Chapter 219: 219. ORION'S PRISON

~DAHLIA

The world flashed alive before my eyes once again and everything appeared...

Right?

"My dear child!" My mom cooed, wrapping me in her warmth. "We were so worried about you..."

"Your mother almost lost her mind waiting for you to wake up," a familiar voice sang.

My heart jumped out of my chest as I turned to meet them. I felt cold goosebumps...

"Dad?" I choked out, unable to believe my eyes. "How are you— here? How is this possible?"

"This is a new world. You and the boys fixed everything," he said, joining the embrace.

"The boys..." I trailed, slightly pulling out of their warmth.

Mom's eyes lit up and she took my hands. "Yes, the boys. Cassius, Vladimir, Orion and Lyon. All four of your mates... You guys saved the world! Come see..."

She led me outside and the world I saw made my jaws drop.

The land was vast with greenery. The buildings were beautifully decorated like in a well thought out estate humans had.

But this world didn't have just humans. All creatures roamed about freely, laughing and joking... Like we were all one big family.

Even the vampires weren't shady. They sat in front of their houses sipping blood juice.

It was... beautifully perfect... Too perfect.

"Can you see... You did this my child. You won!" My mom kept saying.

I smiled. But I didn't feel the excitement I should have...

Because this was wrong. I shouldn't be here. How did I even get here? Shouldn't I be with Orion?

I came here for him... How was—

"Finally, she's awake," Cassius' voice zapped through me, making my thoughts freeze.

His handsome face appeared before me as he stylishly stole me from my mother. His face had the brightest dimpled smile I had ever seen on him...

"Anyway, now that you are here, I have to warn you that the nobles here are not very bright," he said, pointing at a man who was struggling with a donkey in the distance.

But I couldn't even keep my focus there because as I saw him... It was more than a shocker...

My throat tightened as I realized how much I have missed seeing his face.

"Cassius?"

He met my gaze and his eyes flickered. "Hey... I am here. We are all here..." He whispered, pulling me into a hug.

I melted into the hug, breathing his masculine scent that I had missed so much...

Tears brimmed my eyes as I held on tight to his shirt, my body shaking with tremors.

"Gods, I thought I lost you... I thought that—"

"Dahlia?" Orion's warm voice echoed, breaking me from Cassius.

I turned just as he appeared with a large bouquet of white roses.

"This is for you..." he said with that grin of his that made my knees weak.

I had barely processed that when Vladimir appeared with a low dramatic bow.

"Our queen is here... Now our lives are complete." His familiar deep voice made butterflies flutter through me, intensifying my emotions.

"I— I don't know what to say," I whispered, my voice broken with happy tears.

"You don't have to say anything," Lyon suddenly joined, taking my hands with a smile of his own.

"Even you... You are all here..." I said, touching and feeling them.

They were all real. They were truly here with me... Together...

The tears I tried to hold back spilled and all four of them wiped them gently.

"Dahlia, you don't have to cry, we won," Vladimir said as all four of them led me to a picnic mat.

"We defeated Azarel and rebuilt our world..." Orion said. "Look for yourself. Everything is perfect."

Truly it was perfect. But... How?

"You have been asleep for too long," Cassius whispered, as if he heard my thoughts. "But we are glad you are here now... Awake... With all of us..."

They hugged me, pulling me into their arms like I was the best thing that happened to them...

But my heart squeezed. Because beyond this perfection, a part of me knew this was wrong.

And that made it hurt even more.

Everything felt so good. I didn't want it to end. I wanted to believe this... I wanted to accept it...

And the more the boys held on to me so gently, whispering sweet words of how happy we could all be... I began to fall for it...

My heart started accepting it...

But the moment my eyes went beyond the woods and trees around us, I saw the withering trees that were supposed to be Azarel's dark mind.

And I understood.

This was not real. I was in Azarel's distorted realities. This was a prison...

"I can't be here," I finally let out, suddenly breaking away from the boys’ embrace.

"Dahlia, what are you doing?" They chorused, their voices matching in panic.

My throat tightened. "I can't— this is not you..."

"Maybe you are right," Cassius said, reaching for me. "But once you accept it, it becomes real."

"No," I shook my head, refusing to listen to him. "I must leave here at once..."

I tried to make my way towards the dead trees but Lyon stopped me this time. "If you insist on leaving, you should at least see what would happen..."

He pointed to the ground and like a mirror, I saw white flames distort our reflections.

And the moment it cleared, I saw Cassius with a blade in his chest.

"No!" I whimpered, covering my mouth in horror.

"Keep watching, there is more," Vladimir growled impatiently.

At that moment, I saw Lyon. He was falling into wild flames that ate him up in seconds. And Orion—

"Oh gods, no..."

—Orion was dangling from a tree, hung to death with his eyes wide open.

And finally, Vladimir. He was sprawled on the ground, totally defeated.

I was also there, running desperately in each scene trying to save them. But each time, I fail and I watch as my mates die.

"If you leave, this is the end that will meet us all!" Lyon echoed. "Is that what you want?"

Tears filled my face as I trembled. The cold clutched my bones and I struggled to breathe.

I felt defeated and helpless. I didn't know what to do or what choice to make...

How could I willingly pick the path that I wasn't even certain of how it would end? What if they ended up like this?

"Please don't let us die, Dahlia..." Orion cried. "You are all we have left..."

Pain rose to my throat as my conviction began to dwindle...

"I— I don't—" the words could barely even form as my heart conflicted with my head.

It felt like every bit of energy I had within me channelled through this one decision and my body shook.

I could clearly remember Lyon's warning on the other side. He told me to get out... He knew this side existed...

I also remembered the way Orion's eyes were white on the other side... And maybe the others were even in the worst cases...

Could I leave them like that and accept this perfect life here?

What if that was the wrong move? What if I didn't even succeed and I lost on both fronts?

My thoughts were starting to hurt so much that I felt my body twist, as if something else was slipping in.

And just like I thought, I heard her, Odette; 'Do not make a stupid choice, Dahlia!'

I gasped as the air froze around me.

'I have felt this feeling of despair and loss before, Dahlia... I have also thought of giving up, but no! It was all a ploy! If you give up now, then it will only get worse!'

"But the visions I have been seeing since all this started... They were not wrong. They were real," I countered.

'Yes, they were real. And maybe you have seen the future but you can twist it! We can twist it! Weren't you the one preaching about working together?'

My heart stopped. But I nodded, agreeing with her.

'Good. Now, pull your pathetic self together and go save your lovers!'

As her voice faded, I felt a surge of energy pump into me.

Without saying another word to the boys, I simply moved away from them, ignoring everything until I got to the withered forest.

The moment I stepped on the borderline, the scene before me changed.

And I saw Orion— the real Orion, in his prison.