CHAPTER 53
A TRAIL OF GOLDEN LIGHT shot through the giant brambles, bursting right between Arisa and Fia.
Flecks of light sprayed onto Arisa’s hand and body—a hiss of smoke wisping away from her sizzling skin before the flesh knitted back into place.
She snarled and twisted her head in the direction it came from.
Her vividly orange eyes burned into Lenore’s.
That was when Lenore understood. They weren’t facing a Lucyn.
They were facing a demon.
“I underestimated you, O child of mine,” Arisa said. Growls rumbled behind Lenore, but she didn’t dare turn around. A ring of Lucyn surrounded her. Hesper was among them, snarling with unbridled madness. Blood matted his muzzle and chest, his claws doused in red.
“I am not your child,” Lenore replied, summoning up all the courage she could to speak. The tremor in her hands never left her. “I’m not a Lucyn, and never will be.”
“A child that rebels against their mother is still hers,” Arisa said.
“Your werewolf blood didn’t appear out of thin air.
It was by my power that you are one.” Her mouth thinned.
“And it’s due time you gave me respect after all the opportunities I gave you—even after the fact that you dared to intervene between Ieric’s bloodline and I. An unfortunate setback in the plan.”
“The plan?”
A thin smile crossed Arisa’s face. Her eyes flashed.
“To reclaim my godhood.”
The growls behind Lenore grew louder. Her life was one slash away from death. Yet that didn’t stop her from uttering the thought that roared in her mind. “Arisa… was all just a disguise, this entire time. You’re Lunantha.”
At the sound of her true name, Arisa regarded Lenore with only mild interest. “And yet you stand there like a defiant wretch. Kneel to your progenitor. Then all will be forgiven.”
Everything in Lenore screamed for her to obey. Cold sweat rolled down her neck. A surge of thoughts that weren’t her own intruded into her mind—all shouting the same thing.
Listen.
LISTEN!
“Lenore, don’t die like this.” A voice behind Arisa begged her to consider. Lenore’s gaze snapped up and saw Charie. Her all-black attire was akin to a mourning bride’s, yet her face showed no signs of the umbral thistle’s symptoms.
Guilt formed in unshed tears at the corner of Charie’s eyes. “You won’t gain anything from standing against her like this.”
“And you’ll never be free as long as no one stands against her.” Lenore’s fists closed tight. “I…” She gritted her teeth, fighting against the thoughts that continued to shriek at her. Her eyes darted back and forth as she struggled to steady her breathing.
That’s when she looked at Fia’s motionless body, catching a gleam of light that trailed back to her necklace and the white raven attached to it. Lenore’s lips parted slightly—something within her broke through the noise in her mind, urging her to call upon the bird.
Arisa frowned. She snapped her fingers. Lenore screamed when someone grabbed her, pressing claws to her neck. Thin lines of red dripped down her collarbone.
Charie was seized in similar fashion, held back by Hesper. Whatever sanity he had left had long left him. Only the look of a violent monster remained.
“You had your chance. The last blessed thing you’ll see is your choice leading to another’s death—your deaths will grant a boon to my Lucyn.” Arisa flicked her hand dismissively. “Kill them—”
Lenore screamed the old words that she had once whispered to the white raven.
The same silence that blanketed Ieric’s village arrived in the ballroom. For a moment, everything went quiet.
But the pain of claws digging into her neck told her it was over. She closed her eyes, unable to look around in her final moments.
A powerful white glow flared through her eyelids. All the surrounding sounds slowed down. Every voice she could hear was low and drawn out. She opened her eyes, reeling in shock when she saw a white raven in front of her. The tiny white raven charm attached to Fia’s necklace was gone.
The ethereal bird’s wings flapped with controlled power. With ease, it pried the Lucyn’s grip off Lenore. The Lucyn’s arms swung back in slow motion, as did everything around them. The werewolves behind her barely moved. Shards of marble slowed in the air.
The intrusive thoughts that screamed at her to submit to Arisa disappeared completely. Everything felt clear.
Ieric’s poem. The white raven spoke to her mind. Do you remember?
“W-what?” Lenore replied in confusion, almost surprised at how her own voice was fluid against the slow tide of time. “Somewhat? I—”
Follow what’s written. The white raven tapped its beak gently on her forehead.
A warmth washed over her body, and something tingled in her right arm.
But she didn’t look down, keeping her gaze on the white raven whose wings flapped once more, shooting up to the ceiling before it dove straight toward Arisa.
Don’t be afraid. Its last words echoed in Lenore’s mind.
The white raven exploded into pure light as it pierced Arisa’s chest—everything around Lenore accelerating back into normal speed.
The raven’s light surged through the demon, searing into her skin that pulsed with veins of radiance everywhere.
Arisa screamed, an otherworldly sound that split the air.
Confusion stalled the Lucyn behind Lenore, and Hesper’s grip on Charie faltered as their bodies struggled against the sudden change of momentum.
Lenore seized the moment—shifting into a werewolf as she grabbed Charie first before racing to Fia, forcing herself to keep her eyes off of Arisa.
Bright light flashed across her side as Arisa’s screams penetrated her ears.
Lenore pulled Fia into her other arm, holding both women tight as she ran as fast as she could.
But it wasn’t enough. Crimson crescents filled her vision—the seasoned hunters with their enhanced prowess were quicker than her. She was surrounded by the Lucyn, with Hesper leading the charge. Lenore’s ears flattened against her head.
Hesper grinned murderously. He took a step forward. His claws flexed. “I can’t wait to hear you screa—”
Shnk.
Hesper’s head rolled to the side.
Pure white glowed at the top of his headless neck, fading as blood dripped through. He fell unceremoniously onto his knees. His body crumpled onto the floor.
Edmund stood behind, moonlight gleaming along his outstretched claws. Fallen bodies pulsating with the same light trailed behind him. His breathing came out fast and heavy. His wolvish gaze burned with intense ferocity. The dark blood spattered on his face intensified the brightness of his eyes.
“Edmund!” Lenore cried out in relief. The same relief was mirrored in Edmund’s expression until he saw the blood matted in Lenore’s neck. His hackles bristled furiously, ready to attack anyone else who was a threat to his mate.
“GET BACK!” Azelf shouted from behind them. Pip flew in, urging them to retreat. The light sprite turned in the air, pointing at Arisa.
The veins of light running through Arisa’s skin began to weave together, splitting into glowing cracks. Her screams grew shriller, the demonic noise reverberating through the battlefield, clashing with the chaos around her.
Black smoke sizzled beneath the cracks, spilling out as her skin began to disintegrate. Her form distorted, growing until she stood nearly fifteen feet tall. The dress she wore burned into black wisps. The white light disappeared—releasing her from her agony.
The creature resembled Arisa no longer.
Her hair twisted like black tendrils, lined with thorns that mimicked umbral thistles.
Wiry dark fur joined the tendrils underneath and ran down one arm.
Horribly long claws were at the ends of her elongated arms. Clusters of scales covered where her eyes had been, face jutting out into a beast-like muzzle.
Exposed muscle and charred-like flesh tangled together like twisted tree roots.
Slowly, she rose into the air. Through the glass dome, the full moon hovered behind her. She was silent for a moment, contemplative, almost. All around, the battle staggered—but never stopped. Her fists closed, then opened, head rising to meet them all. A tremor ran through Lenore.
“I, Lunantha,” the demon began slowly, her voice layered and inhuman, “will hunt you all.”