Kacie
I throw my head back and cry. The metallic taste of Jake’s blood drips into my mouth. Everything wrong is right and everything right is wrong. I don’t know up from down and down from up. The one thing I know to be true is that Jake is dead. He’s gone and he’s not coming back. My soul mourns, my heart breaks, and my mind denies it. But there’s no denying what I see in front of me.
I feel it in my soul, in my belly, and I wonder how I’ll be able to keep going without him. We had so much to say, so much to talk about. We didn’t have enough time, there hadn’t been enough time. We only just made up, we didn’t even get to tell him that we loved him as much as we loved each other. I didn’t get to say sorry for what I’d said when I was angry. I didn’t get the chance to say I didn’t mean any of it. I didn’t get to tell him that I didn’t care who biologically fathered the child because they would both be it’s dad. There was still so many things I needed to do with him. I thought I had more time. I didn’t get to soothe his fears or show him how much I really loved him.
Viktor.
Where’s Viktor?
Where is he?
He should be here.
When I thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse, Jake’s body twitches in my lap. My eyes fly open and I stare at his face in hopes of finding life. Any signs of life I’d hoped to find are nowhere to be found. He moves as if being lifted up and starts sliding away from me. The limbs and body parts that had crashed to the floor were making their way away from me and toward where the mud creature had stood. It’s at that momentg that I realize what’s happening. It’s happening. it’s alive. It isn’t dead. My mouth parts, my jaw drops, and I’m frozen. I’m frozen as I watch Jake’s body as it’s lifted up into the air by the bloodied mud. When he’s absorbed into it’s chest a sob escapes past my lips.
No.
Clara’s on her feet but I don’t pay attention to her., I crawl towards Jake, towards the mud monster, towards my mate. It can’t have him, he can’t have it. Mud and blood squishes between my fingers and drenches my clothes. It drags against the ground as I make my way towards him. Tears stain my cheeks and I leave a trail of my shards of my heart behind me. Vaguely I hear Clara behind me but I can’t turn away from the sight in front of me. Jake’s body and head is covered by mud leaving his face in it’s chest. I can’t take this. I can’t do this. I can’t process what I need to do now.
“Nyx!” Clara cries angrily.
For the first time today, I look away from Jake and peer behind my shoulder. Nyx stands in front of Jade. She was slumped over, her mud body had cracked further and held her from her belly down. Her upper body was free and I seethed. I wanted her dead. Fuck who she is to me. Fuck mercy. Fuck giving her a chance. She’d crossed the line and there was no going back. I needed her blood smeared all over the floor.
She could have killed her already. She should have already killed her. Why hasn’t she? Why didn’t she kill her yet? Why is Jade still breathing? After everything Jade has done is Nyx really considering whether to kill her or not? We need to kill her. She needs to kill her. If she had killed her even a few minutes ago, Jake could have been spared. I lift up and slam my fists into the ground in front of me. Blood and mud go splattering everywhere. My body shook with anger, hate, and sadness.
“Nyx!” I screamed.
She turned her head toward me, she had no pupils but her white eyes saw me clearly. She knew what was happening, she knew what she had failed to prevent from happening. She looked to Clara and back to me, but still couldn’t do it.
“Nyx!” Clara cried. “Please.”
“Now, Nyx! Fucking do it now!” I yelled.
“You’re mistaken. She’s my sister not yours,” Jade laughed. I turn and look back at the golem in front of me. Jake’s beautiful face is covered in blood and is splattered with blood. His hair sticks to his forehead. His eyes are wide open and it kills me to stare at his unseeing eyes. The golem takes a step toward me but I can’t move, I can’t leave, I can’t stop looking at my love.
“Whatever you’re asking for isn’t going to happen. She’s not going to—” Jade’s voice cuts off.
When she doesn’t say anything I turned back to look at her but my gaze locks on Nyx first. Veins have popped out all over her face, her neck, and her body. The veins visibly pump blood and when I look back at her face, her white eyes have blood seeping out. It drips and leaves a trail of blood on it’s way down her cheeks.
Goddess.
I turn my attention back to the reason for all the bloodshed today. Jade closes her mouth and hunches over. She covers her mouth with the palms of her hands while she coughs, her hair falling in front of her face. When she straightens her back, she doesn’t lift her head, her eyes are on her hands in front of her.
When Jade raises her eyes she looks at Nyx. Fear and betrayal swims in her eyes as she looks at our sister. Blood stains her bottom lip and my eyes drop down to her hands. She holds a puddle of her own blood in her hands. It drips down to the ground as her hands drop to her sides. She grabs hold of the mud creature’s bottom half that I’d burned.
“Nyx!” Jade screamed.