EIGHTY FOUR

EIGHTY FOUR
CAMILLE'S POV

Everyone stood still, burdened with shock and reeking from what had just happened.

One second ago, Eva had been here with us and was finally going to pay for all her crimes, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

I stared at the scorched earth where she once stood, and a gnawing feeling threatened to consume me.

"Where is she?" I finally broke the silence.

"The bitch teleported." Milana's father replied. "It looks like she always had a contingency plan."

No... This wasn't good. I didn't like this. The unsettling feeling in my gut did not leave. In fact, it only got worse.

She could be anywhere. She could even still be in castle grounds. Eva was a bitter person who didn't like to lose. She believed this was some kind of twisted game, a competition where she needed to best me.

"Dimitri—" I tried to speak, but I didn't even get to finish.

Dimitri had the same thought process himself. He turned to an older-looking guard and spoke. "All sentinel stations need to know that Eva Dumont is now an enemy of the kingdom and should be treated as a threat if discovered."

The man nodded in understanding. I watched him pick out a radio and press a giant red button. "This is the first Sentinel guard. Be advised: Luna Eva Dumont is now considered an enemy of the Kingdom. If sighted, engage and apprehend immediately."

That brought me a little bit of peace. I refused to let Eva have some one up against me. The woman was done for. She was the one that was going to drag herself to hell. I was going to allow myself this.

"Something is amiss." My wolf whispered.

"What?" I sent through the mind link, goosebumps covering my skin.

"I can place my finger on it."

I felt strange, too. But I figured it was just Eva's unnerving words. I just couldn't shake off the feeling despite everything.

The tense atmosphere only got thicker. From the corner of my eye, I saw Neal step forward with a stoic expression. His steps were purposeful as he approached Dorian Legrand, Milana's father.

"Dorian Legrand," Neal's voice cut through the silence, commanding attention. "You are under arrest for breaking the first and sacred law: Killing the innocent of your kind, and contempt against the king."

Neal then proceeded to produce a set of metal neck shackles. I remembered the accursed object. It had been used on me once too.

The cold metal gleamed golden in the light of the sun, masking how grim the purpose of the object was. He held them out towards Dorian and it looked like a silent demand for compliance.

Dorian lifted his head, meeting Neal's gaze with a steely resolve. Without hesitation, he extended his neck, offering himself up for restraint. The shackles clicked into place around his throat with a finality that echoed through the space between us.

"I have no problem facing the consequences of my actions," Dorian spoke calmly, his voice unwavering. "But my daughter... will she get the justice she deserves?"

Dimitri stepped forward. "I promise you this as King, We will find Eva," he vowed, his words carried with them conviction. "And she will answer for her sins."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The man bowed.

He was about to be led away when a scream erupted from inside the castle.

"Muuuummm!!"

The voice was familiar and unmistakable. Sophia? My eyes turned to the window that I could see from where I stood, and a chill sank into my spine when I made eye contact with Eva.

"Goddess... Eva is in my room. Eva is in my room!"

Thought left me, and I immediately started sprinting.

The scream of my child still echoed in my ears, almost haunting.

When I reached the belly of the castle and began running up the stairs, my nostrils picked up a metallic stench. Blood.

"No... No..."

Upon reaching the door of my bedroom, I could hear three hearts still beating. It was supposed to offer some comfort, but I found none. Two men who looked like guards stationed to protect the kids were on the floor, dead, their faces melted. The stench of blood emanated from inside the room, strong and fresh.

My stomach twisted, but there was no time to feel sick. I slammed into the door hard, so hard that I felt my brain rattle inside my skull.

"Eva," I pleaded. "Leave my children out of this."

I slammed into the door again, and this time, there was some progress. A shift occurred. But time was running out. A madwoman bent on making me suffer was inside that room with my babies. Eva was capable of anything.

On the third try, Dimitri caught up to me and punched the door so hard that it gave.

We rushed in, and I witnessed a horrid sight. The werewolf babysitter that Neal had hired lay on the floor dead. It could only be Eva's doing. Sophia was in a corner with blood trickling down her nose, and Collins was trying to avoid her while she reached for him.

"This ends now—" Dimitri attempted to say, but I didn't hear him finish.

White noise deafened my senses. Eva was in the middle of it all, and for the time that followed, all I could see was red.

