Chapter 90 The Awakening of the Moon Priestess
Amara’s POV
My throat was crushed by Lilith's claws. My vision became hazy. Around me, the moonlight cracked like glass.
Her words, laced with hatred, snarled against my ear. "Amara, you were never enough. Winning was never intended for you. Let me seize this world if you die.
I wanted to give in for a second. My chest ached. I shuddered. I felt like my bones could crack under the pressure of her gloom.
Then I heard them, though.
Not the voice of Lilith. Not the combat screams outside. I heard the voice of Rowan. Desperate, broken, and deep.
"Amara, please wait a moment."
Then came Kian's gruff, angry, and sorrowful voice.
"You dare not give up. Not right now. Never.
My eyes hurt with tears. Their voices reached me even though death was suffocating me. I was found by their affection.
And I felt a sudden awakening within me.
I forced the word out of her grasp and rasped, "No." Silver light burned on my hands. I felt my heart pounding like a drum. "I... am... not... yours!"
My chest's moon mark was blazing hot. More powerful than anything I had ever experienced, a surge of energy ripped through me. It was more than simply light; it was the voices of all the priestesses before me, the full weight of the moon, and the boundless sky.
"Allow me to go now!"
I screamed and let it loose.
Silver fire burst from the circle. As the force threw Lilith back, she let out a yell. I collapsed to my knees, coughing, my hands burning like twin stars as her nails tore from my throat.
Shadows writhed around her as she crashed against the circle's far wall. Her angry, venomous cry pierced the atmosphere.
"What have you done?!" she screamed, hunching over. “What is this power?!”
I stood, unwavering but wobbling. I felt my hair whip around me in the light storm. Beneath my feet, the ground radiated like molten silver.
"This is me," I said in a clear but trembling voice. "Not your puppet. Not your victim. The Moon has chosen me. The Priestess of Light is who I am.
Lilith's eyes grew more intense. "It's impossible!"
A stream of black fire, she sent shadows at me. I raised my hands. With a smash that split the air like thunder, the silver blaze rushed forward to meet her darkness.
The circle was shaken by the hit. Even though her shadows hissed and sizzled in my light, they were unable to penetrate it. I moved forward, one step at a time.
"You're not going to win!" With a scream, Lilith's voice was raw with rage. "I've given up everything! My soul, too! Compared to me, you are a child!
My entire body trembles as I grit my teeth. "Perhaps I am a kid. However, I'm not alone myself.
Behind me, the sounds of the spirits increased, whispering in my ears. Amara, we're with you. We're with you.
The brightness of the light increased to the point where it injured my own eyes. The silver flames hit Lilith's chest, causing her to arch back and shriek.
"No! This cannot— Lost in the cacophony of light, her voice broke.
Her body slammed against the edge as the blast threw her across the circle once more. Like dying snakes, the shadows around her hissed.
My entire body trembled with fatigue as I collapsed to my knees once more, gasping. Sweat streamed down my cheeks, my mark blazed, and my arms scorched.
"I did it," I said to myself. I actually did it.
Then Lilith burst out laughing.
The chuckle was hoarse and broken, but it slithered like poison into my ears.
"You believe this to be sufficient?" She dragged herself to her feet after spitting. Her smile was vicious, even though blood was streaming from her mouth. "Little moon, you might have light, but light goes out." I'll extinguish you like a candle.
She raised her hands. Once more, darkness swept in, thicker, heavier, and more angular. My knees gave way. I felt so exhausted and depleted.
"I can't." I shook and said. "I can't keep her away by myself."
Around me, the silver radiance wavered. The shadows of Lilith closed in.
My strength was about to give out when I heard footsteps and two voices calling my name.
"Amara!" Like thunder, Rowan's roar sliced through the circle.
"Don't stop now, Amara!" Kian's voice came next, ferocious and uncompromising.
