[Anika’s POV]I keep my eyes on the strange man, whose body is half submerged in the pool of tranquility. Who was he, and why was he even here?"Who are you?" I ask, raising a brow. "Are you a spy?"Immediately, I go on defense as Titiana lets out a laugh."He isn’t your enemy." She announces. "If anything, he is the key to making sure you complete what you couldn’t back then."The confusion that crosses the man’s face at Titiana’s words mimics my own. It’s clear that he is just as oblivious to what is happening as I am."What the hell are you talking about?" He growls, beginning to make his way towards us. "And where is Fallon?""Fallon?" I repeat, turning to meet Titiana’s gaze. "Who is that?""Your host." Titiana explains. "If the both of you will please just try to calm down, I will explain everything as I’m sure all of this is quite overwhelming for both of you."That was an understatement.The last thing I remembered was Mateo’s disappointed gaze that met mine before he walked o
[Fineon’s POV]Pain rips through me as I take in the words that Titiana is saying. However, before I get the opportunity to let myself drown in them, Fallon collapses."Hey!" I gasp, catching her before she hit the ground. "What the hell?""Anika is out of energy and unable to keep control," Titiana responds. "And I’ve spent all my energy as well and must go."Even though I still have many questions in regards to what was said and what happened, I don’t argue. Instead, I simply nod and watch as Titiana disappears entirely.Once she is gone, I drop to my knees and cradle Fallon’s unmoving form against me.Staring down into her face, I feel my heart squeeze as Titiana’s words replay in my mind.This was my fault... I was the one who put all of this into motion because of my childish obsession with Gale. How was I supposed to look her in the eyes anymore? I was sure she heard everything and would most likely blame me once she woke up.‘Good job, dumb ass,’ Franz huffs in frustration. ‘I
[Fineon’s POV]I could feel a wave of power press against my skin as Parker decided to take on my threat. Even though it was weaker than before, I still found myself struggling to not buckle under its weight. This bastard truly was strong, and I couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt about whether or not we could defeat him easily."You got lucky last time, boy," Parker warns, mentioning our previous encounter. "But this time you won’t be so lucky."As the words left his lips, the water around me began to move, threatening to throw me about as it grew stronger and stronger as if it were an angry ocean instead of a simple lake."Fineon," Fallon whispers, drawing my attention towards her. "What's that?"At first, I'm confused as to what it is she is talking about, but it doesn't take me long to spot a large tentacle sticking out of the water, making its way towards where we stand with too much force. "Move!"Diving forward, I grab ahold of Fallon, knocking both of us out of the way i
[Fineon’s POV]The world around me faded in and out, giving me only tiny glimpses of the fighting that was going on around me. From what I heard in between waves of agonizing pain, it sounded like the two were handling the threat well."Great," I sigh, letting myself get sucked under again.When I come to next, I can feel myself being lifted by Elleric and Cyrus while more footsteps begin to sound around us."What’s the order, my lord?""What happened?""How could this be so close to home?""None of that matters," Elleric snaps. "Fan out and find my niece!"Find his niece... The words slice like a knife. If I wasn’t mistaken earlier, Fallon was gone, and I knew that Parker was the one who had taken her."Gl…acies…" I try, only to find that my voice is so weak that I’m not sure if I’m heard. "Pa…""Yes sir.""On it."In the midst of the voices taking Elleric’s order, I know that mine is lost, and despite knowing I needed to repeat myself, I find that the overwhelming weakness and pain
[Fineon’s POV]I watch my younger self leave the room and begin to move, following him into the living room, where both my parents are standing with looks of shock on their faces."Mommy?" young me calls. "Daddy, what’s wrong?""You have to hide," my mother responds quickly. "You and Andria both.""Hide?"My mother doesn’t respond as she gathers me into her arms and races up the stairs towards Andria’s room. When we arrive, Andria is already awake and on high alert."They’ve arrived?" she asks, indicating that she was aware of what was going on. "So soon?""No time for questions," my mother responds. "Come on."Reaching out, she takes Andria’s hand and begins to move just as the sound of glass shattering drifts towards us, followed by howls and an intense aura that I immediately recognize as Parker’s."Where are we going?" Andria asks, "Shouldn’t we help dad and the others?""You’re both still too young. You have to leave immediately and find the others."Find the others... Those wor
