42. The Silent Death
forty-two
The Silent Death
*ENDELLION*
“ C ome on, Nev,” I spur my little brother on, chuckling when he glares at me. “We are not even that
fast.”
“You said you would go slow,” he pants. “That’s not slow! Only a psychopath would call that slow.”
“You are not doing bad, though,” I tell him. “You are used to being active, and it shows. You just use too much strength to run, while your movements should be smoother.”
“How come you can talk so effortlessly while running?” he asks.
I chuckle. Despite my teasing, I really think he is doing well. Nevyn always gives one hundred percent when he does something, even when knows he might not be particularly good at it. He always gives things a try first. It’s really commendable.
We are jogging through the forest towards the lake when I sense a feeling of dread washing over me. It’s just a hint of it at first, something small like a ball clenching in my stomach, before strings of icy cold rush through me.
I halt instantly.
“Did you get tired?” Nevyn jokes. Once he looks at me, he immediately gets serious. “What’s wrong, Ende?”
To the lake, Caspian barks.
I let him take control over my body, not overthinking anything. He shifts into his wolf form effortlessly before dashing towards the lake. I can feel Nevyn hot on our heels; he has shifted too.
Endellion, what’s wrong? He links me.
I don’t know, I reply. I just know something happened.
Once we reach the lake, Caspian halts. There is nothing in front of us. The ice of the lake looks smooth as usual. In the distance, I can see a bench with a canvas, remembering that the young dragon Elio likes to paint there.
And there is a blue blanket….
A blue blanket.
That’s Azadeh’s, I tell my wolf.
He growls, raising his snout in the air and sniffing slightly. Then, without further explanation, he just dashes over the icy surface of the lake. It’s then that our ears take up the slight sound of something splashing. Water? But how?
My mind switches to emergency mode. Nevyn, go and get the blanket from the bench. Call Caelan or Flinn or anyone for backup here! And link the maids to make sure to have something warm prepared.
Yes, of course, Nevyn says. He sounds confused, but as usual, he knows when to ask questions and when to just follow orders. Now, he does the latter and runs off towards the bench.
Her scent is so weak, Caspian huffs.
Head towards the water, I yell. Fuck, she is in there, our mate, Aza… she is….
No way, Caspian growls. I can feel the fear going through his body, and he picks up his pace before coming to an abrupt halt in front of a huge opening in the lake. The ice broke here. It should be impossible, as it’s way too thick to break, but it did.
Caspian immediately hands the rein back to me, letting me shift. I don’t think twice, just jump into the cold water, my body tensing at the sheer cold of it. But I push the feeling aside, diving deeper until I can see a shimmer of red in front of me. Aza’s dress today was red. Is red. I reach out my hands, grabbing her arm and tugging her towards me.
Fast, swim up again, Caspian growls his order.
He doesn’t need to tell me twice. I keep my arm around her middle, swimming upward again. Swimming underwater in a frozen lake is incredibly dangerous, even for wolves. It’s easy to get lost there and never find your way up again. But Caspian is an alpha wolf, and his amazing sense of smell manages to lead me up again. With all the strength I can muster, I basically toss Azadeh out of the water.
Fuck, I need to get out of it myself. I’m not sure if she is breathing, I need to-
“Endellion!” Caelan screams while he runs towards us.
He drops down to his knees next to the hole. “Help Aza first!” I beg.
“Of course,” he hurries to her, positioning her, and starting to reanimate her. Not even half a minute later, Flinn catches up with us and pulls me out of the water. To my relief, more and more people are coming, and most importantly, Aylin is with them.
I push past Flinn, rushing towards Aza. Together with Caelan, I continue to revive her. “Please don’t…” I beg. “Aza… please.”
With a cough, she spits out some water. My heart basically skips a beat, and I start to laugh hysterically as I help to turn her to the side so she can cough out the remainder of the water. “Shit, love… oh Goddess…”
Aylin and Kilah wrap her in a warm blanket while my father squeezes my shoulder. “Here, my boy.” He wraps a blanket around me, too. Only then do I notice that I’m still naked and freezing. My body is trembling from the cold, and while our wolves can keep us warm, they certainly can’t work miracles.
“You both need to get into the warmth,” my father commands.
He is right. Azadeh can’t stay out there in the freezing cold. I get up to my feet and pick her up to carry her back. She clings to me, her body shaking, while she is sobbing uncontrollably.
“It’s a reaction to the shock,” Aylin advises, almost running next to me, to keep up with my pace.
“It’s okay, my love,” I reassure my mate. “We are getting you into the warmth. I’m here now.”
“She was there,” Azadeh rasps out in a hoarse voice.
My blood freezes at her words. “Who?”
“Cailleach.”
*AZADEH*
I feel myself slipping in and out of consciousness. I felt my life slip away before something dragged me up towards the light again. That something was Endellion. But since, both cold and warmth seem to overcome me, and I go from shaking to sweating and back to shaking.
