Ok this chapter is extra long, but it flows so it had to be in one haha. Enjoy!
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Stefan's POV
Stefan was normally a pretty heavy sleeper. It took a lot to wake him up once he was asleep. But when he fell asleep with Adelaide in his bed, every sense in his body was on high alert. She had fallen asleep while he was talking, and it took him a minute to realize she was no longer listening. Stefan didn't mind, though. He tucked her under the covers, turning off the lights so she could sleep peacefully.
He stayed by her side until her drifted off to sleep himself. Even then, he woke up nearly every hour to check on her and make sure she was still there. Eventually, he managed to stay asleep for two hours straight. But he was woken abruptly by the sound of the front door shutting. It was quiet, but it was enough to wake him from light sleep. Stefan rolled over, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he instinctually moved his hand to the other side of the bed to check on Adelaide. His breath stopped when he didn't feel her warmth in the bed next to him.
Stefan bolted out of bed, waving a hand in the air to turn the lights on. He ran into the bathroom to check for her there, but found no trace of her. When he got back to his room, he noticed the pajamas she had been wearing in a pile on the floor. Her sneakers were gone as well. Stefan cursed under his breath, pulling open the bedroom door and racing into the other room.
The living room lights clicked on, and he heard a chorus of groans from Lorenzo and Christoph. But as soon as they sat up, they saw the look of panic on Stefan's face. Christoph made eye contact with him across the room, and he was out of bed in seconds.
"What happened?"
"She's gone." Stefan answered, but couldn't offer anymore information than that. He started to look around the living room for any clues as to where she went. He knew immediately why she had left, but he needed to find out where she went.
"Where the fuck did she go?" Christoph shouted angrily. Stefan ignored his anger, moving towards the living room windows to search the area. Lorenzo said nothing, but followed suit and began to look for clues.
"I don't know, but I'm assuming they managed to get a message to her and asked her to come alone. And she listened, because she doesn't want them to hurt James," Stefan explained as Christoph followed him around, "we just have to figure out where they told her to go."
"And how are we going to figure that out?" Christoph scoffed, his face red as he ran a hand through his hair. He paced the living room, unable to focus or think in his state of worry. Stefan glanced at him briefly before going back to searching for clues.
"She left us a clue." Stefan stated, digging through the TV stand for anything unusual. He hated that Adelaide had chosen to go alone, but he understood her decision. He would have done the same thing if it had been his sister's life at risk.
"How do you know that?" Christoph asked in an annoyed voice, standing too close to Stefan as he moved to go to the kitchen. Stefan didn't answer or spare him a glance before pushing past him and into the kitchen. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he knew Adelaide would leave a clue. She was too smart to go there completely alone.
When he saw the laptop on the kitchen counter, Stefan knew it wasn't right. He cocked his head to the side as he looked at it. He knew he hadn't left it there, and he certainly knew he hadn't left it open. He crossed the kitchen in one stride, grabbing the laptop aggressively and groaning when he saw that it had run out of battery.
Stefan scrambled in a nearby drawer to find the right cord, and hurried to plug the laptop into the wall. He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for it to come on, his eyes wandering to the pad that was sitting next to the laptop. He noticed the slight indention of letters where someone had written a note and taken it with them. This had to be her clue.
"Why the fuck are you googling shit right now?" Christoph asked as he looked over his shoulder at the laptop. Stefan ignored him again, his attention turning to the laptop that had awoken. Luckily it had remembered the web page history, and the it was sitting open on the last viewed page.
It was a listing for the Kamýk Castle ruins just outside of the city. Stefan had been there before when he was younger, and knew it would take them a little over an hour to get there. He scribbled the address on a note as Adelaide had done before him, and slammed the laptop shut. He held the note up to Christoph to show that he had found the place, and couldn't help the edges of his lips twitching into a slight smile as he turned to leave.
He knew Adelaide would leave him a clue.
Stefan grabbed the kitchen phone as he moved towards his room. He held the phone to his ear with his shoulder, speaking to the operator in Czech. He ordered a taxi to his address as quick as possible, offering double the fare. He pulled on a pair of jeans and grabbed a coat as he hung up.
