Chapter 133 CHAPTER 133
The car had barely come to a stop when the blast hit.
It thundered through the air behind the palace, loud enough to rattle the windows and make the ground beneath Lisa’s feet shudder as she stepped out. Instinct took over before thought could catch up. Her shoulders tensed, her heart jumped, and she turned sharply toward the sound, eyes wide.
“What was that?” she asked the bodyguard, her voice tight.
He looked just as startled. “I… I don’t know, Your Highness.”
Smoke curled faintly into the sky behind the palace, rising from the direction of the training grounds.
Lisa didn’t wait for the car door to close behind her.
Thomas hurried forward, already reaching for her school bag. “Your Highness, welcome back. If I may…”
“What’s happening back there?” she interrupted, already halfway turned toward the palace grounds.
The butler hesitated, then sighed softly. “Commander Liam is at the training grounds. With the priestess Celestine and the Fae elder. They’ve been… trying to help him.”
“Help him how?” Lisa asked, her chest tightening.
Thomas lowered his voice. “They’ve been at it for hours. Blast after blast. I don’t think he’s getting it.”
Lisa’s stomach dropped.
“Your bath has been prepared,” Thomas added gently. “Perhaps you should refresh yourself before…”
She shoved her bag and jacket into his arms without looking back. “I’ll do that later.”
Then she ran.
Her shoes pounded against the stone path as she cut through the palace grounds, uniform skirt swaying, breath coming fast. Another explosion cracked through the air ahead of her, sharper this time, followed by a plume of smoke.
“Celia,” she said in her mind, panic threading through her thoughts. “Can you sense anything? What’s happening?”
There was a pause. Then Celia’s voice came, quiet and heavy.
“All I feel is anger,” she said. “And frustration. It’s coming from Liam.”
Lisa ran faster.
By the time she reached the edge of the training grounds, smoke clung to the air. Scorched earth marked the ground in uneven patches. A few guards stood at a distance, tense and unsure. Celestine and Nolan were near the far end, watching closely.
Liam stood in the center of it all.
Nolan was behind him, hands hovering near Liam’s shoulders, his voice calm but strained. “Focus. Again. One more time. Just breathe.”
Liam’s eyes were shut tight. His fists clenched.
Then fire burst from his hand.
It shot forward in a wild arc, slamming into a cluster of bushes at the edge of the grounds. Flames leapt instantly, crackling and angry. Nolan swore under his breath.
Liam stared at the destruction, chest heaving. Slowly, he sank to the ground, knees giving way beneath him. He dragged his hands through his hair and bowed his head.
“It’s useless,” he said hoarsely. “I can’t do it. I can’t control it. I’m… I’m useless.”
Lisa’s chest ached at the sight.
Then Celia stirred inside her.
“It’s Kane,” she said suddenly. “He’s gone!.”
Lisa froze. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t feel him,” Celia replied.
Her breath caught.
“Can you sense where he is?” Lisa asked desperately.
There was silence as Celia tried to find him.
“It's bad Lisa, I found him, but he's... he's not good” Celia finally said, her voice filled with worry.
Lisa didn’t hesitate.
She crossed the training ground, footsteps slow now, careful. Nolan noticed her first. His eyes widened slightly before he stepped aside, giving her a clear path.
Liam didn’t see her. He was crouched low, shoulders shaking, staring at the ground like it might swallow him whole.
Lisa reached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
The change was instant.
His breathing slowed. The tightness in his body loosened, just a fraction. Calm rippled through him like a soft tide.
“Lisa,” he said quietly, before even turning.
She smiled faintly. “How did you know?”
He looked up at her then, eyes tired but sure. “I could feel it. I know you. I know what you do to me.”
She helped him stand and pulled him into her arms.
“I can feel how heavy this is for you,” she whispered. “How much you’re carrying.”
He exhaled shakily against her shoulder. “It’s Kane….”
“I know,” she said gently. “Celia told me.”
He pulled back, eyes glassy. “Everything is happening at once. I don’t know how to hold all of it. I don’t know how to be… this.”
She didn’t rush him. Just held him, steady and warm.
“I know,” she murmured. “You don’t have to explain.”
After a moment, he straightened. “I need to keep training. Kane depends on me.”
Lisa shook her head softly. “No. You need a break.”
She turned to Nolan and Celestine. Ethan stood nearby now, silent but watchful.
