Chapter 255 255
Chapter 255 255
I have on the tip of my tongue the question “what are you?” or maybe I should ask “who are you?”, but there’s no need because I notice a man and a woman whose hair was once the golden color of straw, but has now lost all color. Both nod their heads. I squeeze my eyelids shut, not sure if it’s to concentrate or to keep my eyes from flooding with tears. I try to cling to that warm sensation bathing my veins and, without realizing it, I summon new bodies. One of them takes the first step and soon after the rest follow, turning what lies before us into a nightmare.
Caelum and Luois fall back when the summoned bodies hurl themselves at their enemies and what they do with them is so grotesque that I have no words to describe it. They devour them completely, gifting us with images we will never be able to forget. I watch with a morbid satisfaction as Ragna’s face slowly transforms from one brimming with mockery to one that has begun to realize the tide is turning.
I rise to my feet, still feeling invisible hands stroking my calf and seeking my hands to keep me connected to the earth. I walk, confident and unhurried, watching on either side as this new army slowly devours our adversaries. Above me are the astonished gazes of the rest, who don’t know how to react. The shapeshifter throws all of hers in retreat, using them as a shield. All of this is useless; new bodies keep appearing, ready to clear my path. Without realizing it, she ends up cornered between the impenetrable wall formed by Azrakiel and Zerion.
“You thought having no soul would save you,” I say. “I don’t know what death would have been more merciful.”
Trembling with rage, the shapeshifter leader honors her race and turns into the massive, imposing golden-furred wolf. Her mismatched eyes gleam; yet this time it’s with fear. She advances toward me with her fangs bared, ready to tear me apart. I sink my knees into the ground and intertwine my fingers with those that rise from the earth and lend me their support. The current of power is unstoppable.
Without realizing it, my lips whisper words in a language unknown, yet one my tongue seems to know and master perfectly. The ground siphons my energy, draining me in an almost painful way. New semi-corporeal forms appear before me and corner Ragna, who all this time has played invincible, but with every step my army takes, her wolfish form seems to shrink.
“Everything dies, Ragna, and you will never find rest. Nothing is waiting for you.”
“Maybe I’ll drag you with me.”
She makes one last attempt, slashing in my direction and managing to tear part of the fabric of my shirt. One of her sharp claws grazes my skin and leaves a small stain of blood on the white of my clothes. I don’t even feel pain, the one inside my chest is far greater. I let out a sadistic laugh.
“Don’t you see, Ragna? Death has become my friend.”
With that final word, I seem to seal her fate. The forms hurl themselves upon her, as if they had been waiting for me to be ready to put an end to it all. I don’t close my eyes or look away as each one of them, eager, takes a piece of her. They rip off her arms and legs, completely ignoring the panicked screams of the wolf who, from the pain, has been unable to maintain her form, leaving only a weak human. As soon as the damage caused by the souls who joined me today is too severe for her to heal, blood loss finishes her life.
In a matter of seconds, the only thing left of Ragna is her head, whose eyes stare at the sky, expressionless and empty. I approach with trembling legs and tangle my fingers in her mane of hair. I hold back the urge to cry when I turn, raising the head in my hand as if it were a trophy. The screams of the other vampires are deafening. Some can’t contain the emotion in their eyes, prostrated beside their fallen companions. My gaze quickly searches for Cassian, wishing all this had been a bad dream. I wait with the hope of a foolish child to see him standing, smiling at me with pride. Yet his body still lies stretched out on the other side of the battlefield, with a chest that stopped moving long ago.
Everyone wants the chance to hold Ragna’s head in their fist, to shake it and shout at her lifeless features, but no one dares to stop me on my walk toward reality. The fire that once burned with passion is now only embers that fade with every step of my boots. Out of the corner of my eye I see Antony running in search of Nymera, and they end up melting into an almost primal embrace. I have to look away so that the ugly claws of envy don’t ensnare me.
I reach Cassian, seeing how a much smaller body is curled up right above his heart.
“Luca?”
“Crimson Queen,” she answers between coughs. “You did it.”
“I don’t know if it means much.”
The skin of the Phoenix, who always kept flames captured beneath that fine layer, now seems to have burned out. Now it is gray, like ashes, like my eyes.
“It does.” Her golden eyes rise to meet mine. “There’s still one person waiting for you.”
“For us,” I correct.
She coughs again and this time lets out a laugh as well.
“You’re clever, you know how to see death when it’s right in front of you, Elara.”
“You can’t leave me too.”
“I can, and believe me, I go happily. I’m not entirely sure if I managed to keep my promise, but I believe that with you, Cassian’s heart didn’t need my presence to keep from freezing. You made him happy, Elara. I go with the certainty that he left loving you, burning for you. No matter how brief that time was, Cassian got to taste absolute happiness. You healed wounds that weren’t your fault, helped soothe a pain you weren’t responsible for. So thank you. It’s been a true pleasure to meet you, Elara Voss, Crimson Queen.” I think I see the last glimmer of her flames before they go out. “You are without doubt an extraordinary young woman. Perhaps that’s why Cassian refuses to abandon you even in death.”