Chapter 75 Chapter Seventy-Five - Gabriella
~ FLASHBACK SKIP TO EARLIER TODAY ~
The moment Jartre leaves, I will myself with all my strength to sit up, but each time I try my elbows give out. I dig my nails into the bed, force myself to sit up and immediately slump against the headboard, panting, trying to catch my breath. I feel this incomparable level of power coursing through my body, making me feel like I can do anything…but at the same time, I’ve never felt more drained in my entire life. I feel like my body could break from its own weight. I feel like I’m burning up from the inside while my heart is racing faster than a hummingbird. Tears prick my eyes as I think over what I’ve just done. The moment Jartre told me Azadou was free, I knew everything Zarseti said was true, not that I ever doubted her. I knew I had to let him go, but I can’t fight the overwhelming guilt I feel. Am I being selfish or selfless? I don’t know.
I weakly pull the sheets over my chest, covering myself as something catches my attention from the corner of my eye. I gingerly lift a strand of my hair bringing it to my face, staring at it in astonishment when I see it’s turned whiter than snow. It’s as white as Jartre’s. Am I rapidly aging?!
I don’t have time to contemplate it when Zarseti suddenly appears beside my bed, looking me over with concerned eyes. “Oh, Gabriella.”
“It’s started, hasn’t it?” I weakly ask.
She waves her hand over me, dressing me in in a shirt and shorts, for which I’m grateful. “Yes, Jartre has just arrived at the battlefield.” She hovers her hand over me, a bright fuchsia light radiating from her hand and shining over me. I feel my strength coming back to me as I make fists with my hands and wiggle my toes. My senses sharpen like normal once again and after a second the light vanishes.
“What did you just do?” I pull back the covers and get out of bed, feeling surprisingly spry given the fact I felt like I was at death’s door a second ago.
“I’ve temporarily suppressed the celestial magic coursing through your veins. It’ll buy you some time,” she says kindly, her eyes deceiving the unquiet within her.
“What happens now?”
“You come with me.” She waves her hand over me, my skin radiating a warm glow that quickly fades. “For the time being no one will see you, hear you, sense you, nor will Jartre be able to feel your bond.” She grasps my shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze. “Thank you for making the right choice,” she says earnestly.
“If this backfires I’m going to be so freakin’ pissed.”
“Duly noted.”
We disappear only to suddenly reappear in a huge open field in the middle of some national forest or something, my feet submerged in muddy water. My breath catches in my throat when I see Jartre standing right in front of us, but he doesn’t notice me at all. He looks furious and confused, but his eyes quickly narrow at Zarseti.
“This is all your doing,” he seethes, his tone accusatory.
“We like to view this as a team effort,” I hear a voice announce. I look behind me to see Ezillus alongside three other Gods I’ve never met. The one who spoke has violet hair done in a long Viking braid down her back with gorgeous cocoa skin making her silver eyes pop against her indigenous features. She’s gorgeous and looks like she’s happy to be here, which is questionable.
“You can’t have assembled an army this fucking fast, not unless you knew it was going to happen,” Jartre continues.
It’s as he says that I finally notice the army of people spread out across the field…I thought I’d seen it all, but this takes the cake. Scattered across the field are wolf-people, snake-people, people with red eyes and razor-sharp teeth and people in armour that would give the elves in Lord of the Rings a run for their money.
I look to Zarseti in disbelief, “You knew I’d make this choice.”
“I warned them, they prepared, and here we are,” she calmly states, briefly glancing at me. “I knew it the moment your heart decided,” says Zarseti’s voice in my mind.
“And you didn’t think to tell me?!” Jartre snarls, getting angrier by the second. I sigh realising Zarseti was right. He may be furious now, and he’s definitely going to be pissed off at me, but had he known everything in advance, he would have ruined everything. She didn’t hide the truth to be cruel, she did it for his own good. She told me because…she knew I could handle it. Jartre said he believes only those who understand the burden of keeping the future hidden can handle the gift of seeing it…I’m thinking he might be right.
“Knowing you, I doubt you’d listen,” a voice utters snidely. I look over to the one with azure, blue hair. His mixed Asian features smirking with indignation as his blood-red eyes flare. He has the hair of the Gods, but his eyes aren’t like the others…and he seems to have disdain for Jartre. I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is Oshmin. The one Jartre cursed.
“What the fuck did you just say?” Jartre hisses, taking a step towards Oshmin.
“For God’s sake, Jartre, you promised to set things right with him, not pick a fight!” I admonish him, even though he can’t hear me.
“Enough!” Zarseti exclaims. “I will gladly explain myself to you later, but now is not the time.” Her eyes look behind Jartre and as I follow her eyeline my blood runs cold. A dark, malicious shadow descends over the forest as hundreds of thousands – maybe more – glowing purple eyes gleam in the darkness. I gulp when a tall, handsome man steps out from the forest, hair blacker than black, muscles to rival Jartre’s and he’s wearing nothing but brown leather pants of some kind. Why are the villains always hot? It’s such a cliché.
I listen anxiously as the Gods all exchange taunts and pleas, but they all fall on deaf ears. Suddenly Azadou signals for his minions to attack. Zarseti quickly steps in front of me, shielding me as the mass of shadowy figures storm the field like a demonic stampede. I instinctively cover my head, uncovering it when I hear Zarseti urging Jartre to focus on Azadou.
