*Isla*
It’s not even 5:00 in the morning when my toes touch the floor, cool to the touch. A day had passed since my nightmare of ice cold water, and tonight I dreamed of much more violent things. I was restless, unable to fully shut my eyes, and when I could, Isaac would wake.
I’d eventually taken him to the nursery across the hall to be tended to by one of the nursemaids so I could try to get some rest.
I’d felt guilty, and found it hard to sleep, but eventually I’d drifted back into my fitful dreams.
More nightmares just like the first one. Soundless shadows wove through gnashing teeth and tearing claws until I woke again, sweating, and feeling like something was very, very wrong.
Was it only in my dream that I tasted and smelled blood? Or was my house, my very room, now thick with a metallic scent that hadn’t been there before?
I walk to the door as I pull my robe over my shoulders. It’s silent, so quiet I can hear my heart beating in my chest as I slowly turn the knob and open the door. The corridor outside my room is full of shadows, not a single light on in the entire space to lead the way as I step out of my room and cross to the nursery.
The door is slightly ajar, and when my fingertips touch the thick, wood….
Every hair on my body stands on end as the smell of blood and death wraps itself around me like a noose.
“Isaac!” I shout, pushing the door with all of my strength, but something is preventing it from opening. I cry for help, banging my fists on the door and shoving my entire body against it until it creaks and groans against its hinges, finally breaking free and dragging whatever is caught under the door in its wake.
Isaac’s cries, startled. I take a shallow breath as I step into his room and then trip over something large and… wet. Wet, and soft, and… and…
I turn on the light and scream.
* * *
*Maddox*
Trinity drops into my waiting arms from her perch in the tree, tears streaming down her face as she takes my face in her hands.
I lower her to the ground, and she presses the diamond into my palm, her hand trembling. I hiss, almost dropping it. It’s hot to the touch, scolding to the point of leaving a red mark on my palm. I look down at Trinity, who is clutching her hand to her chest. I can see her scalded skin even through the dark.
“What the hell–”
“I heard voices coming from it, Maddox. Someone was screaming!”
“What?”
I don’t have time to question her further. The diamond heats again, a humming sound radiating from the gem. I turn away from Trinity as I look down at it, a pale silver glow flickering in its center.
“What’s going on?” Antony pants, running up beside us, his arm around Leo’s waist to steady him. Trinity gasps at the sheer carnage evident on Leo’s body, his blood seeping through the damp shirt he is wearing.
“Oh, Goddess, set him down!” Trinity cries. Antony lowers him to the ground, and Trinity wastes no time ripping off his shirt to examine his injuries.
Seth runs up to us, sweat coating his brow as he says, “There were only two rogues. I looked everywhere. We’re safe–”
A high pitched ringing sound rips through the clearing and we all duck, covering our ears. I nearly drop the diamond again as it erupts into light as bright as day that covers the entire clearing, illuminating what’s left of our camp and the bodies of the rogues.
I blink into the light as images ripples over us, and then my heart stops.
I’m seeing the ceiling of the castle through the eyes of someone being carried. Isla’s voice shakes the ground beneath me as she frantically calls out Ben’s name.
“What’s happening?” Trinity cries, her arms around Leo as she kneels to the ground beside him.
“Shh!” I command, the hair on the back of neck standing on end as I see Ben run up to her, his eyes focusing on the bundle in her arms before meeting her face again.
Isla is speaking so rapidly I can barely hear her words, and I can tell she’s sobbing through each frantic sentence. Ben looks past her and shouts, and then warriors are sprinting past Isla.
The whole time, the vision is focused on the ceiling, almost… sleepily. Isla looks down, and for the first time since the vision began, I see her face fully. Blood is smeared across her face and chin, her eyes glazed with tears. She looks absolutely terrified.
What the fuck is happening?
“Is the diamond doing this?” Antony asks in a shaky voice, looking from tree to tree as the vision illuminates the ashen bark and twisted canopy of leaves, everything bathed in the image of the castle and our Luna.
“This is from… Isaac’s eyes, isn’t it?” Seth’s voice holds not even a shred of emotion as he says it. I turn to him, my heart thundering in my chest.
“You must go back to the castle, now, you have to go–”
“I can’t leave you on this quest,” Seth argues, uncharacteristically cutting me off. “We have to return the diamond!”
“Poppy,” Antony whispers, his eyes going wide as he looks up into the trees, where the vision is cascading overhead in a ripple of energy. Poppy’s voice rings out over the clearing in a hoarse sob, and the vision starts to shatter, pieces of silver light falling like ash into our hair and onto our faces. “That was Poppy!” Antony shouts, his voice like gravel. “That was my mate!”
