Chapter 25 Escape and Consequences

Chapter 25 Escape and Consequences
Sienna's POV

Lily floated above the wreckage. Silver light poured from her eyes.

I couldn't reach her. The power around her was a wall I couldn't break through.

"Lily!" I screamed. "Baby, come back!"

She didn't hear me. Didn't see me. Something else controlled her now.

Orion writhed on the ground behind me. Luna's binding magic was killing him.

Kael grabbed my shoulders. "We have to get her down before she burns out!"

"I'm trying!" But my power bounced off the shield around my daughter.

The safe house collapsed inward. Walls crumbled. Windows shattered. Fire spread across the roof.

Dr. Helena ran outside. "Everyone get back! The whole structure is going to blow!"

"Not without Lily!" I pushed harder against the shield.

My hands burned. My power screamed. But nothing worked.

Then Orion stopped convulsing.

He went completely still.

"No." I turned to him. "No, you can't die. Not now."

His eyes snapped open. They glowed purple instead of their normal color.

He stood. Walked past me. Walked straight through Lily's shield like it wasn't there.

"Orion?" Luna whispered.

He reached up. Touched Lily's hand. The silver light around her flickered.

"Sleep," he said. His voice echoed with power that didn't belong to him.

Lily's eyes closed. She dropped.

Orion caught her. Brought her to me. Placed her in my arms.

Then he collapsed again.

"What just happened?" Kael demanded.

"The binding magic backfired." Luna's voice shook. "It tapped into his warlock bloodline. Released something that shouldn't be awake."

"Is he dying?"

"I don't know."

Lily stirred in my arms. Her eyes opened. Normal brown eyes. My baby girl.

"Mommy?" She sounded so small. So scared. "Did I hurt someone?"

"No, sweetheart. You're okay. Everyone's okay."

A lie. But she needed it.

The safe house behind us burst into flames. Heat washed over us in waves.

"We need to move," Dr. Helena said. "The fire will attract attention."

"Where do we go?" Kael asked. "The Assembly knows about Sienna now. They'll be hunting her."

"My pack," a voice said.

Daemon stepped from the trees. Blood covered his shirt. Cuts marked his face.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"Assembly hunters found my territory an hour ago." His jaw clenched. "They said I was harboring a fugitive. They attacked my pack."

Guilt twisted in my stomach. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Be smart." He looked at the burning safe house. "We need to disappear. Now. Before more hunters come."

"I can't run." Luna stood. "I have orders to bring Sienna in. If I don't, they'll kill me."

"Then come with us," Daemon said.

"I can't betray the Assembly."

"You already did." Daemon pointed at Orion. "You hit him with binding magic meant for Sienna. You failed your mission. They'll execute you anyway."

Luna's face went pale.

"He's right," Dr. Helena said softly. "You can't go back now."

Luna looked at her hands. At Orion dying on the ground. At the choice she'd made.

"I was trying to protect her," she whispered. "Everything I taught her. The suppression. The control. It was all to keep her alive."

"I know," I said.

"The Assembly doesn't care about protection. They care about obedience." Luna's voice hardened. "And you just proved you'll never obey."

Sirens wailed in the distance. Getting closer.

"Decide now," Daemon said. "Run with us or face them alone."

Luna closed her eyes. Took a breath. "I'll run."

"Good." Daemon bent down. Lifted Orion over his shoulder. "My pack has a safe house three hours north. We'll regroup there."

"What about my research?" Dr. Helena asked. "My equipment?"

"Leave it."

"But years of work—"

"Are worthless if you're dead."

Dr. Helena looked at the burning building. Then nodded.

We ran.

Through the forest. Away from the sirens. Away from everything I'd built in the last few weeks.

Lily held tight to my neck. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe."

"Will Dad come?"

I looked at Kael running beside me. He met my eyes. Nodded once.

"Yes," I told her. "Dad's coming too."

We ran for an hour. Maybe more. My legs burned. My lungs screamed. But I didn't stop.

Couldn't stop.

Finally, Daemon slowed. "We're close."

The trees opened into a clearing. A cabin sat in the center. Small. Hidden. Perfect.

Daemon kicked the door open. "Inside. Quickly."

We piled in. He laid Orion on a couch. The warlock's breathing was shallow. His skin looked gray.

"He needs a healer," Luna said.

"I know one." Daemon pulled out his phone. Started texting. "She'll be here in twenty minutes."

I set Lily down. She immediately curled up in a chair. Exhausted.

Kael sat beside her. Stroked her hair. His face was tight with worry.

"We need to talk," Dr. Helena said to me. "About what happened back there."

"Later."

"No. Now." She crossed her arms. "Your daughter channeled power that should be impossible. She spoke about a sleeper. What does that mean?"

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do. The journal. What did it say?"

I'd forgotten about the journal. I still clutched it in my free hand.

"My mother was a moon witch," I said. "She hid it. Suppressed her power. It killed her when she gave birth to me."

"That's not all." Dr. Helena's eyes narrowed. "There's more. Tell me."

"The wolfless curse wasn't real. My mother's magic was sleeping in my blood. When I got away from the pack, away from their judgment, it woke up."

"Which means Lily has the same magic."

"Yes."

"And it's stronger than yours."

I nodded.

Dr. Helena rubbed her face. "This changes everything. If the Assembly knows moon witch power can pass through bloodlines, they'll hunt every descendant. They'll kill anyone who might carry the gene."

"Then we stop them," Daemon said.

"How?" Luna asked. "We're fugitives now. We have no power. No resources. No allies."

"We have each other."

"That's not enough."

A phone rang. Daemon's phone.

He looked at the screen. His face went hard.

"It's the Assembly," he said.

"Don't answer it," I said.

"I have to. If I don't, they'll know I'm helping you."

He answered. Put it on speaker.

"Daemon Cross." A woman's voice came through. Cold. Formal. "This is High Councillor Thorne of the Assembly. We have reason to believe you're harboring the fugitive Sienna Voss."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to us. We tracked her to your territory."

"My territory was attacked by your hunters. Maybe she was there. I don't know. I was too busy protecting my pack."

Silence. Then: "We're issuing a formal summons. Sienna Voss is to appear before the Assembly in three days. If she doesn't, we will consider it an admission of guilt."

"Guilt of what?" Daemon asked.

"Murder. Theft. Treason against supernatural law." The woman paused. "And conspiracy to resurrect forbidden magic that threatens us all."

My stomach dropped.

"What happens if she comes?" Daemon asked.

"A fair trial. A chance to defend herself."

"And if she doesn't?"

"We send hunters. We execute everyone who helped her. Including you."

The line went dead.

Luna looked at me. Her face was stone.

"Three days," she said. "They're giving you three days to surrender."

"I won't."

"Then they'll kill all of us." Luna stood. Walked to the door. Stopped with her hand on the handle. "You stupid, reckless girl. Do you understand what you've done?"

"I was trying to save my daughter."

"You've doomed us all." Luna turned. Tears streaked her face. "The trial is a trap. They don't want to judge you. They want to execute you in front of everyone. Make an example. Prove that moon witches can't exist anymore."

"Then what do I do?"

"I don't know." Luna's voice broke. "But you better figure it out fast. Because in three days, hunters will come. And this time, they won't stop until you're dead."

She walked out. Slammed the door behind her.

I stood there. Holding my mother's journal. Watching my daughter sleep. Feeling the weight of every choice I'd made.

Kael touched my hand. "We'll find a way."

"How?"

Before he could answer, Orion gasped. His eyes opened. He sat up fast.

"They're already here," he said.