AKIRA'S POV
I woke up a few minutes later, my head began to spin as I tried to blink my eyes open, my limbs felt like jelly and as I attempted to raise my hand, I realised that I was paralysed.
All of what happened a few minutes ago came back in a rush and fresh tears began to stream down my face.
Why did Ares not tell me all of this? Why did he keep this away from me?
I gasped and turned around, trying to find the one person responsible for this.
"What did you do to me?" I glared at Serena who was sitting on Elizabeth's favourite couch without a care in the world.
She giggled. "It's a little something my mother gave to me. I knew it would knock him out really fast but I was told it would only last a few minutes for witches." As she spoke she was sneaking glances at Salvatore whose hands were bound to the table behind him.
"Why did you do that to him?" I questioned suspiciously. "Aren't you guys accomplices?"
Something wasn't right, why would she go behind Salvatore to do all this?
"He wasn't going according to what we planned earlier on." Another glare pointed to an unconscious Salvatore. "I was supposed to get all of your powers and he was supposed to kill you afterwards. But he started changing plans at the last minute, talking about how your powers would help him and his bunch of red-eyed people. Your powers are mine."
I stiffened. "What do you want to do to me now?" I had a feeling that I knew what she wanted to do to me now that Salvatore was unconscious, but I still asked either way.
"Well," She clapped her hands together with a malicious grin. "Since you asked so nicely, I want you to give me all of your powers. You witches have a term for it, I think it's called... power granting!"
She was grinning as if she just found out the way to end global warming.
I knew what power granting was, Elizabeth had mentioned it once and she never failed to mention how dangerous it was for beginners like me.
"Power granting is dangerous, child. It means you will be stripping yourself of all of the powers ever granted to you by our ancestors. It takes a lot of physical and spiritual strength to strip away all of your powers from yourself to another person. For older witches like me or witches who are more skilled to perform this, it really weakens us for days but for beginners like you, it could kill you especially if you're unwilling to grant it." Elizabeth had warned earlier. She moved to hold both of my hands in hers and her eyes had turned serious. "Never ever let anyone trick you into giving away your powers no matter what the situation might be. Unless..." She had trailed off looking lost for a minute.
"Unless what, Elizabeth?" I had said, urging her to go on.
She had closed her eyes before slowly opening them. "Unless you're stuck in the middle of really unfavourable conditions."
I had immediately tightened my hands on hers, the need to know more had been stronger than ever. "And what kind of unfavourable conditions would that be?"
Elizabeth had grinned softly instead. "You don't need to know that, all you need to do is hope that you're never in the middle of one."
And later that night, I had gone behind her back and read a book about power granting.
Someone cleared their throat, snapping me away from my daydream.
I looked up at Serena. "No. I'm not doing it."
My mind was made up already. I wasn't going to do what she wanted.
"Well, then. I knew you were going to say this which is why I had something else in store for you." Serena said, stalking closer to where I was laying on the floor. I could move my arms and limbs now but I still wasn't strong enough to sit upright.
My heart began to pound as she knelt before me and the sound of her claws extending had my heart nearly exploding.
"W-What are you doing, Serena?" I stuttered.
"Since you boldly refused to give your powers to me, I'm going to gut you right here and right now and I'm going to take out that fucking child of yours before leaving you half-dead for Salvatore to wake up and finish his part of the deal," Serena revealed, trailing a claw across the gown stretched over my protruding tummy. The sounds of linen slowly ripping apart filled the air and I tried to flinch away but I still lay paralysed.
"Serena, please wait, we can talk about this. Don't do this to my child." Tremor filled my voice and my tears were uncontrollable as I begged her.
Serena only grinned and I looked down to find her sharp claw pointing downwards to my tummy. One little movement from either of us and her claw would pierce into my tummy.
"Wait!" I shouted as the tip nicked my skin. "I'll do it. I'll fucking do it." I sobbed.
I knew if Elizabeth were to be alive she wouldn't let me do this, she wouldn't let any of this happen.
But I had to do this for my baby. I couldn't sit down and watch Serena cut my tummy open and kill my baby.
No.
The image alone was sickening and I want to spill my guts out.
Serena stared at me for a while, once she knew that I was telling the truth she finally stood up and I could finally breathe properly.
"Do it then." She demanded.
I gave her an incredulous look. "I don't know if you've noticed but I'm clearly still immobile as it is," I couldn't control my smart mouth and I winced when she looked at my tummy pointedly. My voice lowered to a whisper. "You have to give me a few minutes to move before I can grant them to you."
"Okay, then." She said before walking away to sit down.
I could hear the sounds of crickets chirping around us as I willed myself not to think about what I was going to do.
"How did he kill your sister?" I asked Serena, nodding my head towards Salvatore who was still passed out.