He considered teleporting there, but it only worked for places a witch had been to before. He knew that Lorenzo and Christoph had never been, so it would be up to Stefan to teleport the three of them there, which made it infinitely more difficult. Given that Stefan had only been there once, the chances that they teleported to a field somewhere with no sense of direction was highly likely. They were better off taking a car with a GPS.
Once in the living room, Stefan saw that Lorenzo and Christoph had gotten the memo and had changed themselves. Lorenzo looked eager and ready to fight, as he always was.
Christoph, who was always terrible at hiding his emotions, looked defeated and angry. He didn't offer any snarky remarks or argue with Stefan as they left the apartment and impatiently waited for the taxi. Once it had arrived, they all scurried inside, and Stefan gave the address and told the driver to hurry.
They rode in silence, the entire car full of anxious energy. Lorenzo was just itching for a fight, while Christoph was anxious they wouldn't make it in time. Stefan sat in the passenger seat, and kept his eyes forward on the road, his face blank as they drove. He knew his heart was beating faster, and his leg tapped slightly against the door, but he needed to stay calm. Adelaide needed their help, and panicking wasn't going to help her.
"Why would she leave without telling one of us?" Christoph finally spoke after half an hour of silence. Lorenzo and Stefan sighed softly at the broken silence.
"I'm sure they told her to come alone. If she had told you, would you have let her go alone?" Lorenzo offered, thinking through the situation rationally. Of course they wouldn't want Adelaide to show up with backup. If she was alone, they could manipulate her and threaten her however they wanted, with no one there to stop them. That's how Ellora operated - in the shadows and behind closed doors.
"No...probably not. But still, she should have told me." Christoph argued, leaning his arm on the window next to him as he pouted. Stefan couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"Not everything is about you, Christoph."
Stefan didn't turn around to look at Christoph as he spoke, but he could tell by the eery silence that followed that he had pissed him off. He glanced in the rear view mirror and saw Christoph glaring at the back of his head.
"Do you think I'm stupid, Stefan?" Christoph finally spoke, his face red with anger. Stefan shrugged his shoulders, not looking back. He was starting to recognize some of the surroundings, and he guessed they were nearing the castle ruins.
"Do you think I don't notice you trying to undermine me with her? Or the way you stare at her when she's not looking?" Christoph's voice was shaking slightly as he spoke, and when he didn't get a response from Stefan, he grew angrier and kept talking.
"Do you think I didn't see you both last night in your bed, huh? I really thought you were better than that - to take advantage of her when she's so upset, and when her boyfriend's in the next room." Christoph's statement hung in the air, leaving both Lorenzo and the cab driver to wonder what he was insinuating. It was enough to finally get Stefan to turn around.
He opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it. Inside, he was fuming at Christoph's allegations, but he knew they weren't true. He also knew this was not the place to have this conversation. So instead of starting that conversation, he decided to quote Adelaide.
"Last I checked, you're not her boyfriend."
Christoph looked like he wanted to punch Stefan, or worse. But Stefan saw how hurt he was behind his angry expression, because he knew those words had to have come from Adelaide. He didn't regret telling Christoph, because he knew it was the truth, But he was sure Christoph should have heard it from Adelaide herself.
"We're here." Lorenzo announced, breaking the stifling silence in the car. Stefan handed the driver a wad of cash as they all exited. The three of them jogged up to the sign in front of the ruins. They analyzed the map, all quickly coming to the conclusion that there was far too much ground to cover.
"We should split up." Stefan recommended, squinting his eyes at the faded map. Even with splitting up, it would take them hours to check everywhere. They had no clues to go off of, and no real way to know for sure if Adelaide and James were even there.
"It's not likely they're near any of the main tourist areas, so that leaves the forest area and this section here," Lorenzo explained, pointing on the map to the area behind the castle ruins, "I will head towards the area closest the castle over here. Stefan you take the northern part of the forest, and Christoph you head south. If you find anything, send a text."
Christoph and Stefan nodded in agreement, and Lorenzo didn't stick around to discuss. He followed the normal tourist path to reach his area, leaving the other two in silence. Stefan and Christoph shared one final look, the tension clearly still hanging in the air. They didn't say anything, but they both seemed to be on the same page. At that moment, their priority was finding Adelaide and James. That's all that mattered. With a stiff nod, they separated and raced off into the forest.