Insidious rage consumed me whole, and for the first time, I felt my wolf tear from the rear and take the reins. My body grew lighter as my feet left the floor.

I charged for Eva with one intent: to kill.

But I wasn't fast enough. Eva grabbed Collins and shot me a chuckle, the kind only a Victor would have on their face.

"I'll take you to hell, sister," she repeated, and as quickly as the word came out, the same blinding light from before covered the room.

At that moment, a surge of panic gripped me as I watched in horror.

The last thing I truly saw was Collins looking at me, terrified, as the light enveloped him too.

When the light died, the room fell awfully quiet. I couldn't see Eva. I couldn't see Collins.

My son, my precious boy, had disappeared into thin air before my very eyes. Because where my son had stood just moments before, there was now nothing but empty space. A void that seemed to swallow me whole as I reached out to the charred marble floor, desperate to hold onto him, to pull him back to safety.

"Collins?" I called out. "Collins? Mommy is here."

Sophia stood up and approached me. "Mummy, where is Collins?"

"Collins is alright," I replied, almost manic. "Collins is... Nothing will happen to Collins. Nothing will happen to your brother."

As I struggled to maintain my composure, the weight of the situation bore down on me like a wet blanket, suffocating. My mind raced with a thousand thoughts, each one more frantic than the last.

But even in the chaos, one thing remained clear: I had to be strong for Sophia. I couldn't let her see my fear, my uncertainty, and how broken I was getting.

"Collins will be safe," I repeated, my voice strained but steady. "He's... he's just... he's gone for now, but he'll be back. He'll come back to us."

Sophia's eyes brimmed with tears, her small frame trembling with fear and confusion. "But where did he go, Mummy? Why did that woman take him?"

I gathered Sophia into my arms, holding her close as I searched for the right words to ease her fears. "Eva... Eva did something very bad, sweetheart. But Daddy and Uncle Neal are going to find her, and they're going to bring Collins back to us. I promise."

I didn't know if I could even keep that promise. Eva was a monster and Collins was anything but safe.

Neal stormed in at that moment, looking around in confusion. He had four sentinel guards following behind him and they were armed to the teeth.

"Where is she?" Neal asked.

My heart sank as Neal's question echoed through the room, his voice thick with urgency and genuine confusion.

"She's gone," Dimitri replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "She took Collins with her."

Neal's expression darkened, his jaw clenching in anger as he approached me. "We will find her, Camille."

That was the thing though. Finding her wasn't going to be easy and goddess knows why she even took Collins. Was it to make me suffer or did she have an even more nefarious agenda.

I felt the desperation that had welled up inside me, claw at me, threatening to overwhelm my senses. Collins was out there, somewhere, at the mercy of that monstrous woman.

Whatever delusion I was holding up for Sophia's sake was starting to crumble.

"Could you take Sophia outside for a moment?" I asked Neal. "I need to talk to Dimitri."

Neal nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. He gently led Sophia out of the room, his hand resting reassuringly on her shoulder as they disappeared from sight.

Alone with Dimitri, the weight of our predicament seemed even more real. I turned to him, searching for any sign of hope in his eyes.

"What do we do now?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Dimitri's expression was grim as he shook his head. "We'll find her. If her intent is to make you suffer like she claims. She will keep Collins alive as long as she can afford to."

"He's going to be five in three days, Dimitri. The curse is going to be consume him, and I will not be there to stop it."

"You cannot think like that," Dimitri said firmly, his voice carrying a hint of steel. "We will find him before then. Trust me."

I clenched my fists. I wish I could give into trust. But all that muddled my mind was frustration and fear. "He's just a child, and he doesn't deserve to be caught up in this madness."

Dimitri reached out and squeezed my shoulder, offering what little comfort he could in the face of such uncertainty. "We'll find him, Camille. I promise you that. We won't rest until he's safe and sound."

But how?" I asked, the desperation evident in my voice. "Eva could be anywhere by now, and Collins... Collins is just a child. He doesn't know how to defend himself against her."

Dimitri's jaw tightened, his fists clenching at his sides. "We'll start by gathering every resource we have. Witches, trackers, Druids—whatever it takes. We'll search every inch of the world if we have to. But we won't stop until we bring Collins home."

Witches... I knew one. Ophelia.