Chapter 203 My Angel | 096

Chapter 203 My Angel | 096
NOELLE

I sit beside Danika on the couch, our hands tightly clasped together. Her fingers are warm but tense, gripping mine. The silence is filled with the same thoughts.

They've been gone too long. Something isn't right.

Danika exhales shakily beside me, her thumb brushing over my knuckles in a soothing rhythm that feels more for her than for me.

"They'll be alright," she mumbles, but she doesn't sound like she believes it.

I nod anyway.

I have to.

Because if I don't—

A loud, frantic pounding slams against the front door. Both of us jolt, my heart leaping straight into my throat.

"What—"

It comes again, more desperate. Danika is already rising, but I move faster.

"I'll check."

My feet carry me quickly across the room, my pulse thundering in my ears. I reach the monitor panel beside the door and turn it on. The screen crackles to life, and I freeze.

"Jake—?"

He's on the camera, barely upright. He's pale and trembling. There's a bandage wrapped around his head, stained faintly at the edges.

Beside him, Cam is practically holding him up, one arm hooked tightly around his shoulders.

They both look wrecked.

My stomach drops.

I don't hesitate. I unlock the door and yank it open.

Jake stumbles in immediately, nearly collapsing as soon as he crosses the threshold. Cam catches him just in time, gripping him hard.

"Careful—" Cam winces.

Jake's breathing is ragged.

"Oh my God—" I rush forward. "Jake, what happened to you?"

Up close, it's worse. So much worse. His lips are dry. His skin is flushed in a way that makes my chest tighten with dread.

He sways again, and this time Cam doesn't even try to keep him standing.

"Sit," Cam orders, guiding him down onto the couch.

Jake doesn't argue. He can't. Danika is there in an instant.

"Oh, sweetheart—" she breathes, kneeling in front of him.

Her hands move quickly, pushing his long hair away from his face and brushing her palm over his forehead. Then she gasps. Her hand jerks back as if she's been scalded.

"He's burning up."

My stomach knots tightly. Jake lets out a weak breath, his head dropping forward as his shoulders tremble.

"We... didn't have time," he rasps. "Had to come straight here. Isn’t Azren back yet?”

I shake my head, and his eyes go wide.

Cam crouches beside him, one hand still bracing his back.

"Noelle," he says urgently. "Listen carefully."

Something in his tone makes my blood run cold. Jake lifts his head slowly. His eyes are bloodshot.

"We found something," he says, his voice shaking. "About Darrell."

I stiffen. "What about him?"

Jake swallows hard. "He's been missing... longer than we thought."

A frown pulls at my brows. "What do you mean—?"

Cam sighs. "The Darrell we've been with this whole time was actually Haden."

The words land wrong. Like they don't belong in the same sentence.

My heart skips a beat.

"...what?"

Jake nods weakly, his fingers curling into the fabric of his pants.

"He can split himself," he says. "Exist in multiple bodies at once. At most, three. We destroyed two versions of him already. Cooper and Haden's original body."

My breath catches in my throat.

"No..."

Jake's eyes meet mine.

"That Darrell we knew?" he says. "That wasn't him. Not for a long time."

A cold, creeping horror slides down my spine.

"That's how they've been spying," Cam adds. "Right under our noses."

Danika's hand flies to her mouth. "Oh gods..."

Jake drags in a shaky breath. "And there's more."

Shit.

Cam nods grimly. "Haden's essence," he says. "It was too small."

My chest tightens. "What?"

"For someone that powerful?" Cam continues. "What we got... it didn't add up. I thought it was strange at the time."

Jake's voice turns hoarse. "Because it wasn't all of him."

Danika looks between them, fear flooding her eyes.

"...you think he's still out there?"

Jake nods. "One version, at least."

My stomach drops. Danika's voice trembles as she speaks.

"What if he's at the Corps facility? What if this is all a trap?" she whispers.

Jake lets out a hollow laugh.

"It is a trap."

Tears well up in my eyes.

"They don't just want Azren dead," he continues. "They want him to lose control. Enough to release a whole dam of destruction."

A chill ripples through me.

"And the fastest way to do that..." Cam adds, "...is to make him watch someone he loves suffer."

My heart stops. Something curls in my gut. My breath comes out shaky.

"What if..." I whisper, and they both look at me. “What if they don't need me at all?"