Stefan put all of his energy into his legs as he sped through the forest. He listened intently as he ran for any sign of movement around him. To his surprise, he'd only been searching for about fifteen minutes when he heard rustling ahead of him. He stopped in his tracks, crouching down to listen again for the movement. Stefan clearly heard footsteps that time, and they were very close.
He moved in the direction of the sound as quietly as he could. He only heard one pair of footsteps, so he was fairly certain it wasn't an Ellora member. Still, he moved silently in case, easing closer and closer to the source. As soon as he was close enough, he caught sight of the culprit.
"James!" Stefan called out, running towards him to stop him from running. James stopped in his tracks, turning around slowly to see who had called out. Once he saw it was Stefan, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank god it's only you," James breathed out, putting a hand to his chest, "bro, you have to help me get her out of there. They're trying to brainwash her into staying in Ellora, and she's playing along for now but they're going to figure out eventually and try to kill her again. "
"Where are they?" Stefan asked, his ears still on alert for any movement around them. James pointed in the direction he was running from.
"About five minutes that way. I just left - they let me go as a 'show of trust'." James explained, with air quotes. They both knew their offers weren't genuine, and they only let him go because they thought they could just find him again later.
"Okay, come on." Stefan jerked his head towards where James pointed, and the pair started jogging. Stefan kept his pace slower than normal, aware that James was already out of breath after over a day with no food or water. While they moved, Stefan pulled out his phone and sent his coordinates to Christoph and Lorenzo. His phone had one bar, and was barely able to send the message. He hoped they were able to get the text.
Stefan heard them before he saw them, and he put his arm out to stop James in his tracks. If he could hear them talking, then he was sure Frederick could hear their footsteps. Their cover was likely already blown, but he still wanted to remain cautious.
"James, Christoph and Lorenzo are here - go find them and bring them back here." Stefan whispered, handing James his phone so he could contact them. James glanced ahead where he knew his sister was, and Stefan knew he was wishing he could do something to help her. After a moment, he nodded, snatching the phone out of his hands. Stefan nodded for him to leave in the opposite direction, watching him run out of site before slowly turning towards the voices and into the the clearing.
It wasn't very large, and there was a crumbling stone house in the middle. Adelaide stood on top of the stone platform, the Ellora council surrounding her as they spoke. Every head turned towards Stefan as he emerged from the forest. Stefan found Adelaide first, their eyes locking across the distance. She looked surprised to see him, but more relieved than anything.
"I was wondering when you were going to show up," Frederick laughed maniacally, far too excited about the idea of a fight, "is my son nearby as well? Ready to swoop in and save his girl?"
"We were just discussing with Adelaide here how comfortable she'll be in Ellora," Morgen told them, gesturing towards Adelaide behind them. A small smirk formed on his face as he spoke, "of course, we have to take care of a few nuisances first."
Stefan knew his breath would be wasted trying to argue or reason with them. They saw him as the enemy, the villain, and there was no convincing them otherwise. He watched as Gisela gave a slight nod to Frederick, who's face lit up in excitement.
Before Stefan could prepare to defend himself, Frederick had jumped across the clearing at an inhuman speed, landing with a thud in front of him. Stefan didn't waste anytime, taking Frederick's brief moment to steady himself as his chance. He focused all of his magic into his palm, sending a force straight into Frederick's chest. It sent him hurtling backwards several feet, but he quickly caught himself and skid to a stop. When he steadied himself again, he looked up at Stefan full of anger. Unfortunately, Stefan recognized the look, and he had no time to prepare for Frederick's next attack.
After a quick slew of ancient krvavá words, Frederick waved his hands the way Stefan had seen him do so many times. He let out a cry of pain as a fresh line of blood appeared on his chest, quickly soaking through the light t-shirt he was wearing. With another flick of Frederick's wrist, an identical line appeared on the other side of Stefan's chest, and then another line followed underneath. He felt his breath catch in his throat at the pain erupting in his chest as his skin was ripped open. The cuts were deep and long, making every breath and movement ache. He knew that Frederick wanted a reaction from him, so Stefan used every ounce of restraint not to scream and fall to the floor.
