Chapter 47: Chapter 47

Zaira's POV

"Reah isn't here, you little thing. So we're all alone.", the voice echoed through the empty corridors.

My blood froze and I froze. I knew that voice.

Because it was Serda's voice.

I slipped silently into one of the book corridors and pressed myself against the shelves.

Impossible, Serdas couldn't be here. All the angels had placed a protective spell on the entire palace, making it impossible for Serdas to teleport here. No way he'd breached that powerful energy shield. Illyria had explained to me that this energy shield surrounds the palace like a very strong armored glass dome, and that nobody could penetrate it when it was held by all the angels around the clock.

But apparently Serdas managed to break through this impenetrable protective shell.

"Kitty, kitty, kitty, come to Serdas," he chirped, and my stomach lurched with fear.

I had to go to the stairs and that as long as he hadn't found me. For a moment I thought of getting the omorphies that were on the desk next to the books, but I quickly dismissed the thought, Serdas was after me, not the flowers. I took a deep breath, gathered up my dress, and ran down the hall. I waited a second, making sure I didn't hear a sound or smell, and looked around the corner - empty.

"Come kitty, come here."

It was like he was standing right behind me, the voice sounded so close, but I still couldn't spot him. Heart racing, I ran along the wall of windows and turned down another corridor. I would try to avoid the main aisle for as long as possible because the bookshelves would give me the necessary cover I needed to get away. I gave no thought to not being able to make it to the spiral staircase and concentrated on weakening my scent and not making a sound.

"Oh oh! Did I mistake you for a kitten?.", he laughed hysterically, as if he also enjoyed this game of hide-and-seek. He probably did, this guy was a complete psychopath. I felt sick.

I was already halfway down the aisle when I saw a shadow on the main aisle. My pulse was racing as for a second it looked like he was going to step right in front of my corridor, but at the last moment he made a turn. Now he was directly behind me.

"I'm so terribly sorry."

None of it sounded like he was sorry for anything. I crept on, careful not to let my sandals make a sound on the marble floor. My wolf sat inside me, waiting for the perfect moment to run.

"Don't blame me, pup, okay?" his voice came from the back of the halls now. That was my moment, if I didn't try now I would have screwed up my last chance. My blood pounded in my ears and I clenched my sweaty hands into fists, then I ran and sprinted down the main hallway, staring at the door to the stairs.

"I'll catch you, I'll catch you!" he chanted, his sadistic laugh echoing through the library, but I never looked back, maintaining my concentration. I didn't hear his footsteps, didn't catch a single warning, indicating that he was already approaching me when I suddenly stumbled over an air barrier.

He used his powers.

I managed to catch myself at the last moment, but that was enough to drastically close the gap between us. As useless as it was, because it was way too late to get away, I didn't care and kept running. It wasn't until the sudden pain that exploded in my jaw that I knew I'd stumbled over another air barrier and someone arranged for another blast of air to knock me all the way down, slamming my face onto the marble floor.

I groaned as the metallic taste of blood touched my tongue. He grabbed me with a jerk and pulled me back, tears stinging my eyes from the agony.

"Got you." His teeth flashed as he smiled slyly. "I won! Won!"

A cold shiver ran down my back, but I choked back the tears, after all I wasn't helpless, not anymore . No more. I extended my claws and drove them into his arm. Screaming, he dropped his hand and I didn't wait any longer, but got up on the spot.

"When will you finally understand it?" he exclaimed annoyed.

I froze. I wanted to keep running, but my body no longer obeyed me. My wolf and I both growled. "Let me go."

"Hmmmm, let me think." He leisurely stepped in front of me, blocking my view of the door. He tapped his lips thoughtfully. "No."

"What do you want?" I suppressed the tremor in my voice and snapped at him instead. Anything was better than giving this monster the satisfaction of scaring me. And oh, how terrified I was.

"Oh, I want a lot." He cocked his head to the side and eyed me. Slowly, his lips curled into a smile. "And you, my puppy, will give it to me."

His black greasy hair fell across his forehead and made him look even more insane than he already was. My fingers tingled, I wanted to scratch his eyes out, let him feel my fangs, but his powers were just too strong, the air held me captive. "Never!" I spat at him.

I grabbed his fingers as they gently brushed my chin and traveled down my neck, drawing another giggle from him.

"I would love to break you, Zaira. First every single bone and then your psyche." He whispered to me and his eyes lit up with pleasure. He meant every word dead serious. "You will feel so much more pain than you have ever felt with Blake."

I shook my head, struggling to keep myself from panicking. "How do you know about Alpha Blake?"

"Oh, we have company!" He clapped his hands excitedly, leaving my question unanswered. "Who will it be?"

