Chapter 62

**Author's note

**I am so sorry it has taken me so long to post an update. If you follow my facebook page @LorenJay,writer, you may have seen that I have had a lot going on in my personal life of late and I have been really struggling with my mental health. I had to take a break from writing, amongst other things, to concentrate on myself and my family and making sure I try and get some rest, help and support.

**I understand that you guys have been waiting patiently for chapter updates and I really do want to thank you all for sticking with me through this. Your support has meant the world to me and receiving your comments and messages have given me so much motivation to keep going.

I want to thank you once again for being so patient and kind and considerate and I also want to say, to anyone that is struggling and feels alone, please reach out and speak to someone. That first step is one of the hardest but, I am always happy to speak to you if you need someone to listen.

Sending love and well wishes to you all xx

A wave of nausea passed over Seraphina as she approached the circle of mages. Swaying on her feet, her hand shot out to grab Aurelia’s arm, steadying herself.

“Is everything okay Seraphina?” Aurelia whispered under her breath.

She gulped audibly before nodding and gesturing for them to continue forward.

The circle of mages parted as Seraphina, Achilles and Aurelia came to meet them. Isobella opened her arms out to embrace Seraphina, as they parted she paused momentarily and cast her eyes over Seraphina’s body. An unsettling look came across her face before she shook it away and gave a solemn smile.

“Are you sure it is wise for you to come Seraphina?” Isobella lowered her voice to an almost whisper.

She nodded her head in response.

“I must, my being here is the reason Briseis has resorted to such measures, I can not ignore the role I play in all of this,” she whispered back.

Tilting her head to the side, she hooked a finger under Seraphina’s chin and forced her to meet her gaze.

“This is NOT your fault, you have played no part in this, do you hear me?” though her voice was still hushed, her words were stern.

Seraphina nodded hesitantly as tears filled her eyes once more.

“This is the work of a power greedy, despicable individual and you are going to bring those children to safety, peace to their families and gods willing, justice.”

Taking in a shaky breath, Seraphina nodded once more before straightening her shoulders back and addressing the group of mages gathered.

“I’m sure Aurelia has you up to speed on the plan?”

A chorus of ‘yes’ and ‘ayes’ followed.

“Okay,” Seraphina pulled the sodalite stone from a pocket in her dress and held it out in the palm of her hand.

“I am going to activate the stone and then we will have to make haste to get to the location of the children-“

“-If I may Seraphina,” Seamus stepped forward with his hands held behind his back.

Seraphina nodded for him to continue.

“With all of the mages here, we can easily perform a transportation spell to send us and the soldiers to the location the sodalite stone reveals, it will be much quicker and we won’t run the risk of losing them if Brises tries relocating the children.”

She tilted her head in thought for a moment.

“Can we only perform it to go one way?”

Seamus nodded his head.

“It is not the most taxing spell to perform though, it may be difficult some of the human soldiers, who are not acclimated to magic use if we are to transport them twice.”

“Hmm, okay and perhaps we should cast a barrier spell around the manor so that only those who are granted entry may enter?”

“Ahh, I knew great minds think alike,” Oisin stepped forward, “I hope you don’t mind but, I already took the liberty of performing a barrier spell.”

Seraphina grinned at Oisin.

“Perfect, well if that is all-“

“-WAIT! WAIT FOR US!”

Everyone turned to see what the commotion was only to see Princesses, Drusilla and Antoinette and Prince Credence running into the courtyard, pulling on their clothes in the process.

“Did you 3 really shift and run all the way here?” Achilles asked shocked.

“Well I flew but, yes,” Credence grinned up at his older brother.

“You aren’t coming.” Aurelia turned her back to them, ultimately dismissing them.

“LIKE HELL WE ARENT!” Drusilla shouted.

Aurelia span back around to face her, one eyebrow arched at her younger sister.

“That bitch is responsible for the death of my niece and nephew as well in case you’ve forgotten and I am just as capable a warrior as you Aurelia,” Drusilla’s red eyes blazed as she stepped forward so she was toe to toe with her older sister.

Aurelia’s face reddened as she stared down at her younger sister. She sucked in a deep breath ready to berate her when a soft hand touched her arm.

“L-Leonardo?” Aurelia stuttered at she looked up at the tall redheaded warrior.

“Forgive me Princess but, Princess Drusilla is correct. She is a very capable warrior and we do not know what we will be walking into, all extra hands will be helpful.” The warrior, Leonardo, spoke softly to her.

Aurelia’s tongue darted out to wet her lips as she stared up, seemingly lost in the warriors, deep brown eyes. She nodded her head slowly before shaking herself from her trance.

“Fine, Drusilla can come but, what about Antoinette and Credence, hmm? What exactly do you two bring to the table.” Aurelia looked around to glare at her other siblings.

Antoinette, every bit as bold as her sisters, squared her shoulders back and flipped her dark hair over her shoulder and kept her ocean blue eyes trained on Aurelia as she strutted forward.

“I may not be the fighter that you and Drusilla are but, I am sneaky, stealthy and fast. I can scout the area from the ground while you secure the children.”

“A-and I can keep watch from above and, you know, alert you if I see anything,” Credence shuffled forward, his eyes looking anywhere but at Aurelia.

Aurelia furrowed her brows together as she mulled over their proposals.

After a long moment, she let out a sigh and placed a hand on her forehead. Shaking her head, she looked up at her siblings.

“Fine, but remember, I am the general here, you do as I say okay?”

The 3 siblings nodded their heads at her.

“As soon as the children are retrieved and, on their way back with Seraphina, Drusilla and Antoinette, you two are to follow behind on the ground, Credence you obviously follow from the sky. Keep your eyes and ears open for anything that seems off and I mean anything. I want to know if a damn rock looks out of place, do you understand?”