Almost as if his thoughts had been manifested, a cry rang out on the other side of the field. Stefan's head shot to Adelaide, searching for her green eyes among the Ellora council. He saw her doubled over in pain, clutching at her chest. Without thinking, and ignoring the pain in his own chest, he took off. His body pushed moved on its own accord, pushing past Frederick as he sprinted to the staircase leading up to the platform.
"Wait." Gisela put a hand in the air, and Stefan's movements were frozen at the top of the staircase. She looked between Adelaide and Stefan in confusion, but offered no explanation.
He was steps away from Adelaide, and he could see her chest rising and falling as she drew in deep breaths. Her pain seemed to be subsiding, and she slowly stood up with a confused look on her face. Everyone stared silently, waiting for an explanation to her sudden screams.
"Fascinating." Morgen breathed out, looking between Adelaide and Stefan as his sister had done. Adelaide made eye contact with Stefan, who was still frozen in place. Her eyes were wild with panic, and he could do nothing to calm her.
Gisela suddenly waved her hand, and Stefan's muscles unfroze. He sucked in a breath, turning towards Adelaide. But before he could take a step, Gisela waved her hand again. Stefan felt his entire body convulse, and he crumbled to the floor. Every muscle spasmed at once, and his skin burned from the inside out. Stefan heard Adelaide scream in pain at the same time, falling to her knees a few feet from him.
"Well...this changes things." Gisela commented, waving her hand again and relenting her torture. Stefan sucked in a deep breath and scrambled to his feet as soon as he could. He crossed the remainder of the platform in two strides and reached Adelaide. Her pain seemed to have stopped as well, and he helped her up from the ground. She stood tall, her face angry as she looked at Gisela.
"What are you doing to us?" Adelaide asked with a glare. Frederick jogged up the stairs and rejoined his spot next to Morgen, smirking at the blood soaking through Stefan's shirt.
"We didn't do anything." Morgen gestured between Adelaide and Stefan, "this was all you two."
They glanced at each other, unsure what he meant. Upon seeing their confusion, Cora interjected, excitement on her face as she explained.
"Truly fascinating....It's very, very rare for two souls to be bonded the way yours are. I've only seen it a handful of times in my lifetime, and only once or twice between two witches. A connection as strong as yours, and so young, is unheard of," She stared at them like a science project she was eager to study, "to think of what you could accomplish together with your magic...with her raw power, the possibilities are endless!"
"I don't understand." Stefan finally spoke, narrowing his eyes at the witches in front of him. They sounded completely mad to him, and they weren't answering any of their questions.
"Many cultures have called it different things. Soulmates, twin souls, Anam Cara. They all speak about the same phenomena. We refer to it as druhá polovina. Your other half," Morgen explained, his eyes scanning Stefan and Adelaide with curiosity, "it's believed that druhá polovinas are two halves of one soul; together, they complete the other."
"What does that have to do with you torturing us?" Adelaide asked defensively, clearly mistrusting of their explanation.
"When druhá polovinas finally find each other and consummate their bond, they are linked for life," Gisela explained, an edge to her voice that sent a chill down Stefan's spine, "so whatever he feels, you feel too."
Her words hung in the air like a thick fog. Adelaide stayed unmoving next to him, and Stefan couldn't bring himself to look at her. He remembered briefly learning about a druhá polovina when he was younger, but he had always thought it was the Ellora witch equivalent of a fairy tale. He never imagined himself getting married, let alone having a soulmate.
"Enough of this," Frederick's voice boomed as he narrowed his eyes at Stefan, "this changes nothing. He is a traitor to Ellora, and he must be killed for his crimes against our people."
"No."
Gisela's voice rang out through the clearing, a booming noise that scared away birds in nearby trees. Her narrow eyes were trained on Adelaide, watching as if she might disappear at any moment.
"We will take them both back to Ellora. Their combined magic is too powerful to be wasted on your petty whims." Gisela told Frederick, barely sparing him a glance. Frederick nodded, offering no hesitation or argument.
"In case you forgot, Gisela, you don't get to control what I do," Adelaide snapped, her hands balled into fists at her sides, "I won't be a part of your twisted schemes."
