Chapter 49: Inferno of The Soul.

Ciro Thalos Drevyn

"Esmarie!" I roared as I barreled through the forest, half-shifted, my body a monstrous fusion between man and beast, claws drawn and ready to strike down anything and anyone that stood between us.

Her voice—Esmarie's voice—echoed in my head, faint but piercing, a desperate cry that twisted my heart into knots.

I didn't know how it was working, I didn't know how I was conversing with her through the bond but all I knew, all I could think about was Hemne's warning.

She would die tonight.

"Ciro....please". She whimpered and another enraged growl rumbled out of me, rain pelting down my face.

I could feel her fear as if it were my own, a cold, suffocating wave crashing over me. My breath came in ragged snarls, my vision tunneling to red.

"I'm coming, Esmarie".I thought back, pushing the words through the bond with every ounce of my willpower. "Hold on. I'm almost there".

But the truth gnawed at me—I was terrified too more than I had ever been. Her screams echoed in my skull, each one twisting at my sanity. What if I was too late?

What if I couldn't prevent it from happening?

"What do you see?" I demanded, my mind racing as I leaped over a fallen log. I could smell it, her scent all over the wet soil, across the trees."Tell me!"

Her response was jumbled and incoherent, laced with sobs that made my chest ache physically. "My father....he's here… they're monsters… please, Ciro, it hurts… I'm scared…"

Father?

The word ignited a fresh wave of fury within me. It was impossible. I had ripped apart those filthy humans with my bare hands yet somehow they were haunting her in the Eastern Continent....

That wasn't possible.

The bond flickered with her panic, tugging at my chest again like a chain attached to my heart, connecting us together. I could almost feel her pain, and it fueled me, propelling me faster through the storm.

I was almost there.

Then, without warning, a blinding white light accompanied by a piercing scream erupted from the heart of the forest with a force so intense, it pushed me backwards slamming me into a large boulder. It illuminated everything—the twisted branches, the fog-shrouded ground—like a divine explosion, pure and overwhelming.

The scream cleaved through the forest. In that blink of clarity I knew who it belonged to.

"Esmarie!" I roared out loud into the open as I rolled to my feet, forcing my shoulder back into place with a sickening crack, my voice a desperate scream, almost mirroring hers.

No reply. The silence hit like a void, her presence flickering out like a snuffed flame. My heart plummeted like it had been dropped into an abyss. Why wasn't she answering? Was she…?

No.

No..

A primal roar tore from my throat, echoing through the entire forest. The sound was raw, guttural, a declaration of war against whatever had taken her from me. I surged forward, ignoring the thorns ripping at my flesh, the burn in my lungs.

It wasn't just her scream, I could smell her everywhere. Her blood, her fear, her tears. All over the forest like a tapestry of her pain... of her suffering.

But I couldn't find her.

Soryn was clawing at me, despite the constraints of our curse. He couldn't take control but he was forcing me... to shift. To destroy everything to find her.

Thorne and Hemne burst through the trees behind me. Eyes wide and searching, looking for Esmarie and the source of the white light.

"Ciro, you need to calm down!" Thorne yelled, hair plastered to his face from the rain, breathless and heaving. "I know what you're thinking but don't do it—you'll destroy everything. It's against the laws of heaven"

Hemne's face was streaked with blood from her vision, eyes wide with urgency. "You will get punished,Ciro!"

Their words were meaningless noise, drowned by the pounding of my blood, the void where Esmarie's voice should be.

Calm?

How could I be calm when she was gone, her screams still ringing in my ears? I didn't care about any heavenly punishment.

As long as I would find Esmarie.

I could face anything.

"Ciro—" Thorne started again, but one look from me shut him up. He knew from the hardened look in my eyes that I had made up my mind.

A pained filled growl escaped me as scales erupted across my skin, black and iridescent, wings unfurling with a thunderous snap. My roar became a bellow that shook the mountains, flames rumbling deep within my belly. Soryn took charge, handling the reigns of our body with murderous intensity.

With a single swoop of my wings, I launched right into the sky, between the rumbling clouds flashing with lightning. I barely felt the rain on my skin as we flew higher, eyes narrowed into reptilian slits.

The trees formed a canopy, blocking my view. I still couldn't see her through them.

Fire ignited in my chest, searing and wild. I could taste smoke in my throat before the flames even left my jaws. With one powerful exhale, the inferno escaped from my mouth, engulfing the forest below. Trees turned to ash. The rain hissed against the blaze, steam rising like ghosts from the scorched earth.

Thorne and Hemne yelled below, hurtling for cover.

I didn’t care.

Not about the forest. Not about heaven’s laws. Not about punishment.

I just needed to find her.

Then—amidst the charred trees and smoke—I felt it.

The fire ceased instantly as I folded my wings, diving headfirst through the smoke, crashing mid-shift through what was left of the trees. The ground split beneath the impact as I landed.

She was there.

Unconscious.

Her body glowing faintly, as if her soul itself was fighting to stay tethered to this world. Blood soaked the soil around her — but the scent wasn’t hers. My heart stuttered in confusion.

“Esmarie,” I whispered as I pulled her into my arms, brushing her hair from her face. “Wake up… please,look at me…”

Her breathing was shallow, barely even there.

And then—

Footsteps.

Slow, deliberate, echoing across the charred clearing.

I turned, eyes burning crimson, and saw him standing at the edge of the firelight.

Fenrick.

His face was grim, almost sorrowful, but I could see it in his eyes — that cold, dead glint that always meant he’d done something unforgivable.

“It’s done,” he said simply, voice low. “You were too late.”

My pulse stopped.

“What did you do?” I hissed, rising to my feet, shielding Esmarie behind me.

He didn’t flinch. “You took her away from me, Ciro. I merely undid it.”

The world went still as his words settled in my head.

My hand shot forward before I could think, claws razor sharp as I gripped his throat, lifting him off the ground. Flames flickered in my eyes, my voice a low, trembling growl.

“You hurt my mate,” I snarled, every word soaked in fury and grief. “You will die by my hand".