I still feel like water is surrounding me. My head is feeling dizzy. I press my hand against my chest as I try to get air into my lungs.
When I close my eyes, I see the darkness around me as if the water closes me in.
Endellion is still holding me, whispering words of encouragement to me, and I vaguely notice how there are people buzzing around me. I still have difficulty hearing or seeing anyone, though. Endellion felt cold at first, but his skin is getting warmer and warmer. Almost like someone lit him on fire. I feel sweat pooling on my forehead. My body starts to tingle in the most uncomfortable way I’ve ever experienced. Like needles poking into my skin.
I try to scramble away. “Hot,” I breathe out.
“Aza, please, you need to stay warm,” someone begs. Is that Simin?
I rub over my arms frantically. “I’m burning, something is burning me up from the inside.”
“That’s because your body temperature was very low,” Aylin explains calmly. Hearing her quiet voice is grounding. There is something about these witches that just makes it easier to focus on them. Erin had it too. “Your body is warming up.”
I feel how my senses return, shifting my gaze slightly and noticing that I’m in Endellion’s room. Aylin is here together with Simin. My friend keeps brushing over my arms, probably to help with the tingling. I’m not in my wet clothes anymore, instead I’m wearing a comfortably fluffy dress and am wrapped in an equally fluffy blanket. Endellion is still next to me. He is just wearing a huge coat over his naked body, reminding me of how he jumped in the ice-cold water to save me.
I’m alive because of him.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “Without you, I would be-” My voice fails me, and a shiver goes down my spine.
“You are safe,” Endellion mutters, gently pulling me into his arms again.
“How did you know what happened?”
“I felt it,” Endellion shrugs. “I just felt it, and then Nevyn and I took off to find you.”
Aylin stares at him in surprise. “How is that possible? You haven’t marked her yet.”
“I know it should be impossible,” he says. “But I know what I felt. I felt a terrifying cold gripping me from inside. I felt cold and terrified, and I knew it had to be because my love was in danger.”
The unbearable tingling in my body subsides a fraction, and I finally have it in me to smile at my werewolf. “You’re my hero,” I say, my voice shaking as my emotions overwhelm me. It was so close, so close. I’m still shaken, yet at the same time my heart overflows with love for this man.
“We should make sure you eat something,” Aylin interrupts my trail of thoughts. “There is hot soup being prepared in the kitchen as of now.”
“Do you want to rest a while longer?” Endellion asks.
I shake my head. “I’m okay now,” I say. “Just feeling a bit… weak.”
“That’s why she needs something to eat,” Simin says.
“Simin is right,” Aylin agrees. “Let’s get her to the dining room. The rest of the Alpha family is waiting there.”
“I will stay here,” Simin offers, “and make sure to clean up, so that you can retire after dinner.”
“You don’t have to clean, Simin,” Endellion points out before I can even say something. Had I not already been in love with him, I would be now. Simin might not be of royal blood, but she is my best friend. She is like a sister to me, and while we don’t spend as much time with each other as before, it doesn’t change the fact that I love her. That she is like the sister I never had. It’s because I feel that way, that I let her branch out and find her own friends here, while she is doing the same for me.
It doesn’t mean we don’t love each other anymore.
“Simin, you are my family,” I say.
Simin smiles, her eyes lighting up a shade. “I would love to join you,” she says. “But I’m taking over in Alana’s room now. Eibhlin’s been watching over her for hours.”
“Thank you for keeping an eye on my sister,” Endellion says earnestly. “It means a lot to me to know that she isn’t alone. How about we send you something to eat in her room?”
“I don’t want to be a bother,” Simin says.
“You are not,” I say.
She smiles shyly. “Then, I’d love that,” she admits.
With that settled, she hurries off to Alana’s room, while Aylin, Endellion and I meet the others in the dining room. There is a spicy, hot pot waiting for us there. It’s only then that I notice how hungry I am. While we eat, I feel my body warming up fully again. It’s a comfortable warmth that spreads from my toes to my head and finally helps me regain all my senses. I know we don’t have much time to waste and that Cailleach–or whatever she is–attacking me is a serious issue. So, I explain to everyone what happened before Endellion shares his part of the story.
I can almost feel the nervousness in the room growing. Only when Endellion says that he felt I was in danger does it pull the others out of their shock.
“Wait… what?” Beta Quinn asks. “You actually knew she was in danger?”
“Yes,” Endellion explains once again. “I felt it.”
“You felt her getting hurt?” Gillean asks.
“But, you are not mates,” Flinn adds.
Caelan’s eyes are wide in surprise. “How is that possible?”
Endellion sighs. “I’m not sure how often all of you want me to repeat it. Yes, I felt her hurt, and no, I don’t have an explanation for it.” For the first time, I can feel a hint of frustration coming from him. “Chosen mate or Goddess-given mate, it doesn’t matter. I almost lost her today.”
