Chapter Nineteen
Annika
My head lolled to the side, my vision swimming. Everything hurt. My arms, my legs, my heart. It was hard to breathe, every inhale shallow and sharp. A cold darkness seeped into my bones. I felt like I was dying.
I blinked, forcing my eyes to focus, the world a dizzying blur of light and shadow. There was movement, violent and swift. A snarl echoed through the chamber. I recognized it.
Lucas.
He was a storm, all fury and claws, tearing into the Shadow Bride with a vengeance I had never seen before. His body moved with terrifying speed, every muscle taut, his face twisted into something feral, something not human. His fangs glistened, dripping with her blood.
The Bride screamed, her voice shattering the air, but she was losing. Her body convulsed, the light dimming from her eyes, her beautiful face contorted with pain and fear.Lucas didn’t stop. He ripped and tore, his claws shredding her, his rage a living, breathing monster.
I wanted to call out to him, but my body wouldn’t listen. My limbs were heavy and numb.
“Annika...” A voice, close and urgent.
Someone’s warm hands touched my wrists, lifting them, and suddenly the cold bite of metal was gone. My arms dropped, as if boneless, and I would’ve crumpled to the ground if those hands hadn’t caught me.
“Kael…” My lips barely moved, my voice nothing but a whisper.
He pulled me against him, his grip gentle but firm. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you, Annika.” His face was bloodied and bruised, and his hair was matted with more than just dirt. But his eyes were fierce.
I sagged against him, my head falling against his shoulder. “Aiden…”
“He’s safe. I’ll get him. Just… just stay with me, okay?” His voice cracked, his fingers tightening on my arms, as if he could keep me anchored just by holding on.
I tried to nod, but my head wouldn’t move. My vision was slipping, the world going hazy at the edges.
Lucas’s growl cut through the haze of my vision. My eyes fluttered open, and I saw him, all covered in blood, his body heaving, shoulders hunched, his eyes blazing with something dark.
The Shadow Bride’s body hung limp and lifeless, her face frozen in a grotesque mask of agony. Lucas stood over her, his claws still extended, half-expecting that she might get up and attack him one last time.
He looked wild… untamed.
His eyes flicked to me, and for a heartbeat, I didn’t recognize him. His gaze was sharp, glowing with a fierce, animal hunger. My heart stuttered, fear curling cold in my stomach.
Then, his face softened, changing slowly. The monster was receding, and he stumbled toward me, dropping to his knees at my side. “Annika… my Annika…” His hands cupped my face, his touch trembling. “I’m here. I’m here.”
His voice broke, and I felt something wet hit my cheek. Tears. His tears.
The darkness was pulling at me, dragging me under. But I held on, focusing on his face, on his voice, on his warmth.
Suddenly, he left, and darkness seemed to swallow me whole. But a moment later, little arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a hug. I felt a little heart thundering against my own. I didn’t need to open my eyes to know who it was.
“Aiden, sweetheart…” I managed to whisper, my lips brushing against his cheek.
“He’s safe,” Lucas choked out, his body trembling. “He’s safe. We’re all safe.”
The words comforted me, but I was still slipping away. The pain was becoming unbearable, although I had stopped bleeding profusely, I still felt weaker by each passing moment.
Kael’s voice cut through the haze. “Annika, listen to me. You have a choice.”
“What… a choice?” I asked, blinking heavily. “I thought it was over…”
I tried to focus on Kael’s face, while the walls behind him were still glowing with a hellish red light.
“That blood on the wall…” he said, as if able to read my mind, “that is Aurelius pulsing inside of you. The darkness that has plagued you since you found out that you two were bound together by blood. You still have a chance to turn this around.”
I shivered, feeling so dreadfully cold. “How?”
He glanced at the wall, the light reflecting in his eyes, his face grim. “The blood she took… it was meant to feed her power. But it also means it’s separated from you now. That darkness, that curse, it’s out of your body. But the wall is still feeding on it. If you do nothing, it’ll grow, fester, until it finds its way back to you… or to Aiden.”
I glanced over at Aiden, crouched by my side, with Lucas’ arms around him and me.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t let it touch him.”
Kael’s grip tightened. “You can cleanse it, Annika. You can purge Aurelius’ blood from both of you. But you need to give your clean blood. You need to infuse it into Aiden… and into yourself. It’s the only way to break the curse. To be free.”
My head spun around the idea. “Will… will it hurt him?”
“No.” Kael sounded absolutely certain. “Your blood will protect him. It’ll purify him. But you need to do it now, before the curse latches onto him forever.”
I looked at the wall again, at the sickly red light, at my blood twisting in unnatural patterns. It was my curse. My darkness. My burden.
But if I could get rid of it… if I could save Aiden from it…
I swallowed, my throat raw. “Is it… dangerous?”
Kael’s face softened at the truth. “Yes. You’re weak. And this will take everything you have left. But I believe in you. I always have.”
I felt tears sting my eyes, and a silent sob caught in my chest. “Lucas…”
“I’m here,” he whispered. “Don’t… you don’t have to do this… don’t leave me.”
“I won’t leave you,” I promised, although I wasn’t sure if it was something that could be promised at all. “But I have to do this. For Aiden, and for us. I’ll come back to you…”
He caressed my cheek tenderly. “You better. Because I’m coming after you if you don’t, even to the fiery depths of hell.”