Jake frowns. "What do you mean?"

My pulse spikes.

"What if they create a version of me?"

Jake shoots upright so fast he nearly falls. "That's it. That's exactly it."

Cam curses under his breath.

"We have to go. Now."

Jake tries to stand again, but his legs almost give out. Cam catches him.

"No, you're not going anywhere like this—"

"I don't have a choice!" Jake snaps, shaking. "If that's what they're doing—if Azren thinks—"

He can't even finish the sentence. He doesn't have to. I already know. Azren would go mad. And if that happens, he'll destroy everything. Including himself.

I step forward.

"I'm coming."

"No."

Jake and Cam say it at the same time. Danika grips my hand tighter.

"Noelle—"

"I'm coming," I repeat, my voice sharper.

Jake shakes his head. "It's too dangerous—"

Heat floods my veins. A low growl rumbles from my chest as Blaze pushes to the surface.

"I said," I breathe, my voice dropping into something deeper, something not entirely human, "I'm coming."

The room goes dead silent.

Jake stares at me. Cam doesn't even try to argue again. Danika slowly rises to her feet beside me.

"...then I'm coming too."

I turn to her, startled.

"You shouldn't—"

"I'm not letting my son walk into a trap alone," she says firmly. "And I'm not letting you go either."

Her hand squeezes mine. Then her gaze sharpens.

"But first...come with me, Noelle. There's something that will help us get there faster. Come help me find it."

I part my lips to tell her there's no time, but the look on her face makes me pause. She's trying to tell me something else. I can feel it.

So I follow her to a spare room upstairs. She clears the heavy oak table in the room with one sweep of her arm, then pulls out a black velvet cloth. From a locked cabinet, she takes a small iron bowl, a pouch of coarse gray salt, and a bundle of dried ashroot tied with black thread.

"Hold this," she tells me, pressing the bowl into my hands.

I watch as she works. Her fingers are steady, but her eyes burn with that same protective fire I've seen in Azren a hundred times.

First, she draws a perfect circle with the salt. Then she crushes the ashroot between her palms until it becomes fine, bitter-smelling dust and sprinkles it over the salt. The mixture hisses like it's alive.

"Now the essence," she says. "Go grab it. Make sure Cam and Jake aren't watching."

I quickly do as she asked.

We pour it into the bowl, and Danika's lips curve into something almost proud.

"I asked my husband how to do this once," she says, her voice soft. "He told me. I was worried about the essence being close to my son. Especially if it could possess him."

She reaches for a small glass vial of mystical powder. It's iridescent, shifting between silver and deepest crimson. The moment she uncorks it, the air grows heavy. She tips the powder into the bowl.

The reaction is instant.

The essence convulses, screaming. It thrashes against the salt-and-ashroot cage, but the powder eats through it like acid. Black smoke billows up, thick and choking, before the whole mass collapses in on itself and turns to fine gray ash.

Danika exhales sharply. "It's gone."

She works fast after that, scraping every speck of ash into a small lead-lined pouch, sealing it with wax and a drop of her own blood. Then she tucks the pouch deep into a leather satchel along with the remaining salt and ashroot. She wipes the table clean and erases every trace.

"Come with me," she says, slinging the satchel over her shoulder. Her voice drops even lower. "Kitchen. Now. And keep your eyes on the boys. Don't let them follow."

I blink, puzzled. "Why? What are you—"

She doesn't answer until we step into the kitchen.

She glances back towards the sitting room, making sure Cam and Jake are still inside.

"I suspect one of them might not be who they say they are," she whispers, hiding the satchel in a hidden panel attached to the cupboard.

"Haden is still out there. Three bodies, remember? We destroyed two. It's weird how they suddenly have that knowledge. They were so specific about it. If the third is wearing one of their faces..."

My stomach twists. "But... why would he—"

Danika straightens and gives me a small, fierce beam.

"To get you to actually show up. Or to steal back what we just got rid of. Either works for him." Her smile fades into something gentler.

"But one thing is certain, Noelle. You must go. Right now. Only you can pull Azren back from the edge if he's watching some illusion of you die. You're his anchor. His heart. Not even his father can do that the way you can."

She reaches out and squeezes my hand gently.

"Let's go."

I nod, my throat tight.

We're coming, Azren.