Chapter 64: Chapter 64

“Moon, what’s happening?” I asked. I was in my mind, but instead of the familiar white surrounding me, it was only dark. I could see Moon just a little bit ahead of me, but she was hard to see. It was almost like she was a ghost, fading away.

I rushed to her side. She was lying down, and looked tired, but she was still breathing.

“I’ll be okay,” Moon said. “I need to take a nap for a while though. I’m tired.”

“But we have to fight Theron. We have to defeat him and save our friends.” I knelt down and tried to pick up Moon, but my hands went right through her. “We can’t give up now.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t help you,” Moon said, her voice a mere whisper.

Moon faded away, and I felt completely lost. All of the training suddenly was for nothing, and we were going to lose.

“Don’t just stand there,” another voice said. Shadow leaped out from the darkness, landing behind Moon. “We have work to do.”

In a blink of an eye, I was back in the forest, Theron standing over me with the syringe still in his hand. His eyes beamed with joy, like everything was already over.

My chest heaved up and down, and I felt weaker than before, but there was a different energy coursing through me. I lifted my hand, trying to attack Theron with magic, but nothing happened. The belladonna suppressed my magic.

Theron let out a laugh. “You thought you could play dirty tricks with me, but it backfired on you. Now you are defenseless. Time to die.”

He raised his hands, creating several dark tendrils. He flicked his wrists, and they came flying towards me. I heard Mark snarl as they started to wrap around my body. I was surprisingly calm, and the tendrils didn’t hurt like I had anticipated. They almost tickled. I took a deep breath and felt a power growing deep inside of me.

Laughter escaped my lips, and I saw Theron’s l*p twitch.

“You’re about to die. Why are you laughing?” he demanded.

It was my turn to smirk. “You have forgotten the most important fact about me,” I said. “I am the daughter of the moon. The darkness does not hurt me. In fact, I live in the darkness. I illuminate it. I thrive in it.”

A flash of light exploded from within me, causing the tendrils to wisp away from me. In a split second, I transformed into my wolf form, and Shadow took over. We flew towards Theron, landing directly on him. Shadow sank her teeth into his arm, causing Theron to cry out in pain.

He shifted away from us, but we instantly knew where he was shifting. I could still feel his magic, even though I could no longer feel my own. I knew exactly where he was and what his next move would be.

Theron tried to attack again, but it was easy to dodge the movements. It was like I was tapped into his magic. I could feel every breath, every movement, every intention. I didn’t understand why, but I didn’t take the time to question it. The moon was high in the sky now, and every cell in my body was invigorated.

We lunged at Theron again, biting his other arm. He shifted again, standing several feet away from us. B***d was seeping down both of his arms. He lifted a hand up at me, but he couldn’t keep it steady.

“Stay back.” His confidence was waning.

Shadow took the next step, jumping after him. Theron shifted away yet again, but Shadow twisted midair, catching Theron right as he landed. We pinned him to the ground and snarled in his face. He gritted his teeth, but he struggled to get away. He closed his eyes, stilling for a moment. However, when he opened his eyes, all color was gone, and they were consumed with darkness.

“You think you’re so great,” Theron spat through his gritted teeth. “You think you are so powerful, but even right now, your friends are falling one by one.”

My heart raced at that thought, but I didn’t dare look away from Theron. It wasn’t worth the risk of it being a trick, and there was nothing I could do for my friends until Theron was taken care of anyway. Shadow growled at Theron. She wasn’t about to put up with him.

Theron shifted again, but he was closer to us this time. I could tell he was weakened from the b***d loss. His breathing was labored, and he was seething. He lifted his hands, but he turned away from me. I saw him facing Mark, who was in the middle of a battle with Haley. He seemed to be holding his ground, but he didn’t notice Theron’s attention on him.

“Moon, what’s happening?” I asked. I was in my mind, but instead of the familiar white surrounding me, it was only dark. I could see Moon just a little bit ahead of me, but she was hard to see. It was almost like she was a ghost, fading away.

Dark tendrils shot from Theron, aimed right at Mark. Shadow bolted forward, but we weren’t going to make it in time. Fear radiated through me, and I changed back to my human form, shifting mid-leap, appearing between Theron and Mark just in time.

The shadows danced through the air, and I lifted my hands to block them, even though I knew my magic wouldn’t work to stop them. The darkness hit my hands, but instead of hurting me like before, they slid into my palms, and I could feel them sliding through my veins. They twisted and turned in my body, wrapping around my core.

The bright magic I usually saw was nowhere to be seen, but the shadows curled around themselves, creating a dark shadowy ball where my light magic usually sat. For a moment, I felt light headed and shaky. This energy was different from what I was used to, and it made me feel sick.

Theron’s jaw hung open as he stared at me. “How did you do that? The belladonna should have taken away all of your magic by now. That blow should have destroyed you. How?”

My breath was rapid and out of control. I couldn’t answer Theron’s question, because I didn’t understand it myself. This wasn’t my magic filling my core. It was borrowed and tainted. Instead of taking the blow, somehow I had absorbed Theron’s magic. If this was what sat inside of him normally, I could understand how he had become so full of anger.

“You threaten my life. Then you threaten my friends. Now you threaten my mate.” I could feel the anger seething through me as I faced Theron. This wasn’t like me, but the hatred for the man in front of me boiled deeper than it ever had. “Do you honestly think you have a chance of living now?”

