"aut inveniam viam aut faciam."
(i will either find a way or make one.)
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Month: 5
Iftia: War Zone, Arkus Perimeter, Enemy's Camp
• Thunder •
Thunder had never seen Elianna as ruthless as now. Back when he was faking an identity as Theron to serve Wynston, they were assigned to numerous mission but Elianna remained careful to only kill whenever necessary.
Yet, the moment they stepped into the Arkus Perimeter, she murdered anyone at sight, in darned cold blood. Gold was supposed to be a colour of warmth, however, he couldn't find any ounce of mercy or kindness in the amber of those blessed eyes. It was as though she allowed her shadows to overwhelm her, making her thirst for blood and massacre. A shudder sped down his spine and he tapped on her arm, calling onto her carefully, "Eli."
She turned to look at him and some familiarity flashed across her eyes when she focused her gaze on him. Her head lowered slightly into a nod and she mouthed without an audible sound, "I'm still me, Thunder."
He heaved a sigh of relief and it wasn't that he actually cared about those people she murdered. It was simply that he would be unable to fathom the idea if she ended up like Matthias, becoming a puppet to her shadows. The consequence of her gift was worse than death, a permanent illness of insanity would be so much worse to live with and it would tear through his heart if he had to see her in that state. That was why he was the most sensitive to her emotions ever since she was gifted on the night she turned nine.
They were nearing the tent where Naailah would be. He sensed her within, together with the little one in the tent together. Two soldiers marched past them and Elianna quickly cast a shadow to hide them within her cloak of darkness. Once they walked past them, Elianna's shadows silenced them and she sliced their throat mercilessly. Whispering in low voice, she signalled to Thunder, "Let's move."
When they finally entered the tent with stealth, they saw Naailah already sitting up on her bed and tears filled her eyes. The poor lady cried silently and Thunder sighed, seeing her tortured and maltreated demeanour. Elianna quickly pulled her blood-stained gloves off and rushed to her to hug her tight. Elianna's voice was filled pain and ache when she called her name, "Naailah."
Thunder moved silently towards the bassinet. Looking down, he saw a pair of bright hazel eyes meeting him and a small squeal sounded as the little one waved her tiny arms at him. Thunder quickly placed a finger on his lips and hushed, "Shh, don't make a sound, Indy."
The baby quietened down immediately and he carefully picked her up in his warmth, rushing to the ladies side. He rushed, "Reunion can come later, we need to leave now."
"Please leave me behind and take Indira away," Naailah said slowly, moving her leg and pointing to the chains on her ankle.
Thunder cursed, recognising that the chains were the same ones that held Elianna captive back in Thethia. Those were unbreakable by magic and can only be released by the person who locked it. Even so, Elianna was reluctant to leave, she exhaled harshly, "No, we're not leaving you here, Naailah. At this rate, you'd die—"
"Please save my baby, please take her away," Naailah sobbed. She bowed low to them and apologised, "The devastation of this war would be my blame to shoulder. If I die in this war, please take pity on my poor child and raise her. Elianna, I don't have anyone to entrust this to. Please forgive me and have mercy on my child."
"No, we're not leaving you here," Elianna panicked with tears of desperation pooling in her eyes. "Don't say these words. We're going to get you out—"
"Eli, we have to leave," Thunder pulled hard on Elianna's arm but she stubbornly gripped onto Naailah's, unwilling to release her hold on her. Neither did he want to leave Naailah behind, but some sacrifices had to be made.
Suddenly, the flap into the tent was swept aside and a presence entered the space. Thunder hissed under his breath and the moment he saw a flash of silver and a pair of amber-coloured eyes that glowed in the dimness of this tent, he could barely imagine that they were going to get out of here alive. Kynthia eyed them warily and asked, "What are you doing here, blessed child?"
Elianna was ready to fight, she positioned herself low in her stance and shadows of darkness danced above her shoulders. Thunder panicked internally, knowing that regardless of how strong Elianna may be, she wouldn't be able to defeat a monarch of therianthropes — there were reasons why these beings stayed alive for centuries. Left without a choice, he handed Indira to Naailah and jumped into his panther form to circle in front of Elianna.
