Selene
The fortress's iron gates loomed behind us, their runes pulsing red like a heartbeat, sealing Veyra, Thorne, Renn, and Elara outside. Dorian's cries echoed through the stone corridors ahead, each one a knife twisting in my chest.
"Stay close," Draven whispered, drawing his sword, golden eyes scanning the dark. Torren flanked him, holding a dagger on either hand, ready for anything. The prisoner we'd freed earlier trailed behind us, muttering about traps.
"Be careful. Kaelen rigged this entire place," he rasped. "There're blood wards everywhere."
"Keep moving," I said, following Dorian's cries. The corridors twisted as we moved, the stone walls carved with ancient runes that pulsed erratically, amplifying the curse.
We reached a central chamber, its ceiling arched high, lit by flickering braziers. At the far end, behind bars glowing with blood-red wards, was Dorian. My son's red hair was matted now, his small hands gripping the bars, and his beautiful grey eyes were wide with fear.
"Mama!" he shouted when he saw me
"Dorian!" I sprinted forward, but Draven grabbed my arm, yanking me back.
"Selene, it's a trap!" he growled, pointing to the runes etched into the floor, pulsing in sync with the bars. "Those are blood wards, which I'm guessing are tied to Kaelen's blood. We can't break them without it."
The prisoner nodded, trembling. "He's right. Kaelen set this up a while ago."
The bond surged then, and I could hear Kaelen's voice clear now in my head. "Surrender yourself to me, Selene, and your son gets to leave. Resist, and he burns along with the rest."
The air shimmered, and an illusion of Kaelen appeared, towering before me. His eyes were glowing in an unnatural blue color as a result of curse-tainted power. "Choose, my love. You... or all of them."
I froze, as the weight of the decision came crushing down. My blood could make him unstoppable, leading to the ultimate enslavement of all six packs, but refusing meant we all died – including Dorian. I couldn't lose my son.
"Ok," I whispered, taking a step forward.
Draven stepped in front of me. "Are you out of your mind?" he hissed. "I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself, Selene. We find another way."
I didn't even bother to look up at him. "I'm not asking your permission. Move."
His hand gripped my arm, stopping me. "No."
I shoved him, as my anger flared. "Get the hell off me! You don't own me, Draven! Dorian is my son. It is my blood. My life. My choice!"
His eyes blazed stubbornly, and his voice, when it came, was raw with emotion. "I was fully aware of all that the first time I said no, and my answer is still the same – NO." he leaned closer, his voice dropping to a low rumble as he continued, "I spoke to Elara earlier and she said the ritual Kaelen wants to perform will need all your blood. Not some of it, Selene... ALL of it. So you can hate me later or whatever, but I'm not letting you throw your life away."
He paused to cup my cheek, his tender eyes locking on mine. "I can't lose you too."
The words hit hard, his protectiveness touched me, which amplified my guilt ten fold
"Draven, I was there."
His brow furrowed in confusion, but before he could ask, guards began pouring into the chamber, throwing us into an instant fight.
Draven lunged, cutting one down before he could even draw his sword completely out of its sheath.
"What the hell are you talking about? You were where?" he asked.
The chamber swarmed with guards now, and yet dozens were still pouring in from side passages with swords drawn. We were outnumbered... badly.
Torren cursed, his daggers flashing as he engaged two at once, but a third slipped past, his sword slashing across the prisoner's chest. The prisoner we'd freed crumpled with a gurgle, his blood spilling across the stone floor.
"Form up!" Draven shouted.
I dodged a guard's swing and kicked his feet out from under him, then jabbed him in the neck with my knife. This wasn't the time or place for a confession, but I knew if I didn't speak now, I'd never be able to again. I had to finish what I'd started.
I swallowed, summoning all the courage I could muster. "The raid that killed your parents... I fought for Bloodfang that night. I was the one who planned it."
He froze mid-swing, shock flashing across his face. "What?"
The distraction cost him. A guard lunged from his blind side, his sword thrusting toward his gut. Draven twisted at the last second, the steel grazing his side instead of impaling him, but blood welled immediately, soaking his tunic. He grunted, swinging back to decapitate the attacker.
"Draven!" I dropped my bow, catching him as he swayed. "Are you okay? Dammmit, you're hurt bad. Let me jus–"
"Leave it!" he snapped, pulling away from my touch.
His coldness stung bad. "Draven, I'm so sorry. I didn't know–"
"Later," he grunted, pain lacing his voice, but his eyes held mine, fierce despite the wound. "We're not done yet."
On the other end, Torren fought like a demon, his half-brother's ferocity matching Draven's, but the numbers pressed us and we were beginning to tire. A guard's mace caught him across the shoulder, the crack of bone audible even over the chaos. He staggered, blood trickling from his mouth, but kept swinging, downing his assailant with a vicious stab to the throat.