“Seth, go NOW!” I scream, but Antony shoves past us all, tearing at his clothes. “Antony–”
I know there’s no stopping him. We’d seen what we’d seen, heard what he heard. Poppy’s painful sob, the vision of Isla running into a room, warriors surrounding them… what could be Poppy, dying on the floor. But the vision had broken apart before that could be confirmed.
The only reason I wasn’t already halfway back to Isla was because the diamond in my hand was the only solution to all of our problems–all the chaos and bloodshed and threats to those I loved.
“Get the diamond to the temple. Promise me.” Antony pants, a wild look in his eyes that tells me he will not stop running until he reached the castle.
I nod, closing my hand around the diamond. Antony is gone before I can say anything else, nothing but a blur of fur as his wolf form disappears into the night.
“Who could be attacking the castle now? And from the inside?” Trinity sobs. I look down at her, seeing the lines of absolute panic etched into her delicate face. She has a strip of fabric from Leo’s shirt pressed against the gash in his chest as she cradles him against her own chest, his legs sprawled out in front of them.
Leo is badly hurt, but he gives me a weak smile. He’ll survive long enough for Seth and I to go to the temple and place the diamond on the altar, ending the curse, restoring peace…
“Come on,” I say hoarsely to Seth, who doesn’t hesitate as he falls into step with me. I look back at Trinity who is wide eyed and humming a song to Leo, who is looking more and more pale as the minutes tick by. Leaving her in the dark, defenseless, with a severely wounded warrior was not part of the plan.
But I have no choices right now, not when everything is falling to pieces.
Moonlight guides the way through a thick, unforgiving forest. The forest floor is littered with rubble and ruin of whatever settlement was here before, now nothing but stone and ivy and nests of alder that make it hard to keep our pace.
I carry my clothing and the diamond in my mouth the entire way, Seth darting through the darkness and weaving in and out of trees a few yards away in the event we are ambushed by some unseen threat.
That’s the last thing I need right now. This needs to be seamless, easy, for the love of the Goddess. Let this be easy.
The forest breaks away, and we step into a wide, mist covered circling. I shift back into my human form, taking stock of the area before pulling on my ragged and damp clothing. I take the diamond out of my pocket, clutching it in my hand.
The mist snakes over my feet in long, gray tendrils, roping up my legs as if it’s climbing me, searching me for–
I hold out my hand on impulse, unfurling my fingers so the diamond can glint in the moonlight showering down on the clearing.
Mist ropes over and around my arms, trailing down to my wrist until it pools in the palm of my hand and shimmers into bright light. The light spreads through the mist, illuminating what would have been a great temple at one point in time. Marble pillars covered in dying stands of ivy flash into full color for the space of a breath as the diamond’s power travels outwards.
I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.
This power within the diamond is… too much. Too dangerous, and too glorious. Should it fall into the wrong hands…
I close my fist around the gem and walk forward, following the trails of light. I’m barely aware of Seth behind me, now fully dressed and looking around in awe as we reach a stone path overgrown with grasses and moss.
The stone is uneven beneath my feet. I walk on, unable to swallow or even breathe as a building rises out of the mist, solid and built of silver-veined marble.
There is no door, just an opening leading into pitch-black nothingness.
“I’ll go,” I say to Seth. “I don’t know what’s going to happen when I place the diamond. Be prepared for anything.” I look over my shoulder at him, noticing the odd expression on his face. There’s a look of doubt, and maybe of panic, but it's overwhelmed by that coldness that has infected him over the past few months. “Seth,” I say, and his eyes meet mine. “Thank you for always having my back. You are more than just my Beta, but a brother, a friend. Know that, should anything happen to me.”
His eyes darken, a shadow of real emotion blurring his features before he nods, saying nothing in return before I step through the threshold and let the darkness swallow me whole.
The temple is bare save for a statue rising out of the shadows. It’s the Goddess, and the most complete likeness of her that I’ve ever seen. Her hand is outstretched, the other placed over her chest, arms covered in intricate carvings that flow into her gown. Atop her head is a crown of moonstones that glints in the faint light coming from within the diamond. The diamond warms, growing brighter, as if it realizes it is finally home.
At the statue's feet lay two wolves to signify the Beta and Omega, the right hand of the Alpha and those who fall under their protection.
My throat tightens in awe as my footsteps echo through the space before I am only a step away.
“This belongs to you,” I say, reaching upwards to lay the diamond in the statues waiting, upturned hand.
The air hums with the sound of metal slicing against metal as someone behind me draws a sword.
“I can’t let you do that, Alpha King.”