Thirty-Three #2
Dropping to my knees, I scooped her up in my arms with tears in the corners of my eyes.
Making sure not to move her much due to the beam protruding from her chest, I pulled her close to me, attempting to provide both her and me with some sort of comfort.
Comfort neither of us could seem to find.
My fingers glided through her hair to soothe her.
I was in shock, unable to process what was happening.
I had lost so much, and I only seemed to keep on losing. I had no one else to blame but myself. It was my fault. I wished the beam had impaled me instead of her.
“Aradia! Aradia, please,” I begged, cradling her in my arms. “I-I can fix this—I can, I can fix you,” I cried, attempting to heal her.
But I couldn’t. The light had already left her eyes by the time I tried, her body limp and lifeless within my embrace.
She was gone. I couldn’t focus, which only frustrated me more and furthered my distress.
No. No. No. Please not you, too.
“Please open your eyes, please. Aradia, please,” I choked out.
The scream that left the depths of my throat caused Neil and Zathrian’s fight to come to an abrupt halt. I leaned forward, cradling Aradia’s lifeless body in my arms.
“Come back, come back! Why isn’t it— why won’t it work?!” I choked out, looking down at her. I pushed her hair away from her face.
“Please,” I begged.
Slowly, I lifted my head, and my eyes met Neil’s.
“This is all your fault,” I hissed, tears pooling from my eyes. My voice was devoid of emotion.
“I—” he stuttered, taken aback by my venomous words.
Acheron fell to his knees beside me, attempting to reach for her.
“Don’t touch her,” I hissed. My voice strained with every word that left my lips.
“I—” Neil stuttered again, attempting to take a step closer to us.
“Stay away from me!” I yelled louder. He froze in place as my teardrops fell upon Aradia’s angelic pale skin.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
She really was gone.
I clenched my jaw. Tomas came barreling into the room, far too late to say goodbye. My ears were ringing. Losing her was the last straw.
Zathrian went straight for Neil, tackling him, and they both barreled through the wall and into the next room.
“You know what to do,” Deus whispered to me.
My vision tunneled, staring at Neil from across the room.
Rage. Anger. Hatred. All bubbled within me even.
I slowly released Aradia’s cold, lifeless body.
Rising to my feet, I exhaled deeply. No longer would I let anyone be subject to the consequences of Neil’s actions.
I was no pawn, no pet, and no toy, either.
I watched Neil slam Zathrian into the ground.
The marble cracked beneath him, and Neil’s fists turned white from how hard he squeezed Zathrian’s throat.
Gelia attempted to close the distance between her and Neil.
I clenched my jaw again, harder this time.
Shadowy tendrils emerged from within, growing around me.
Gelia stepped back when she saw them and what I could do.
She was distracted by my shadow manipulation.
Blind-sighting her, Tomas approached Gelia from behind, stabbing her in the back with a dagger.
Gelia let out an echoed, blood-curdling scream, toppling over and onto the floor.
Instantly, Neil let go of Zathrian. Snapping out of his hate-fueled haze, he turned to Gelia and the pathetic crumpled heap she was.
Tomas tossed the dagger aside, tears rolling down his face at the loss of Aradia.
I saw the way he looked at her. He had been in love with her for as long as I had known him, if not more.
It was at that moment that Javaid emerged from the shadows, mere feet away from the four of them. My breath hitched, terrified that this would be the end.
“Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner,” he said calmly, gripping the fabric of Neil’s shirt and engulfing him within the darkness.
What?
He was on our side. He was an ally to Zathrian, not to Neil.
“Gods… about time. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold him off,” Zathrian muttered.
Javaid rolled his eyes. “Oh please, don’t be dramatic.”
Zathrian exhaled slowly, relieved to see Javaid was here at last.
All this time, I truly thought Javaid was one of Neil’s spies.
That Javaid saved me from Casimir because of Neil.
Again, I found myself lost for words, realizing that I had it all wrong.
All this time, it was Zathrian who was protecting me, not Neil.
Zathrian truly had more secrets and allies than I could fathom.
It made me wonder what else about him I had yet to learn. How far did his strength and loyalty truly reach? Did he truly have allies across all the Realms? And if so, how?
I rushed to Zathrian’s side.
“Zathrian!” Sinking to my knees, I reached out for him. He lay there, battered and beaten, gasping for air as he rolled onto his side and into my lap.
My heart broke seeing him like this. I felt so helpless that I couldn’t do more to help. I wasn’t a fighter. Let alone a skilled one like him.
“You’re okay.” I gently reached out and rubbed his back. His hand reached for my forearm, gripping it. He nodded, falling onto his back on the cracked marble flooring beneath him while I cradled his head in my lap.
I looked to Javaid, who somehow managed to restrain both Gelia and Neil with shadowy tendrils with the help of Acheron, Viotto, and Mateo, too.
Thank the Gods above.
“To the Mountain?” Javaid asked with a smug expression, his hand reaching for Zathrian to help him up.
Zathrian breathed heavily, taking a moment. He nodded, and Javaid pulled him onto his feet. Zathrian turned to me, hoisting me up and pulling me into a tight embrace, squeezing me as he held me. “We better hurry,” Zathrian said in panted breaths, and the rest of the room went silent and wide-eyed.
He turned to Tomas who was on the floor, embracing Aradia.
None of us said anything. There was nothing to say.
Acheron was disheveled, even with Mateo there rubbing his back. He turned, shielding his face as he wiped the tears threatening to fall. Even now, he kept his composure.
Tomas nodded. He knew what to do. Or more so, I assumed he knew what to do. Tomas would stay with Aradia.
Javaid pulled Gelia and Neil closer, silencing them by covering their mouths with shadowy tendrils, confining and constricting them both.
Acheron undid the ropes to his pouch of stardust, holding it open for everyone to take a handful.
Zathrian embraced me tightly, counting down for us to throw said stardust at the same time.
“Three…
Two…
One…”