Chapter 63 Hope
Fernanda held Maya's cold body right against her own, refusing to let go. Refusing to accept what had happened to her.
Damon's severed head laid on the ground a few meters from her with Sebastian standing in front of it. He was looking at Fernanda, everything within him breaking as he watched her adjust Maya's hair from her face.
Everywhere was battle torn, only few survived effects of Fernanda's awakening. "Fernanda..." Sebastian whispered her name as he got nearer. She gently looked up from Maya's pale face to meet his own. His eyes were apologetic and soft with worry. "She's not responding Sebastian, she's just... Still." Fernanda said, drops of tears escaping freely from her eyes.
He kneeled beside her, reaching for the side of her face to wipe off her tears. "I'm so sorry Fernanda, for failing to protect her." He said, knowing that those words might never be enough to comfort her. "No. I was the one who failed to protect her." She stated, looking around at the bodies laying scattered and wasted on the cold ground.
"It's unfair... So unfair!" Fernanda shook her head, her face contorting with pain.
"My powers didn't come during the moment when I needed them the most, I could have saved her! I could have easily saved Maya from Damon." Fernanda's words came out as sobs.
"Don't put this on yourself Fernanda, please." Sebastian told her, his brows knitting with worry. "No. She did everything for me, sacrificed a lot for me and I couldn't even do anything when she had a knife around her throat. I failed her!" Fernanda persisted, she didn't want Sebastian telling her none of what happened was her fault.
Fernanda didn't want to feel guilty anymore than she already had.
Sebastian immediately pulled her closer, her cries muffling against his chest. His heart ached seeing her so broken and being unable to do anything than just hold her.
Levi who was still in his Lycan form walked up to them, his eyes found Maya's body lying lifelessly on Fernanda's laps. He stared at her a moment, looking forlorn before turning and walking away. Seeing her like that made him angry all over again.
He broke into a run, needing a place to breath. Levi instantly shifted back into his normal form when he had raced far enough from the bloody battlefield. He let out a scream which sounded very much like a roar. He would never forgive himself for failing her like this. Never. Levi thought as he heaved heavily.
"We need to get her body to somewhere warm." Sebastian murmured against Fernanda's hair. She held up Maya's hand and pressed a kiss against it. In as much as Fernanda didn't want to leave Maya's body, Sebastian was right, they had to take her somewhere warm.
Sebastian ordered his soldiers to bring warm and thick clothes to wrap Maya's body with. "How many of them are still alive?" Sebastian demanded, "About ten of them your majesty," Gayle answered, both of them looking over to where ten shadow wielders were getting tied up.
Sloane were amongst them, she had her eyes on Damon's headless body, shock written in her eyes. Nina had managed to escape, she couldn't find her body among the ones on the ground.
"We are not sure if the bastard summoned all his army or whether there are still some of them out there." Gayle said, "I'm very much certain they are still plenty of them out there." Sebastian replied him.
"Now that their leader is dead, there'll be confusion and division. Each one of them left to make independent decisions and make mistakes. These ones would lead us to where they lurk, I'm not stopping until I weed out every single one of the shadow wielders." Sebastian gruffly stated.
Fernanda watched as Maya's body got covered with thick fur. Her blood began to boil again when she recalled the way Damon had brutally ended Maya's life. She wanted to somehow revive him and make him die a slow death if that was even possible.
Her eyes brimmed with tears again as she watched soldiers lift Maya's body up with care and began to carry her away. Sebastian walked up to her after he was done speaking with Gayle, "You are cold too. Let's go home." He told her.
They were finally heading back to Clawshire, after days of being away. Sebastian knew danger still lurked in places he can't explain, even with Damon dead, he still felt like that wasnt the end. But for now, heading home was more important.
"Levi..." Fernanda began, "He will be fine. I promise." Sebastian assured her. "The vice commander might not have admitted it, or shown it well enough but he had feelings for Maya." Fernanda told him.
Sebastian stopped walking and stepped in front of Fernanda. "It didn't get past me." He said. "One of the reasons why I agreed to help save her wasn't just because she was your friend, she's also Levi's mate. I sensed it ever since you both came back from Damon's lair."
"His mate? Maya isn't a Lycan, so how?" Fernanda asked, "She must have had a Lycan ancestor, might not be directly from her parents but since Levi feels this great connection to her, then it's for sure that she has Lycan blood running through her veins." Sebastian explained
It them dawned on Fernanda what just happened, "Oh my God, Lycans are supposed to be mated once and forever. This means that Levi's..." Her face contorted in horror again. "Oh no!" She gasped. Maya was Levi's mate and he just lost her without even getting to know her well and bond with her!
Guilt ripped though Fernanda's chest like a lightening bolt. Sebastian could feel it so he made her look at him in the eyes, "There was nothing you could have done. She would be alive if there was." He told her, clasping both side of her face firmly. "Do you understand? You did your best."
"I killed many people too, your soldiers suffered severe casualty because of my recklessness." Fernanda continued berating herself. Sebastian let out a deep sigh, "They are soldiers, they knew what dangers to expect on a battlefield. Do not apologize for my men's death, they died with honor." He replied.
Fernanda nodded, even though she still felt guilty about everything.