"I hoped you would've made this easier on us, Adelaide. But if this is what you wish." Gisela sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. Her eyes shot towards Stefan, and without moving her hands, he felt the same burning erupt in his body again. This time was even more intense, and he fell to the ground as his muscles convulsed out of control. He heard Adelaide scream in pain, yelling at Gisela to stop.
As soon as the pain had appeared, it was gone, and Stefan was able to breathe again. Once he had control of his muscles again, he rolled to the side to look at Adelaide. Their eyes met as they lay crumpled on the ground, and he saw the fear behind her eyes. Stefan pulled himself up quickly, reaching out to take her hand.
Once he helped her up, they realized why Gisela's torture had ended so abruptly. Stefan felt Adelaide's hand tighten around his as they watched Lorenzo and Christoph burst through the tree line. They had caught the Ellora council by surprise, and Gisela's concentration broke as she looked for the interruption.
Frederick growled at the interruption, only growing more frustrated when he caught sight of his son. He leapt from the platform, intercepting Christoph and they immediately began dueling.
Lorenzo sidestepped Frederick, waving a hand violently in the air towards Cora. The older witch flew through the air, hitting a stone column with a loud thud. She fell to the ground, but was on her feet in an instant. She gracefully defended another spell from Lorenzo, and the two began to fight back and forth.
Stefan looked away from the two dueling pairs when he saw movement in his peripheral vision. He took a protective step in front of Adelaide as Morgen and Gisela moved towards them.
"You two have so much potential..." Gisela shook her head, her eyes narrowing as she looked at them, "but your constant defiance is a risk that Ellora cannot afford to take."
Stefan squared his feet, pulling his hand away from Adelaide as he prepared himself for a fight. He waited expectantly for Gisela's first move, but it came quicker than he'd thought. With merely a blink of her eyes, she sent a wave of force towards him. Stefan felt the air leave his lungs as his body flew backwards, landing with a loud thud on the stone floor. He felt his head bash against the concrete, and his vision blurred in pain.
"We can handle this, Gisela." Morgen told his sister, his voice darkening. Stefan rolled over on the concrete, coughing and sputtering as he got his breath back.
"I know. Keep her alive and sedated for the ritual. You can do whatever you'd like with the rest of them." Gisela spoke with disgust in her voice, and with a small whoosh she had disappeared. Stefan looked up from the ground to see Morgen advancing towards Adelaide. The older witch attempted to cast a simple sleeping spell, thinking Adelaide would be taken down easily. He was caught off guard when she acted quicker than him, waving her hand and sending a pile of rocks towards Morgen's face. Stefan couldn't help a proud smirk come to his face.
Unfortunately, Morgen was able to dodge the attack with minimal injury, and was now back advancing on Adelaide with a vengeance. Stefan blinked away his blurry vision, struggling to his feet and shaking away the pain in his head. He summoned a ball of fire in his palm, letting in grow until he felt the heat on his face. He held it above his head, sending it hurtling towards Morgen.
The witch was quick, and had seen Stefan's attack coming. He defended it easily, sending it back towards Stefan, who dodged it. But it was enough of a distraction for Adelaide to launch her own attack. A large chunk of nearby stone hit Morgen from behind, knocking him onto his knees.
Stefan ran forward, sending his foot into Morgen's stomach. He doubled over, gasping for air as it left his lungs. Stefan took advantage of his state to glance over his shoulder and check on Lorenzo and Christoph.
Cora had disappeared at some point. She'd never been much of a fight, and Lorenzo clearly enjoyed fighting far too much. He'd joined Christoph in fending off Frederick, who was easily taking on the two of them. He predicted every movement with ease, as if he knew exactly how they would attack.
"Stefan!" Adelaide's voice suddenly rang out, but Stefan didn't move quick enough. He felt Morgen's fist connect with his face, his silver ring leaving a slash in Stefan's cheek. Before he could recover from the punch, Morgen brought his arm around and sent another shot into Stefan's chest. This one was much harder and backed with all of Morgen's magic. It sent Stefan flying through the air, landing ten feet from the stone platform.
His head spun as he coughed and sputtered for air on the ground. He couldn't make out the noises around him as his brain tried to recover from being shaken. When he tried to move, Stefan winced in pain as a broken rib moved in his chest. He collapsed back on the ground, his head lolling to the side as he tried to make sense of the world around him.
