24. Florencia
24
Florencia
M y feet knew where to go. The forest beckoned me, my safe haven. I ran to its shelter, fate calling me here again, just as it did a few days prior.
Things had changed, though.
I could feel him watching me. If I closed my eyes, I could picture those red orbs getting closer and closer. I escaped knowing I couldn’t do that for much longer. My destiny was approaching, and it seemed to want me dead.
I crossed the borders and pushed myself to go faster. I couldn’t stop for a second, not when the only thing holding Elio off was himself.
Urgency guided my steps, and in a way, I trusted Zotz to save me, even if he might not have wanted to.
But he wasn’t waiting across the border this time, the pang of sadness hollowing out my chest.
He had rejected me; I couldn’t let myself forget about that. He sent me home, refused to defy destiny with me.
Rage began to fuel my steps, something growing inside me when I thought about my so-called fate. I felt disconnected when I was at the Crystal Castle. Even during the best moments with Elio, it still didn’t feel right.
There was always something missing, something wrong. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that fate compelled me to run through these woods again.
My life was ruled by fear. It decided who I was, where to go. I tried so many times to do the right thing and follow the right path, but it never ended well for me.
Until Camazotz. That was why it hurt so bad. I knew choosing him was wrong, but I did it anyway.
There was no point in lamenting anymore. I just needed to survive my husband, even if it meant doing the saving myself.
Power ripped through the forest, hitting me right across the chest and stopping me in my tracks. I gasped for air, bringing my hand to my heart but struggling to suck any oxygen in. Hollow noises left my throat until finally, the ache in my middle subsided and my breathing returned. For a second, I was sure I was going to die, the pressure on my chest so overwhelming, I thought I would sink into the bottom of the sea.
The ground shook beneath me, and I inhaled a lungful of air in time to look up and watch as sparks flew in the distance, near the barrier. The veil was cracking.
He was breaking it.
The very wall of energy I’d witnessed protecting me was now failing under the brute force of Elio’s desire to destroy me. It was like being trapped inside a snow globe, defenseless as it tumbled.
Elio entered the forest.
I sensed his energy in the air, rotting like putrid flesh between his teeth. I could feel his claws slicing through the trees like they were butter, his paws sinking into wet dirt.
He was coming for me.
The mark on my chest tingled, the cut on my hand stinging. Blood dipped slowly down to the ground, and from a single drop, a purple flower bloomed.
Maybe this was my destiny after all: be torn apart limb by limb by my monster of a husband. I knew I should still be trying, but I couldn’t outrun him.
The second he entered the forest, I died.
The voices of my sisters played on a loop inside my head. Elisa would be furious, Lucia would whisper something to try to save me. Marnie would cry. Elena would pinch me so hard, I’d probably prefer facing the werewolf.
I smiled against all odds.
Two brothers and a forest that seemed to feed off my blood—maybe it all ended here in his claws, away from Zotz.
Maybe I was meant to feed the forest.
I balled my hands in a fist. I wouldn’t fight him. I wasn’t going to survive, so there was no point. But there was power in deciding to go out with your head up.
Red eyes blinked in the darkness.
He was here.
His heavy breathing filled the air, suddenly all around me. Behind me, next to me, off in the distance. I couldn’t place him.
Finally, he made himself seen, appearing from within the trees, growling as he prowled my way.
Down on four legs, he looked even more fearsome than before.
I swallowed nervously, choosing to greet him instead. “Hello, dear husband.”
The animal didn’t reply, making me wonder how much of Elio was still in there.
“What in dreams do you think you are doing?”
My heart skipped a beat, my knees buckling at the sound of Camazotz’s voice. I hadn’t dared peeled my eyes off the monster who would surely kill me, but hope filled me once more at his presence.
Attempting to remove any sign of heartache or bitterness from my voice, I answered, “I’m accepting fate, just like you wanted.”
I needed to look over my shoulder, to see his reaction, but I wasn’t that brave.
“Your fate was marrying him, not dying by his claws.” He was furious, yet somehow, it brought a smile to my face.