I walked towards Theron with slow deliberate steps. He lifted his hands, but nothing happened. His whole body was shaking, and his eyes were wide.

“What did you do with my magic?” he asked, panic clear in his higher-pitched voice.

“Oh this?” I asked, making tendrils appear from my hands. This wasn’t like me. I felt like I was watching someone else, someone dark, control my body. “You didn’t know how to properly use this magic. You are weak, and don’t deserve the power you crave.” I laughed at the thought. What was happening to me? Nothing about this was funny. “I suppose it’s not your fault. You are merely the second child. You haven’t even come of age yet.”

“Stay back. If you come any closer, I’ll-”

“What?” I interrupted. “Kill me? How? You’re powerless now. It’s time to end all of this.”

I lifted my hands and sent the dark magic flying forward. The tendrils wrapped around Theron’s neck, and I lifted him in the air. This felt good. I had never felt so powerful before, and some part of me liked it.

Another part of me was absolutely terrified.

The entire battlefield was quiet, and I was suddenly aware of everyone’s eyes on the two of us. I could end it all now. I could choke the life out of Theron now and move on with my life. I heard him struggling to breathe, and I wanted to take out all of the anger I ever held out on him.

“Adira!” Mark called my name, running up to me.

I was aware of his presence right next to me, but somehow he felt so far away.

“Stay out of this,” I warned Mark. This was my business to finish off.

“Adira, what’s going on with you. Your eyes are completely dark, and this isn’t like you,” Mark said.

I could hear the worry in his voice, but I didn’t understand it. One way or another, we knew either Theron or I would die tonight. I was just ensuring it was not me. I commanded the tendrils to squeeze Theron’s neck harder, and I heard him struggling to breathe.

“I’m fine, Mark.”

“No, you’re not.” Mark grabbed my arm. “I hate this man for threatening your life and our chance for happiness. But whatever this darkness is inside of you, isn’t you. Please stop. I don’t want you doing anything you’ll regret.”

Mark’s touch sent a flicker of light through me, and suddenly I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and my head was cloudy. He was right. What was wrong with me? I was enjoying the thought of killing Theron, and that was not okay. Killing in self defense was completely different than killing for fun. I tried to lower my hands, but the darkness inside of me felt too strong. I couldn’t move my arms.

“I can’t stop.” My voice was shaky, and I felt the tears threatening my eyes. I didn’t want to kill Theron like this. “Mark, I want to stop. I can’t.”

Mark threw his body in front of mine and pulled me into him. I saw the pained expression as the shadows hit him, and that triggered something deeper inside of me. My body went limp, and the tendrils retreated. I started hyperventilating, but Mark held onto me tightly.

“It’s okay. I’ve got you, Adira,” Mark whispered into my ear. He stroked my hair, trying to calm me down.

I could feel the battle ravaging my body. I didn’t want the darkness anymore, but it didn’t want to leave. I didn’t have my own light magic to fight it off. The only thing keeping me grounded was Mark’s grip around my body. I needed to get a hold of myself and release the magic.

I lifted my arms into the air and let out a scream. The dark tendrils emerged from my hands and sprang into the sky. They completely left my body, and a new level of exhaustion overflowed every muscle. I collapsed into Mark’s body, letting him support me completely.

“Adira?” he said, completely panicked.

“I’m okay,” I whispered. “Thanks to you, I’m okay.”

Mark hugged me tighter. “Thank goodness. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Watch out!” Rie screamed from across the battlefield.

I looked up just in time to see Theron swing his arm, dagger in hand. He was aiming right for Mark. With Rie’s warning, Mark quickly turned, grabbing Theron by the wrist. In one swift motion, Mark twisted Theron’s arm, plunging the dagger into Theron’s heart. Theron gasped as the blade went into his body. He stumbled backwards, tripping over himself until he fell flat on his back.

Mark stood over Theron, his face solemn. “You underestimated the quick reflexes of werewolves. We may not have magic like you, but we weren’t as weak as you thought. We might have actually let you live too, but you couldn’t stop yourself.”

“You think this is over?” Theron managed to sputter out. “I’m not the only one who wants your mate dead. Just you wait.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Mark demanded.

Theron struggled to breathe as b***d started pouring out of his chest. He coughed up some b***d. “This fight may be over, but the war has just begun. Just you wait.”

Mark reached down and grabbed Theron’s shirt, lifting him up. “Who else would want Adira dead?”

Theron smiled, coughing up more b***d. He didn’t have a chance to respond before he stopped moving, but I was sure that’s the way he wanted it. Mark shook his body, demanding answers.

“Mark,” I called out softly. I was sitting on my knees, unable to move from lack of energy. “He’s dead. He can’t answer you.”

Mark stopped and let out a sigh of frustration. He dropped Theron’s body before moving to me. “Why would he say that? This was supposed to be over. We are supposed to get out happily ever after now.”

I cupped Mark’s face. “I’m sure he was just trying to get into our heads. He lost, and he wanted to try to mess with us from the grave. I’m sure it was nothing. For now, let’s just focus on the positive. We won. We did it.”

I looked around the battlefield, and the other sorcerers had started to flee. Without their leader, they had no reason to stick around. There were some injuries on our side, but nothing was permanent or serious. Slowly we gathered our composers.

Mark helped me to my feet, and I took one last look at Theron. Relief washed over me as I stared at his lifeless body. I didn’t wish for anyone to die, but it was over. I was finally safe.