37. Chapter 37
37
I barely had time to scream before the shockwave hit, a massive force that seemed to rip the very fabric of reality apart. A deafening roar shattered the air around us, sucking the breath from my lungs as an intense heat erupted, engulfing the carriage and obliterating it into splinters that flew in every direction. Shards of wood and glass cut into my skin as the blast hurled me through the air, slowing time to a crawl.
I slammed into the rocky road with a bone-jarring impact, knocking the wind out of me and barely hanging onto the edges of consciousness. The world around me blurred in fire, and all I could feel was the crushing pressure and searing heat of flames that licked my flesh with agonizing intensity. My ears rang with a high-pitched, continuous scream, and my head swam, disoriented and heavy with the shock.
Debris began raining down around me, crashing onto the road with startling force. Muffled shouts, distant and distorted, intruded into my mind, but they were dulled out by the persistent ringing in my ears and the pop of fire, sizzling beside me. I struggled to process what was happening, but everything blurred together in a cacophony of confusion and pain—so much pain.
Smoke plagued the air, thick and pungent, making breathing almost impossible. It choked me, sending me into violent coughing fits that wracked my battered body.
I blinked slowly, trying to clear my vision and regain some sense of my surroundings. My limbs felt numb, tingling with the desperate need to move and grasp something solid.
The area around me lay in ruins, shattered and consumed by flames that licked hungrily at the air. Thick smoke enveloped me as a suffocating blanket pressing down like a tangible weight. Each breath was a battle, my lungs burning with the effort to draw in air tainted with ash and soot.
Rolling onto my back, I choked for air, seeing flames paint the smoky sky with an ominous glow. Towering pines stood behind like daggers, their shapes morphing and twisting in the swirling haze.
A figure emerged from the blur, reaching out to grasp my arms and pull me from the scorched earth. I cried out in agony as his touch seared my blistering skin. Coughing, I blinked repeatedly until Calum's golden eyes slowly came into focus. A black cloth partially concealed his face, and his dirty blonde hair spilled out from beneath his hood.
It felt like a dream, a surreal and hazy nightmare of fire, smoke, and ash.
"Cal?" I choked out, my voice weak and trembling, not believing he was there.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I reached for him, hoping he was real. His hands closed around mine, sending a painful jolt up my burning arm.
He was real.
I shook my head, trying to clear the ringing pressure in my ears.
"El," he breathed, his voice thick with emotion as he took me into his arms. "I-I didn't want this. I…had to," he stammered, his voice breaking.
I clung to him, fighting to stay conscious. "What…what are you…talking about?" I slurred with a cough.
Calum said nothing and only held me tighter in his arms. I slumped against him, too tired to speak as an uncomfortable feeling raged within me. My gaze caught sight of fire devouring the remnants of Levon's destroyed carriage. The surrounding area was covered in scattered flames that threatened to lick our flesh right off as it began scaling the tall pines within the dense forest. Dark, thick smoke swirled low as crackling embers sparked, snapping more pieces of debris into the air. The sound of burning flames overtook the painful ringing in my ears.
Levon.
My head lolled to the side, panic rising in my chest. "Levon," I rasped, coughing on the thick smoke. "Cal, where's…Levon?"
He kept moving forward, trudging through the debris, flames, and thick clumps of ash that fell like soft rain.
"Cal, stop," I pleaded, my voice barely above a whisper. "We have to find Lev—"
" It doesn't matter anymore! None of it does ," he snapped, his tone sharp and final, muffled through the cloth he wore. I wheezed, the pain biting into my skull like a hammer.
"What…are you talking about?" I demanded, anger sweltering within my disoriented mind.
Calum's grip tightened, sending pain rippling through my burnt flesh as he shook his head with hatred carved into his eyes. He picked up his pace, and I coughed into his chest, blinking away the fog right as he tripped forward, throwing me from his arms.
We both crashed to the ground in a tangled heap, and I cried out as sharp rocks bit into my burned arms and legs. Thick smoke stirred, and I shrieked out in pain, coughing for Calum. I tried to lift myself, sinking into my seared forearms when I saw Kaizen's silhouette, his tattered leather cloak billowing behind him.
The smoke swirled around Kaizen's movements as he swiftly dragged Calum away from me and pinned him to the fiery dirt road.