“Let’s hope that’s not where I’ll end up,” I managed to muster, suppressing a painful chuckle. Then, I turned to Kael. “Tell me what to do.”
Kael wasted no time. He reached into his coat, pulling out his small dagger, its blade etched with sigils that pulsed faintly in the dim light. He looked at me.
“This has to be your choice, Annika,” he said softly. “Once we start, there’s no stopping.”
I swallowed hard, my fingers tightening around Lucas’ hand. My body screamed in exhaustion, but my heart knew there was no choice. I had to do this.
“I’m ready.” My voice was barely a whisper, but it held firm.
Kael pressed the dagger’s hilt into my palm. “Cut your other hand. Your clean blood needs to mix with what was taken. Then press it to Aiden’s heart. It will recognize the bond, the purity in you, and sever the darkness forever.”
I exhaled shakily, raising the dagger. My fingers trembled, but I didn’t hesitate. With a sharp breath, I dragged the blade across my palm, wincing as warm blood welled up.
Lucas cursed. “Damn it, Annika—”
I turned to Aiden. His wide, frightened eyes locked onto mine. “Mama?”
“It’s going to be fine, baby,” I assured him as tears blurred my vision. “I promise.”
I pressed my bleeding palm to his chest. Aiden gasped, his little body going stiff. The moment our blood connected, the air around us shifted.
The red glow on the wall flickered. The symbols warped, the darkness within them writhing as if alive. A sharp wind ripped through the chamber, howling like a wounded beast.
And then the pain hit.
I choked on a scream as fire burned through my veins, searing me from the inside out. It wasn’t just my blood leaving. It was something else, something ancient and wrong, clawing at me, refusing to be purged. My body arched, agony crackling through my bones.
Aiden screamed. “Mama!”
Lucas roared my name, but Kael held him back. “Let her finish!”
I clenched my teeth, forcing myself to stay upright. I could feel it all: the curse, Aurelius’ darkness, ripping itself from me, fighting, trying to anchor itself back.
With every ounce of will I had left, I pushed back.
The darkness shrieked. My blood, the pure part of it, untouched by Aurelius, flooded through Aiden, washing over him in waves of light. The red glow shattered, the symbols on the wall splitting apart, fading into nothingness.
The chamber trembled. The ground cracked. The air shifted. And then, silence.
I collapsed forward, barely catching myself. My entire body felt ice cold, drained beyond comprehension. Aiden was breathing. He was safe. His small hands gripped mine. The warmth of his touch stood in stark contrast to my chill.
Lucas was beside me in an instant, pulling me into his arms, pressing desperate kisses to my hair. “You did it,” he whispered, barely speaking. “You’re okay. You’re okay.”
I could barely hear him, and worst of all, I didn’t feel okay, but in time, I would. Without another word, Lucas lifted me as if I weighed nothing, and cradled me against his chest.
His grip was strong but careful, as if he thought I might break apart in his arms.
“I can walk, you know,” I murmured, though even as I said it, I knew it was a lie. My limbs felt like they weren’t my own, drained and trembling, barely able to keep their shape.
Lucas huffed. “No, you can’t.”
I wanted to argue, but I didn’t have the strength. Instead, I let out a small sigh and rested my head against his shoulder. Aiden clung to my hand, his small fingers curling tightly around mine. He had been so brave, too brave for someone so young. I squeezed back, needing him to feel that I was still here, still with him. On his other side, Kael held his other hand, his grip just as firm.
The air inside the ruins was still thick and heavy, with remnants of dark magic floating about, but it was fading now. The Shadow Bride’s power was broken. The walls no longer pulsed with that sickening glow, no longer whispered with ancient hunger.
One step at a time, we moved toward the exit. The cold air from outside filtered in, carrying the scent of earth and rain. It was almost over.
Lucas’ arms tightened around me as if he knew what I was thinking. That this wasn’t truly the end. That there would always be something waiting in the dark, something hunting us.
The light from outside was blinding after the darkness of the ruins. I squinted, my vision struggling to adjust, but when it did, my heart froze.
Dozens of shifters were standing just beyond the entrance. Their forms were rigid, and their eyes were feral, as always. Lucas stopped. Kael stepped forward, using his body as a shield in front of Aiden. None of us spoke. Heck, we barely even breathed.
But the shifters, they… they didn’t move either. They just stared at us.
A shudder ran through me. “Why aren’t they attacking?” I whispered.
Lucas’ chest rumbled beneath me as he exhaled slowly. “I don’t know.”
One of the shifters, a tall male with ragged hair and eyes that seemed almost human, stepped forward. I could feel Lucas ready himself for attack or defense, whatever would come first.
But the shifter only looked at me. Not at Lucas. Not at Kael. Just me. His nostrils flared, his head tilting as if he were trying to understand something.
Then, slowly, he bowed his head. The others followed, one by one, their heads dipping in silent acknowledgment.
“What...” I stammered, my mind unable to process what I was seeing. “What’s happening?”
The tall shifter lifted his head, his eyes meeting mine for a brief, electric moment. Then, with a sharp movement, he turned on his heel and walked away. The others parted, forming a path through their ranks, leaving the way open for us.
They were letting us go.