Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
Thalia finally pulled her horse to a stop.
They’d left Corithian behind, nothing but blood in their wake.
She half fell off her horse, whirling to Cassius, who dismounted clumsily. “Tell me what to do,” she rasped, hands clenching in his bloodied shirt. “Tell me.”
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
“There has to be something. Feed from me; that will help you—”
“Thalia.” He gripped her face. “There’s nothing to be done.”
She didn’t realize she was crying until his thumb swept over her cheeks, catching her tears.
“It will be okay,” he whispered.
She shook, gripping his hands. “Cassius—”
“We need to get back to Vaccarium. We need to tell them everything.”
She fought past the bile in her throat, the acid burning her cheeks. She forced herself to mount her horse, to keep it together as they rode hard toward the forest stretching in the distance.
To not sink into despair as Cassius’s hands tightened harder around her waist as if afraid to let go.
Chaménos was quiet.
Eerie silence bled into the air as they traveled through the forest. The gray trees reached their skeletal limbs together, blotting out the sky above their crimson leaves.
Thalia’s heart didn’t stop pounding.
“How long do we have?” she whispered, even though there was no need to be quiet. No one was in the forest, and if any creatures attacked … well, she hoped they did.
Hoped something would come at her so she could sink her blade into them as opposed to letting herself drown in despair.
“It will take a few days,” Cassius said, his fingers tight on her waist.
They’d already spent days getting to Chaménos. They’d hardly rested, only switching out horses when needed.
Thalia blinked the tears from her eyes.
“You have to promise me something,” Cassius said, his words in her ear.
“What?”
“After … after I say goodbye to them, you need to kill me.”
Thalia jerked, her breath catching. “Cass—”
“I don’t want to become one of them,” he continued, undeterred. “I don’t want to be suspended in a state of sleep wondering if I’ll ever wake up.”
Thalia started crying, her tears splashing onto their joined hands.
“Keegan won’t do it. Camilla will try and suspend me. I—I need you to kill me.” Thalia shook her head, but Cassius’s grip tightened. “Please, Thalia. You need to do this for me.”
She twisted, finding his gaze hard on hers. His eyes glowed with such pain and sorrow that she wished she could stab her own heart.
“Promise me,” he whispered.
Thalia swallowed, eyes blurring. “I promise.”
He seemed to relax, brushing his lips across her brow. “Thank you.”
They continued on, and Thalia could have sworn she was hallucinating when something orange blurred in the distance through the trees, a smoky haze that made her vision fuzzy.
“What’s that?” She squinted.
Cassius stiffened behind her. “I don’t know.”
Thalia urged their horse, heart pounding.
The orange glow spread, and the scent of smoke hit them in full force.
“It’s a fire.” Thalia’s throat closed. She twisted in the saddle, looking back the way they’d come. Horror rose at the orange closing the distance.
“Go!” Cassius yelled.
Thalia kicked their horse and they took off, the sounds of crackling and burning logs falling behind her.
The smoke grew thick enough to choke, and Thalia’s eyes watered as she urged her horse deeper into the forest.
“Which way?” she shouted. Creatures moved by in a blur, trying to escape the flames.
Cassius gripped the reins around her fingers. He didn’t say anything as he urged their horse faster, trying to escape the fire that’d turned into a blaze. The trees seemed to cry out, their shrieks piercing her ears.
The horse whinnied, pulling to a sharp stop as branches fell in their path.
“Fuck,” Cassius cursed, before whipping their horse, spurring it toward a different path.
The fire was all around them. Thalia could hardly see the ground, couldn’t see with the fire closing in around them—
They broke through the trees, and Thalia’s eyes widened.
Five pools of water stared at her. Or what had been five pools. They were no more than scorched patches of earth. The Mages must have come and burned the eggs, but the rivers had obviously not reached the springs yet.
Thalia’s eyes widened even more as Keegan stumbled into the clearing, along with Lady Decima and Larellia.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Cassius shouted.
Keegan’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Escaping this!” Cassius shouted.
“We’re trying to stop it,” Larellia said. She raised her hands, and something cold whipped past Thalia’s ears. She turned just in time to see a flaming branch aimed for their head get knocked aside.
“How did this start?” Thalia shouted.
“We don’t know,” Keegan ground out, his brows narrowing. “We took care of the eggs days ago. We just got word that a fire was seen in the forest not an hour ago. Rumors are that the humans sent soldiers. The other Mages are on their way; with enough of them, we should be able to stop this.”
Thalia swallowed, the heat of the flames licking at her back. Her mother must be trying to drive the creature out so she could capture it herself. That or she’d set the fire to stop her and Cassius.
“Well, don’t just stand there,” Larellia yelled. “Move!”
They did, moving away from the fire, which seemed to have hit an invisible wall. In fact, the entire area was blocked off by a hard wall of air, protecting the springs.
“What do we do?” Thalia asked as Cassius dismounted. He grabbed Keegan in a tight hug. The golden-eyed Vampyr looked stunned for a moment before he returned the embrace.
Cassius turned to Thalia. “You need to get the fuck out of here.”
“Like hell I will.”
He ignored her, turning to Larellia. “Make a path for her through the flames. Get her out of this forest.”
Larellia gritted her teeth, sweat beading along her brow. “I’m a little busy at the moment.”
Thalia slid off her horse, gripping the reins tight. “I’m not fucking leaving you. Not now. Not when we only have hours left.”
“What is she talking about?” Keegan asked.
Cassius’s eyes flared. “Thalia—”
“I can’t,” she choked. “I can’t do it.”
“Cass?” Keegan questioned. “What happened in Agripa?”
Thalia quickly explained her mother’s vendetta against the Vampyrs. How she somehow was from a line of Mages and had used her lost power to curse the prince. Thalia added her suspicion that the queen had caused the forest fire.