She sighed. "Salvatore and his vampire brothers attacked Ares's pack one day and Lenora was supposed to go back with Salvatore after the attack but when Salvatore asked her to choose between him and Ares, she choose Ares. Salvatore got extremely pissed and when he realised that his mate had fallen in love with someone else and she was also carrying his child, he decided to kill both her and the child."
I knew there was still something she wasn't telling me but I decided to leave it at that. Instead, I chose to ask the question that has been bothering me ever since I found out about Ares and Lenora.
"Was Ares in love with her?" My voice was as expected, meek.
Serena shook her head. "No. Ares was never in love with Lenora. Lenora was a siren. She seduced him and he couldn't help but fall for it. All supernatural creatures know how evil sirens are. Besides, Ares was tired of waiting for his mate. I think it was a valid reason to move on."
I didn't. I wanted to voice out but I shut my mouth.
"How about you? Do you love him?"
"Yes." Her voice was firm and she stared at me intently. "But he's in love with you. Completely smitten by your existence, which is why I need you to be out of the picture. Ares is mine and mine alone."
I nodded. She could have him. I was going to die soon either way.
She didn't look surprised at my nod or lack of fight.
We stayed quiet for a while, staring at each other. Looking at each other's physical features. While her green eyes were hard, I made sure mine were soft and expressed warmth. And for a second I could see the wheels spinning in her head.
"Can't you move yet?" Serena finally snapped, looking uncomfortable at what just happened.
I stretched my limbs and when I felt my thighs move I knew it was time.
I slowly stood up and it took me some seconds to get my bearings after I did. "It's time," I announced.
Serena stood up and accessed me shrewdly. "What happens next?"
"You have to stand in front of me and place your hands in mine," I instructed and once she was in position I looked into her cold eyes. "Now close your eyes and think of nothing."
Immediately she shut her eyes closed, and I did the same and began chanting the spells I read in the book.
And as I mumbled out each word, I began to feel everything depart from my body. Behind my closed lids was a blinding green light, indicating that all of my powers were leaving my body from where we were joined.
I started feeling lightheaded but I still went on, making sure that everything was leaving my body. I loosened my grip on hers when the force to lose consciousness became too much to handle and when I was done I was barely breathing.
I barely noticed the pain as my hands slipped from hers and I landed forcefully on the floor.
I struggled to open my eyes and through the blur, I could see Serena standing above me, a smirk on her face.
"Have a good life, Akira." She knelt to pat my face softly before walking away.
And when I heard Elizabeth's front door shut close, my body gave up everything.
~
AKIRA'S POV
Rainbows and sunshine, smiles and contentment. I didn't know where I was, but I never wanted to leave.
There was no pain, no darkness, no fear, no anger and also no hatred.
This was the perfect life for my baby and I.
But I noticed one tiny slip up, there was no... Ares.
There was no Ares in this perfect life of ours.
That alone was enough for me to back away from the enticing light.
My baby and I didn't want a life without Ares. He was our shield, our protector.
And as I did so, the pain began to build deep in my tummy. The darkness began to overshadow the light. My smile started to fall.
My eyes snapped themselves open, and I tried to inhale, but the air was hitting my lungs and burning them. I couldn't see. Couldn't focus on anything. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't move.
My hands immediately flew to my tummy. My baby. The bump. It wasn't there anymore. My protruding stomach was flat.
What was happening?
"Where did my baby go?!" I yelled out to no one in particular. I wanted my damn baby! Why wasn't anyone answering me?
Nothing was moving. My baby wasn't supposed to go. My baby didn't deserve to go. This was all his fault.
“Akira?” My name was being spoken repeatedly, over and over. It was spoken with softness almost like a mantra before the person began to yell. “Akira! Akira! Akira!”
I wanted the person to stop. My head was hurting and his yelling was making it worse.
My cheeks were suddenly encased by cold hands. Cold hands that felt way too cold to belong to my Ares. My wild eyes darted, trying to search for a face.
“Akira, baby, look at me. See me.”
Where was he? I could hear him, I could feel him but I couldn't see him.
He was the only one I could see in the darkness and he wasn't here.
Why?
I blinked the blurriness from my vision, trying so fucking hard to do that. To see him. But he wasn't here.
“Ares?” I croaked out, trying to will life into my muscles. “I can’t move. I can’t see you.” Panic suddenly took hold, making my body ignore me and my instructions for it to move were also ignored. It was frozen.
“I’m here.”
“Where?” I yelled louder, my throat burning. “Where are you?”
I wanted to go back to the light. Back to the sunshine and rainbows.
The darkness wasn't worth it if they both weren't here.
“Ares!” I screamed out again.
I jolted on the bed, and I stilled, a sharp wave of pain ripped through me, making me cry out in agony. Desperately, I tried to stop the pain by making myself smaller. I tried to curl into a ball but I couldn't move. “I can’t fucking move!”
“Hey, hey, hey.”
There he was again, trying to calm me down, but I don't see him. I never do see him.
He was always in the shadows and he was my darkness.
He was supposed to be my life.
But where was he?