“Yes, Aurelia,” the three chorused as they moved to join the rest of the battalion.

Letting out another sigh, Aurelia moved to join the other before a hand on the small of her back froze her in place.

“Be careful out there, my Princess,” Leonardo whispered to her.

A blush crept across Aurelia’s cheeks as she looked down and cast her eyes to the side where the warrior stood.

“You too, my amore guerriero. If you get hurt out there or don’t make it back to me in one piece, I’ll make you wish you I had killed you all those years ago,” Aurelia whispered seductively.

Leonardo supressed a chuckle as he ushered Aurelia forward.

As she returned to her place at Seraphina’s side, she leant over to Aurelia and nudged her with her shoulder.

“Was that who I think it was?” Seraphina asked in a hushed tone.

“I’m not sure I know what you mean, sister,” Aurelia smirked at her.

Seraphina arched an eyebrow and returned her smirk; both knew this wouldn’t be the end of that conversation.

Once all of the mages and soldiers where in place, Seraphina and Achilles stepped forward, hand in hand ready to address everyone.

Achilles cleared his throat gathering the attention of everyone present.

“Thank you all for being here today. I know most of you know of the former Lady, Briseis. You also know of her crimes. From enchanting me, to causing the death of mine and Seraphina’s unborn twins, and the kidnapping the 6 Dhampir children. Those are just the crimes we are aware of. She has cause untold heart ache and trauma to the people of Matera and she will not go unpunished.”

Cheers erupted from the soldiers before them.

“I know I do not need to remind you but, this is a rescue and retrieve mission, not a slaughtering. Our one and only priority is to bring the children to safety. Briseis may have an army waiting for us, we really do not know. In any case, you are to protect the mages and Seraphina and clear a path to grant access to the children. Once the children have been removed and taken to safety, any of Brises’ accomplices will be apprehended and taken to the palace dungeons where they will be interrogated. Is that understood?”

The soldiers brought their hands up to salute Achilles before bringing them down with a stomp of their foot.

“YES, YOUR HIGHNESS!”

With everyone in formation and ready, Isobella nodded to the mages that were staying behind.

Without missing a beat, the formed a circle around the crowd of soldiers and joined hands.

“Seraphina, when you’re ready, you can activate the stone,” Seamus came to stand before Seraphina.

Closing her eyes, she clutched the stone with both hands and took a deep breath.

“Ut inveniet quod habet non fuit Perdita autem capta est

simplici ex corde invicem et ductus paenitudine

ostende mihi faciem eorum innocentes animarum

et ego revertere et in domum suam”

The air around Seraphina began to whirl and cocooned her in a miniature tornado. Her dark hair floated around her and a bright, white light began to emanate on her forehead before slowly spreading across her body.

Her body started to rise up from the floor as the air encapsulating her picked up speed, her back arched as her eyes shot open to reveal 2 silver orbs.

Her Dhampir and Mages marking began to burn and glow on her skin along with her mark of the dragon.

The entire courtyard disappeared to her as images danced in her vision.

“I-Is this normal?” Achilles worried from the ground below where Seraphina floated.

Isobella glanced at him.

“I think so… I have never seen the spell performed before though… The same thing happened to her father’s eyes when he had a vision.”

Achilles gave her a nervous nod before returning to watch Seraphina.

She whipped her head from side to side as images of trees flashed by in her peripherals until her eyes landed on a solitary tree in the middle of a clearing. Looking down towards to ground, she could see the 6 children huddled at the base of the tree. Most were barely toddlers, 2 of the girls, no older than 9 each holding a baby, both not even a year old. Cuddled into their sides were two younger children, roughly 2 or 3 years old.

Her heart twisted in her chest as she saw how frightened they looked, eyes red and swollen from crying and noses running from the cold.

They appeared to be fed though, they definitely looked worse for wear. Their clothes muddied and torn, scratches and grazes hidden beneath the dirt on their skin, their hair completely matted.

Returning from her vision, she slowly began to descend back to the ground landing on light feet.

Looking around at the awaiting faces, she swallowed past the lump in her throat.

“I know where they are.”

“Can you show me?” Seamus asked her, holding his hands outward.

Seraphina lowered her voice to a whisper as she leaned in towards him.

“I can show you though, I am certain it is not something you wish to see.”

Placing her hands in Seamus’, she closed her eyes and projected the vision into his mind. As they released hands, a dark look came upon Seamus’ face and his jaw clenched as he ground his teeth together.

Their eyes met and with that moment or torment shared, they gave each other a determined nod.

Stepping back, Seamus opened his arms out and took a deep breath.

“I have opened my mind to you, see where we must go and send us there. We have no time to waste,” turning to face the soldiers, he clenched his fists at his sides and let out a sigh.

“There appears to be no one guarding the children but, do not be fooled. Perceptions can be deceiving, there may very well be armies waiting in the shadows, be vigilant and hold fast.”

As the last of Seamus’ words carried through the air, a huge wave of magic washed over everyone.

Seraphina could feel her skin tingle everywhere the magic touched as her hair and skirts floated in the air around her. A hand shot out to grasp hers, she turned her head to see Achilles beside her, an unsure look upon his face.

The air around them began to change, no longer could she smell the orange blossoms and roses from the garden. The air was now damp and earthy and humid, the sounds of animals heard in the distance and faint, broken rays of sunlight began to shine down on them.

Seraphina gave Achilles’ hand a gentle squeeze as the magic began to settle down around them and they found themselves crammed into the small clearing.

A collective breath was held as 6 little pairs of frightened eyes looked up at the army before them.