As they continued to walk further towards their horses, Fernanda spotted a lifeless bird on the bloodstained battle field. She went over to pick it up with Sebastian following immediately, wondering what she wanted to do. When she got nearer, she realized it was an owl.
"What is that?" He asked, "An owl, It isn't alive anymore," Fernanda said with a deep sigh. "I know what you are about to say Sebastian," She remarked when he opened his mouth to speak. "But even if it's dead, that doesn't mean it deserved to die this way. I'm going to bury it." Fernanda said, cradling the owl against her chest.
It body was still warm which meant it hadn't been long since it died. "Alright, let me find a good place." Sebastian said, turning to look for a good spot to bury the owl.
Fernanda could feel her eyes burn again but this time it wasn't her powers, it was because her tears threatened to fall again. Maya, Anderson and even this little owl all met with an unfortunate Fate. All because of her. Her body trembled as she sobbed silently.
The tears in her eyes fell and dropped onto the owl's body. Fernanda immediately wiped her tears when Sebastian started approaching, "I saw a good spot, let me bury it for you." He volunteered, reaching for the bird while also wiping the remaining tears left off her face.
"I tried to be subtle," Fernanda said with a small smile which Sebastian returned, her eyes were already red and puffy from the constant crying."What is this?" Sebastian asked with a light frown on his face, Fernanda saw that his eyes were on the owl she held in her arms like a baby.
A gasp left her lips when she looked down and saw a bright shimmer weaving itself around the body of the owl. She and Sebastian immediately shared a look, confusion written in their eyes.
They looked down again and was thrown aback by the next thing they saw. The owl was kicking its legs, as if struggling to breath. The kicking continued as the bright shimmer continued to weave itself around the bird. Then it stopped.
And before either of them could fathom what was going on, the bird jerked awake and immediately fought itself from Fernanda's grip and began to fly away.
"Makers!" Fernanda whispered in awe as she watched the owl fly away. "how did that happened?" Even Sebastian was loss for words. "I don't know... I was just holding it." She replied, breathing heavily.
Fernanda was so sure that the bed was dead, she felt no heartbeat. Sebastian made her turn to face him, "Fernanda... What did you do?" He asked, totally in awe of her.
"I honestly do not have any explanations, Sebastian. I'm just in awe as you! I got emotional when I held it and cried but that was all. That was all that happened." She told him, her eyes brightening with hope.
The shimmers were proof that it wasn't something ordinary that had just happened. Then realisation dawned on Fernanda, "If I had done this then... Then... Maya!" Fernanda exclaimed, her eyes brimmed with tears.
Fernanda then broke into a run. She ran as fast as she could with only one name resonating hard and loud in her mind. "Maya!"
The thought of Maya bringing Maya back to life, back from her unjust death, filled Fernanda with so much happiness that she thought her heart was going to burst out of her chest.
"Fernanda, slow down!" Sebastian called sharply, racing right behind her to make sure she doesn't fall or catches her if she does. "Stop! Put her down. Put Maya down!" The soldier who carried Maya in his arms turned around.
He had a confused expression on his face, seeing the king and queen running towards him really surprised him, but he was even more confused as to why they would ask him to stop and put her down.
Despite his confusion, he asked no questions and immediately did what he was ordered to do. He placed Maya on the ground and Fernanda immediately removed the furs her body was covered with. She pressed her palm against Maya's cold cheeks.
The soldiers turned to look at Sebastian, "What's going on your majesty?" One of them asked, Sebastian gestured for them to wait. His eyes were focused on Fernanda, hoping whatever had happened with the owl happens again but this time with Maya.
The soldiers, went quiet as they all watched. Fernanda let some of her tears drop on Maya's face, "Oh moon goddess, please... Let this work." Fernanda pleaded in a whisper as her tears continued to drop on Maya's pale face.
All the soldiers except for Sebastian were more confused than ever but they still waited.
When nothing happened, Fernanda began to panic again. "Please please, wake up! This has to work, wake up Maya!" She yelled aloud this time. Fernanda was scared that the little hope which had blossomed in her chest at the idea of Maya's resurrection would wither as quickly as it had came.
Fernanda didn't want to be disappointed, so she cried harder. "Maya! Come on, get up! Be like the owl." Her voice shook.
Sebastian felt something sink within him when he heard Fernanda say that out of desperation and frustration. Even the soldiers felt bad watching her cry.
Thirty minutes passed and still nothing. Sebastian neared Fernanda and gently touched her shoulder. "Fernanda..." He said, and she looked at him immediately. Sebastian shook his head, "No! I won't give up on her. She will wake up." She stubbornly told him.
Sebastian signaled for Maya's body to be taken away by the soldiers. Fernanda shot him a cold glare. "No! Nobody touches her. You saw it too Sebastian!"
"She will wake up, we need to give her time." Fernanda whispered pleading. Sebastian wanted to believe this would work so bad, but seeing Fernanda grasping at straws hurt him more than he could ever imagined. He insisted the soldiers take Maya's body away. "No don't! Please!" Fernanda started to scream in protest.
Sebastian pulled her closer to comfort her as she began to hit him out of frustration. "She needs time." She sobbed.
Just as the soldiers were about to carry Maya, a thin bright shimmer appeared from nowhere and began to weave itself around Maya's body just like it did with the owl.