myself to turn. To face it.
Through the wavering surface, I saw them.
Leo. Cassian.
Their voices mixed together. Fear and determination twisted in every word. Their faces—God, their faces. Pure panic carved into every line. Eyes wide. Jaws clenched.
They fought against something invisible. Threw themselves forward. Tried to reach me.
But they couldn't.
Time slowed. My vision tunneled. Only them. Only their bodies lunging toward me.
Cassian's rough features twisted into a mask of despair. His usual cold control—gone. Shattered.
Leo's wolf form moved with desperate purpose. Loyal. Steady. His jaw set tight. He didn't care about the danger. Only me.
"Behave, and you can go back to them."
Raven's voice slithered through my head. I flinched.
"Defy me, however, and I will crush them like the nothings they are!"
My breath caught. My hands balled into fists.
"The choice is yours, sweetheart."
I wanted to scream. Wanted to reach through that portal and grab them. Pull them to safety.
But my voice died in my throat.
"Make your choice!"
Raven appeared beside me. His hand stretched out. Palm up. Waiting.
I didn't move.
Red lightning crackled behind me. Shot through the portal. Struck Cassian square in the chest.
"No!" The word ripped from my lungs.
Cassian's scream echoed through the bond. Pain exploded in my chest. Sharp. Burning. Like someone drove a knife between my ribs.
He fell. Collapsed at Leo's feet.
Leo stopped mid-charge. Turned. Looked down at his brother.
My throat closed. I watched Leo struggle. His massive wolf body trembled. He seemed torn, his head shifting between me and Cassian, as if debating whether to keep running to me or help his brother.
"It's ok!" I mouthed the words. Forced my lips to form them.
Cassian's face—so pale. Blood trickled from his mouth.
Leo made his choice. Kept moving forward.
Adrenaline flooded my system. My heart pounded against my ribs.
I couldn't let them sacrifice themselves for me. Couldn't let them get hurt because of my choices.
I turned away. Faced the demon standing in front of me.
"No!" Ronan's scream tore through the air.
I hesitated. One step forward. My heart hammered in my ears.
The energy around me crackled. Reality bent. Twisted. The abyss pulled at me. Threatened to swallow me whole.
The portal behind me—closing. Shrinking.
Taking them away from me.
"Our only hope now is that this demon scum will keep his word," I whispered to Juno. "Return us unharmed."
Then I remembered. Juno couldn't hear me. Sealed away. Trapped.
Raven's cold laugh cut through my thoughts. "I never said unharmed."
His eyes gleamed. Full of intention. Dark intention that made my stomach twist.
"Whatever." I lifted my chin. Refused to let him see me break.
I looked back. One last time.
The portal. Shrinking faster now. The roar deafening.
I needed to see them. Needed Leo or Cassian to break through. To reach me in time.
But everything changed.
The portal convulsed. Started to collapse. The sound—like the world ending.
Panic surged. My instincts screamed at me to run.
Through the dying light, I saw them. Both of them. Leo. Cassian. Pain and heartbreak written across their faces.
Something was wrong. I couldn't feel their emotions anymore. The bond—
"This is a mistake," I whispered.
Power flooded back into me. From somewhere deep inside. The strength I'd been missing.
I wouldn't back down. Wouldn't give up.
"We should be together. Always!" I shouted at the portal. At them. At fate.
Hope burned in my chest.
One last push. I threw myself toward the opening.
My body twisted. Stretched. Fighting against the pull of the abyss.
A blinding flash exploded. Knocked me to the ground.
A roar. Vicious. Final.
The portal vanished.
Gone.
Darkness swallowed everything. The demon realm closed around me.
"No!" I screamed. My voice broke.
Tears streamed down my face. Grief threatened to drown me.
But then—
Something new. A presence. A flicker of light in the void.
Familiar. Warm. Comforting.
Another being. Riding the demonic magic that bound me.
Hope flickered. Weak but real.
I turned. Stared into the darkness.
A steadfast ally. Breaking through the shadows that ripped me from my world.