Chapter 60
ARIANNA
My eyes open, and I look around, no longer in the throne room; it seems like some kind of old town. I walked toward a group of people gathered in the square; they all had fear etched on their faces. Their purple eyes lowered into submission.
“Serpent-Sea is now under the control of His Lordship Tate. All who fail to step in line will be sentenced to death.” I hear someone call out. A tall man with long, dark hair, purple eyes, and a snakeskin covering half of his face growls low, stepping forward.
“Tate will never be welcome here; this is my land, and I will kill whoever tries to take it from me.” The man’s brave voice fills the air, prompting the people around him to cheer.
I step closer to get a better look at what is going on. There is a man and a blonde woman with their backs to me. I can sense the evil emanating from both, and it hurts my heart. I know everyone here is about to die.
They are looking down at two people kneeling on the floor.
This is what Tate does: he comes in and destroys lands just so he can have them. The man nods to the blond, then shimmers out, leaving her alone. She laughs, and something about that sound is so familiar that my stomach starts to fill with knots.
I watch as she steps over to the lady, who I see is kneeling on the floor, her arms bound behind her back, and she has blood running down her face.
“Bow to his way and I won’t have to hurt you,” her voice sweet and low, like a feather touch from a poisonous flower.
I walk closer to get a better look at her, but I can’t see her face. She lowers to kneel next to the woman when no one answers her and bites a chunk of flesh out of this poor lady’s neck.
The blond spits it out, then starts to drink the blood as it spills from the woman’s neck, she is covered in blood as it sprays from the wound, the man next to her roars out in horror then moves to attack the blonde, her hand comes out, her finger wrap around his neck, and she squeezes so tight that she snaps his neck and drops him to the floor.
She chucks the woman to the side and then leaps on the man, ripping his neck open with her teeth before she drinks from him deep.
I move fast to stand in front of them. I want to reach out and pull her from the man, to try and save him, but I can’t.
I’m not here; this vision is trying to show me something, so I must watch helplessly.
A young man comes charging over with a dagger in his hand. He stabs it into the woman’s back, his purple eyes filled with so much rage and hurt, but whoever this woman is, she makes no moves; it's almost like she can’t feel it.
Her hand comes flying out, and she sends the man flying backwards, hitting into the crowd.
I look up, checking he is okay. He growls low, stands slowly, and moves to try again, but is stopped by another man.
“Warren, you must go. Your father would want you to be safe. This is your land and will always be.”
Warren looks down at him, and he shakes his head, “I’m not leaving them. Look at what she is doing, The Blood Bringer will only come back if I don’t kill her.” He pleads.
“You can’t kill her, only one can.”
I go to reach for the head of this woman, the Blood Bringer.
Still, my vision shifts, and I am now standing in another street, by a huge fountain made of white and green stone.
A young woman comes running down the road; her red hair and amber eyes lock with mine, and she smiles at me.
“I wondered when you would get here,” she says to me, making me frown
“You can see me?” I ask, confused.
She laughs lightly and shakes her head a little.
“I can’t see you completely, just feel you,” she says, moving to stand in the middle of the road and then turning to face where she came from.
“You are not going to like this. I’m sorry,” she says, then fists her hands.
A gold glow covers them. I look where she came from, and the color drains from my face, and I step back, shaking my head in shock.
“No, it can’t be?” my voice stunned,
I stumble back in disbelief. A blonde woman comes walking toward us, her lips and chin are covered in blood, as well as her hands. Next to her are both Tate and Macy.
Lucy grins. “You can’t run from us, Book Reader,” she says, her voice the same as it was yesterday.
My sweet, beautiful friend isn’t who I thought she was.
The past me turns her head to me; her eyes filled with sorrow.
“I die today, I don’t have enough power to stop her, but you do now.
” She smiles and then turns to run further down the street.
I turn my head, and tears start rolling down my face.
How did I not see it was her? How did I not know?
Lucy laughs, then takes off running past me. I turn and am thrust out of my vision.
Gasping, I sit up, my chest heaving as I try to breathe through the pain that is breaking my heart. Panic in my eyes. “It’s Lucy”
“What is?” he asks, frowning as he helps me stand. I go to open my mouth, but pain hits my heart so strongly that my legs buckle and I cry out, the feather on my hand starts to burn hot like I’ve just stuck it into a fire.
