Book 2 - Chapter 51

Book 2 - Chapter 51
Chapter 51 – The Luna Escapes

Serena

Like what Viscount Daniel said, I ran—or more like plodded—as far away as possible from Sofia’s house.

The house was impressive—that was my first impression when I first glimpsed it en route to my escape path. The walls were made of white bricks and it was covered in vines almost deliberately to camouflage it with its surroundings. It had a landscaped garden and toadstool pathways—a standard in every fae house, but hers was a weird dark violet. The house was surrounded by autumn-colored trees and lavender-green grass; quite picturesque if not for the owner and the people living in it.

The bluish color of the barrier was visible around the house, yet I couldn’t quite figure out the depth of its coverage: how many kilometers it stretched or how high it reached the sky.

Despite this, I continued forward, never really stopping even when my contractions returned. I tried to shift into my wolf form, but to my disappointment, I couldn’t. I figured it was still because of the barrier spell, nullifying it like my spatial magic.

In the end, I used my human legs and strove hard to lengthen the distance between the house and me.

I passed by hills, fields, forests and creeks. I passed by uneven terrain, rocky grounds, and sandy ones. There were friendly animals along the way: deers, rabbits, bears, but they were all shy to approach me.

My research about ‘the day’ in Google gave me enough knowledge on what to expect. For humans, the labor sometimes goes on for hours, sometimes a day or more. For other women, labor was quick and sometimes with less pain.

I was a hybrid, so I could never be sure how long I’d go on labor. However, I would prefer mine longer, maybe just enough time for me to finally return to Phanteon. I didn’t care about the pain anymore. I was willing to suffer more from it just as long as I deliver in a proper place with Aero by my side.

After maybe three or four hours of walking under the sun, I stopped by a narrow river, cupped some water with my palms and drank the liquid. It was cool and sweet—totally a surprise from this hidden forest of Sofia.

I stayed for a few minutes, catching my breath and riding another wave of painful contractions. When this ended, I stood up and continued escaping. I followed the shoreline of the river this time. Survival shows on Earth always mention that rivers mean people. That it always leads to a civilization, which in my case was Ehnrelil.

With my hopes high, I walked and walked until dusk came. The forest floor I was in turned dark. I wasn’t afraid of this change considering I was a half-wolf. I could still see clearly in the dark. But then, I heard an animal sound in the distance—a screeching, hissing, Vulture-like squawk that I knew could only come from certain baby-eating monsters, the sacrishas.

My heartbeat tripled, and my skin shivered at the thought of this new threat. Of course, since I was still in the fae realm and especially now that it was evening, meeting one wasn’t impossible.

“I have to move fast! I have to reach the edge of this barrier! I can’t be dinner for these creatures!” I told myself while grimacing.

As I hid under the darkness and the cover of trees, I heard another noise, but this time, it didn’t come from the sacrishas, it came from a man’s voice.

Hadon.

He was issuing orders to the...fuck—sacrishas.

“Find her! Kill her! Eat her young!”

Damn it. And here I thought these creatures were mindless beings from Sattus.

Since he was here, this means Hilda had already found out I escaped. She probably sent Hadon to recapture me—that was predictable, but I thought of Viscount Daniel’s welfare and hoped that she didn’t suspect a thing about him helping me.

Knowing now that the sacrishas could be manipulated, I exercised higher caution. I entered the river and submerged my body up to the shoulder to erase my scent. The water was truly cold and my belly contracted harder in response to this sudden change of temperature, but I knew I had to bear it all for the sake of my children.

I swam and swam onward all the while I heard the rustling of trees and flapping of wings nearby. It was a long, arduous swim until I found myself facing a gigantic waterfall.

My eyes popped and quickly, I swam back to shore.

“No...” I muttered while I faced the great fall. “This couldn’t be...this couldn’t be the end!” Its height taunted me. Its ominous quality mocked me. If I had my powers and if I wasn’t pregnant, jumping into the waterfall would be easy for me. Even if I was in my wolf form, this would be a piece of cake.

Turning around, I looked for more options, but I knew there was none. If I stay out of the water, then the sacrishas would scent me and track me down. If they miraculously couldn’t track me, I’d trek down the steep cliff which obviously wasn’t a possibility considering my condition.

Rerouting my attention to the waterfall, I gulped. Fuck. Never in my life had I foreseen I would come to this situation. Never. But I had no choice. I had to for the safety of my children.

I clenched my teeth. I puffed my chest. I took a deep breath and then I jumped. I jumped like I was doing a cannon ball. I jumped while I prayed to the Universe for a safe landing. I jumped with Aero’s face in my head and his future smile when he holds our children. I jumped just in time as the flapping of wings reached my ears, telling me they were near.

Water splashed on my face as I fell legs-first into the waterfall. I felt disconnected with my world just as my life flashed before my eyes: my mother, me training as a priestess, the Salviste Lake, the painting, meeting Aero for the first time since I erased my memories, marrying him, eventually falling in love with him again, living with him and having his children. I had lived a worthwhile life and I wouldn’t want to exchange it for anything in this world or the next.

When my body hit the deep water, I felt an instant reconnection of my world again. I swam to the surface and swam to shore, all the while ensuring I was still invisible to these creatures. My labor pains started again, and it came back with a vengeance. It radiated to my back with the intensity that differed from earlier.

I thought that maybe this was the effect of jumping a waterfall, but I knew, for certain, it wasn’t. This time, it was because of my impending delivery.

I winced and moaned, huffed and groaned as I crawled into a rocky ground near the waterfall drop. I wasn’t safe yet, so I tried to look for an area, anything, to shelter me from these monsters and from Hadon.

Luckily, six meters ahead, I saw a cave entrance. Somehow the ray of the full moon assisted me into spotting it. It was as if a sign; the Universe’s way of helping me; or my mother looking down at me and ensuring my safety and my children’s proper delivery.

I got inside as fast as I could and dropped my poor, weakened body onto the mossy ground. The cave was of a decent size, enough that I could stand and enough to hide me from dangerous eyes. Surprisingly, the inside was warm, and the air was thin.

Thin?

Immediately as that word left my thoughts, my eyes widened. Yes! Finally, I was no longer inside Sofia’s barrier. I could shift now and use my powers. I could use my spatial magic, but most of all, I could mind-link my husband.

Together with the severe contractions, I hoisted myself up, sat against the rock wall and readied to mind-link him. But before my thoughts could even reach our bond, Aero—my love, my life—appeared before me.