A pregnant pause of silence was followed by a silent sigh. Kynthia stepped close to them and exhaled, "I'll help all of you leave."
Neither of them dropped their guard when Kynthia slowly erased the distance between them. Thunder was ready to pounce the second she neared but the menacing aura surrounding the wolf queen was making him hesitate and she warned, "Cause a scene and no one would leave here alive. Moreover, what made you think that you could win me, youngling?"
Kynthia stretched her arm out and gripped onto Naailah's ankle and the poor lady grew frantic as she held onto her child tightly and crouched low in weak attempts to shield the little one away. Even when Thunder felt helpless, at the very least, he had to put up a fight for all of them. He was about to strike until a click sound halted everyone's action. Kynthia had removed the chains on Naailah's ankle.
The wolf queen turned her head towards him, staring fiercely as she growled, "Carry them and I'll show the way out."
Without hesitation, Thunder did as he was told and Kynthia surreptitiously guided them out of the Arkus campsite. They were rushing to leave as Kynthia warned, "This is as much as I could help. Do not be foolish enough to return to Arkus and attempt to save the Queen's son."
"Why did you help us?" Elianna asked in disbelief.
"I'm not obliged to explain. Leave now, blessed child," Kynthia dismissed her swiftly, turning back to return to the camp.
Thunder looked at the lady in his arms and instructed, "Hold onto Indira tightly, Naailah. We're going to rush back."
Naailah nodded, her pale grey eyes were washed over by so much relief as she wrapped her arms securely around her baby. The four of them quickly disappeared from the Arkus Perimeter, leaving no trace behind.
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Month: 5
Iftia: War Zone, Tivaet Perimeter, Camp
• Rowan •
"What do you mean she's not here?" Rowan jackknifed up into a sitting position when he heard Tristan telling Alec that Elianna had disappeared from the Tivaet Perimeter. His sudden action caused a wave of dizziness to overwhelm him and his hand shot up to hold onto his head, trying to steady himself. His question was met with silence, so he asked again, harsher in tone this time, "What do you mean by that, Tristan?"
"Ro, I—" Tristan stammered, unsure how to explain the situation.
Rowan didn't have the patience to push him to talk. Holding his palm over his heart, he whispered Elianna's name and couldn't feel more relief to feel every beat of her heart that pounded with his. Then, he reached for the war stone beside him and marking a trace of her magic on his palm, he tracked her down. Feeling her presence hastily growing nearer, he threw his leg off the bed and grabbed his mantle from the nearby hanger. Alec quickly pulled on his arm, worried, "Rowan, please don't act recklessly."
"I'm not, Alec," he spoke. "She's near the perimeter."
"Thank goddess, I was panicking if I should bring troops to hunt her down." Tristan raked his hand through his hair, making a mess of those brown curls atop his head.
"I'm just glad that she left traces of her magic everywhere in this camp," Rowan sighed, coughing as his head swayed from the weakness he felt from the aftermath of his exhaustion. Desperation overwhelmed him when he recalled, "I can't imagine going back to the days when I wasn't able to find her at all."
"Ro, you're still recovering." Alec supported him from the side. "I'm sure Elianna would check on you upon her return. Let's just wait here for her."
"My heart wouldn't rest until I see her for myself," Rowan insisted, steadying himself and walked right out of the tent.
The frost-moulded, harsh landscape possessed the most bitter winds as he tried his hardest to hold himself together while waiting for her return. Even when the war stone and all the magic that was reserved within had greatly helped the soldiers survive within the perimeter, the bleak winter temperatures were still very much unbearable. He waited, counting heartbeats while feeling her nearing presence.
When he lifted his head again, he met with her amber eyes immediately and fell into those endless depths as he saw the myriad of emotions that danced within her liquid gold gaze. He wasn't sure what she felt but relief was all that overwhelmed him. Opening his arms, he smiled at her, "Eli."