Tears were streaming down my face as I turned my head. They were present. Kian and Rowan. Both sprinting through the whirlpool of light and darkness toward my direction.
And I genuinely felt like I wasn't battling alone for the first time since entering the circle.
As Rowan and Kian broke through the barrier, the ground trembled. Their bodies battered and bruised from the battle outside, they staggered inside the circle.
Rowan's eyes immediately came to rest on me. "Amara!" he cried, his voice breaking.
Kian's face was stained with perspiration and ash, and his chest heaved, but his eyes were as desperate. "You dare not give up. Not right now.
My light flickered like a dying flame as I rocked on my knees. My voice broke as I said, "I can't hold her much longer."
Once more, the air was filled with Lilith's ruthless laughter. Indeed. Little Priestess, give in. Let the fire go out. With shadows encircling her like a crown, she raised her arms. "Your pack will follow you when you fall. Your love will come after.
Tears were streaming down my face as I shook my head. "No, I won't allow you to." However, my light dimmed and my hands trembled.
Then Rowan was on his knees next to me. My right hand slipped into his big, rough one, and he gripped it tightly. Warm and grounded, his touch served as a connection to the earth.
"I'm here," he said angrily. I placed his forehead to mine. "I don't give a damn whether I die. I'll give it my all for you. Just keep going, Amara. Stay with me.
Kian fell on the other side of me. His firm, powerful hand gripped mine. He leaned in, and his golden eyes blazed like fire.
With a shaky but confident voice, he said, "You're not alone." "Even if we are no longer together, our souls are still connected. Accept it. Take me as I am.
Their grips tightened, and I felt a surge of heat. Rowan on one side. Kian, nevertheless. They put all of their love, devotion, and despair into me.
Then... it occurred.
This time, the mark on my chest flared with blinding light rather than pain. It crept into my veins, into my bones, and through me. Silver fire burst out of me, and I arched back.
"Amara!" Holding on tighter, Rowan yelled.
"Avoid letting go!" With an iron hold on my hand, Kian screamed.
With our hands interlocked and our powers colliding, the three of us were together. I felt Rowan's unadulterated strength. I was filled with Kian's intense willpower. They illuminated the moon's power within me more brilliantly than before.
Beneath us, the ground glowed with silver fire and cracked. The voices of a thousand people the priestesses, the spirits, and the Goddess herself filled the air.
Get up, Amara. As our chosen one, rise. Become the Priestess of the Moon.
As the light increased, Lilith let out a scream. "No! This isn't feasible! You can't resist me!
She hurled rivers of shadow and floods of black flame at us. But it broke the instant it met the silver flame.
I stood up while continuing to grip Kian's and Rowan's hands. With my eyes burning white, my hair flew around me. More than ever, I felt alive. Stronger. More complete.
"This ends tonight, Lilith," I said, my voice ringing like a bell of war.
Together, the three of us moved onward. With his wolf's power blazing in his eyes, Rowan let out a deep howl. Kian's resolve was unwavering, and his jaw tightened. And me—my soul was the bridge, my body the vessel.
Our abilities clashed, merging and merging.
Rowan's power.
Kian's fire.
My moonlight.
They united
The circle trembled, the air crackled, and the sky above us broke apart. The shadows surrounding Lilith were broken when silver lightning struck the ground.
She clutched her head and screamed. "Cease! QUIT! You'll ruin everything!
“Good,” growled Rowan.
"You caused this yourself," Kian spat out.
With my hands still securing me, I raised them higher. "For the group. For the Goddess. For all the people you have harmed!
Then the light flashed out.
It rushed from our clasped hands in a torrent so strong that the whole battlefield outside was illuminated like the first light of day. As they burnt away, the shadows screamed. Lilith's body writhed in pain as her form contorted.
The air was torn apart by her final cry. "NOOOO—"
Then—
Silver light exploded around the world.
I was unable to see. I was unable to hear. The dazzling, unending whiteness that engulfed everything was all I could sense.