Enchantress

Chapter VIII

Instantly I was brought back to that night.
"Mom! Mom! " I cried as I squinted to look through the thick mist, there she was bleeding out. "Mom!"
I saw her body stretched over a rock, the blood straining it as it drained down the edges. My Dad laid not too far away. Dead. They were all dead. The vampire responsible was looking at me, hissing at me... coming for me. Lightning cracked before my eyes whipping to sting the floor before my feet. I screamed.

***
"What did you say?" I whispered.
Aunt Ceres' lips thinned as if she just registered what she had said.
"They weren't your parents." She repeated.
"I am your mother. When I found you, you covered in blood sitting among a pile of corpses. How was I supposed to tell you that the parents you mourned. The parents you killed for weren't really your parents and that I had handed you to strangers in a meek attempt to avoid my own fate?"

"You're what?" I kept repeating stepping back as she reached for me.

"I was destined to lose a love to gain a love. You would never the agony of seeing your own destiny flash before your eyes. Your father was my beloved. I loved him with every fiber of my being. I thought if I got rid of you. I would be able to keep him." She scuffed. "If I had known he'd go out in search of you. I would have kept you. All I wanted was for him to stay with me. But fate must have its way. Sure as the sun rising, I lost him just as he finally found you. You didn't even know that that's why you are terrified of it. Because you link it to that night but the only reason you are alive is because of your real father's lighting. He was a warlock."

"What are you saying?" I demanded.
"I gave you away to save your father and he still fucking died because of you." She screamed at me.
"You. You are my -- Why didn't you tell me this? I have been by your side for years. Why now?" My disbelief made my voice shaky.

"You lied to me all this time!" I snared backing away from her.

"Lying! You care about fucking lying? When I have been alone in this world because of you. Because you took him away from me. You cannot control fate, Aurora. You cannot put it under your command. You are the reason my destiny was so fucked up. If destinies could be changed you would not exist, my sister would be alive, and I would fall asleep in the arms of my lover every night. Accept your destiny! It affects every witch in the Netherlands. It determines if we continue to exist in this world. You are destined to unite vampires and witches. Stop using people who were never your parents as you excuse for fighting this! You will go back to him."

***
Xion's POV
I had planned to take my time heading to the witch kingdom. However, when I came out to collect my horse the scent of stale blood hit me, though the blood was stale it still held her sweet sent. Panic and a primal need to protect took over me. She was hurt. My woman was hurt and I was losing my fucking mind.
I didn't slow down after hopping onto my horse. I wouldn't be satisfied until I had her in my arms so I could treat her wounds myself. I hoped that she was safe, I hoped that she was alive.

When Thelus and I stormed the witches' castle we did not hesitate to knock out anyone who dared try to stop us. Thelus remained behind as I headed toward the scent of my queen's blood. The fact that it was still hanging in the air pushed me closer to the edge of insanity. It was easy to follow her scent through the halls but hearing her screaming voice is what truly helped me to discover the room she was in.

I burst through the doors, unapologetically.

Ceres looked up at me as if relieved to see me. I, however, settled my focus on the small, defeated woman. She had gone numb from any emotions, her vibrance dimmed before my eyes and my soul ached. My Aurora turned on her heel and, though she tried to hide it, limped toward me. She stood directly before me and whispered, "I'd like to go back now, Vampire." She would not meet my gaze; her shoulders were slumped her body appearing paler than it had ever looked to me.
She was so weak. She had a blood-stained cloth around her arm and bloody feet. There were small scratches on her face caused by branches I assumed. Her ginger hair was wild around her but even it had lost its glow. I scooped her small body up in my arms. I held her tight, and I felt her small hand grip my shirt. She turned to lock eyes with Ceres and in the faintest of whispers I heard her say, "I'm sorry."

I knew that she needed me to leave when I felt her grip tighten on my shirt.

*****