Kade

Ambrose's magic exploded, throwing Nevaeh and I in the opposite direction of Nikolai; while I was still pissed that Nevaeh hadn't listened to me and sought safety, I couldn't focus on that right now. I needed to focus on the tasks at hand, keeping Nevaeh and myself safe while cutting through our enemies and helping Nikolai rescue Mary. I glanced around, taking note of the mayhem surrounding me; there wasn't an easy path to take getting to Ash's home; we would have to head directly into the center of the war.

I looked from where Ambrose's magic had tossed us, ensuring he was okay. He was battling head-on with the witch Befana. He seemed evenly matched with the high witch, battling her spell for spell, but I wondered how long he would be able to keep up with this; Nikolai had fed from him earlier, and he'd held the protective shield over us for nearly half the battle. Looking quickly over Ambrose's features, it didn't seem like the fae was weakening in the slightest bit. The longer he continued to battle the witch, the more it seemed like his powers were growing; could the faerie prince possess the ability to feed off his opponent's magic?

Feeling a splash of liquid land on my head, I looked toward the skies; Draq and Dru, while massive in appearance, held nothing on their father. He looked like a mountain swarming in the sky, while they looked like boulders comparatively, and I had seen the dragon twins shift often enough that I knew they weren't the least bit comparable to a boulder. The twins, however, were giving their father hell; two targets were harder to hit than one. As he lunged for one brother, the other would sink their teeth into him; the droplet of blood I felt on my head seemed to be coming from Lucious's wing that had been torn into. There was so much smoke in the air that it looked like a storm had been blown in, and their roars sounded like thunder.

"KADE!" Nevaeh screamed, breaking my attention away from the twins and drawing it to herself.

She had landed on top of me when Ambrose's magic had thrown us away from him, but in my haste to get up and check her surroundings, I'd tossed her off of me.

"What?" I hissed back, not wanting to catch anyone's attention.

Nevaeh glares at me before pointing at a tree right above me, the high witch Circe rested there, and she had a long broadsword in her hand. I quickly jumped back away from Nevaeh, shielding her from the witch.

"Kade, second-in-command, to king Nikolai, I've been sent to kill you." A crazy look on her face, her lips curling up in a smile, "How would you prefer I kill you, Kade? Would you rather I stabbed you in the heart with a sword made of wood, or should I behead you with my sword?" She asks her tone, making it seem like an acceptable question to ask a stranger.

"I'd rather I not die," I respond, ensuring my body was angled enough to hide Nevaeh.

"There's no need to hide the human," Circe states as she drops to the ground, landing on her feet, "If I wanted to kill her, she would've been dead before she could shout your name in warning."

One to normally cower in fear, Nevaeh chose this moment to make her presence known. "You could have tried to kill me, witch." Her country's accent more prominent than normal, she spits out, "But you wouldn't have succeeded, I've survived worse than you, and I am not about to let filth take me down."

If Circe had hackles, I'm sure they'd be raised; I could feel the heaviness of her aura raining down on us as her anger grew. "I'll take care of you next, human," Circe spits, her anger even more evident when she speaks, "I'll happily remove you from this Earth without a direct order."

Nevaeh still doesn't back down. Instead, she grabs the dagger I have sheathed behind my back and quickly throws it toward Circe, providing the distraction I need to ready my battle against the witch. Knowing that Circe would use magic to aid her in a sword battle, I let myself partially shift, my vampire helping intensify all of my abilities; I could see better, move quicker, and swing harder, giving me the ability to defeat a high witch. Just as Circe is swinging the dagger back, aiming for Nevaeh's chest, I use my vampire speed to push her out of the way, lifting my sword in time to block the dagger. I could see that I'd used too much power when I'd pushed Nevaeh, but she landed softly a few yards away, far enough away that she would be out of range from any sword attacks or magical spells that went off while I was battling Circe.

Pulling my attention away from the woman, who I knew would be a distraction, I focused on Circe, trying to determine her next move. Circe lunged forward, using a spell that enhanced her ability to jump long distances, slamming her sword against me. Surprise crossed her eyes when she heard the clang of metal hitting metal. She hadn't expected me to be as skilled in sword fighting as I am, but that came with being second-in-command; I was an excellent fighter, expertly trained with every weapon.

I pushed my sword against her using all the strength I possessed as I tossed her off me. Her sword went flying in the air, but she was able to produce another one just as quickly as she hurled her body forward, diving toward me like an eagle does its prey. The fight continued for hours, metal clanging against metal, thuds of feet smashing into the skin as we shoved the other off of us, sharp hisses whenever we managed to knick the other person with our blade. Still, there wasn't a winner in sight; we were too evenly matched. As I shoved Circe into a tree, slamming her against it so hard she cried out, I thought I had her exactly where I wanted her; I pulled my sword up, anchoring it high above her head, ready to plunge it into her throat, when Nevaeh cried out.

"Kade, move!" She screamed loudly as she hurled her tiny little body into mine, causing me to lose my balance as I let go of Circe and fell to the ground. It wasn't until then that I realized the Circe I thought I had captured was just a mirage. It wasn't until I watched in slow motion as Circe plunged her broadsword through Nevaeh's back and into her heart that I realized Circe had tricked me, and my little human had sacrificed her life to save mine.

Circe let out a cackle as she withdrew her sword from Nevaeh, wiping Nevaeh's blood onto the skirt of her dress, "I guess your little human was wrong, someone as filthy as I was able to kill her." She replied, cackling loudly.

I don't know what happened next; one moment, my body was frozen in time, watching the horror of Nevaeh's body dropping to the ground, and the next moment, my vampire had taken over my body as I sat in the darkest part of my mind, in disbelief over what had happened. I could see what was happening outside, but I wasn't processing it; with each heavy swing of my sword, I was cutting into Circe, breaking her magical barrier inch by inch, until there was nothing left but the tiny woman standing before me.

"Please, Kade," Circe begged, her eyes pleading with me, "Please show me mercy."

"Did you show Nevaeh mercy when you plunged that sword into her back?" I asked, pushing my sword further into her skin, "Did you show her mercy when you removed your blade from her body and let her fall onto the ground like she was nothing?" I snarled, my sword now piercing through the skin on Circe's neck.

I watched as Circe's eyes went from pleading to realizing she would die today. I watched her accept her death, and then I watched as hope flashed in her eyes as I removed my sword, "I think not," I whispered as I swung my sword across her neck, decapitating her in one smooth stroke.

It was the sound of her body hitting the forest floor that pulled me from my rage; instead of the fiery hatred I'd felt just moments ago in my body, I was filled with the agony of grief as I rushed over to Nevaeh, silently praying to whoever could hear me that by some miracle she would be okay.

When I reached Nevaeh, I dropped down to my knees, cradling her head against me; by some miracle, she was still alive, but I could hear her lungs crackling with each breath she took.

"Don't cry, Kade." She whispered, her voice trying to hide the immense amount of pain she felt.

"Nevaeh," I whispered, cradling her head, my heart breaking when I realized there wasn't any way I could save her, her body too damaged to survive the transition into a turned vampire.

"It's a privilege to sacrifice yourself for someone you love." She stated, pausing as she coughed up blood, her lungs giving out on her, "I love you, Kade; from the moment I saw you, I've always loved you."

"I love you too, Nevaeh," I whispered, finally admitting the truth to her and myself, before realizing I was too late.

As Nevaeh took her last breath, I watched as the whole meadow was engulfed in darkness, matching how I felt inside.