“I’m taking him,” Lisa said. “We’ll be back.”
She didn’t wait for permission.
She took Liam’s hand, and he followed without protest.
Celia spoke again, gentler this time. “I should go to Kane.”
Lisa nodded. “Yes. Be with him.”
Celia was gone in a breath.
Lisa led Liam past the gardens and toward the stables. She guided him to his horse, climbed up first, then reached back to help him mount behind her.
“Where are we going?” he asked quietly.
“You’ll see.”
They rode into the woods, the palace fading behind them. The path narrowed, branches brushing past, the scent of damp earth filling the air. When they reached the clearing near the waterfall, Lisa slowed the horse and dismounted.
They tied the horse and walked together toward the sound of rushing water.
The waterfall appeared like a secret kept by the forest itself - white water spilling into a clear pool, wildflowers blooming along the banks. This was Liam’s safe space – the place he had previously brought Lisa and told her he liked to visit when he was troubled.
Liam stopped, taking in a deep breath with his eyes closed and his hands lifted by his side. “Mmmhh… You know me so well. I feel better already.”
She smiled. “That’s why I brought you here.”
“Maybe we should go back,” he said, opening his eyes - alert. “Try again.”
She shook her head. “Not yet.”
She led him to the edge of the pool and began unbuttoning his shirt.
“What are you doing?” he asked, startled.
“I think we should swim.”
He hesitated, searching her face. “You think it’s a good idea?”
“Yes,” Lisa said softly, a small grin lifting her lips. “We came all this way. We can’t let this chance go to waste.”
She stepped closer as she spoke, fingers moving to the buttons of her blouse. One by one, she loosened them, slipping out of her skirt so it wouldn’t weigh her down in the water. Then, without breaking eye contact, she reached for him.
Her hands went to his shirt next, unfastening it gently, as if she was reminding him how to breathe. Liam swallowed, nodding once, and as she worked the last button free, he reached down and unbuckled his belt, setting it aside without a word and pulling his pants down.
Lisa took his hand.
Together, they stepped forward.
The water wrapped around their legs, cool and steady, washing away the heat and noise that had followed them all day. With every step deeper into the pool, the tension eased - shoulders lowering, breaths slowing, thoughts finally quieting.
By the time the water reached their waists, the world beyond the trees felt distant. The pressure in Liam’s chest loosened, and for the first time in what felt like forever, he let himself just be.
“How do you feel?” she asked.
“Better,” he said, eyes closing.
She moved behind him, cupping water in her hands and pouring it gently over his shoulders. He sighed softly.
Warmth spread through him - not fire, not force, but something alive and kind.
Suddenly his hands began to glow.
Soft light spilled from his fingers, drifting toward the flowers along the stream. Buds unfurled, colors blooming where moments ago there had been green.
“Liam, look!” Lisa whispered awed by the beauty of what he was doing. “You’re doing this.”
He opened his eyes, awe washing over his face as light danced across the surface of the water, scattering into faint rainbows that shimmered in the mist. His breath caught.
“Lisa,” he said, his voice bright with something close to laughter, close to disbelief. “I understand now.”
She smiled at him, watching the world respond - flowers blooming along the banks, colors deepening, the air itself seeming to hum. Before she could say anything, he pulled her into a tight hug, sudden and full, as if he needed to feel something solid, something real.
She laughed softly against his shoulder. “Easy,” she murmured, but he was already lifting her, joy surging through him unchecked.
And then - without either of them meaning to - there was no ground beneath their feet.
They rose.
The water slipped away below them as if releasing them willingly, the pool glowing where they had stood. Light spilled outward from Liam, wrapping around them in warm currents, lifting them higher until they hovered above the surface of the water. Rainbows bloomed in every direction - small ones dancing in the mist, one great arc stretching across the waterfall as it shimmered like glass.
Lisa tightened her arms around his neck, eyes wide, breath stolen. “Liam…”
He held her there, suspended between earth and sky, laughter breaking free as wonder poured through him. Flowers burst open along the stream’s edge, petals glowing as if kissed by sunlight, the forest alive and celebrating with them.
Above the water, wrapped in light, surrounded by color and motion, they floated - held not by power alone, but by joy.
And in that moment, they both knew – magic was to be felt, not forced.
In the wolf realm, Kane still lay with his eyes closed - Celia and Kael by his side – waiting for his human to bring him back.