He saw Frederick nearby, his focus on Christoph and Lorenzo who were attempting to corner him. Frederick moved quickly, and his attacks held so much force. He held nothing back against his own son, aiming to seriously injure or kill with every shot. Christoph and Lorenzo were doing all that they could do dodge the attacks, let alone send back their own.
Stefan felt his brain slowly recovering, and he looked past the fighting trio to Morgen and Adelaide on the stone platform. She was grimacing in pain as she fought, but she moved so fluidly you could hardly tell. Morgen had underestimated how quickly she learned, and was surprised at every new spell she threw his way. Some of them Stefan hadn't even taught her, she just acted in the moment.
Adelaide fended off Morgen's spells with ease, as if she'd been fighting with magic for years. She launched more stone chunks towards him, and he disintegrated them on the spot. She deflected his second attempt at a sleep spell, the shimmering blue wave he sent towards her dissolving into the wind. Adelaide summoned a ball of fire in each hand, hurling them at Morgen. He dodged one, while the other caught the edge of his sleeve. He yelped in pain, but swiped it away quickly.
Morgen grew angrier as they fought, and he seemed to give up on his efforts not to harm Adelaide. He started fighting harder, sending powerful kicks towards her stomach, which she gracefully dodged. She twisted his arm behind his back with magic, letting out a crack loud enough for Stefan to hear across the clearing. Morgen let out a cry of pain, and he broke free of her hold. Stefan watched him turn towards Adelaide with his eyes full of fiery rage.
Stefan tried to hurry to his feet, but immediately felt a wave of nausea hit him as he got to his feet. He stumbled and leaned against a nearby try, leaning into a bushed as he emptied his stomach. His ribs burned angrily as he dry heaved, but he ignored it as he collected himself and turned back to Adelaide. He was surprised to feel her eyes on him, but quickly realized why.
She had a hand clutched to her side, exactly where Stefan had just felt the stabbing pain of his broken rib. The pain he felt had distracted her, and that was enough for Morgen to make his move. He rushed towards her, screaming as his fist colliding with her stomach the way he'd done to Stefan. This time it held even more power, and Adelaide's small body flew threw the air like a rag doll. She hit the trunk of a tree, bouncing off into the grass.
Stefan watched with wide eyes, his feet already moving towards the spot where she fell. His whole body screamed as he felt every pain she felt, but he did his best to ignore it.
As Stefan scrambled his way towards Adelaide, he heard Frederick let out a yell of anger. It echoed around the clearing, and everyone looked up at the sound. Adelaide's limp body had landed nearby, and Frederick moved quickly over and yanked her off of the ground by her ponytail. She screamed in pain, clawing at his hands to let her go.
"Enough of this!" Frederick yelled, pulling a large blade out of his boot. He held it tight to Adelaide's throat, his other hand still clutching her ponytail, "All of you stay back, or I'll slice her throat."
Stefan stopped in his tracks, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He felt his scalp burning where Adelaide's hair was being pulled harshly, but he barely noticed it. He was focussed Frederick's handful of blonde hair, and the spot where the knife had already started to draw a thin line of blood on Adelaide's neck.
Stefan was brought back to the day his sister was murdered. When Frederick had picked her up by her curly brown hair and held a knife to her throat. He remembered the same line of blood on his sister's neck, and he remembered the gushing blood that followed just seconds later. Adelaide looked at him across the field with the same fear in her eyes that Tereza had, and Stefan knew he couldn't allow history to repeat itself.
"You won't kill her," Christoph spoke slowly, holding his hands up to show his father he wasn't threatening him, "you need her."
"We don't need her power to keep Ellora safe, we just need the Risolutes not to get their traitor hands on it." Frederick sneered, pressing the knife closer to Adelaide's throat. She yelped, but stayed quiet, afraid to make any wrong moves. Stefan could hear her heart beating from ten feet away, but she tried to keep a brave face.
"This girl had enchanted you and manipulated you into going against your own blood, son," Frederick scowled at Christoph, "it's time for this to end."
"No!" Stefan and Christoph shouted at the same time, both lurching forward as Frederick started to move the knife across Adelaide's throat. Stefan knew they were too far away, and they'd never make it in time, but he pushed his legs as fast as he could.