"Rowan!" Elianna ran into his hold and squealed happily, "We brought Naailah and Indira home!"
He turned his gaze a little and saw a feeble lady, laying in the arms of Thunder as she hugged firmly on her child. His heart nearly dropped at the sight, he lifted his wife in his arms and moved towards Thunder. Looking at Naailah, he said apologetically, "I'm so sorry, Naailah. You've suffered too much because of us."
"I cannot be more thankful for everyone," she smiled weakly, her gaze slightly unfocused.
In his arms, Elianna quickly added, "We need to get them in and warm them up. They were out in the cold for too long."
"Thunder, please hurry in," Rowan instructed and Thunder rushed the mother and child into a tent without delay.
Elianna looked at him with a worried look and was about to remove herself from his hold when he flexed his arm and held her right in place. She tipped her head back to stare straight at him and her widened eyes were shining brighter with shock. Yet, it wasn't time to be mesmerised by her gaze. Rowan smiled dangerously, "Going against my command and leaving the Tivaet Perimeter without permission. Did you have fun on your perilous adventure, love?"
"R-Rowan," she stuttered nervously, tripping over her utterances. "I c-can explain."
"Hmm? Please do explain," he continued to smile but he felt her starting to tremble in his arms. Good. He needed to set it straight with her that her recklessness might not turn out equally lucky the next time.
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Month: 6
Iftia: War Zone, Arkus Perimeter, Planning Room
• Queen of Lycans, Kynthia •
"Kynthia, what in the name of the devil were you thinking?!" Silvestra raged, pounding her fist hard on the table to spill the bottle of ink over the mess of papers on her table.
Kynthia remained ignorant to her anger, focusing her gaze on how the dark ink seeped through the white of the papers, drenching permanent, irreversible marks on the once clean slates. Why had she set their war advisor free? A scoff escaped when she thought about how laughable it was to say that the poor child was their war advisor when she was treated worse than a prisoner of war.
"Why are you even laughing?" Silvestra spat through gritted teeth. "Do you know the situation you landed all of us in?"
Kynthia lifted her gaze towards a pair of dulled hazel eyes ahead of her. The clarity of the colour was marred by all the bitter resentment and anger she refused to let go. In their first meeting, Kynthia knew that this woman in front of her resembled so much like her. A hundred years was not enough for her to reconcile with the sour taste of betrayal that continued to scorch her insides, like a nasty burn of bile.
Yet, this was also where they diverged. Kynthia's vengeance was simple, she only wanted Izekiel and a place where her wolves can reside and roam free in this realm. This human queen wanted revenge but also thirsted for power sinisterly. Without a care, she manipulated her son against his will. She also nearly killed her own daughter-in-law, leaving her granddaughter without a mother.
Tyrannical.
Unacceptable.
Kynthia tasted the acidity of her cuss on her tongue: who was she to judge others when she had sinned equally with her as an alliance? Her wolves bled for her because of their kind's wretched pride, which wouldn't back down regardless of anything. Though at this moment, drowning out the angry shouts surrounding her, she kept asking if everything she fought to happen was worth the lives she scythed.
Kynthia raised a hand to cover over her ear, irked by the loudness of the human's shouts and her internal thoughts. When her patience finally snapped, she snarled, "End the war quickly, Queen of Iftia. Issue the card of last battle."
"Are you insane?" Silvestra ridiculed.
"How long are you going to prolong everyone's suffering?" Kynthia argued. "The war must end by the fall season."
"Not going to happen."
"I don't like to repeat myself." Placing her hand on Silvestra's shoulder, Kynthia dug her sharp nails into the human's shoulder and warned, "Send the card of last battle, now."
Without waiting for a reply, the wolf queen strode out of the human queen's tent. Looking far into the night sky, she let out an annoyed growl.
Let's settle this once and for all, Izekiel.
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brace yourself for the all-out battle in the next chapter.
(may the odds be ever in their favour)
a/n: i apologise that the recent few chapters had been much longer than usual.
please vote and comment if you're enjoying the read!