Chapter 58 Repercussions
Amara’s POV
The sound of soft breathing roused me. Two others, too, not just mine. Taking in the gentle flickering of candlelight surrounding the healing tent, I gently blinked. My body was warm but felt heavy. Secure. My heartbeat was steady, yet my limbs hurt.
My hand was being held by someone.
Both of my hands.
Kian on one side. With his chin resting on the mattress and his eyes peaceful despite their fiery rims, his face was near mine. Rowan was seated rigidly in a chair on the opposite side, his fingers clenched over mine as if he was worried that I would disappear once more.
Before I could speak, Kian said, "You're awake." My knuckles were lightly touched by his thumb. "Grateful to the moon."
Rowan's eyes flashed with relief as he leaned forward. "How are you feeling? "
My throat was dry as I tried to speak. Mira must have heard me move since she entered the tent with a cup of water as soon as the tent flap raised. She helped me sip gently and lifted my head.
She said quietly, "You were gone for hours." "We believed we had lost you once more."
Kian tightened his jaw. "I stayed right here."
Rowan looked at him sidelong. "I didn't either."
My heart twisted. Both of them had remained through it all. Through my cries, my quiet, my almost fatal experience. And now they wouldn't let go of me despite all the conflict between them.
I rasped, "I'm okay," but that wasn't quite accurate. I wasn't feeling well. Not at all.
Kian remarked, his voice breaking, "You scared me." For a second, I was unable to sense our connection. It seemed as though you faded.
Rowan said, "I thought she'd crossed over." "I also wasn't prepared to let go."
I glanced between them. So dissimilar. Both, however, contain pieces of me.
"I saw her once more," I said.
"Selene? With wide eyes, Mira inquired.
I gave a nod. She informed me that I still had a role to perform. That I couldn't pass away just yet.
Kian kissed my fingers as he pulled my hand to his lips. "Then I will never again let you leave my sight."
"Neither am I," Rowan answered firmly as he looked directly into my eyes.
I exhaled. "You two cannot continue to protect me as if I were a piece of delicate glass."
"You nearly lost your life," Rowan stated bluntly.
I forced myself to sit up a little and said, "Because I took my fate into my own hands." And if it meant defending this pack, I would do it again. Defending you.
Despite his apparent desire to quarrel, Kian only tightened his hold on my hand.
"I no longer feel afraid," I informed them. "It's beyond my control. Not the Witch's. Not of what follows.
Rowan bent in. We'll be by your side after that. Regardless.
Mira looked at me tenderly. "You'll need to sleep. But I can feel the storm coming. The land is restless.
I looked at the tent flap as I slowly nodded. The faint clang of hammers and the mutter of soldiers building defences were audible to me outside. We stood on the brink of something decisive. Deep within my mark, I could feel it pulsing like a second heartbeat.
I said, "She won't stop until she's taken everything."
Kian lifted his hand and brushed my hair away from my face. "We'll stop her then."
Rowan's eyes glowed with intense resolve. "With each other."
I knew that this silence would not last as I tucked myself back under the blankets. There was still the Hollow Witch. Observing. Awaiting.
And I would see her again tonight.
I fell asleep abruptly and silently, like a wave. I was out of the tent in a single blink.
The surroundings changed to smoke and darkness. The ground was burned and cracked underfoot. The blood moon hung low overhead, illuminating everything in crimson hues. Here, my body was entire, stronger. However, the frigid, nearly painful air made every stride seem like thunder.
There was no dream here. I was aware of that now. She was here.
I said, "Lilith," already feeling her eyes.
Her voice wrapped around me from all directions, saying, "I've missed you." "You put up a fierce fight to hide who you are."
Slowly, I turned. The shadows created a black throne, and Lilith sat on it. She had coal-like eyes. Her smile was broad and ruthless, and her black gown writhed around her like smoke.
"You believe that I can be severed simply by burning your blood on an altar? She sneered. The surface was only touched by you. However, I am the foundation of your spirit.
"No," I firmly responded as I moved forward. "I am not your property. You didn't.
Lilith got up and walked over, her bare feet skimming the uneven surface. But there's so much more I could offer you. Freedom from anguish, tranquillity, and power. You have seen the previous lives that bled for this power, and you have tasted what you are. Why perish like them? "
"I'm not going to be your weapon."
“You already are.” She circled me carefully. "You have death in one hand and the moon's power in the other. The weight of each soul is indicated by the stars, the Priestess's blood. But you squander it. Regarding love. On guys who would sooner destroy one another than help you
I balled my fists up. "They care for me, despite their imperfections. It's the first time they've attempted to manipulate me.
Lilith laughed. They only want to own your heart, not your soul; therefore no. Will either of them save you when the moment comes, when the last breath is drawn and the last arrow is fired? Or will they make their own decision? "
I took a deep breath. She noticed the glimmer of doubt that ignited inside me.
The air erupted in cries as she replied, "Let me show you what awaits."
Like glass, the sky broke. A battlefield was characterised by roaring flames. As Kian collapsed to his knees with a dark blade embedded in his side, I witnessed Rowan, surrounded and covered in blood, roar in sorrow.
"No! I let out a yell. "Cease this! "
"You'll survive this," Lilith said. "Unless you make a wise decision."
Below me, the ground splits. I plummeted through the darkness, descending, descending—until I thumped into the ground.
I had returned to the old altar. However, it was cracked this time. Broken.
Around its base, chains curled. And the Hollow Witch was there, in the middle. Her mouth twisted into an unnatural smile, and her body was made of bone and smoke.
"You freed me, little light,” she crooned, her voice like wind through dead forests. “And soon, you’ll kneel."
The shackles slithered toward me and wrapped around my ankles as I attempted to flee. I wanted to shout, but my mouth opened—
—And, with a hoarse gasp, bounded upright on my bed.
The moonlight filled the tent. Rowan and Kian leapt to their feet and called my name.
"She's awake! "
"What's wrong, Amara? "
My eyes were wide, tears streaming down my face, and I held my chest while panting. My mark surged, gushing blood once more. And I spoke in a tremulous, scratchy voice.
"She's on her way."
The air became dense. The candles were extinguished by an odd breeze that blew through the tent.
"She's on her way! I let out a yell.
It was still day outside, but the sky grew darker. A crack of thunder.
And a voice, felt in hearts and bones as much as ears, reverberated throughout the country from someplace beyond the border.
"I'm awake."