I don’t understand. Zarseti doesn’t want the eyti killed, so why is she letting people fight them? There are clearly deeper layers to this plan that even I haven’t been made aware of.
A second later I feel that pulling sensation in my gut as I feel myself being teleported, only to reappear in the exact same place. Only this time, as I look around I see the other Gods lying yards away and knocked down. I sigh in relief as they get to their feet, dusting themselves off and appearing completely unscathed, although the blonde one looks seriously pissed off.
Just when I think this supernatural battle can’t get more supernatural, I watch on as each God does some crazy morph into these humanoid-like forms that appear human but…look like they’re made entirely of crystal. My eyes linger on Jartre, watching the way the sunlight refracts off his diamond skin, casting rainbows each time he shifts even a little. I stare at him in complete awe and a little frustration. He never showed me this form. He never even told me this form existed. If he survives this he’s getting interrogated at home.
My awe soon turns to terror as all the Gods fight with Azadou. I find myself cringing and looking away each time Azadou and Jartre fight each other. It feels like all I'm doing is watching Jartre hurt himself by hurting Azadou and it's eating away at me.
“Why are you making me see this?!” I shout at Zarseti, tears filling my eyes. I can’t stomach seeing Jartre fighting with Azadou, knowing that if he kills him then I lose him forever. How can he be so thoughtless?! And why the fuck has Zarseti brought me here? I feel like I'm being punished.
Throughout their fighting, Zarseti continues to shield me from every attack. Making me disappear only to reappear time and time again so none of Azadou’s attacks hit me. This feeling of being yanked and tugged through space is making me want to hurl.
Just when I think things can’t get worse, Azadou manages to completely block out the sun, drowning everything in darkness. My panic starts to rise bordering on a full-blown panic attack when I feel Zarseti wrap her hand around mine, giving it a gentle squeeze as a sense of calm washes over me. It’s not long before I understand what Zarseti meant when she told me Merlos can consume the entire universe when I watch in shock as she swallows Azadou’s magic like she was guzzling down a milkshake. The sun breaks across the sky in a burst of radiant light and the whole while, Merlos doesn’t even look slightly phased. She might as well have been snacking on a French fry!
I almost feel my soul leave my body when Merlos casts her power on Azadou. I run towards Jartre, kneeling beside him as parts of his body begin to disappear before my eyes as he lets out pained screams. A sob escapes me, as I sit by helpless and unable to do anything to help him.
“ZARSETI DO SOMETHING!” I scream frantically, watching as the love of my life slowly ceases to exist.
I don’t know what she said to Merlos, but whatever it was, it worked, because Merlos finally backs off and Jartre’s body returns to normal. On instinct, I reach out to wrap my arms around him, but quickly hold myself back. Being near him like this and being unable to speak to him or touch me is torture I can’t bear.
I shake my head, wiping the tears from my face as I take shuddering breaths. “This isn’t right, Jartre. You can’t keep fighting like this. Neither of you deserves this. Look at what you’re doing!” I cry out, my heart feeling like it could splinter at any moment.
Jartre rises to his feet, and I rise with him. I feel surprised when I see the pained look of sadness etched all over his face. Is it possible he heard me?
“We can’t keep doing this Azadou. This fighting…it’s not worth it. I know it’s my fault, but I don’t want to fight anymore. I don’t want to be that person anymore,” he sighs despondently. “Maybe we can find a way to co-exist.”
I smile wide, hope blooming in my chest to think maybe Jartre finally gets it. Maybe he finally realises how pointless all this fighting is. Hurting each other will only cause more hurt.
“Co-exist,” I hear Azadou lightly snort with contempt. I turn to see him looking up, locking eyes with Jartre only to show him nothing but hatred. So much hatred it makes a chill run down my spine. “You ripped me from your very being like a parasite and cast me aside without a second thought. You let everyone declare war on me but never told me my crime. You allowed Fretez to bury me in the Earth, depriving me of the life you gave me…and now you wish to co-exist.” He smiles a dark, bitter almost maniacal smile as he drags his finger across his chest, a thin cut opening across his flesh as silver blood slowly trickles from his fresh wound. “I’d rather be dead and take you with me,” he sneers.
Azadou holds out his hand, summoning his own blood to his hand as it becomes solid, forming a sharp blade in his palm. My eyes widen in terror as Azadou raises the blade in the air and hurls it at Jartre.
“NO!” I scream, leaping in front of Jartre and feeling a stream of air escape my lungs as sharp pain radiates through my chest. My eyes lock on shocked, purple eyes. The same eyes that have filled my dreams continuously since the night I met Jartre.
As I feel myself sucked into the darkness, I realise now how inevitable this moment was. The howls, the hissing, the shadows…those eyes. They plagued my dreams for weeks, but I could never understand what it meant. For weeks, some higher power was telling me this day was coming. That a battle was coming. Zarseti said I had a choice, but I’m wondering if I ever did because there’s no universe where I wouldn’t choose a life with Jartre. This was how it was always meant to be. This battle. My death. Just precursors of more to come. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I go into it knowing that this was always my destiny.