“What difference does that make?” I shook my head. “Even your realm’s rules are broken now, the King of Dreams’ monster unleashed at the sight of a cut. I can’t imagine how long I’d last in his castle if I can’t even get my period around him.” A cold laugh escaped me. “I won’t spend my life running, Zotz. So if this is my destiny, then maybe you’re here to watch how it ends.”
Elio howled into the night sky, the irony of a werewolf with no moon not escaping me. The beast looked unsure, wanting to devour me but respecting, maybe even fearing, the one who always caged him.
“Get out of the way, Florencia.” Camazotz’s voice was unsteady, filled with something I didn’t recognize.
Fear?
I didn’t want to die; I was just tired of running, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do, how to make my powers work, how to please fate. Everything was becoming exhausting, and I wouldn’t become entertainment for the gods.
“Come get me—”
“And then what?” Zotz cut me off, pushing me to the side. “If you die, what happens?”
“If I live, what happens? What’s going to happen when I bleed? I don’t know if you know, I do that every month.”
“We can chain—”
“We?” My voice turned cold. “Haven’t seen much of you lately. How did you even know I was here?”
“You called for me.” His jaw was set, his eyes hard. He was furious with me, but I was angry at him too. He spoke as if he was coming to take care of his brother for an eternity.
As my brother-in-law?
I wanted him to care. I wanted to hear himself and know it was impossible for us ever to be in the same room without feeling this electricity. I wanted him to understand once and for all—
Camazotz leaped. I stopped the words that never had the chance to leave my lips and watched as his wings opened. He hovered over the ground, meeting his brother mid-jump. They collapsed into each other, all teeth and snarls, before dropping to the ground another second later.
Elio fought like a rabid animal, destroying everything and anyone who dared to cross his path. Camazotz struggled to hold him back, the beast refusing to be caged tonight.
Their fight was a violent choreography of feet, claws, and teeth moving and clinking under the shadows of the forest.
Elio sunk his canines into Camazotz’s shoulders, blood dripping down his chest, but in the next move, Camazotz sent Elio flying. His back hit the center of a tree, a doggish yelp coming from the werewolf before he came to a stand on his hind legs. He shook it off, his nose sniffing the air, directing his eyes my way, as if to make sure his prey was still near.
The sob lodged in my throat finally broke free, the numbness and shock of it all wearing off and forcing me to feel it all at once. My tears blurred my vision, but not enough to shield me from hearing Elio roar in pain from The King of Nightmares’ next hit.
Their blood spilled all over the forest, but for them, there were no flowers.
“Stop! Please, stop!” I begged the two men who had suddenly become my entire universe.
Camazotz froze in place, his hand wrapped around the werewolf’s thick neck. “Run to the castle. The Stonecrux will protect you.”
I couldn’t leave him. I couldn’t leave either of them. Elio didn’t know what he was doing. It wasn’t his fault; he wasn’t in there anymore. Camazotz already carried too much. If he hurt his brother permanently, he’d carry that guilt endlessly. He had been torturing himself for an eternity; how much more would be enough?
One was my husband, my destiny, and the other was his brother, the love of my life.
I couldn’t walk away from them.
Elio’s eyes blinked red to blue, Zotz’s sharp nails cutting into the beast’s neck. I wiped away my tears, the scariest scene in this realm happening right in front of me.
I called to him softly. “Zotz...”
His hand squeezed harder, another yelp coming from the wolf as he dangled from his brother’s hold, feet hanging above the ground. I placed my hand on his arm, my grip nearly nonexistent and my voice low when I called his name again.
He dropped Elio at once, the werewolf falling like a sack of potatoes, eyes blinking blue until he closed them.
Camazotz stood victorious for just one second, his wings completely out and painted in blood.
Then, he collapsed as well, landing on top of the werewolf, who whimpered underneath. Time felt suspended, a loud gasp slipping free that turned into a shout. I dropped to my knees, unsure how to check on creatures who had never been living. There was no pulse, no heartbeat, no breath coming from them to let me know either would make it.
Panic wrapped around my heart, my breathing quickening as the world spun below me. But then, Elio’s claws slowly retracted, his muzzle withdrawing into his face and the fur dissolving from his skin. His bones broke once more, but he didn’t wake from the pain, and soon, he had turned back into the beautiful angel I married.
Camazotz remained the same monster, and I felt more alone in the forest than ever before.