Chapter 255: Chapter 255 Shattered
"Get the heart!" Seraphina ordered, and all the witches charged towards the heart.
Alaric transformed to midnight, and he dashed out of the protective barrier Aeris had placed around them, closely behind him Theo followed him in his wolf form.
Alaric lunged at the witches ripping their limbs apart, it was almost like he had gone feral, but his eyes were locked on one person. After killing his way towards Seraphina, he prowled in front of her. His black furs soaked with blood bristled.
The fury in his eyes slowly disappeared, replaced with longing and madness. "Call your people off." He ordered, but it was more of a pleading.
Seraphina’s green eyes met his, and there was no iota of feeling in them. "No." She answered firmly. Her hands were swirling with red light.
"This is the reason why it was never going to work between us. But I’ll give you a chance, kill her..." Seraphina pointed at Aeris who was effortlessly driving vines through the heart of the witches. "... and I’ll accept you as my mate."
Alaric snarled, his snort wrinkling as he bared his teeth. "I’ll not mate with a greedy witch, and definitely not one who harmed my friends." He let out a guttural growl, before leaping into the air.
Seraphina moved aside, dodging his attack, "Gwen get the heart."
She brought out a dagger, channeling magic into it, she charged at Midnight, attacking him, and Midnight effortlessly maneuvered, dodging her attacks.
Midnight slammed into her with his body, sending her flying a few steps back, she stumbled to the ground. Streaks of blood trickled from the corner of her lips.
Her eyes darkened, her hands tightened around her dagger, and she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
Midnight’s gaze softened, seeing her blood. He shifted his weight to his other limbs. He walked slowly towards her, "stop..." before he could finish his words, a fireball shot towards him.
Meanwhile, back to the center of the battle, Rhydian stood beside Aeris, battling with the witches. "Aeris, we need to leave now." He said as he swung his sword across a witch’s neck.
Aeris turned slightly towards him, she didn’t utter a word, and she stepped closer to his heart.
Her purple and gold eyes turned sharp, the battle was going too long. "Enough!"
A wave of energy blasts through the battlefield, sending the witches miles away, a golden energy slowly surrounds her heart and her.
Before the golden energy could fully surround, a dagger flew inside, Aeris stopped it midway just a few inches from reaching the heart.
Then, dark light seeped out of the dagger, forming a dark snake with red eyes, the snake slithered and wrapped itself around the heart.
Aeris’s brows furrowed, her golden light wrapped around the vines that were protecting the heart, but the snake curled tightly around it.
"Get off." She commanded.
But the snake didn’t heed her command, the more Aeris strengthened the vines, the more the snake curled tightly.
"If I can’t have it, nobody can." The Bone witch yelled through the battlefield, blood spattered from her lips as she struggled to rise to her feet.
Before Aeris could realize what was happening, she heard a crack, her eyes widened, and before she could channel her magic to stop it, the heart shattered into red flakes, drifting up in the air.
The whole battlefield fell silent, and everyone stopped fighting, they stared at the red flakes drifting in the sky.
Alaric, who was battling intensely with Seraphina, dodging her fireballs, stopped as he felt a snap inside him like his being was snapped in two, then waves of pain shot inside him.
His eyes clouded with tears, letting out a painful howl, he whimpered, and when he raised his head, fireballs reflected in his eyes... one he was too numb to avoid.
The fireballs from Seraphina collided with him, sending him flying through the battlefield, and he immediately transformed back into his human form. Tears streamed down his cheeks, however, he refused to move an inch. His body was covered in blisters, yet the pain was nowhere near the one in his heart.
Seraphina halted, her once unreadable expression flickering with worry. She had expected him to dodge her attack, her hands returned to her side.
Her feet moved forward, but she stopped herself midway, and turned away from him, disappearing into the fight.
Alaric was too overwhelmed with grief to see her hesitation, or the look of worry on her face.
Close to the center of the battlefield, Theo felt his whole being shattered, the man he had known in his whole life, the man who had taught him how to walk and how to transform into his wolf.
The only parent he knew his whole life was gone... he was gone. Theo’s eyes blazed with fury... the guilt of not being able to protect his heart bore through him.
He howled, facing the moon. But the pain in his heart didn’t reduce... he turned to the witches, "I’ll make them pay!" He growled, his eyes turning pitch black, and his body began to grow larger, reaching the size of a lycan.
He charged at the witches, tearing their limbs, arms, neck, anything he could get his fangs and claws at.
The sound of bone crackling and screams filled the battlefield.
’I’ll make you all pay for this.’ Theo thought inwardly as he left a trail of bodies in his path.
In the midst of the battle, Gwen and the other witches stopped attacking, feeling the heart was no more. Staring at Aeris and the golden light swirling around her, she knew they had failed their mission.
"Everyone, retreat!" She ordered, turning around to head back into the castle.
Meanwhile, inside the golden light, Aeris felt her whole being shattered with his heart, she stared at the floating flakes, which looked like embers.
Tears trickled down her cheeks, she walked to Damon’s lifeless body. She knelt beside him, before raising his head and placing him on her lap.
"You can’t die now," she muttered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I hate you so much, you hurt me so much, and you think I’ll let you die?!"
A wave rippled through the air at her words.
"You are going to be with me, and you have to suffer like I did. And you have to love me like I loved you."
Her tears blurred her vision, but her grip on him only tightened.
Slowly, her gaze turned cold. " I’ll bring you back no matter how much it costs." She uttered with conviction and a promise.
She turned to her side, the Bone witch was heavily injured but was trying to run away. In Aeris’s command, the vines shot through her, boring holes in her body. The bone witch dropped to her knees before falling to the ground.
The golden light swirled faster around them, and Aeris floated in the air with Damon in her arms.