Sandro growled loudly, mming into an undead, grabbing it by the neck, and snapping itpletely. He leaped onto another, heading for Arabe, who seemed momentarily stunned, and tore out its heart.


    “Would you stare all day or get down to business?” Sandro snapped.


    “Sorry!” Arabe squealed, patting the jeans she wore and fumbling for her knife. ze had given her this small knife back at the Phoenix cave, an alternative to using her powers in a fight.


    She had rarely used it since Alessia, as battling Alessia with a knife could have been risky.


    “Astralys!” Arabe snarled, deflecting an attack and driving her de into an undead jugr. It sizzled, and he screeched, vibrating nonstop. Arabe eyed the knife; it had never sizzled before. It was strange that it was happening now.


    “That is a silver de coated with wolfsbane,” Sandromented, eyeing her.


    “ze gave it to you, I presume,” he added dryly.


    ze never exined the knife’s usefulness; he only told her never to lose it. Now, seeing how effective it was against the creatures, she couldn’t help but be grateful.


    “He’s very thoughtful,” Arabe grinned as she resumed fighting.


    “Of course he is,” Sandro grunted. “Just wait until we aren’t fighting werewolves alone because silver and wolfsbane are a bane to werewolves, and these creatures have werewolf blood running through their veins.”


    Arabe shrugged. “I think I can handle anything.”


    “I hope you can,” Sandro pointed out. He wasn’t exhausted at all, finding the creatures before him easy to handle. The same couldn’t be said for Arabe; she looked pale and exhausted, stumbling every now and then. He wondered how she managed to cut through some of the creatures.


    He couldn’t focus solely on his front and also keep an eye on Arabe. He didn’t know what would happen next or what Astralys was thinking.


    Arabe was relieved she had learned hand-to-handbat, not just relying on her ability. Exhausted, she held off the undead armies with all her strength. Sandro’s assistance was crucial; she couldn’t imagine facing this alone. Surprisingly, he remained in human form, fighting effortlessly.


    “Just one left,” Sandro snarled, crushing a skeleton’s neck and tearing it apart.


    He grabbed Arabe’s hand, sensing her daze, and rushed forward. The scenery shifted; Sandro understood they needed to keep moving to reach the desired location in this reality.


    Arabe halted, feeling a sudden tug at her midsection. She groaned, doubling over, hand clutching her stomach. Sandro stopped, turning to her. “Are you alright?” he asked.


    “I-I don’t think so,” Arabe muttered, then coughed, spitting out blood.


    “Fuck!” This was a first for her, and considering her exhaustion, it seemed linked to it.


    “There is nothing without a consequence,” Astralys’ voice echoed. Instead of being invisible, she appeared before them, a darker version of the risse Arabe had seen earlier. It was as if the previous risse was just a vessel for Astralys’ sinister work.


    Astralys’ eyes gleamed wickedly, dark details of spells weaving through the air like serpents. In ce of her once-elegant dress, she wore a tattered ck cloak that billowed around her like a shroud.


    “I am Astralys, the first, and no one has ever been before me!” Her voice was a chilling whisper, sending shivers down Arabe’s spine.


    Despite her crooked physique, Astralys moved with an eerie grace.


    “What are you doing to me?” Arabe cried, clutching her throat as she suddenly felt choked.


    “Be!” Sandro growled, trying to release her hands, but it was useless. Arabe’s grip was strong, and he doubted he could pull her hands from her throat without hurting her.


    His eyes narrowed at Astralys. “What are you doing to her?”


    “What should have been done ever since, but your softness got the best of you,” Astralys said.


    “Softness?” Sandro scoffed. He might have lusted after her body, which he wouldn’t deny, but he certainly wasn’t soft towards her, and he still desired to punish her for her father’s sin.


    “You can’t punish her because you will be punishing yourself,” Astralys said. “Have you ever thought of being without a mate and how it would drive you crazy?”


    “I don’t care about that,” Sandro pointed out. “Just stop this foolish thing you’re doing instantly.”


    Astralys tsked. “I don’t take orders from anyone, especially not from a creature I detest. I am going to enjoy killing you both.”


    “Sandro,” Arabe said. She saw him in front of her, then in front of Astralys. She could barely make out their discussion, but all she wanted was for him to take her out of the forest. The air felt poisoned, making her brain muddled and her lungs constricted.


    “Can wee to an understanding?” Sandro asked, attempting to reason with Astralys, though he doubted it would work.


    “An understanding? That I would have loved. However, I don’t have more patience for that,” she said. “Besides, why try to reason with you when you both would die?”


    His eyes returned to Arabe, seeing she was fast losing consciousness. Despite considering her his enemy, he knew he would lose her if he didn’t act. The question lingered: Why should he care?


    “She’s our mate!” Lace eximed for the first time since his arrival from Ascotan. “If she dies, you die. Your being alive lies with her.”


    “Does that matter, Lace? Her father destroyed all that I had.”


    “Yours wasn’t innocent either, even though you barely saw what happened. But then, you will run wild if she dies,” Lace replied, firmly on her side.


    Sandro’s teeth gritted, unsurprised.


    His eyes returned to Astralys as she snapped her fingers. “Now, enough going. I think I will go with my initial n. I don’t want any more vows from both of you.” Astralys advanced toward them, and the flowers on her path withered immediately. Her eyes were fixed on Arabe.


    “Sandro,” Arabe called, and he bent towards her.


    “You should escape. She will kill you,” Arabe said.


    “No one can escape from me,” Astralys dered. “Both of you shall die.”


    “Not now, not ever!” Sandro snarled, scooping up Arabe and dashing away from Astralys.


    The scenery changed immediately, and they were back in the previous ce they had arrived, yet Sandro didn’t stop running.


    “Light,” whispered Arabe, pointing to the north side. Sandro dashed in that direction without asking questions.


    He heard cackling but couldn’t tell where it wasing from. His best guess was Astralys until he saw it in front of him.


    “Is that a portal?” he asked, his voice incredulous.


    At first, it was like a small baseball, but it started expanding. It pulsated with an ethereal glow, its edge dancing with arcane symbols that seemed to shift and rearrange.


    “What am I supposed to do?” Sandro asked, feeling the question was stupid and yet wanting to know.


    He turned back to see that Astralys was still behind them, not snapping her fingers to appear before them or close the portal. Perhaps she was relishing the chaos.Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    He nced back at the portal, wisps of energy cascading around its circumference, creating an almost hypnotic aura. The swirling center revealed a mesmerizing convergence of colors-deep blues merging into vibrant purples and ented by streaks of silver luminescence.


    “You jump into it,” Arabe said.


    Sandro didn’t ask more questions. Immediately, he reached the portal, and he jumped into it.


    Both gasped as they snapped back to reality and immediately, risse’s body evaporated into thin air as if it was never there.


    “Be!” ze grunted, wrapping his arms around her.


    “B-ze?” Arabe stuttered, blinking back at the haze at the back of her mind.


    “Are you alright?” he asked, and just before she could respond, Sandro said, “You left.”


    “I had no other options but to,” ze pointed out, wrapping his arms around Arabe.


    Sandro watched the movement ze did with Arabe, and what angered him the most was Arabe reciprocating it. He wasn’t petty, but he believed he should have left her there with Astralys.


    “There is going to be an attack,” ze said as soon as they stepped out of the room.


    Arabe was next to Thalia as they stepped out, who was tending to the injury she only noticed now on her arm.


    “I don’t see any attack…” Sandro trailed off, eyeing the attackers that stumbled out of their hiding ces.


    “What the hell?” he roared, seeing hundreds of them pouring out.