“You are right,” Flinn says, his voice almost soft. “We don’t mean to question you or what you felt.”
“It’s just never happened before,” Gillean says. “We are not doubting you, son.”
“And you saw Cailleach?” Kilah asks me worriedly.
“Yes,” a shiver goes down my spine. I was wary of her before, but now I’m downright scared. “She tricked me.”
“How?” Eibhlin asks curiously.
“She took the form of Elio,” I state.
Elio looks up. “Of me?”
“Yes. He and I were talking before he went to help Aylin,” I explain to the others. “Suddenly he returned and called out for me. He said you needed help, which is why I followed him onto the lake.”
“He was with Aylin and me the whole time,” Eibhlin points out.
“Yes,” I say bitterly. “I don’t know how she did it….”
“She can manifest in reality now,” Aylin says, her voice so serious it sends a shiver down my spine. “Before that, she could only reach Azadeh in her dreams. She could project a hallucination. But now, she is actually manifesting as another person and is able to reach out to her… in reality.”
Eibhlin grabs her creepy porcelain doll and presses her against her chest. “She is getting stronger.”
“Yes, we need to find a way to stop her,” Aylin says. “And Princess Azadeh can’t be alone for one minute anymore. I mean it, we can’t leave her alone!”
“She is right,” Endellion says seriously. “I know this is going to limit your freedom, a lot,” he says to me.
“I know, but we can’t help it,” I say. “I want this to end, too, so I will do everything that’s necessary.”
Endellion takes my hand beneath the table, squeezing it gently.
“I think we should go with Tynan’s offer then,” Gillean says and stands up abruptly.
“Didn’t you say it’s too dangerous?” Kilah asks.
I look at them, curious. “What do you mean?”
“Tynan offered to use the mate bond he feels to Shayan,” Aylin explains. “To track him down. It does mean getting deep into Tynan’s mind, though. And we all know, by now, what mind games can do. The bond needs to be very strong, and as for now, Tynan and Shayan haven’t marked or mated. They haven’t even talked much, and we don’t know Shayan’s feelings. If the bond is too weak, this whole spell might kill Tynan.”
Silence engulfs us, while everyone ponders about what she just said. Most of us look gloomy at the prospect of endangering our friend like that. To my surprise, Flinn speaks up. “I think we should do it. Tynan offered it. He is aware of the risks.”
“But, what if we lose him?” Kilah asks.
Endellion sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What if we lose Shayan?” he asks in return. “What if he dies in the claws of the witch?”
“Then it would destroy Tynan,” Kilah says.
“I know it would have destroyed me had Azadeh died today,” Endellion says. “And I know that I would always take the risk to end my own life if it saves her.”
I feel instantly horrified at his words. I don’t want him to get hurt, not for me, not for anyone else. Even the thought of him doing something so dangerous would terrify me. Yet, if roles were reversed, I’d do it too. Just like Tynan, I would take this risk, because to me the world would never be the same again without Endellion in it.
“Let’s just agree not to be unnecessarily reckless,” I say quietly.
“My choice of words wouldn’t have been that diplomatic,” Kilah grumbles.
Flinn looks like he wants to say something, but to my surprise he just closes his mouth and remains quiet. It’s the first time he doesn’t take the bait to argue with his sister.
“I agree with Prince Flinn. I think we should respect Tynan’s wish,” Beta Quinn says. “He has proven to be very capable. Due to his kind and fun nature, we tend to underestimate him, but maybe we should trust him?”
His words seem to give everyone the final push. The discussion goes on for a while longer, but everyone seems to be ready to give Tynan this chance. I listen to their talk, but my mind goes back to feeling dizzy. It’s like I have difficulties focusing on anything. Maybe it’s from the hot soup I just ate, maybe the shock from today was too much.
I feel my chest clenching again, as a crippling fear tightens around my heart. A fear, I don’t understand.
“Excuse me,” I say to the others, before getting up and heading to the next bathroom. In there I finally break down, coughing. It’s like a knot in my chest dissolves and tries to crawl up my throat violently.
Did I swallow too much water?
I grasp my throat, trying to take big gulps of air to chase the tightness away. My lungs feel like they are constricting.
I cough again, this time more violently than before, feeling how my chest and throat ache from how much my body shakes. I blink in confusion when I raise my hand and realize there is blood dripping from it.
Another coughing fit shakes my body, making me cough up more blood.
But why?
“Azadeh?” Endellion asks. “Is everything alright? You disappeared so fast, and everyone is worried.”
I try to open my mouth to answer him, but I’m still gasping for air.
“I’m coming in now, okay?”
I can’t answer him, as another cough makes me curl over in pain.
“Aza-” Endellion opens the door and pauses, horror in his voice. “Goddess, what’s going on!”
I turn to look at him, feeling my knees going weak. “She was looking at me,” I rasp out. “She blew something… into….”
I have no strength to finish my sentence, feeling how the darkness envelops me yet again.