ALAIA
I woke up in darkness. I looked around and there was nothing but an ocean of black. I stood up and surveyed my surroundings. I couldn’t remember how I got here or where I was. All I could feel at this moment was emptiness. There was a feeling inside me as if something was missing, but I couldn’t place it.
“Hello, anyone here.” Nothing but silence answered back. “Hello, where am I?"
Still nothing. Was this death? Was this the punishment Mirja was talking about? Did I use too much power? This was it. I was in hell. I was trapped and alone.
“You always go too far,” a voice said in the darkness. I looked around to see if I could find it. “You never think about anyone but yourself.”
“Who said that?” I looked around in the darkness, hoping someone would answer me back. “Who’s there?”
In the distance, I noticed a figure moving towards me. I started to walk towards it and noticed it was a wolf. There was a light upon her showing off her pure black fur with one white paw. She turned towards me and I saw her eyes were a deep brown. There was something familiar about her.
“What have you done, Alaia,” the wolf spoke to me. “You had everything until now.”
The accusatory sound in her voice reminded me of one person. “Elena? Is that you?”
I don’t think I've ever seen my wolf before. It’s not like I could shift, being that I was half wolf and she's never shown her true form to me. Actually, she did back when we first met. I used to be able to see her in my mind. It's been so long I guess I forgot. I walked closer to her but she moved away.
“What is this place, Elena? Where am I?” A wave of pain went through my stomach, making me fall to the dark floor.
“You’ve gone too far, Alaia. Now we will lose everything. You will lose everything,” she whimpered.
Elena turned away from me. I crawled closer to her but then she started to float away. The pain was keeping me from moving closer.
“Wait, don’t go. What do you mean? What is wrong with us?”
“It’s too late,” Elena said. “You have already destroyed her.”
I didn't know who she was talking about. Me? Was I gone? Or maybe Zira?
“Please,” I said, reaching out to the darkness as Elena disappeared. “I don’t want to be alone.”
I curled up into a fetus position and cried. Why did this hurt so much? What was wrong with me? I didn’t have the energy to fight or do anything. The pain seemed to be getting worse.
“It’s okay, Alaia. You’re not alone. I got you, just stay with me. We’re almost there.”
I felt someone's arms holding onto me. I peered through my eyelids and saw it really was Isaiah. His voice was soothing and his touch helped ease my pain. For a moment, I relaxed until I realized where we were. How did he get back so fast? How long was I out? Where did Nas go?
I tried to think about the last thing I remembered when I noticed someone holding Victoria. It couldn’t be, I thought as I tried to look around. Was I still dreaming? Was James really here? James was really here, holding Victoria. I couldn't believe we were this close. Only a few feet. If I had the strength, I would’ve reached out for him.
At that moment, I felt a sharp pain near my legs. The scent of blood filled my nostrils as I started to panic. I wanted to speak to Isaiah but the pain was blinding my vision and once again I was out.
I woke up again to the sound of voices and machines beeping. There were so many people moving I couldn’t really focus on one, but it didn’t matter. Only one person flooded my brain and he was here. My James. I had to find him before it was too late. I tried moving only to have someone hold me down.
“Luna, you have to lie still. You’ve lost way too much blood and we need to get you and the baby stable. So lay back please.”
I recognized Doctor Callie’s voice but ignored it. I needed to find James. I just needed to make sure it was him I saw. I tried telling her this but again the pain silenced me.
I could hear Doctor Callie call for a sedative, so I had to hurry. I reached out my hand and no magic happened. Instead, I saw the black symbols all over my arm, which means they must’ve seen them too. S.hit! How was I going to explain this? I shook my head to get rid of thoughts of what they were going to do to me. It didn’t matter. What mattered the most was finding James and leaving with him. I tried over and over to speak but still nothing. It wasn’t until I felt a cold liquid rush through my skin that I welcomed the darkness again.