Calum yelled in defiance, throwing a punch at Kaizen's face that snapped his head to the side, his untied hair following with the impact. Calum reached for a dagger in his boot, but Kaizen was quicker and began raining punch after punch on Calum with vicious ferocity. Each blow landed with a sickening thud, splattering blood onto the dirt.
Calum yelled, squirming under his hold, his arms flailing in a desperate attempt to defend himself and attack simultaneously. But Kaizen was a relentless force, a different breed that kept attacking, his eyes burning with a savage intensity.
I struggled to find my voice amidst the ringing in my ears, the acrid smell of smoke stinging my nostrils.
"Stop!" I rasped out, scarcely above a whisper, and crawled towards them. Each movement sent jolts of pain through my body, but I pushed on, the sight of Calum's battered face spurring me forward. " Stop! "
Calum managed to knee Kaizen in the groin, eliciting a small groan from him, but barely shifting enough for Calum to crawl out from his hold. Calum's face was a mess of blood and bruises, his eyes swollen and barely open. He scrambled towards me, his hand outstretched in a plea. Just as I touched the tip of his fingers, Kaizen's boot connected with his face, the impact sending a spray of blood splattering into the air and my face. Calum crumpled to the ground, unconscious, his body limp and lifeless on the burning dirt, his face now unrecognizable.
Kaizen sucked in a rasping breath, coughing deeply before he turned his attention to me; his amber eyes were burning, and his face was grimy with sweat, blood, and ash. Blood oozed from a more extensive cut at his hairline. His hair stuck against his face, while his cloak barely hung on, flowing in tatters against the roaring flames that threatened to overtake us.
Anger ignited within me, and a fierce snarl escaped my lips. "WHAT DID YOU DO?" I screamed, hearing my voice echo throughout the dense forest.
He moved swiftly, grabbing my face and wrapped a cloth around my mouth as I jerked back, trying to free myself. I threw a punch to his side and kicked against him frantically, desperate to escape.
"Eliah, stop! " he growled, his grip tightening around my jaw.
" What did you do?! " I screamed again, my voice muffled by the cloth, as he hoisted me over his shoulder. I pounded and clawed at his back, my legs kicking weakly. The pain from my burnt skin was overwhelming but not compared to the anger surging through me that was on the brink of eruption.
He cursed under his breath, coughing as the smoke thickened around us. He ran through the choking air, stopping several times to spin in frantic circles before pressing on.
Each movement was agonizing, every jolt sending fresh waves of pain through my body. He pivoted and lunged forward, coming to an abrupt halt before swiftly crouching down to grab a brown satchel that he put over his shoulder before continuing.
He coughed again, and I felt it rumble through his strong body as he skidded to a sudden stop. Crouching down, he let out a gasp of dismay, his grip on me loosening, and I slipped from his grasp, hitting the ground before coughs overtook my frame.
I twisted toward where Kaizen was looking to see Levon sprawled out beside a more significant part of the carriage that hadn't been obliterated in the explosion.
" Levon! " I screamed, the smoke choking down my cry. Kaizen gripped my hand, holding me back. I clawed at his hold, my nails digging into his flesh as I saw the haunting sorrow fill his eyes. I turned back, taking in Levon's bloodied body, charred and broken.
Horror flooded my soul as I sunk to my burnt knees and clasped my hand over my clothed mouth. A sharp, jagged fragment of the carriage impaled Levon's chest, and his blood pooled around him, glistening dark and ominous in the firelight.
" LEVON! " I wailed, my voice cracking as hot tears spilled freely down my bloodied face. I pushed free of Kaizen's hold, trying to reach him.
Kaizen quickly pulled me back and hoisted me over his shoulder again, his grip unyielding. He was up and running before I could save Levon, before I could even touch him one last time. The sight of Levon's lifeless eyes haunted me, frozen in my mind and sending hot tears rolling down my cheeks.
I kicked and punched and clawed at Kaizen, my heart shattering with every step he took away from Levon and Calum.
" I'll kill you! " I rasped, coughing out tendrils of smoke that burned my lungs. " I'll kill you! I'll kill you! "
I pounded on his back, my fists weak but relentless, driven by a fury and sorrow I had never known. My screams turned to sobs, and exhaustion overtook me, leaving me hanging limply over his shoulder. "I'll kill you," I rasped out with a cough.
Shouts and voices echoed through the dense forest that now wrapped us in its deadly grasp, while the world around me turned into a blur of tears, smoke, and despair.
