The Cold She-wolf

Chapter Twenty-three: not yet

   "Who took her?" Cyra asked, voice quavering with fear.

   "That's a question I will leave her to answer. Follow the bird of fire and you will find her. This is the least I can do for you but hurry, you wouldn't want her to lose your pup, would you?" My heart skipped and sank to my stomach. My face grew pale as my mouth fell open with shock. "Oh will you look at that, she didn't tell her husband that she was expecting. I wonder why," she said sarcastically. "Find her." The flame around her body burst, making me close my eyes for a few seconds. When I opened my eyes again, there was a bird made out of fire flying in the air. It let out a screech and took off. Without thinking about it twice, I shifted and ran after it, letting the rest of the pack members shift and follow behind me.

I'm coming, Arabel.

Ara's POV

Well, this is uncomfortable.

   I clicked my tongue as I watched them go to and fro, preparing the altar for my death. I was strapped to a chair, patiently waiting for Cyrus. He was coming, I could feel it but my fear was if he would arrive on time. I'm too young to die and I have my baby to protect. I could have used my magic, but the new chain used to tie me down prevented me from using my magic. I got to learn that Lucas was some kind of rogue alpha, Milo was a wizard, Douglas was a vampire lord and the last one whose name I was yet to know was a lycan. Except for the wizard, all of them held a thing or two against Cyrus.

   The Lycan hated me more than anyone else. He marched up to me and roughly carried me over to the altar. There was a rope tied to my legs so when he released me from the chair, I still couldn't use my magic. He tied me down to the altar with an evil smile on his face and chuckled. "It would be fun feeding on your corpse,"

   "Sorry, I don't speak cannibalism," I said, smiling sweetly at him.

   "I hate you," he said spitefully.

   "Thank you. I pride myself on my ability to draw such beautiful emotions from you," he rolled his eyes and left without a word. Coward. The old man replaced the lycan, standing beside me. He placed his palms on my stomach and rubbed it gently.

   "I'm sorry, child. If I don't help her, she will kill my people." He was the one I was waiting for. I couldn't just lie there and wait for Cyrus, I needed to escape. I didn't need his help entirely. If only I could get the chains off or enough time to unleash the energy Raquelia sealed to prevent others from finding out about me, I could save myself. The problem was that if I started the incantation to release it, Icy would know and stop me. I needed a cover for that. I can't die, not yet.

   "What if I promise you that she won't? I can help."

   "And here you are, strapped to an altar," he said with an amused smile."Your powers are limited, dear. If you were the winter witch, I would have believed in you—"

   "But the real witch is in my womb. If you kill her, no one will ever be free of Icy," he paused, his eyes flying open as though he just realized the obvious truth. "Do you think that after she succeeds she'll let your people continue living in peace? You have to help me escape and in return, I will help you. I know someone stronger than all the season witches combined, and I'm sure the floral witch won't mind helping."

   "Little secret," he whispered, leaning closer to my ear. "She's dead. She died a few months ago but no one knows. Icy can't know," he whispered.

   "Now I see why you feel so helpless. I can help, really, just give me a chance." I said pleadingly.

   "What do you want me to do?"

   "Buy me enough time,"

   He sighed sadly. "I will see what I can do but it might cost me my life," he said sadly. "But I will happily give it to stop Icy." I beamed back at him. He closed his eyes and started muttering a spell. I'm not sure what he was saying, but I looked at Icy who sat on a chair, watching us with impatient scrutiny. She wasn't noticing anything so I closed my eyes and exhaled, preparing myself for the release.

Raquelia's POV

   I stood on my bedroom balcony, staring down at the battle displayed below me like a chess board or rather, tiny people on a chessboard. The old wizard was smart, he has always been and that was why the late floral witch took a liking to him. He was supporting her awakening with an enchantment, to further bring out her true form, the one Arabel was yet to conquer. It was going to hurt like a bitch but Arabel could bear pain better than anyone I know. However, even with the help of the man, she needed time before it was fully completed and she didn't have that.

   "Should I go help?" Jena asked calmly, staring down at it too. She held my bicep so she could see through my eyes. I wanted her to help, I badly wanted to interfere but my baby was important. I was already risking its life by using my foresight.

   I shook my head negatively. "Not yet," I said calmly.

   Icy hissed impatiently, a sign that time was running out. "What are you doing, old man?! What's taking so long?!!" Icy roared, advancing to them. Time's up.

   Milo increased his voice and speech frantically, reciting the final spell with too much haste. I unconsciously twisted my finger, correcting the error in his speech. A tiny pinch in my stomach reminded me of why I shouldn't use my powers. "Will you let him die?" Jena asked honestly, unperturbed. She wasn't one to care about a lot of things, except the people she considered worthy.

   I smiled but didn't bother with a reply. Icy raised her hands, conjuring a rain of ice spikes to descend on Milo, but an equally powerful column of ice grew from the ground and formed a roof over his body. The first line of defense is Icy's daughter. I know I wasn't supposed to, but it needed to be done. I used her hatred towards her mother to manipulate her affection and line of duty toward Arabel. She was no match for Icy but she was the first shield, an expendable one.

   "Eirwen!" Icy screamed, "I warned you to stay out of my business!" She yelled at her daughter. She shrugged.

   "It's better than being alive to mourn the pain of my dead mate. He loved me but you killed him in the name of queens don't love. I hate you and even if I die, I will be satisfied that I destroyed your plans." She said nonchalantly, she had no fear of what was to come, a part that came from her. Icy hissed at her daughter and charged toward her. Eirwen had done a lot of things with or without her mother's order, and this was my way of cleaning out the trash by recycling it for one last use.

   I turned my attention to Cyrus who was speeding toward the ritual ground faster than I expected. How he was able to run perfectly on ice was no surprise to me, after all, he was marked as a universe gifted. He wasn't as powerful as the future gifted, but he had enough grace to survive and enough privilege to make sure the witch is safe. A small pang of pain shot through my stomach, causing me to wince.

   "You should stop," Jena said anxiously, "you have done enough,"

   "Not yet," I said with an excruciating smile.

   "You're hurting yourself,"

   "It is the will of fate to keep her alive and I must answer to fate, a leading spirit of the universe, my master. If I fail to carry out her will, I'm afraid I'll lose more than my baby," I said sadly, lowering myself to the floor. Tears pricked my eyes but I didn't dare to cry for the chaos it would bring. I couldn't fathom why I would be blessed with a gift for it to be taken away, but I deduced that it was punishment for something I failed to do but is unaware of. Jena sighed and knelt beside me, clasping her hands against mine. I couldn't believe I was sacrificing my miracle for another, but when you have my job, the choice is never an option.

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