His eyes were zeroed in on Frederick, so he saw with perfect vision when someone suddenly appeared behind him. Frederick's body went limp, and he collapsed onto the ground unconscious. James stood in his place, his chest heaving as he clung to a large chunk of stone with a blooded edge.
Adelaide fell from Frederick's grip, scrambling away from him in case he got up again. When he didn't move, James threw the piece of stone to the side and rushed to his sister's side. She had a line of blood on her neck that had started to run down her chest, but she was alive. She looked at Frederick's unmoving body in shock, but when James got to her and crushed her in a hug, she broke out of her trance. Silent tears rolled down her face as she processed her shock, and her brother hugged her again to console her.
Christoph, Stefan, and Lorenzo turned towards the last remaining Ellora member once they knew Adelaide was safe. Morgen had made his way off of the stone platform to join Frederick. Once he saw Frederick's lifeless body, his eyes moved across the field before him. His eyes grew wide as he realized how severely outnumbered he was.
"This isn't over..." Morgen said slowly, narrowing his eyes at them. He took one last glance at Adelaide sitting in the grass before disappearing with a pop.
The clearing grew silent after he left, leaving the quiet sound of James comforting his distraught sister to fill the empty air. Lorenzo was quick to check on Frederick, ensuring he was still unconscious.
"He's still out, but it won't be for long." He announced. Christoph followed close behind him, looking at his father with anger and sadness on his face.
"We need to get out of here before he wakes up." Christoph said with a gulp, turning his back on the unconscious man.
Stefan nodded in agreement, his focus turning to Adelaide. He crossed the field towards her in a couple strides, but he stayed standing nearby to give her space. James was sitting next to her in the grass, and when he heard Christoph's words he looked at her gently.
"Are you okay to stand up?" He asked, pulling himself up first. Adelaide wiped at her face, nodding to him eagerly. Stefan watched James help his sister up, amazed at her constant bravery. He could feel every pang and twinge that she did, and he knew that she could feel his. Together their entire bodies were aching, but she stood up tall.
"I'll go first and make sure the apartment is clear." Lorenzo offered, nodding his head towards Stefan. Once Stefan nodded back, Lorenzo disappeared to scout the apartment.
Christoph and Stefan hovered nearby Adelaide and James, no one knowing exactly what to say to break the silence. Even James, who always had a witty comment or a joke, stayed silent, his focus on his sister. He watched her with worry in his eyes, clutching her hand like she might disappear at any moment.
Adelaide finally broke out of her shock-induced trance and looked up at Christoph nearby. She pointed towards his forehead, where he had a cut that was bleeding slowly.
"You're bleeding," She told him, as if he didn't know. Christoph nodded, pointing a finger back at her.
"So are you."
James snorted out a laugh at the exchange, which made Adelaide crack a smile. Stefan felt himself let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, glad to see her face brighten. Christoph, however, didn't laugh, and he wouldn't meet Adelaide's eyes. Stefan watched her notice his behavior, and watched her face grow confused.
"Is something -"
"I should go and make sure Lorenzo's okay. See you in a bit." Christoph cut her off. He sent her a brief nod, and then he was gone in the blink of an eye. Adelaide's mouth gaped at his interruption, and she looked at her brother in shock.
"I'm sure he's just upset about his dad," James told her, though he sent Stefan a look that said he didn't believe that, "speaking of which, we should probably get out of here. Stefan, you mind doing your little magic thing and helping us out?"
"Of course." Stefan answered with an eager nod. Adelaide turned around at the sound of his voice, realizing for the first time that he was there. Her face seemed to relax at the sight of him, but her face was full of questions. Stefan only knew because he had the same questions. His eyes met hers, and he felt so many things at once, he didn't know what to feel. He defaulted to his normal bored expression, but immediately regretted it when he saw her face fall slightly.
"Ready?" He asked, clearing his throat as he held his hands out to the siblings. They each grabbed one of his hands, and he closed his eyes as he thought about his apartment. The alley behind the building was always empty, and it was his preferred travel spot out of the eyes of onlookers. He felt the familiar tug in his stomach before teleporting, and remembered how much Adelaide hated that feeling. He squeezed her hand a little tighter as their feet left the ground, pulling them away from the forest.