Conviction's King | Damian Book 1

Chapter 27

I'm rendered speechless. "The bonds...?"

DO NOT TAKE THE POWERS OF ANY EVIL FORCE, DAMIAN-SAI, OR THE DIVINITY I HAVE BESTOWED WITHIN YOU WILL DISAPPEAR. YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK. DO NOT FORGET THAT LIGHT WILL ALWAYS PREVAIL OVER DARKNESS.

"What bonds and ties?" Then, "Five?"

I counted up on my fingers. Me, Cressa-la, Tamir, Lily-flor. Maybe Amawa-na, but does she really count since she had been dead? If not, then who are the other two?

THIS IS THE LAST YOU WILL HEAR OF ME. YOUR DESTINY IS NOT SET IN STONE, DAMIAN-SAI. DO NOT STRAY FROM THE PATH OF LIGHT.

"Wait, you can't just—"

MAY YOU FIND PEACE, DAMIAN-SAI.

It's like a piece that made me feel whole has suddenly evaporated. The trees stop shaking as silence takes over the forest. Even the animals make no sounds. Then, slowly, things begin to move once more, my legs moving slowly at first, then fast like water flowing over an edge. The sounds of the forest crescendo to what feels too loud for my ears to handle. What did the entity mean? What bonds and ties? Tamir, Amawa-na, Cressa-la... had their consciousness really been transferred to this world, to this new timeline? The entity said they woulnd't remember anything from their past life, but... but what if they do?

What if Amawa-na does? What if Tamir does? They... I... I did unspeakable things to the two of them. And Cressa-la...

Bells ring as fur ripples across my chest, my back. A muzzle appears and I'm rushing at a quicker pace than I'd been as a human. I enter into my tribe, Revli. No sign of Tamir or Amawa-na. No Cressa-la. But I wouldn't expect her to cross the border and head into town. It's a rule. Unless they're invited by a Tribe Leader, no one from another tribe can cross into another tribe.

I rush to their houses, picking up their scents and storing it in my memory.

People begin to shout as I turn back to the densely packed trees. Revli won't attack a wolf.

I make my way down the island and into Initi, following the direction of their scents, but they aren't there either. Their scents go past it, with a third that has to be Cressa-la.

I don't risk going into Initi.

The last time I did as a wolf, I was leading several hungry gifted people, several that actually practiced cannibalism, down to Initi because they were getting too big. They were the largest tribe on the island. I vaguely seeing Cressa-la that day, meeting her eyes, but I hadn't focused on her. I'd been glancing over the tribe, weighing the damage we'd done. My group had taken out at least half of their numbers.

That was more than enough.

Initi won't hesitate on killing a wolf if they feel threatened by it, sacred or not.

I keep heading down to the beach, a sudden pull at my heart drawing my attention. Something's telling me to go to the edge of the beach, like something is pulling me in that direction.

Cautiously, I follow it. It could be a trick... but the only person able to pull something like this would be Morgiana and her thrall... When I was under her spell, she knew exactly where I was, and I would know around where she was, as long as she was on this island. Praying that isn't what this is, I continue forward, pushing my wolf to its limits as I leap around the trees in my way. If it is... and their scents are in the same direction I'm being pulled...

I speed up.

The grass turns to disheveled sand, an I take a hard right, the overhang in my sights. It doesn't take me long to get there, but a wolf's body is not made for running on loose sand and it tires quickly. As I arrive, I see the three people I wanted to see, sitting up slowly from the ground, looking dazed and confused. My eyes search for any signs of Morgiana, but I see nothing. As I turn to look in the opposite direction, the pull makes me turn back, my eyes landing on where it's coming form, pinpointing it.

I take a step back.

Cressa-la.

It's coming from Cressa-la.