Chapter 62 Con
Mara fought with everything she had. Her golden power blazing. Striking down void creatures left and right.
Beside her, Zevran's black wolf tore through enemies. Efficient. Deadly. Unstoppable.
Kael created illusions. Fake soldiers that confused void creatures. Made them attack empty air.
But it was not enough. The void army was too large. Too strong.
"We are being pushed back!" someone screamed.
"Hold the line!" Mara called. "Do not retreat!"
Then one of Elara's children entered the battle. Dante. The fast one.
He moved like lightning. Killing defenders faster than they could react. Ten dead in seconds. Twenty. Thirty.
"Someone stop him!" Luna cried.
"I will!" Brutus charged at Dante. They collided. Fought. But Dante was too fast. Too skilled.
He stabbed Brutus through the shoulder. The big wolf collapsed. Bleeding. Dying.
"No!" Mara ran toward them.
But another child appeared. Marcus. The strong one.
He grabbed Mara by the throat. Lifted her off the ground. "Mother wants you alive. But I do not care what Mother wants. I just want to hear you scream."
He squeezed. Mara could not breathe. Could not think. Could not fight back.
"Let her go!" Zevran attacked Marcus from behind.
But Marcus just swatted him away with his free hand. Zevran flew through the air. Crashed into the ground. Hard.
"Pathetic. All of you. Pathetic." Marcus squeezed harder. "Die, Moon Wolf. Die and end this farce."
Mara's vision darkened. She was dying. Again. For the third time.
But then Isla's voice filled her mind. "Mother! Take my power! Now!"
"It will kill you!"
"Better me than you! Take it!"
Golden energy flooded into Mara. Isla's power. Her light. Her strength. All of it.
Mara's eyes blazed. She grabbed Marcus's wrist. Broke his grip. Threw him backward with strength that should not exist.
"What?" Marcus stared at his hand. It was burned. Smoking. "How did you—"
Mara did not answer. She just attacked. Fueled by Isla's power. By desperation. By rage.
She hit Marcus. Again. Again. Again. Each punch blazed with golden light. Each strike burned him.
Finally, Marcus fell. Unconscious. Defeated.
"Impossible!" Dante stopped killing defenders. Stared at his brother's body. "You beat Marcus? No one beats Marcus!"
"I just did. You want to be next?"
Dante hesitated. For the first time, he looked uncertain. "This was supposed to be easy. Mother said you were weak. Unprepared. She lied."
"Your mother lies about everything. When will you learn?"
"Right now." Dante turned to the void army. "Retreat! Fall back! This battle is lost!"
"What?" Sera appeared. "We cannot retreat! Mother will kill us!"
"Better Mother kills us than the Moon Wolf!" Dante grabbed his brother Marcus. "We are leaving!"
"You cannot just—"
But Dante was already running. Carrying Marcus. Fleeing the battlefield.
The void creatures, leaderless, started to scatter. Without direction, they were easy targets.
Mara's army pushed forward. Driving them back. Destroying them.
Within minutes, the battlefield was clear. The void army was routed. Elara's children had fled.
They had won. Somehow. Against impossible odds. They had won.
But the victory felt hollow. Because Elara herself had not fought. Had not even participated. She had just watched from the back lines. Observed. Learned.
And now she knew exactly what Mara could do. What her limits were. What her weaknesses were.
"This was a test," Kael said quietly. He stood beside Mara. Watching Elara's army retreat. "She sent just enough to see how you fought. Now she knows. And next time, she will come prepared."
"When is next time?"
"Tomorrow. Maybe the day after. She does not like waiting. And she hates losing. Even test battles."
"Then we prepare again. Rebuild. Get ready for round two."
"Round two will be worse. Much worse. She will bring her strongest children. Her best creatures. And she will fight personally. No more holding back."
"Good. I am tired of fighting her proxies. Let her come. Let her face me directly. We will see who wins."
Mara turned to her army. To the wolves who had stood beside her. Who had fought and bled and survived.
"We won today! But the war is not over! Elara will come again! Stronger! Angrier! More dangerous! But we will be ready! We will stand together! And we will win! Because we have something she will never have! We have each other!"
The army cheered. Howled. Celebrated their victory.
But Mara felt Isla's presence fading. Weakening. "Isla? Are you okay?"
"Tired. So tired. But alive. I will recover. Just need rest."
"Thank you. For saving me. For being brave. For everything."
"That is what family does. We save each other. Now go. Your people need you. I will be here when you are done."
The connection faded. Mara felt the loss immediately. But she pushed through. Walked among her troops. Checking on wounded. Offering words of encouragement. Being the leader they needed.
Hours later, when the sun was setting, Zevran found her sitting alone by the medical tents.
"You did well today."
"Brutus is dying. Fifty others too. We won but the cost was high."
"It always is. But we are still here. Still fighting. That is what matters."
"Is it? How many more have to die before this ends? How many more battles do we fight?"
"As many as it takes. You know that."
"I am tired, Zevran. So tired. I just want it to be over."
"It will be. Soon. After we defeat Elara. After we rebuild. After we finally get that peaceful life we keep talking about."
"Do you really think we will get that? Peace?"
"No. But I like to pretend we will. It helps me get through days like this."
Mara laughed sadly. "You are a terrible liar."
"I know. But you love me anyway."
"I do. Against all logic and reason. I really do."
They sat together. Watching the sun disappear. Knowing tomorrow would bring new challenges. New battles. New pain.
But also knowing they would face it together. As they always had. As they always would.
Until one of them stopped breathing. And maybe even after that.