"Geisha, bless us," Kaizen heaved, gently setting me down beside Levon's horse with bits of its flesh burnt and bubbling. Kaizen stooped down to grab his bow and arrows before slinging them over his back.
My heart, body, and mind were numb as he grabbed the reins of Levon's bay mare, extending his hand to me, but I couldn't lift my arm to his.
I didn't want to. I didn't want to do anything anymore.
"Eliah, please!" he choked, coughing.
"You left him," I breathed, feeling the tears stream down my face, barely able to hold myself up. More voices and shouts echoed through the deep, smokey darkness that cloaked us. My lips curled back as I looked at his burning gaze glowing against the darkness. "YOU LEFT—" I screamed, only to have Kaizen cup his hand over my mouth, cutting off my words.
"I took an oath to protect you, not him!" he hissed into my ear. "He knew what he was getting into. Now get your rutting behind on the horse before I have to force you."
"Over here!" A voice boomed nearby. Kaizen's bright amber eyes locked onto mine, filled with unease as he held his finger over his bruised lip, still holding my mouth closed.
"You're a coward," I seethed through clenched teeth, shoving his hand away. "You let him die."
"You think I wanted this? You think I had a choice?" Kaizen snapped, grabbing underneath my arm and yanking me into him.
"You always had a choice!" I spat back with tears, my voice shaking with rage, not backing away from his infuriating face, mere inches from mine. "And you chose to run."
Kaizen's grip tightened as he looked down at me with ferocity. "I'm choosing to save your life. So move, or so help me, I'll drag you through this forest unconscious."
The fear and anger in his eyes mirrored my own as we stood there, locked in a battle of wills.
"Someone call for help!" The shout came closer, and Kaizen's eyes flicked towards the sound, his fear palpable. His hands clasped around my waist, and before I could retort, he growled, lifting me onto the mare that pranced nervously.
I clung to the horse's reins with little strength as he swung up behind me, his ragged cloak hanging to the side. He wrapped his arms around me, taking hold of the reins as I slumped into his warmth reluctantly, unable to stop the weight of sorrow stabbing deep into my mind.
He clicked his tongue, urging the mare into a gallop. The tall pines blurred past us, the crackling flames and the shouting faded into the sound of the mare's hooves slamming onto the ground.
Kaizen wheezed out another cough as we journeyed deeper into the dense forest. My mind swelled with exhaustion, grief, despair, and sorrow that turned my thoughts depressive and overwhelming.
I began to cry, not believing this was happening to me.
I am just a pathetic orphan of no importance, not a Magic or whatever extraordinary person Levon thought I was. I'm nothing and should return to nothing.
More tears streaked my soot-lined face.
"Don't say that," Kaizen snarled behind me, his voice a low, dangerous growl.
I snapped my head back, glaring at him in confused anger. I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off, his eyes flashing with fury.
"We're going to a safe haven, but we won't get there until late," he replied, his grip on the reins so tight his knuckles turned white. "So rest. You need it."
The tension between us hung in the air as we rode in stifling silence. Minutes dragged by until I couldn't hold my tongue any longer.
"Why did you do it?" I seethed through gritted teeth, forcing my tears back, seeing Calum's swollen and bloodied face haunt my mind. "Why did you hurt him?"
"Calum isn't who you think he is," Kaizen warned, his voice raw from the smoke.
" You know nothing about him!" I snapped, my voice hoarse. I leaned away from his warmth, my skin on fire from the burns.
"He was the one who blew up the carriage, Eliah," he growled into my ear. " Levon is dead because of him. " I shook my head in doubt, anger billowing in my core like the swelling smoke. "He found out about you—your Magic. I didn't think he would truly want to be a part of the Onyx Market, let alone try to bring you in—"
"No! You're wrong! He'd never hurt me!" I interjected, my voice trembling with anger and despair.
His body tensed with frustration. "He wanted to hurt you, was sick of living in your shadow."
"My shadow?" I scoffed with irritation, not believing him for a second.
"I watched and followed him but never saw signs that he knew until that night he kissed you under your wishing tree," he grumbled.
I struggled to remember that night, which seemed like a lifetime ago. He pleaded with me to stay so he would take my place or find another way to keep me, but I refused, and after, he had become so odd…so cold. His abrupt kiss that ignited an actual spark of pain that stung my lips before I saw startling amber eyes glowing in the dark.