Illusions amplified the nightmare – the curse turning fallen guards into rising specters, their forms flickering blue as they lunged anew. I fired arrow after arrow, my bowstring singing, but one illusion distracted me: Kaelen's laughing face, superimposed over a guard's. I hesitated for a split second, and the real guard's blade sliced across my thigh. I dropped to one knee in pain, firing point-blank into his chest, as the injury sent hot flashes of pain through me.
"Selene!" Draven roared, shoving through two guards to reach me, his own wounds slowing his movements.
"Stay with me!" he said in ragged breath as he helped me up.
The chamber was a full on slaughterhouse now, the air thick with the copper tang of blood and the acrid smoke of curse flames beginning to lick the walls. Torren took another hit, as a sword was thrust to his leg, dropping him to one knee, but he fought on, daggers a blur.
The illusions made it worse – the guards seemed to multiply beyond the real dozen or more that had ambushed us. We were outnumbered three to one at least, and every swing cost us.
A guard broke through Torren's guard, his axe swinging for Draven's back. I reacted quickly, letting loose and arrow that buried itself in the guard's eye, but not before his weapon grazed Draven's shoulder, tearing a fresh gash. Draven staggered back, blood pouring in rivets down his shoulder.
"Damn it," he muttered, switching hands, but his strikes slowed, each one labored.
"Fall back!" I yelled, making my way to Draven, covering him as I dragged him toward the blood-warded bars. Dorian's cries pierced the din, his small face pressed against the glowing iron, as tears streamed down his face.
"Mama, get me out."
"I'm trying, baby." I said, searching for a weak point in the bars.
Kaelen's illusion laughed, the sound echoing as the braziers flared, cursed flames licking the walls. "You can't save them all, Selene. Surrender yourself, or this fortress becomes your tomb."
The flames surged then, blue and cursed, ignited by Kaelen's command. They raced along the walls with scorching heat, as illusions began twisting the fire into screaming faces. The ceiling was groaning now, as the stones began cracking under the strain. Meanwhile, the guards pressed harder and harder, their attacks relentless. We were hemmed in and severely outnumbered.
Veyra's voice echoed faintly through the bond from the outside, "We're almost through the gates. Hold on!" But it was distant, the wards muffling it. Elara's voice filtered in from outside and I turned to see her chanting, but it was obvious her magic was beginning to weaken.
I turned to see Torren fall back as his leg finally gave out, blood pooling beneath him as he slashed at a guard's knees.
"Alpha, get to the boy!" he shouted, but another blade caught his arm, nearly severing it and he collapsed to the ground.
Draven pushed me toward the bars, his face pale, blood loss turning his golden skin ashen. "Go get Dorian. I'll hold them off."
"No!" I fired my last arrow, dropping a guard closing in on us, but more came. Draven swung, cutting one off in his tracks, but his sword seemed to have grown heavy now. A guard's thrust slipped through and pierced his thigh, and he dropped to one knee, roaring in pain.
"Draven!" I caught him, his weight slumping against me, as blood soaked us both. His breaths came in wet gasps, and his eyes were dimming.
He was bleeding out, fast.
The flames roared higher, and finally, the ceiling started crumbling and rubble came crashing down. I reached for Dorian, my fingers brushing his through the bars, but the wards held no matter how hard I tugged.
Suddenly, Kaelen appeared in the flesh, striding through the inferno somehow untouched, and grabbed Dorian, yanking him back.
"Don't let go, Dorian!" I yelled, trying to hold on to his tiny hand but Kaelen was too strong. The last thing I heard were my son's screams as his father dragged him into the smoke, and the wards flared shut.
"No!" I roared, lunging, but before I could recover from the loss, the ceiling gave way in a deafening crash, rubble and flames cutting me off from Draven as a thick cloud of dust surrounded us, chocking me.
"Draven, are you okay?!" I shouted, coughing up dust from my lungs, but my question was met with a weak cough. My heart was thundering in my chest as pure panic coursed through my veins, but the cough was a good sign. He was alive... for now.
"My love, please stay with me." I cried, my voice laced with desperation, but I didn't even care anymore. I needed my husband alive. "I'm going to figure a way to get us out of here."
"I'm fine." he said, but the sound of his voice alone was enough to tell me that he was anything but fine. "Forget about me and find a way to meet up with the others. I'll be right behind you."
"If you think there's any way in hell I'm leaving you in here, then you're actually much crazier than I thought." I snapped.
But no answer came.
I peeked through the cracks and I saw he lay amid the rubble, an overwhelming amount of blood pooling around him, his chest barely rising as his eyes began fluttering shut.
"Hey, baby, stay with me. Do not fall asleep, okay?"
No reply.
"Draven, stay with me!" I yelled as rivets of tears began streaming down my face.
But still, my only answer was silence.
Through eyes blurry with tears, I took a closer look, noticing his chest had stilled, blood pooling beneath him as the flames around us began closing in.