“Fuck,” Keegan said, running a hand over his hair.
“Did you know?” She turned to Cassius. Now wasn’t the time, but she had to ask. “That the creature was the prince?”
Cassius swallowed. “We had our suspicions, but nothing confirmed. He disappeared when the creature appeared. We thought perhaps he was killed, but …” He cursed.
“It doesn’t fucking matter,” Larellia said over her shoulder. The entire forest was now a raging inferno. Even if Thalia wanted to flee, she didn’t think Larellia had enough strength to provide her a safe way out. “Did you kill the queen?”
Thalia looked at Cassius. “No.”
“Why the fuck not?” Larellia whirled to them, and the barrier around them wavered. Lady Decima grunted, trying to replenish Larellia’s magic.
“Cassius—” Thalia’s throat tightened.
“ ‘Cassius’ what?” Larellia stalked forward.
“They had a bitten,” he said softly.
Keegan’s face drained of color. “Did it bite you?”
Cassius nodded.
Larellia’s eyes flashed, but she slowly looked at Thalia. “If this creature escapes this forest, if it heads into Vaccarium and spreads its poison, this is on you.”
Thalia’s throat tightened. Then movement caught the corner of her eye.
The blood left her face. “Cassius.”
He turned, his own face slowly slipping as something emerged from the inferno of the fire.
The creature—the prince—whatever it now was—had somehow survived the flames.
It was the size of a horse, far bigger than its offspring.
Its claws dug up the ground, turning the trunks into smothered ash.
Its silver hide was covered in scorch marks, holes burned through its white, leatherlike flesh. And next to it was her mother.
“What the fuck?” Thalia couldn’t make sense of it, couldn’t believe her mother was standing next to the creature, seemingly unharmed.
“Get behind me,” Cassius breathed, but his hands trembled. Something wasn’t right.
The creature let out a chortling sound in the back of its throat, its strange nostrils flaring.
“You can’t escape this, Thalia. The Vampyrs were always meant to fall,” the queen yelled, fire flaming behind her.
Lady Decima glanced nervously, the barrier wavering, and heat blasted into the space.
“Keep it up,” Larellia growled, drawing her scythe. Keegan’s blades flashed. “You have no business here.”
“Here I thought the Mages stuck together.” The queen smiled.
Lariella snarled, everyone taking position against the creature and the queen.
“My mother may have created it,” Thalia got out. “But maybe it will listen to me like its spawn—”
The creature shrieked and charged.
Cassius shoved her out of the way just as it flew between them. Someone screamed, and the barrier faltered even more.
“Keep it up!” Larellia roared as she turned to the queen. Tendrils of darkness shot from the queen’s hands, and the head Mage cut them apart with her scythe.
Thalia turned, her knife in hand, as the creature shook sparks from its skin. It rumbled, its jaws snapping, before it charged at Keegan.
Keegan swiped his sword, the blade bouncing off its hide. Cassius attacked with his own weapon, but his movements were jerky, his eyes widening and unfocused.
Thalia’s heart clenched and Larellia screamed, raising her scythe against the queen, but she was blasted back by the queen’s own power. Keegan sliced his sword along the creature’s side, but not even the sharpened blade could penetrate its thick hide.
The barrier faltered once more.
Thalia glanced behind her. Lady Decima was on her knees, sweat pouring from her as she tried to keep the fire at bay.
“Thalia!” Keegan shouted as the creature charged her.
Thalia rolled out of the way, her chest catching. She turned, sword ready.
The creature had found another prize.
Cassius was distracted, shaking his head as if he were trying to shake dots from his eyes. He stumbled about, his sword falling from his hand. He scrabbled at his head, and Thalia’s heart broke in half as she realized what was happening.
Thalia screamed, but it was too late. The creature launched itself, jaws dripping, as it slammed into Cassius. He disappeared under its white hide and slicing claws.
Thalia forced her legs to move, to unstick herself from where she’d been frozen.
Rage like she’d never known slammed into her. It fueled her steps as she roared and charged.
She didn’t look at Cassius’s shredded form as she slammed into the creature, her limbs reverberating as she tried to strike it with her knife.
The creature turned, and quick as an asp, its jaws sank straight into her arm.
Thalia screamed, pain blinding her as the creature lifted her up.
She was going to lose her arm—
It froze, shuddering, as its jaw opened and dropped her to the ground. Thalia hit the dirt, moaning.
The creature screamed, shaking its head. Its mouth began foaming quicker, spittle flying.
“Thalia!” Keegan grabbed her uninjured arm, hauling her up.
The world swayed.
The creature stumbled, shrieking as its mouth started to steam. It fell into one of the craters, beginning to twitch.
The queen screamed, stumbling toward the creature, clutching her chest as though she were being burned from the inside out.
Then the queen looked down, watching the metal of Larellia’s scythe embed in her chest. She looked at her daughter. Blood dribbled from her mouth. “Thalia—”
“Now!” Larellia roared, pulling out her scythe, and the queen collapsed, staring unseeing at the trees. Keegan left Thalia’s side and they surged to the creature, their blades sinking into its armored hide like moss.
The creature continued to shriek, its lips steaming and peeling back from its mouth. But Larellia and Keegan didn’t stop.
“Wait—” Thalia stumbled to the pool.
Larellia chopped off its head, and they waited, hardly daring to breathe. The tendrils in its neck stretched toward its body, but whatever was happening in its mouth was spreading.
Its skin was decaying, falling apart at the seams. The tendrils from its severed neck withered into nothingness.
It seemed as though the whole forest let out a collective sigh and the rest of its body slowly flaked away, until it was nothing more than a pile of ash.