Chapter 152: Oh please!

Chapter 152: Oh please!
~ Third POV ~

By afternoon, the team was assembled in the war room.

Darius arrived with Seraffim beside him. Garius came in with Sarai, his hand on her back like he was making sure she didn't disappear.

They all looked like people who understood exactly what they were walking into and had decided to do it anyway.

Theron stood in the center of the room with a small glass vial filled with liquid that glowed faintly silver.

"Sarai, come here child, " he beckoned. "I need you to drink this."

She looked at Garius, who made a growl that was half a threat, and a warning. But Sarai took the vial without hesitation and drank it.

For a moment, nothing happened and Garius relaxed but seconds later, she started screaming in so much pain.

Garius could feel everything, the burns and stabbing sensations, the taste of blood and the dizziness.

Her eyes went white; not just the pupil but the entire eye, all the way through. Her body convulsed and she fell to her knees as something inside her began to dig its way out.

Her skin started to shimmer. Her bones seemed to be cracking.

Garius ran to her without thinking and tried to hold her, trying to make the pain stop even though he was feeling as well.

Theron strides towards them with the casual motion of someone swatting a fly. Garius, seeing his relaxed posture, flew into rage and plunged at him.

Theron, looking and angry at the same time, flicked his finger against Garius's forehead.

Garius flew backward like he'd been hit by an invisible battering ram. He crashed into the wall hard enough to crack the stone and slid down unconscious, blood trickling from where his head had hit the wall.

“ Garius!” Darius screamed his brother's name and ran toward him.

Seraffim ran to Sarai, kneeling beside her, trying to help her through whatever this was.

Theron's expression went very cold.

"Oh please!" he said raising his upward, his voice sharp and filled with disgust. "Stop all these dramas. They are both fine. I just awakened Sarai's dormant powers and brought her beast fox form to the surface. It's supposed to be painful. I could erase the pain completely but that would anger Siofra more. And you absolutely do not want that sun deity attacking you and I right here. So be chill."

Darius stopped moving toward his brother. Seraffim stayed beside Sarai but didn't try to interrupt what was happening.

Theron turned his attention back to Sarai, watching as her body continued to transform.

After several minutes, her screaming stopped.

Her breathing slowed. Her body went still. Her eyes faded from pure white back to their normal honey brown. When she opened them, everything had changed.

Her hands were glowing with fire; actual flames dancing across her palms without burning her skin.

Her nails had elongated into something that looked like claws made of light and fire. Her hair seemed to shimmer with colors that didn't have names.

"You are indeed rare," Theron whispered, looking at her with what might have been genuine respect. "I have never seen a fire fox before who is also a siren. The combination is... extraordinary." He paused. "How do you feel?"

Sarai looked at her glowing hands like she'd never seen them before. She flexed her fingers and the fire responded, moving the way she wanted it to move.

"I feel powerful," she said softly. "Warm and strong. Like something inside me that was sleeping is finally awake." She looked up at Theron. "I don't know how to explain it."

"It's normal," Theron responded. "It's your powers coursing through you for the first time. They'll settle. You'll learn to control them. The pain will fade."

Garius woke up with a groan and Darius was there immediately, helping him sit up, checking his head for injuries that were already healing.

"Your brother has a hard skull," Theron said without sympathy. "He'll be fine."

He turned to Seraffim, who was still documenting everything in her notebook with calmness as if she suddenly understood that sometimes you just had to let gods do god things.

"Seraffim," Theron said, addressing her directly. "Just in case you all are unable to defeat Hades, I need you to know something."

She looked up from her notebook. "Yes?"

"Call on the fox goddess whose form the people in your kingdom take after," Theron said. "Do you know her name?"

Seraffim shook her head.

"Kaeldran," Theron said. "She is one of the nine gods, just like me and Siofra. Kaeldran has been forgotten and as such, she has hidden herself from the world. Most people don't remember her anymore. They don't call her name. But if you call her as earnestly as you called me in the temple, she will hear you."

He stepped closer to Seraffim.

"You have a gift," he said. "You can summon gods. That gift is rare. Use it if you need to save your loved ones. Not everyone can command a god.”

They spent the rest of the day preparing.

Weapons were gathered, though Theron warned them that normal swords and spears might not work in the abyss realm. Supplies were packed. Armor was checked. Plans were discussed and revised.

By evening, when everything was as ready as it could be, Ragel asked the question that mattered most.

"When can we leave?"

"As soon as possible," Theron nods. "The blood moon is already rising. Every day we wait is another week that passes in the abyss realm. But before you go, you need to appoint someone to handle the kingdom's affairs while you're gone."

Ragel hadn't thought about that. He'd been so focused on reaching Lyra that he'd forgotten Salvatore still needed leadership.

"Who?" he asked.

"Someone you trust completely," Theron said. "Because if Hades decides to attack while you're in his realm, your kingdom needs to be able to defend itself. Hades has allies in the human world. He has allies among werewolves. If he sends forces here while you're gone, whoever you leave in charge needs to be able to hold the line."

Ragel thought for a moment. "Darius's uncle. He was a general before he retired. He'll know what to do."

Darius nodded like he'd already expected that answer.

"And what about Alvira?" Ragel asked again, feeling rage boil in him. "And Zehran?"

Theron's expression went very dark.

"Zehran will be dealt with by Siofra," he said. "She gave him many opportunities to choose better. He failed them all. For every crime he's committed, for every person he's hurt, he will meet his end at her hands. Siofra is merciless when she's crossed. She will not let him live."

"And my ex-wife?" Ragel asked again.

"That's up to you," Theron said. "She will certainly return and try to join forces with the werewolves; that's if she can manage to escape because Zehran has plans for her as well. Whether she survives what he's planned... that depends on how clever and strong she really is. Hades doesn't protect people who betray him, and she will find that out when she returns."

Ragel accepted that. Alvira was no longer his concern, for the lives of his people that she took, he hopes she dies a miserable death along with Zehran.