Chapter 49

I awake in a cave; three masked figures stand around me, and Dylan lay unconscious beside me. What the hell?!

“Valerie!” A familiar voice screams. Before I know what’s happening, Theia throws her arms around me. She sobs into my shoulder as I try to comprehend what just happened.

Selene. My mother. Orion. Triplets!

Nothing no longer makes sense. Not only did nothing make sense, I feel different. Before anyone can breathe another word, I feel a familiar presence. It came from all around the cave, throwing me off for a second before the realisation dawns on me.

Behind me!

The cave cracks and vibrates angrily all around us. I turn my head only slightly, catching the silver sword glinting dangerously from the corner of my eye.

Time seems non-existent, and my body reacts before my mind catches up. Dylan lays beside me. Theia is in my arms - my friends are here.

With no way to block, I can sense so much power gathering into that sword. A single hit, and we’ll all be buried alive.

Kyro was coming for my head, and just as he’s a breath away – I disappear.

I didn’t know what I was doing. My body moves at a shocking speed. Before I know it, I press my knee into his spine, Theia still sobbing into my shoulder.

Kyro’s body lands so violently into the ground the floor crumbles to ashes around him, and blood seeps from his lips.

It takes a moment, and everyone finally reacts.

“What the fuck?!” Grayson growls. Theia screams into my arms, shocked. A section of the cave flies out like a pillar, ready to slam right into me to force me to release Kyro and dodge.

I land in front of Jaxson, Sophia, and Grayson. Three masked figured catch the corner of my eye, but they don’t seem to be making any threatening moves towards us.

Kyro slowly rises to his feet, wiping away the blood drizzling down his chin. The hatred in his deep, brown eyes hasn’t changed. It still burns through mine, with such an intensity I’m momentarily surprised.

“You need to die,” he states. With a flick of his wrist, the cave falls on us, forcing me to separate from the Qusayr. I know it was his intention. If the Qusayr interfere, he won’t have a chance to kill me.

But I suddenly don’t want to die without a fight.

The part of the cave I’m standing on flies up, and Kyro follows. Theia is still in my arms. The cave ceiling disappears, and the crimson moon glares down at us. But he doesn’t stop. We continue flying higher until I have no chance of jumping.

Kyro creates a dome around us. Theia shivers fearfully in my arms until there wasn’t any chance of escape for us. “I’m guessing this wasn’t part of Freya’s plan,” I drawl.

Kyro hovers in the middle of the ball above us. “She realised your soul hadn’t touched death and figured the Gods had a hand to play,” he unsheathes his weapon, pointing it directly at me. “I’ve come to finish what she started.”

I narrow my gaze, “Maybe if you had come a week ago, I’d have made it easy for you. But now-…” I sigh, setting Theia down. She hides behind me, my glare piercing into his, ready to fight. “Stay here, Theia.”

Just as I finish, my heel kicks into the ground, and I fly towards him. My claws extend from my fingers, dodging his advances, and slicing at him with the slightest opening. Our bodies danced around the boulder we were in; I’m surprised I’m able to keep up with a bloody Nymph.

As a wolf, I shouldn’t have survived this long.

“Why?! Why are you fighting beside her?!” I ask, his sword scraping my throat as I use my strength to keep him away. His hateful gaze burns into mine, a sneer curling onto his face.

“She offered me something no one else can,” he spits. I kick his legs from under him and gain some distance between us.

“What, death?!” I state.

“Yes! We live in a cruel world; death won’t feel any different. So why run from the inevitable?” He scoffs coldly. “They’re all too blind to see it. Eldora, the Gods, Oracles, Qusayr - what is the point? We are vestiges of war, a means to an end. Nothing good will ever come from our existence.” He scoffs.

He flies towards me. “If we’re all going to die anyway, why would I stand on the side that has only used and ruined me. I’m a man consumed by hatred. I will help my Queen bury the world and myself. Because not existing at all -... is better than whatever future lies beyond.” He argues, just as I dodge his blade and break the weapon with my hand.

Kyro is shocked, staring at his broken blade, just as I say. “How can you think so little of your own life? Don’t you think the world deserves a chance to change? Freya won’t be any different a ruler than your ancestors. She feeds on hatred and gains power. What will the end of Eldora, the Gods gain?” I wonder, confused.

“A new cycle, a better cycle! One that isn’t corrupted by our predecessors. Being one of only three Nymphs on Eldora, do you have any idea the kind of life they forced me into?” He chuckles, “They killed my parents the second I was born because we weren’t allowed to love or be loved. To this world, it is a weakness!” He hisses harshly.

I can’t disagree.

It’s true - love is a weakness on Eldora, my father believed it, and he wasn’t - isn’t - the only one. For loving my mother, for shedding tears - I became my father’s greatest disgrace. His weapon clatters to the ground, just as his fist clocks me in the jaw.

“I spent centuries, as they drilled thousands of years of cruelty and beliefs onto me. Fighting wars against my will, destroying empires - killing in the name of the Faes! I *fought* their wars…! I *followed* their commands…! I was a *loyal* soldier! Their willing weapon to do with as they please, and how do they repay me?! By murdering the only woman, I came to love.”

His anger fuels his power. Boulders come from every direction aiming to crush me. I dodge, flip, turn, all while keeping an eye on Theia. She was well hidden behind a pile of rocks, so I’m not worried.

Kyro continues manipulating the boulder. As long as we were here, he has the advantage.

Still, why do I get the feeling he’s holding back?

“So, this world isn’t perfect. Do you think you’re the only one who lost a loved one? We’re all painted in scars, including the very same people you hate so deeply. How do you expect this world to change when we are all taught the same lessons?!”

I kick through boulders, trying to gain the upper hand, but we were just going in circles. “Do not lecture me, Saviour. You who chose revenge over your destiny. You pass your responsibilities on to others because even you know we live in a hopeless world.”

He stands opposite me, his gaze boring into mine. “You’re right. I did try to pass my responsibilities to others. I did choose revenge over my destiny – but it wasn’t because I thought the world didn’t deserve to be saved. It’s because I knew, come what may, the Qusayr and the Oracle will come together and save it. Without me,” I stress, “I don’t need fate to tell me I’ve lost before I’ve even began.”

Deep down, I know we’re similar in many ways. “You aren’t like Freya, Kyro. You can choose to live.”

A part of the large stone dome shatters from the outside, and Grayson flies inside, followed by Jaxson, Sophia, and Dylan. Kyro glances briefly at them before meeting my gaze.

“What do we know about living? Creatures are so absorbed in themselves they don’t care who they hurt. I grew up around monsters-... Isn’t it only natural to become one?”

With those final words, the dome breaks beneath me. I can only gasp before I’m falling three thousand feet from the ground.