Chapter 416 My Son

Chapter 416 My Son
AUDREY

“I was banished back up to my dwelling as part of my punishment. I would never be allowed back, ever. I had to watch from here as everything my Azriel and I built was destroyed by the curse, the Bloodmoon.”

The aftermath was cruel and tormenting. Dead bodies littered the grounds, blood and ash in the air. And at the top of the hill, a dark wolf with gold eyes, Darius. “The same wolf I had seen in all those visions was…”

“My son,” the goddess finished.

It felt like Audrey could not breathe. Darius was the darkness, the impending doom coming to Bludhaven, the disaster, the carnage.

“My son did not deserve any of this. It was never his fault.”

The next scene was a small boy, hiding in a cave and crying, dried blood clinging to his nails, his feet, his whole body. The blood moon was over, but he was alone, he was cursed. He cried into his hands, his shoulders trembling, “Mother, I am sorry… momma.”

Tears rolled down my cheeks, his wide golden eyes flickering between gold and onyx hue, just like the vision I had. I wanted to hug him, protect him, tell him everything would be fine. But I could not and my heart hurt for him. He was just a child, he did not understand what was happening to him.

“My son had to grow up so early, he had to rebuild all on his own, scared, lost, lonely and confused. But even years later, Darius would return to this very cave to try and dispel as much of his dark essence as possible, to reduce the chances of the darkness returning to him. My son went into hiding in that cave and was hardly seen again.”

The image of a young Darius, hands on large stone like crystals feeding his powers into them played in front of me. And I recognized that cave, pristine, polished walls and floor as the same one I had dreamt of with my babies.
Each stone gained more color, every time Darius released his energy.

“My son had gone into hiding for centuries, forgetting of this cave and everything he had destroyed once. Two centuries later, the common folk stumbled upon this very cave and these very stones and began to mine them, using them as betrothal necklaces for their brides.”

Men chipped at the flowing, mystical stones, making them into necklaces, anklets and gifting them away.

“And with every woman that wore these moon stones while pregnant or while mating with their husbands, a gifted child was created. A child with fragments of my son’s powers, his essence. Just like Ryker, with his fire, Arya his betrothed, with her power over the earth and Lord Anthony as well.”

Audrey’s eyes widened with disbelief. “So Lord Anthony, Ryker and Arya have Darius’s essence?”

The moon goddess nodded. “And now, the blood moon is close, you are the light foretold in the fates prophecy.”

The moon goddess walked up to me and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “You must stop the darkness from using my son to bring the carnage once more. You must heal my son and make him whole again, you must do what I cannot.” Her tone was deep with regret. “I beg of you to fix my mistakes. You are not human, you are a kin to me, my chosen one. I will grant you my powers, you just have to learn to wield them.”

My mind was spinning from everything. “Promise me you will save my son and the realm."

I nodded. “I promise you.”

“I will be with you, at every turn for what lies ahead,” she smiled, satisfied.

My mouth opened but no words came out. She pushed me, the space beneath me gave way and I fell. “I will save him,” I spoke into the empty space once again as I drifted

A gasp tore through my throat, my eyes flying open. I sat up, my skin buzzing with energy as I looked around the room. I stared down at my hands, feeling them tingling. The goddess had said she would give me the powers I needed to stop the darkness from taking over Darius.

My body felt strange and hot, like I had a fever, but I chose to ignore it. I felt fine otherwise. There was no sign of Darius. Had he left out of fear? The sound of quiet sobs reached my ears. I leaned over the edge of the bed to see Darius sitting on the floor, his knees pulled up to his chest, his shoulders shaking with sobs. My heart broke all over again.

“Darius,” I called to him, coming down from the bed and settling on the floor beside him.
He raised his head to look at me. I palmed his cheeks, wiping away his tears. “Please, do not cry my love. It breaks my heart.”

“I was terrified I bit you too hard,” he sniffled, eyes drifting to the mark on my neck.

It stung a bit but other than that I felt absolutely fine. “I am just fine, my love.”

His brows furrowed and he took hold of my wrist, pulling my hands away from his face. He placed it against his cheeks once more. “You’re burning up, my heart.” Panic seeped into his tone. He placed his hand against my forehead. “Your whole body is burning.”

I looked down at myself. “I can feel myself getting hot, but I feel fine. Do not worry, it is probably just because of the mark.”