Chapter 27: Chapter 27

ANNA

My feet are dangling in the air, and my lips are turning blue. I can feel my life draining from my body. The man I once loved is choking the life out of me.

“How rare to stare into the face of death, my sweet cupcake. I had no interest in killing you, but you are so stubborn. And no need to search for your pet. Mona already took care of him.”

“Why?” I manage to rasp, as my vision starts to get foggy.

“Well, power, of course.”

He lets go of me and I fall to the ground, landing on my knees as I gasp for air.

“Oh, cupcake, I must say I did like you. You were very amusing to watch. I even thought to take you as my chosen mate.” He gets down on his knees next to me.

“I thought you loved me?” My voice is rough and scraped.

“Well, isn’t that cute. I never truly loved you. I just used you. I needed to get close to you to gain your trust. Would you have come if you knew my true intentions?” He smirks and pops his one eyebrow.

“No.”

He starts to laugh. “See, that is why I made sure that you fell in love with me before sending my brother his surprise package.

“Do you think it was a coincidence that he was there the day of your arrival? No, it was planned.

“I truly hope you will reconsider my offer to go home now. You’ve played your part in this. If you run from him, he will be vulnerable, and then I can easily take the crown. I’m not a bad guy, just an ambitious one.”

He winks at me and stands.

“So, Anna, I will not tell you again. Go home. Let me open a portal and send you back where you belong.”

I shake my head and try to stand on my own two feet. My legs are still wobbly.

“What have you done with Collen?” I spit at him.

“Oh, your pet? Mona is playing with him. It’s been ages since she had a really good fight.”

He pushes me against the tree, pinning my hands above my head. “Such a shame you weren’t mine.”

He runs his nose down my neck inhaling my scent. “So sweet,” he whispers.

~I need to get out of this.~

I have no power left after the battle. That shield really drained me.

~If I can only shoot one fireball, then hopefully they’ll understand and will come and help me.~

I know my powers are no match for his. I need to tread lightly or else he will probably kill me.

“If I accept your offer, what will happen?”

He smiles at me and lets go of my hands.

“Well, you will go home and never return. You will live your life in peace and forget about everyone here. You see, I will take your memory of this place, and you would think of me as your sweet Damitry again.

“My brother, on the other hand, will never forget you.”

He winks at me.

I start to focus my powers. I can feel the warmth growing in my body. I will have one shot—that’s all I have left.

“So what will it be, cupcake?”

I aim my fireball at the wall and shoot, hoping the guards see it.

“Now, why would you do that?”

He shakes his head and, with a gesture, binds me to the tree.

“Let me go!” I feel his bonds draining all the energy I have left.

“Oh, cupcake, no need to fight this.” He cages me in with his arm and plants a kiss on my head.

Mona comes into view. There is blood dripping from her hands and she is carrying something.

Damitry looks over his shoulder. “Did you have fun?”

She throws a spine to my feet and smiles.

“Nah. For an alpha, he was pretty weak.”

~No, this can’t be. Collen? Did she kill him?~

I feel the tears burning in my eyes.

~“Monsters!”~ I start to sob, tears streaming down my cheeks.

~Why would they kill my friend? He was here to protect me, and now he died because of me.~

“Uh-oh, she’s mad! Please let me play with her, brother,” Mona says as she licks the blood from her hands.

“Not yet,” he says.

“I’ll kill you!” I shriek.

He smirks. “You? Kill me? I would love to see that.”

He whistles and the manticore comes flying his way.

“I would love to stay and chat, but, unfortunately, I need to go face my brother.” He jumps on his beast.

“Stay with her,” he orders Dominique, and speeds off to meet up with his army.

“No fair.” She pouts and slides down the tree, arms folded and legs crossed.

“Why?” I manage as a sob escapes. “I thought you were my friend?”

She chuckles.

“It was all an act. We were never friends.”

“But why are you doing this? What do you get out of all this?” I feel the anger boiling in my veins.

“My brother promised me the fae kingdom. This is the most beautiful kingdom of all, and I will be the ruler. And I want to see my twin on the throne.” She winks and rises from the ground.

“Now shut up. We have company.” A devilish grin creeps up on her face.

Lev and Amethyst appear from the tree line. They both look angry and battle-ready.

“Let her go!” Lev shouts at Dominique.

“And if I say no?”

“Well, then we will take her by force,” he says.

“Well, then, no!” She smiles.

Lev looks over at Amethyst.

“You get Anna to safety. I will take care of the bitch.”

Lev and Dominique charge each other. Amethyst races to my side.

“Anna, are you okay?”

“Yes, but Collen—they killed Collen.” My voice hitches on a sob.

“We know. We found his body on the way here.” She scans the bonds holding me to the tree.

“Can you undo them?”

“It’s dark magic and will take me a while to break, but I can.”

She starts to mumble words. I gaze over to where Dominique and Lev are fighting.

She is much faster than Lev and she has magic giving her the upper hand. She’s just toying with him, dodging his every attack.

“Show me what the right-hand man is capable of doing!”

He’s getting frustrated with her and launches attack after attack.

“I will give you a sec to change,” she says as she throws him to the ground.

He stands and dusts himself off, shutting his eyes, and smiles.

“You talk too much.” He sprints in her direction and lands a punch, sending her a few feet back.

“Now that’s more like it.” She smiles and wipes the blood from her mouth.

They move fast, hitting and kicking each other. Both look tired and worn out. Lev lands one more devastating blow and cuts her over her left eye. Both of them are bleeding now.

This fight is intense, and they will fight to the death.

“Now, let’s end this,” Mona mutters.

Amethyst jumps up as the bonds break. She must have known something was about to happen.

“~No!~” she screams.

Dominique disappears and reappears behind Lev, digging her hands into his back and grabbing hold of his spine.

He looks over to Amethyst and mouths “I love you.”

Dominique smiles at Amethyst and rips Lev’s spine out, dropping his body to the ground. She stands there, blood spattered over her face and body, smirking.

I feel my heart falling to the ground, too, and look over at Amethyst. She is crying hysterically.

She runs over to Lev’s body and pulls him to her chest. As she lets out a soul-crushing scream, a shock wave sends me and Dominique flying. I hit the tree close by and try to push my way to her.

“Lev, come back to me!” she cries out, squeezing him tighter to her. “I love you. Please don’t leave me!”

Tears are streaming down her cheeks as she begs her loved one to come back. “Please,” she mumbles and kisses his forehead.

“Amethyst, we must go,” I whisper.

~I need to be strong for her.~

“I’m not leaving him.” She wipes the blood from his face.

“He would want you to be safe. Don’t let his death be in vain.” I bend down next to her and gently squeeze her shoulder. “The others need us, they need our help.”

I stand and hold out my hand to her. “Let’s go make them pay for this.”

She looks up at me with teary eyes and nods. “Just give me a sec.”

She places a gentle kiss on Lev’s forehead and lays his head back down on the ground.

“Goodbye, my love.”

She mumbles weird words and the ground swallows Lev’s body. Beautiful, brightly colored flowers appear where his body once was. They remind me of him; joyful and friendly.

She kneels down and places a rose on the ground, then stands up tall and battle-ready,

“Let’s go kill that bitch.” There is fury behind her heartache.

~I can’t imagine how she must feel. I lost a great friend, but she just lost her love. This war has claimed enough. It has broken up families, slaughtered loved ones. This must end.~

~I will put a stop to this even if it means giving up my life. I have stared death in the face a few times and squirmed. Now I’m ready to face it head-on.~

~Too many people have suffered, too many loved ones have been lost, too many families have needed to say goodbye. Enough have suffered in this war.~

~This must end.~