Good heavens how stupid I was! I immediately tried to contact Aramis via the Mateband. My inner feelers groped for our freshly cemented bond, called him, but nothing came back. I shook it harder, letting it tremble with my panic, silence. Because - as I now noticed - the tape ended in a black hole.

“ They are nothing more than spaces in different space-time relationships. So we walk from one sphere to another."

Illyria's words shot through my head. Of course he couldn't hear me, we were in completely different spheres. And Aramis was still busy with Ares at this hour. My breathing quickened and my vision blurred. Calm down, Zaira, I admonished myself. I just had to stall Serdas somehow.

"Zaira, I got us both Illyria's speciality, mushroom rah-" she stopped abruptly and the two plates clattered to the floor.

"Go, Rea! Get out!" I warned, screaming.

"Reah, nice to see you again. It's been way too long since we last met, don't you think?" Serda's voice dripped with sarcasm.

I couldn't believe my own eyes as Reah regained her composure and then ran towards Serdas with a murderous glare.

Was everyone here completely crazy?!

"I'll kill you!" Reah roared as she dodged Serda's vortex in one swift movement and drew a knife.

"No Reah!", she would never have a chance, Serdas was immortal. I frantically tried to free myself and squirmed in the invisible claws that held my body. But I remained motionless in the same place.

Serdas stood beside me with open arms, welcoming Reah's body, which was suddenly on fire. There was undisguised sadistic delight on his face at the fact that he was about to have a fight. He lured her to him with his hands. "C'mon, show me how much you hate me!"

Reah lunged at Serdas, knife firmly in hand and aimed at his heart, while Serda's smile never faded. Just before her body threw himself on top of his, he made a hand movement and Reah's body flew crashing against the white stone wall.

"No! Serdas stop!", I couldn't stand to see that, he would kill Reah and not quickly and efficiently, but slowly, agonizingly and extremely painfully.

"It hasn't even started yet, pup," Serdas chided as Reah puffed to her feet.

"You're going to pay for what you did to Leav!" Reah roared, and a small, flickering flame appeared on her hands. What the ...?

She formed the fire in her hands, which was also still wrapping itself around her whole body, into a big ball and threw it at Serdas.

He easily dodged the fireball, but didn't see the flying knife coming, which rammed into his chest at the same moment. Reah didn't give him time to recover from his shock and threw him to the ground. Her fist slammed into his face, but Serdas quickly blocked it, grabbed her fist and spun it around in a flash, making a loud crack. Reah screamed.

Serdas had broken her wrist.

Reah yanked the knife out of Serda's chest with his free hand. "It's for Leav," and then she slit his throat. Deep and hard, with no sign of remorse on her face. Serdas gasped, but then threw her violently against the ceiling with his aerial powers. With a loud crash, she fell she rushed toward the marble floor at breakneck speed and I heard her bones snap a second time.

While the cut around Serda's throat was already healing, he crawled towards Reah.

"Leave her alone, Serdas! Take me, kill me, not Reah, my death benefits you much more than hers!", my voice cracked, while more and more tears streamed down my cheek. This couldn't happen, he couldn't kill Reah! I still had me never felt so helpless as in this moment.

Serdas ignored me and continued to crawl towards Reah, who was lying on the ground moaning. I saw her try to summon another flame, but her hand fell to the ground, powerless.

"The heroic Leav, do you still mourn his loss? After all these centuries?" Serdas asked, bending over Reah.

"Don't say his name!" she snapped, her voice shaking with pain.

Serdas laughed maliciously. "I could never understand your love. A wolf and a gi? Just gross if you ask me. But luckily I put an end to it all. You should have heard his screams, just amazing."

"You bastard, I'll kill you!", struggling in Serda's tight grip, Reah tried to hit him - in vain.

"As prickly as ever." Gray steel caught the morning sunlight and flashed.

"Serdas not!" I begged desperately, but he didn't listen to me.

"Any last words?" He held the dagger over Reah's broken body.

She then spat in his face. "Rose in hell you miserable bastard."

Then, without hesitation, Serdas thrust slowly, right into Reah's torso. She didn't make a single sound, but I saw the painful grimace she couldn't suppress. The knife drove further into her body, shrieking as it scraped and snapped bone. My stomach turned again and bile rose in my throat as the stench of warm, fresh blood thick in the air hit my nostrils.

" NOOO! ", I screamed and screamed, not knowing if Reah screamed too, while Serdas tore the knife from her body and stabbed again, so that more blood spattered the white stone floor. My vocal cords burned, but the screams that escaped through it, My heart broke as red liquid poured from her mouth and her chest trembled to a halt.