I choked back the image, unwilling to believe it was true. I tried to steady myself, struggling with my ragged, hoarse breaths. My hands shook uncontrollably as my mind spiraled.
My mind flashed back to Calum towering over me outside Jesri's library, where I felt, for the first time, he wanted to hurt me after I found the book of the Leonardian Trials and dismissed the footman as if they were working together.
I closed my eyes, still hearing Calum screaming at Jesri in his study, begging me to stay, to his deep hug pleading my forgiveness as I left for Levon's estate. To his odd smile after I woke up from my coma.
It was a coincidence. He wanted to keep me safe, to help me stay safe.
I shook my head, disbelieving it all.
"You're lying," I seethed, wanting to get off this wretched horse and run far, far away from him.
He huffed out in annoyance. "Believe what you want. But you can't deny that you're part of something bigger than all this. Levon wasn't lying—"
"Stop with the cryptic nonsense!" I snapped, my voice echoing through the swaying pines. I turned away, shaking my head. "For all I know, you could be taking me straight toward the Spellcasters! You could be the one behind all of this! " Fear spiked through my tired soul, and I hoped it wasn't true. I hoped none of this was true, and I'd wake up from this nightmare. " Why should I trust anything you say?" I fumed.
" Because your mother entrusted me to protect you! " he yelled, his voice cracking with the weight of the confession.
My heart stopped as more confusion overtook me. I struggled to breathe and think above the roaring disbelief.
"My...my mother?" I whispered, the statement hitting me like a tidal wave.
Kaizen took a deep breath that rumbled in my ear. His posture straightened, but his voice softened. "We knew you wouldn't believe us," he scolded. " This is exactly why we didn't tell you anything ."
"You knew my mother?" I asked again, feeling absolutely absurd I was having this conversation with him!
He abruptly stopped the horse, pulling on its reins and tightening his legs around its body and my hips. I arched my head to look at him, his jaw flexed as if hesitating to continue. "Your mother," he paused through gritted teeth, "was the last reigning Queen of the Seraphs before the Cosmos plunged into the Cataclysm. Levon, me…your mother, and several more Seraphs were thrust here in the collapse. And I am bound to the oath to protect my queen at all costs in this light-forsaken world we were never meant to be brought to," he muttered. "So don't trust me, hate me—I don't care. But you have a destiny to fulfill, and I'm going to make sure you achieve it and restore order," Kaizen declared, his eyes blazing with resolution.
I could only stare at him, dumbfounded, my mouth wide open. Confusion swirled in my mind, clashing with a torrent of conflicting thoughts. My brain struggled to process what I was hearing, leaving me at a complete loss for words.
How could this be happening? Nothing made sense, and the more I tried to grasp the situation, the more bewildered I became.
"When we reach the haven, I'll explain everything," he added, his voice rough with exhaustion and punctuated by a rasping cough that shook his body. He clicked his tongue, urging the mare forward at a faster pace.
I turned my gaze away, struggling against the smoke that still clung stubbornly to my lungs as a paralyzing shock coursed through me.
How could this be real? These were the things of fables and stories, not my life.
Amidst the tumult of my swirling thoughts, something deep within me stirred—a warm, almost nostalgic feeling that seemed to flare in response, calling me home like the twinkling stars that had always brought me comfort.
As we rode deeper into the forest, shadows lengthened, and a coldness gnawed at my skin as the sun bled across the sky. The air grew crisp, filled with a quiet power that hummed with my every heartbeat as if the world itself held its own breath at the truth.
I felt the weight of their lies and schemes slipping away, unraveling like the strings they’d once used to control me. And as the truth settled within me—brighter than any sunset and more alive with colors I’d never dared to claim—something new and unstoppable awoke, filling the hollow spaces carved in my heart.
I was no longer the obedient pet of a haughty lord. I no longer had to play the submissive puppet to obtain freedom, or to be trapped in a future not of my choosing. I was no longer an unwanted orphan to parents I’d only known through Jesri's lies, and had always believed were as arrogant and selfish as him.
But instead, if what they said were true, I was the daughter of a Seraph queen, with a power that could reshape everything. And for the first time, I felt whole, unbound, and endless—ready to claim the life that was always meant to be mine and I would stop at nothing until I had the freedom I deserved, and the life I was ready to seize.
As the night grew thick, that nostalgic warm feeling settled in me again, deeper this time, helping me to realize that this was only the beginning.