I lift it, look at the friendship bonding mark I have, the one from the spell I cast on Mekhi, and gasp.
“The Blood Bringer, it’s Lucy,” I said, the pain and shock in my voice making Gaelan’s frown deepen in disbelief.
“It can’t be her,” he says now, just as shocked as I am.
The mark starts to burn hotter, my eyes frantic as my gaze lifts to his.
“Something is wrong, Gaelan.” My chest heaves with each breath I take.
“Mekhi,” is all I have to say. Gaelan grabs my hand and shimmers us to our home topside.
We appear in the living room of my house, my eyes sting with tears as I look over the state of the room.
My furniture has been thrown all over the room, the windows are blown out, and there is blood smeared all over the wall, floor, and ceiling.
I can smell Sulphur thick in the air that I almost gag from it.
Not thinking anymore about the state of my living room, I turn and rush into the kitchen, looking for Mekhi and Lucy. Gaelan follows me, his daggers drawn, ready to fight off whatever has been here. The problem with that is... It’s Lucy. She has been here.
“My Rose, I will check upstairs, be careful please,” he kisses my cheek, then shimmers from my side. Knowing I need to find Mekhi. I place my hand over our bonding mark and close my eyes. “Quaerite et sic finitum inveniatur, fiat.”
Seek and so the bonded be found, so mote it be.
I whisper, and my body shimmers as I move from the kitchen into the den at the back of the house. The room has been destroyed; plants are thrown across the room, pots are smashed, and dirt is everywhere. The windows are broken. “Argggg…”
I hear a moan and rush toward the sound.
A cry leaves my lips when I see Mekhi on the floor, his face and arms cut deep; there is a puddle of blood surrounding him.
“Mekhi?” I shout as I move to my knees next to him and pull his head onto my lap.
His eyes flutter open, and he gives me a small smile, then coughs up a mouthful of blood.
“Hitch? Tell me my hair still looks good.” his voice is weak; I must lean closer to hear him; a sob escapes my lips at his attempt at being funny.
“Your hair always looks fabulous. Hold on, I’m going to heal you, okay?” My heart is beating erratically, ready to burst from my chest in panic; there is so much blood. “Gaelan! Gaelan!” I yell in terror.
Gaelan shimmers in and immediately goes to his knees next to me. “Shit, Ari, what do you need?” worry think in his voice.
“Water and some cloth, or something, I need to clean his skin so I can see the wound, so I can heal it.” My words come out rushed, Mekhi groans again, he winces, and his eyes clamp shut in what looks like excruciating pain. I lower and kiss his forehead.
“I told you she would be a bad idea, Hitch,” he whispers, making me cry. “Bitch went crazy on my ass,” he wheezes out and coughs up more blood.
“I know, you were right, always right.” I choke on my words.
I lift my head as Gaelan comes back into the room and places the bowl down next to me.
He kneels down before carefully taking Mekhi's head and resting it on his lap. I pick up the bowl and hold my hand over it. My magic connects with the water, making me feel as one with it. The water comes up out of the bowl, heats up, and then moves to run over Mekhi’s body, searching for the wound to heal.
“Arianna?” Gaelan says my name with so much anguish that I feel my heart break before I even look at him.
His eyes shimmer with tears as he looks into mine.
I shake my head a little, not wanting to believe the grief-filled look he is giving me.
Gaelan slowly looks down at Mekhi. I follow his gaze and suck in a hard breath of sadness.
“Mekhi?” I say softly, placing my hand on his cheek.
His eyes roll open, he then slowly smiles at me, “I love you, Hitch; I’m about to make a fine ass angel,” he says before his eyes close, and I see his last breath leave his mouth.
My eyes go wide in disbelief for a second before the devastation hits me like a train.
Knocking the air out of my lungs, my hands shake as I reach out and try to wipe the blood from Mekhi's cheeks.
“No. No. NO!” tears fall fast down my face.
“Not again, this was meant to stop happening! You promised me we’d be friends forever,” I shake his shoulder, trying to get him to wake up.
My fist pounds on his chest. “You promised me… Mekhi please. don’t leave me, not like this.
” My body is shaking. “Not like this,” I choke on my last words, my heart shatters for losing the bestest friend I had in the whole wide world, for losing my ride or die.
I leaned forward and cradled his head on Gaelan’s lap, devastation hitting like a hurricane, threatening to consume me.
My heart is broken.