Chapter Twelve
Chapter
Twelve
JETT
Coming to, I find my head is aching. I try to lift my hand to rub my temple, only to realize that I can’t, something heavy is holding my wrists down. I glance down to see why and find my wrists are chained to poles in the ground on either side of me.
My heart starts beating rapidly. There were women scattered around, almost like they were making a circle. Off to the side, my heart skips a beat at the sight of Arely there. Her life seemed to be drained from her.
“No,” I whisper.
I don’t . . . I can’t . . . it’s not possible. Arely, my best friend, sweetest, yet funniest person I know, looks to have her life stolen from her. Tears spill down my cheeks. She can’t be gone. I just know it.
I’m unable to look away from Arely’s prone body.
If only I could’ve stopped what happened to her.
That woman at her shop . . . she said they were draining her of her energy or something like that. I’m not completely sure.
“She’s awake,” someone says, and it’s all I can do to force my gaze away from Arely.
The pain of her loss is hitting me harder than I can remember the pain being. I can’t even remember hurting like this when I lost my mom, and that had been one of the worst days of my life.
Focusing on the woman who spoke, I immediately notice she’s the one I’d seen at Arely’s shop—the one who hit me with some orb of some kind.
“What do you want with me?” I manage to ask.
“It’s not you we really want,” she says, cackling. “But you’re the daughter of Apollo.”
“And how would you know this?” It’s not something I air out for those to hear all over. I’ve kept it secret.
“I won’t reveal to you how we know. It seems too cliche drawing things out with how someone knows this or that.
” She waves a hand through the air nonchalantly and grins.
“I’m Maera. The leader of this coven and you, daughter of Apollo, are going to help us see to setting things to the way they should be. ”
“Setting things to the way they should be?” What does she mean by that?
“Yes, you will bleed, and Death will rise,” Maera says, stretching her hands wide and starting to spin around. “The Red Caps will see. Death will rise again. And the earth will soon belong to the witches to rule over.”
Okay, this woman is nuts.
Maera stops spinning and looks to another woman. “Levana, it’s time to begin.”
Levana nods, bows, and comes toward me, a blade in one hand, what looks like herbs in the other. “Do not fret, Daughter of the Sun. You’ll be of great use. This will not hurt so long as you do not fight. We’re just checking your purity of lightness.”
My purity of lightness?
These people are nutso.
“First, the sun goes down,” another woman calls, raising her hand to the sky as others follow suit, as they all start chanting.
My stomach plummets as darkness starts to swirl around us.
No. No. No.
This isn’t what should be happening right now.
Levana is closer to me, and I focus on her while wondering where Aziz is. Does he know I’m missing? Can he sense my panic? I couldn’t even feel anything from him. Have they somehow blocked my connection to him? Is that something that was even possible?
I wasn’t a witch, so I didn’t know what could and couldn’t be possible. What I did know was that whatever these people were trying to accomplish wasn’t good.
A twinge of something in my soul caused me to stiffen. It was almost like an unadulterated anger flows right through me.
Was that . . .
“Aziz.” I breathe. It’s the only thing it could be.
Levana comes to stand in front of me, swipes the herbs over the blade, and chants something incoherent. Her eyes roll to the back of her head, and she brings the blade toward me.
The pain of it is unbearable as she lunges it into my sternum. I scream at the burning sensation that consumes me. Levana’s eyes widen as she meets my gaze, her face going pale.
“You’re with child,” she murmurs just before she glances around.
“Tis not possible, yet you are. Your child is a hybrid. Blood of a God. Blood of a Vampire.” She shakes her head and steps back, removing the blade as she moves.
“‘Tis no time to do as I should. When the time comes, I’ll come back. Yes. That’s what will happen.
Death can wait a while longer,” she says before vanishing into thin air.
“Levana!” Maera screeches. But that’s all she’s able to get out before hell itself descends upon them all.
In a blur of motion, Aziz is there, and he’s not alone. Orbs are blasted. Fire is thrown. All around me, I’m surrounded by chaos, but nothing hits me not even when it’s thrown my way.
“It’s okay,” a woman says, coming toward me from my side, behind her, a huge black wolf walks. “Don’t worry about him. He’s my mate. Actually, he’s your cousin. I’m Karsyn.”
“I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but . . .” I let my sentence trail off when I hear the screeching of a witch. I glance in the direction to see Maera having her heart ripped from her chest, and it was Aziz ripping it out.
My eyes widen as he drops the heart and moves to another witch to do the same.
“Don’t let the visions of this haunt you,” Karsyn says, her hand coming to press against my sternum over where I’d been stabbed. “Just breathe and feel the energy flow through you. I know you’re immortal, but you and the child should not have to feel the pain of it.”
Energy pulsed through me, and within moments, the wound was healed, and the pain was gone. The energy leaves me, and the chains disappear.
“Thank you,” I murmur, nodding to Karsyn. “I’d show you my gratitude for helping me, but—.”
“Jett.”
I whip my head around at the sound of Aziz’s voice. Blood covers his clothes, hands, and splashes of it are on his face.
I rush to him and throw myself in his arms. I didn’t care about the blood. None of it matters besides being in his arms.
“I should have listened to you. I’m so sorry I didn’t.”
“Little one,” Aziz murmurs and presses a kiss to the top of my head, holding me tight to him. “Don’t be sorry for wanting to stick with what you need, but we’ll make sure from now on, you are not without a guard at all times. I won’t take the chance of this happening again. Not to you or . . .”
His voice trails off as I remember what the witch who disappeared said.
“You didn’t get all the witches. One vanished after she stabbed me,” I tell him. “She said—”
“You’re carrying our child,” he finishes.
“How do you . . .”
“Let’s not worry about that right now,” Aziz says gently. “We’ll deal with the future as it comes. For now, let’s get you home.”
He starts to walk us away when I freeze, turn around, and rush from him to where Arely was still lying prone on the ground. Only she wasn’t alone.
Karsyn was next to her, along with the other wolves.
“Is she . . .” I couldn’t bring myself to say the word as my throat tightened with tears.
“She’s alive,” Karsyn whispers, her body glowing.
“We’ll take her to the clubhouse. It’ll be easier to help her,” one of the wolves says, having shifted back to his human form.
I divert my gaze not to look at him.
“Her name is Arely. She’s my best friend,” I murmur as Aziz draws me back into his arms.
“You take her to the clubhouse. We’ll come check on your friend after I see to my mate,” Aziz says calmly, yet gently.
I relax into his arms, thankful for his understanding. I told him how close Arely and I are. The fact that he will take me to see her means something to me. Means more than something. Means everything.
Aziz walks me away from them, scoops me in his arms, and in a flash, we’re moving at nearly lightning speed. He takes us straight to my house.
Once we’re in the confines of what I’m starting to see as our space, I allow myself to break down and sob in Aziz’s arms.
I don’t know what would have happened today if he hadn’t been there, and I don’t want to even think about it. I could have lost everything today. It didn’t matter to me if I was immortal or not. They could’ve taken a child I knew nothing about until the worst was happening.
From now on, I knew I wouldn’t fight Aziz when it came to safety. Especially now that I know I carry a child.
Visions of a little boy who looks so much like Aziz fill my mind. It didn’t matter if it was a boy or a girl, I knew they would be loved.
Just as I love the father of our child. The very man who holds me now.
I’m not sure what the future holds for us, but we will take the hits as they come.