Chapter 248 CHAPTER 248

Chapter 248 CHAPTER 248
Helena pressed her palms harder against her temples, her elbows braced on her knees as she leaned forward, her head bowed like she was trying to shut out the sounds that kept slipping through the walls. They came in waves—shouts, something striking, something breaking—and each one landed differently, not loud enough to make sense, but strong enough to feel.

“Not again,” she whispered.

Her fingers tightened slightly, pressing into her skin as her shoulders rose with a breath that didn’t steady. “Please… not again.”

She shook her head faintly, her voice lowering as if the words themselves carried weight. “I didn’t bring them here for this. I didn’t lead them into another—” Her voice faltered for a second before she forced it through. “Another massacre.”

The word lingered in the air between them.

Helena drew in another breath, slower this time, but it still didn’t settle. “Let them get out,” she murmured. “Let them leave this place alive. Let this end differently.”

Across from her, Jocelyn sat still, her back against the wall, her hands resting against her knees before slowly curling into fists. Her eyes were open, but they didn’t hold still, shifting slightly every time a sound reached them from outside.

“My daughter…” she said quietly.

The words came out softer than she intended, and she swallowed before continuing. “She’s out there… somewhere in all of this.”

Her fingers tightened further, her knuckles paling slightly. “Please don’t let her be used for this. Don’t let her become part of it.”

She shook her head once, small but firm. “Let her step away from it. Let her walk out of this without… without carrying what I did.”

Another sound broke through the walls, sharper this time, followed by something that sounded like movement rushing past.

Jocelyn flinched.

Helena’s head lifted slightly, her gaze shifting toward the door even though nothing had changed yet.

Then the lock clicked.

Both of them stilled.

The door opened.

Ella stood there, her breathing uneven, her hair slightly out of place as if she had been moving quickly. Her eyes flicked between them, not lingering too long on either.

“We need to go,” she said.

Jocelyn pushed herself up slowly, her gaze narrowing as she studied her. “How did you get out?” she asked.

Ella stepped slightly to the side, as if making space for them already. “My door wasn’t locked,” she said. “I think… she was distracted.”

“By what?” Helena asked, already rising to her feet.

“The guards,” Ella replied. “The Mooncrest guards. They’re here. They broke through.”

The words landed quickly.

Jocelyn’s eyes widened slightly. “They came?”

Ella nodded. “They’re fighting outside. That’s what you’re hearing.”

Helena didn’t wait.

She moved toward the doorway, her steps quick but controlled, her hands lowering from her temples as something sharper replaced the weight that had been there moments before.

“And you came here?” she asked.

Ella nodded again. “I couldn’t leave you both here.”

Jocelyn hesitated for a fraction of a second, her gaze still on Ella, searching her face like she was trying to read something that wasn’t being said.

Ella met her eyes briefly, then looked away. “We don’t have time,” she added. “If we stay, we’ll be locked in again.”

That was enough.

Jocelyn stepped forward.

Helena was already outside the cell.

The dark stairs stretched ahead of them, dim but no longer silent. The sounds from outside came clearer now, no longer muffled by walls, but still distant enough to leave room for uncertainty.

“What’s happening out there?” Helena asked as they moved.

Ella walked ahead of them, her pace steady. “They’re trying to hold them back,” she said. “The witches… they’re not letting them move freely.”

“Seraphine?” Jocelyn asked.

Ella didn’t answer immediately.

“She’s there,” she said after a second. “Leading it.”

Helena’s jaw tightened slightly. “Then we need to move faster.”

They reached the end of the staircase, the door opening slightly as the sounds grew louder, clearer—shouts, movement, something striking with force.

Jocelyn slowed for a moment, her hand brushing lightly against the wall as if steadying herself.

“Stay close,” Helena said, glancing back at her.

Jocelyn nodded once.

They stepped forward together.

The exit lay just ahead, the light from outside spilling faintly into the corridor, carrying with it the full weight of what was happening beyond.

Ella stopped just short of the opening and turned back to them briefly. “Ready?” she asked the two women. 

Helena didn’t hesitate. “As ready as we’ll ever be.”

Jocelyn drew in a breath, her fingers flexing slightly at her sides before she nodded.

“Let’s go,” Helena said.

And together, they stepped forward—out of the cell, out of the silence, and into whatever waited beyond the walls.