Chapter 9 Chapter 9
Chapter 9 Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Aveline’s POV
Pain.
That was the first thing I felt.
It wasn’t sharp anymore. It wasn’t sudden like when the blade first went in. It was worse now. It spread slowly through my body, heavy and suffocating, like something was crushing me from the inside.
I couldn’t breathe.
My chest rose, but no air seemed to reach my lungs.
For a moment, I didn’t even realize I was on the ground.
Everything felt distant.
Voices echoed around me, loud and urgent, but they didn’t make sense. They sounded like they were coming from underwater.
“Aveline!”
That voice…
Fenrir.
I tried to turn my head toward him, but my body refused to move.
My fingers twitched weakly against the cold ground.
Warmth spread beneath me.
No… not warmth.
Blood.
My blood.
Panic hit me instantly.
No. No, no, no.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.
I was supposed to save my mother.
I was supposed to get her the medicine.
I was supposed to—
My thoughts broke apart as a wave of pain hit me again.
A sharp gasp escaped my lips.
The world blurred further.
“Aveline, look at me.”
Fenrir’s voice was closer now.
Stronger.
I forced my eyes open.
His face came into view above me.
Blurry at first.
Then slowly clearer.
His expression was different.
Not calm.
Not cold.
There was something else in his eyes.
Something… intense.
Fear?
No.
Fenrir didn’t look like someone who feared anything.
And yet…
“Aveline, stay with me.”
His hands pressed against my side.
The pain increased instantly.
I cried out weakly, my body jerking slightly.
“Don’t… touch…” I whispered.
“I have to,” he said sharply.
My breathing became uneven.
I tried to push his hands away, but I had no strength left.
Everything hurt.
“Why… does it hurt so much…” I murmured.
“It missed anything vital,” he said quickly. “You’re not dying.”
He sounded sure.
Too sure.
Like he was trying to convince me.
Or himself.
My vision flickered.
I turned my head slightly, my eyes searching the courtyard.
Chaos.
Warriors running.
Shouting.
Someone screaming orders.
But I couldn’t see her.
The woman.
The one who looked like my mother.
“She said…” I whispered.
Fenrir leaned closer.
“What?”
“She said… my mother…” My voice broke. “She said hello…”
His expression darkened instantly.
“Don’t think about that right now.”
“I need to know…” I said weakly.
“You will.”
“When…?”
“When you’re not bleeding out on the ground.”
A faint, broken laugh escaped my lips.
“That sounds… serious…”
“It is.”
My eyelids felt heavy.
Too heavy.
I blinked slowly, trying to keep them open.
“Don’t fall asleep,” Fenrir said.
“I’m tired…”
“Aveline.”
His voice was sharper now.
Commanding.
“I said don’t fall asleep.”
I tried to focus on him.
On his voice.
On anything that would keep me here.
“You sound… angry…”
“I am.”
“Why…?”
“Because you’re not allowed to die.”
That made me frown slightly.
“Not allowed…?”
“Yes.”
I swallowed weakly.
“You don’t… get to decide that…”
His jaw tightened.
“I do right now.”
Another wave of pain hit me.
Stronger this time.
A soft cry slipped from my lips before I could stop it.
My fingers curled weakly against the ground.
I felt something warm brush against my face.
A hand.
Fenrir’s.
“Stay with me,” he said again, quieter this time.
“I’m trying…”
“Try harder.”
I wanted to argue.
But I didn’t have the energy.
Everything was fading.
The sounds around me were becoming distant again.
Like I was drifting somewhere far away.
Somewhere quiet.
No pain.
No fear.
Just… silence.
“Aveline!”
Fenrir’s voice snapped me back.
I blinked again, forcing my eyes open.
“You’re annoying,” I whispered faintly.
“Good,” he replied. “That means you’re still talking.”
I almost smiled.
Almost.
“Did you… catch her…?” I asked.
“No.”
Of course not.
“She was fast…”
“I’ll find her.”
