CHAPTER 141: LEAD A WAR.

CHAPTER 141: LEAD A WAR.
~Ava’s POV~

The moment the words left my lips, ‘I think I’m supposed to lead a war’ the room felt colder.

Mira stared at me like I had just announced I planned to walk into a volcano.

“Ava… no.” She shook her head firmly. “You’re pregnant. You can’t…”

“It’s not about what I can or can’t do,” I whispered. “It’s what’s already set in motion.”

“That’s prophecy talk,” she countered. “And prophecy talk always leads to trouble.”

Before I could respond, the front door slammed open again.

Damon stormed back inside with Eric behind him.

Eric looked worried. Damon looked like he was two seconds from handcuffing me to the bed.

“She told you?” Eric asked Mira quietly.

Mira nodded. “All of it.”

Damon crossed his arms. “Good. Saves me time.”

I glared at him. “You’re being dramatic.”

“No, I’m being practical,” Damon snapped. “You’re having visions, you’re glowing half the time, and now you think you’re destined to lead a war? No. Absolutely not.”

Eric cleared his throat. “Maybe we should let her explain….”

“There’s nothing to explain,” Damon cut in. “She needs rest. Stability. Not battles and prophecies.”

“I’m not fragile,” I repeated, exhausted.

He stepped closer. “Ava. You fainted two weeks ago.”

“I tripped!”

“You fell unconscious.”

Mira coughed. “To be fair… you did fall unconscious.”

I threw my hands up. “I’m pregnant, not dying!”

Damon stepped up to me. “Exactly. You’re pregnant. Which means you have someone else to think about. Someone innocent. Someone who doesn’t deserve to get dragged into whatever fate is playing with you.”

My hand instinctively slid to my stomach.

Eric stepped forward gently. “Ava… what exactly did you see?”

I hesitated.

Should I tell them about the shadows? About Kieran’s voice? About the fire crown? About the way the earth seemed to crack open under my feet in every vision?

Damon noticed my silence. “Ava?”

“I see a battlefield,” I whispered finally. “I see wolves… kneeling. And me standing in the middle.”

Mira’s eyes widened. “Like you’re leading them?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

Eric exchanged a look with Damon. Damon looked horrified.

“No,” he said immediately. “She’s not stepping foot anywhere near a battlefield.”

I met his gaze. “Damon… I don’t think I have a choice.”

“You always have a choice,” he argued. “And I’m choosing for you if you won’t.”

My voice dropped dangerously low. “You don’t get to choose my destiny.”

“I do if it might kill you.”

“Damon!” Mira snapped. “You can’t talk to her like that.”

He turned away, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “I’m trying to save her!”

I swallowed hard. “Damon… I know you care. But you can’t stop what’s coming.”

He faced me again, anger softening into something raw. “Ava… I can’t lose you.”

The room fell silent.

Eric looked away like he had stepped into a private moment. Mira bit her lip.

I took a breath. “Damon… I’m not dying.”

“You don’t know that,” he whispered.

“You don’t either,” I countered.

He exhaled shakily, rubbing his face. “So what now? You want to train harder? You want to prepare to fight?”

“Yes,” I said quietly.

Mira blinked. “Ava…”

“I’m tired of running,” I said. “Tired of hiding. If the visions are showing me something, then I need to be ready.”

Eric nodded slowly. “Then we train you properly. No more light exercises.”

Damon snapped around. “What? Eric,no. Absolutely not.”

Eric held up his hands. “Damon… she’s getting stronger whether you like it or not. Ignoring it won’t help.”

“It’ll keep her safe,” Damon growled.

“No,” I said. “It’ll make me unprepared.”

Damon’s jaw clenched. “I don’t want you fighting.”

“I know.”

“And I don’t want you near danger.”

“I know.”

“I don’t want to bury you.”

My breath shook. “Damon…”

He closed his eyes. “Please.”

The word hung there, soft, desperate, human.

But fate was louder than his fear.

“I’m going to fight,” I whispered. “Not because I want to… but because something out there wants me dead. And I won’t let them come for my child unprepared.”

Damon laughed bitterly. “Your child. Right. Kieran’s heir.”

I stiffened. “Don’t do that.”

He looked away. “Fine. Whatever. You’ll train. Eric will help. Mira will help. But I’m assigning guards.”

I blinked. “Guards? Damon…”

“Non-negotiable.”

Eric shrugged. “Honestly… It’s not a bad idea.”

“You too?!” I gaped at him.

He lifted a shoulder. “You’re glowing in your sleep, Ava. Like literally glowing. Forgive us for thinking you need security.”

“Oh my goddess,” Mira muttered. “She really does glow.”

“Not every night!” I argued. “Just, sometimes!”

Damon’s voice dropped. “Exactly. You’re unpredictable. Dangerous. Powerful. And someone out there wants you dead.”

The word someone twisted through me.

Livia.

Even unconscious, Kieran wasn’t safe from her. I doubted she would ever let my child live.

My voice became steady. “Then train me. All of you. Make me strong enough to protect myself.”

Damon stared at me for a long moment. Then he spoke quietly.

“You already are. That’s what scares me.”

I shook my head. “I’m only strong because of him.”

Mira blinked. “Kieran?”

I placed a hand over my heart. “And the baby.”

Damon flinched but didn’t argue.

Eric cleared his throat. “So… we start training tomorrow?”

“Today,” I said. “The visions are getting stronger.”

Mira nodded. “I’ll prepare the practice ground.”

Damon didn’t move.

“Are you coming?” I asked him gently.

He met my eyes with something painful.“I’ll be watching.”

“And helping?”

He paused.

Then finally…

“Yes.”

Relief flooded me. “Thank you.”

“But Ava?” He stepped close, lowering his voice. “If your visions show you dying, I want to know.”

“I’m not seeing my death.”

“How do you know?”

I looked him straight in the eyes.

“Because every vision ends the same way,” I whispered. “With me standing… alive.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

He exhaled shakily. “Fine. Then let’s prepare you to make sure it stays that way.”

I nodded.

But as Mira and Eric stepped outside, Damon lingered behind.

He spoke softly, almost too softly to hear.

“Ava… just promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“If war is coming… don’t fight alone.”

I looked at him.

And for the first time since a

ll this began, I realized something…

Damon wouldn’t let me go to war alone even if I begged him.

“I won’t,” I whispered. “I promise.”

But deep down, in the space where visions whispered of my future…

I feared I would.