Chapter 169
Calla
The evening sky stretched above us like a painted canvas, all soft purples and gentle oranges that made everything feel almost peaceful. For just a moment, I let myself get lost in that beauty while lying on the cold rocky ground.
I'd done it. The supernatural war was over. Every vampire, every werewolf, every supernatural being on the planet was now completely human. No more hatred between species because there were no more species to hate each other.
But now I was public enemy number one to an entire community of people who'd lost everything they thought made them special.
Footsteps approached through the evening air. I couldn't tell if they belonged to family or enemies anymore. In this new world I'd created, maybe there wasn't much difference.
The sounds got closer - boots scraping against stone, whispered conversations, the shuffle of people moving with purpose. My head felt too heavy to lift and check who was coming for me.
I should probably care more about my own safety, but exhaustion had settled into my bones like lead weights. Every muscle in my body ached from channeling power that was never meant to flow through human consciousness.
Finally, I managed to push myself up on my elbows and look around.
What I saw made me blink several times, wondering if my brain had finally cracked under the pressure.
A massive brawl stretched across the rocky terrain. Former werewolves were fighting former vampires. Coalition members in their distinctive jackets were throwing punches at people I didn't recognize. Even some of my own Vanguard pack were scuffling with others, though they kept glancing back to make sure I was safe.
Everyone was fighting everyone else, and I had no idea why. Why was everyone fighting?
The strangest part was watching supernatural beings try to fight with human strength. Former vampires who'd been impossibly fast now stumbled around like they were drunk, their enhanced reflexes completely gone. Ex-werewolves kept expecting their enhanced healing to kick in, then looked shocked when cuts actually stayed cut.
It was like watching a bunch of people try to perform magic tricks after forgetting they weren't actually wizards.
And for some reason, I started laughing.
The sound bubbled up from somewhere deep in my chest - not the hysterical laughter of someone having a breakdown, but genuine amusement at the absolute absurdity of what I was witnessing.
Here I was, lying in the dirt after possibly saving the world, watching a bunch of newly human people beat each other up because they couldn't figure out what else to do with their anger.
My laughter got stronger, turning into full-blown giggles that made my ribs hurt.
Was my brain completely fried? Why was I finding this funny instead of terrifying? Maybe channeling divine power had scrambled something important upstairs, because this whole situation should be making me panic, not laugh like I'd just watched the world's most ridiculous comedy show.
You have one last gift from me.
The voice in my head made me laugh even harder. Of course. Of course I was hearing voices now. That seemed about right for how this day was going.
This was really nice knowing you, Calla.
"Oh great," I said out loud, still giggling. "Now I'm hearing the....the...the... Moon Goddess talk to me. That's totally normal. Nothing weird about that at all."
My laughter echoed off the rocky walls, probably making me sound completely unhinged to anyone listening. Which I might actually be at this point. Why did I think the moon goddess was talking to me? Who was the moon goddess???
Then I felt something settling over the area like an invisible blanket. The same sensation I'd experienced before when magical barriers were raised, but different somehow.
The shadow shield. Selverra was putting it back up. But who was selverra?
But this time, as the barrier solidified around us, I felt something else happening. My memories started getting fuzzy around the edges, like someone was gently erasing parts of them with a soft cloth.
Everything supernatural began slipping away. The dreamwalking, the psychic battles, the mate bond, even the memory of what werewolves and vampires actually were. New memories took their place - ordinary human experiences that explained away the impossible things I'd lived through.
I tried to hold onto the important stuff - Axel's face, my pack family, the feeling of belonging somewhere - but even those precious memories were changing. The supernatural elements that had brought us together were being replaced with normal human reasons for our connection.
Blake had been my abusive human husband who'd tried to control me through politics and manipulation. I'd run away and found safety with a group of friends who called themselves the Vanguard - some kind of .....volunteer organization that helped people escape bad situations.
Axel became the leader of that group, someone who'd saved me from my terrible marriage and shown me what real love felt like. Not because of any mystical mate bond, but because he was simply a good man who'd chosen to protect me.
The fighting around us had been about... what? Some kind of territorial dispute between different community groups? The details got hazier as the memory modification continued.
I felt the last threads of supernatural awareness slipping away like water through my fingers.
Then everything went blank.