“You always say that…”
“And I always mean it.”
My breathing hitched again.
“Fenrir…”
“What?”
“If I die…”
“You’re not dying.”
“If I do…”
His expression hardened.
“Don’t.”
“I need to say it…”
“No, you don’t.”
I swallowed painfully.
“Find my mother…”
His eyes locked onto mine.
“I will.”
“Promise…”
“I promise.”
My chest tightened.
“Don’t let them… use her…”
“They won’t.”
“You don’t know that…”
“I’ll make sure of it.”
Something in his voice made me believe him.
Just a little.
Enough to calm the panic slightly.
My eyes drifted closed again.
This time, it was harder to open them.
Everything felt so heavy.
So far away.
“Aveline.”
His voice again.
Distant now.
“Stay awake.”
“I can’t…”
“Yes, you can.”
“I’m tired…”
“I don’t care.”
A weak breath left my lips.
“You’re… heartless…”
“If I was, I’d let you sleep.”
That didn’t make sense.
But I didn’t have the strength to think about it.
“Why… are you helping me…?” I whispered.
There was a pause.
A long one.
Then—
“Because you’re my responsibility.”
The words felt… strange.
Cold.
But also not.
“You don’t… sound convinced…”
“I am.”
“Liar…”
A faint exhale left him.
“Just stay alive.”
My lips parted slightly.
“I’m trying…”
The world dimmed again.
Darkness creeping in from the edges.
I couldn’t fight it anymore.
It was too much.
Too strong.
“Aveline!”
Fenrir’s voice sounded far away now.
Like he was calling from the end of a long tunnel.
My body felt light.
Weightless.
The pain… fading.
Everything fading.
This was it.
Wasn’t it?
No.
No, I couldn’t die.
Not yet.
Not before I saw my mother again.
Not before I made them all pay.
Not before—
Something sharp pressed against my wound.
Pain exploded through me again.
My eyes flew open.
I gasped loudly, my body jerking.
“What—?!”
“Stay with me.”
Fenrir.
Still there.
Still holding me down.
“You’re not dying today.”
I tried to breathe.
Tried to focus.
Tried to stay.
“Why does it hurt… so much…”
“Because you’re alive.”
That didn’t make me feel better.
Tears slipped down the sides of my face.
“I hate this…”
“I know.”
“I hate them…”
“I know.”
“I hate everything…”
“I know.”
His voice was steady.
Calm.
Like he had heard these words before.
Like he understood them.
My breathing slowed slightly.
Just a little.
“Fenrir…”
“What?”
“Don’t lie to me…”
“I’m not.”
“If my mother is dead…”
“She’s not.”
“You don’t know that…”
“I do.”
“How…?”
Another pause.
Then—
“Because if she was, they wouldn’t need to play games like this.”
My heart skipped weakly.
That made sense.
It did.
Which meant…
“She’s alive…”
“Yes.”
Relief hit me so suddenly it hurt.
A shaky breath left my lips.
“Good…”
“Stay awake.”
“I’m trying…”
My voice faded again.
Everything felt distant.
But this time…
There was something else.
Not just darkness.
Voices.
Soft.
Familiar.
“Aveline…”
I froze.
No.
That voice…
It couldn’t be.
“Mom…?” I whispered weakly.
Fenrir stiffe
ned slightly.
“What did you say?”
“I hear her…”
My chest tightened.
“She’s calling me…”
“There’s no one there.”
“Yes… there is…”
The voice came again.
Clearer this time.
“Aveline…”
Tears filled my eyes.
“I hear her…”
My vision blurred again.
But this time…
I wasn’t looking at the courtyard anymore.
I wasn’t looking at Fenrir.
I was somewhere else.
Dark.
Cold.
And in the distance…
A figure.
Faint.
Weak.
Reaching out to me.
My heart stopped.
“Mom…?”
She looked at me.
Her lips moved.
And this time…
I heard it clearly.
“Run.”