[Fallon’s POV]My body burns. Groaning, I attempt to move, but stop as something stabs into my wrists and ankles, keeping me from actually going anywhere.Eyes flying open, I stare up at a billowy red canopy attached to four golden posts that hold up a large, luxurious bed."What the hell?" I hiss, blinking a few times to clear my slightly blurred vision. "Where…"‘Mateo,’ Anika’s voice whispers in my mind. ‘We are back with Mateo.’Mateo… The name sets fear racing through me. Ignoring the pain that radiates from the spiked cuffs that rest against my skin, I fight, trying with all my might to break free.‘Don’t fight it,’ Anika urges, causing more alarm to rush through me. ‘Just give in.’"Like hell, I’ll do that!"Panic beginning to flare, I let my eyes scan the room around me, taking in the blood-red walls that hold portraits of scantily clad women rubbing themselves against a man that too closely resembles Parker.‘This is the man you’re in love with?’ I snap, showing her the image
[Fallon’s POV]I don’t waste anymore time as I begin to move, swimming as fast as I can in the opposite direction of the ship that is threatening to drown me. However, before I can get far enough away, something wraps around my ankle.Thinking it may be rope or some other object from the ship, I turn in time to see a beautiful woman with glowing blue eyes staring at me. Her lips that are turned up in a smile are a dark blue, and her hair resembles seaweed.‘Siren,’ Anika hisses, startling me. ‘You need to get free, NOW!’Nodding, I kick out in hopes of loosening the siren's grip, but it simply tightens, and her nails, which hadn’t penetrated my skin before, sink deep into it.Pain shoots through me from the ocean water seeping into the freshly formed wounds, causing another hiss to escape me.‘Anika,’ I call, realizing just how useless I am without Artemis. ‘I need to power your powers again.’‘Why not just let me take over?’ Anika tries. ‘Wouldn’t that…’‘No!’ I snap, cutting her off
[Fineon’s POV]I stare at Ramone, trying to figure out if I actually heard him correctly or not.She wasn’t in the Glacies… That bastard Parker was no longer in the Glacies… Then where in hell did he go?Unable to control the sudden rage I felt towards my mate, who was somewhere that I didn’t know having goddess knew what done to her, I started to thrash against my bindings."Hey! Calm down!" Ramone hisses, attempting to hold me down. "You’re not fully healed yet!""I don’t give a damn!"Ignoring his words, I continue to move, fighting to get free so I could go find Fallon. Every minute she wasn’t here was a minute that she could be... No, I couldn’t think of any of that. There was no fucking way Parker would hurt her, right?"GET THESE FUCKING STRAPS OFF OF ME!" I snarl when I’m unable to break them myself. "FALLON NEEDS ME!""If you keep fighting like that, you’ll be useless."Freezing, I snap my gaze towards the door where Gale and the big brute are entering. Both looked exhausted,
[Idris’ POV] "Are you sure you’re going back?" Mom’s eyes begin to fill with tears as she waits for a response. I don’t know exactly what she expects me to say. "Yes, I am. It’s been a month since Mateo and his underlings were killed, and the academy is finally reopening. As a student, I am required to go back." She knew that I still had a year left before I graduated. I couldn’t just never go back, no matter what had happened since the school shut down. "But…" "Don’t give him a hard time," Dad warns, cutting her off while wrapping a comforting arm around her. "The academy is one of the safest places on the continent, and the threat is gone. I’m sure the next year will simply fly by." "That’s right," I add, taking advantage of dad’s opening for me to leave. "I promise to keep in touch, and before you know it, I’ll be back to irritate the hell out of you." "You heard him," Dad beams, squeezing her closer. "Now, you should allow him to head out; otherwise, he won’t make it there
[Hindrick’s POV]"Welcome back!"Uncle Elleric doesn’t wait before he pulls me into a hug, crushing me against him and making me extremely uncomfortable.Growling, I work to break free, and once I manage to achieve my goal, I take a few steps back."Ever the stoic," he chuckles, taking me in. "Can’t you drop the act just for a day? You’ve been gone for a month, and you didn’t even bother to send word.""Because I was busy cleaning up the mess that was left behind," I point out. "Anyway, I didn’t come here for a heartfelt family reunion."At my words, Uncle Elleric’s face grows serious, and I get the feeling that he is expecting me to deliver a killing blow."Don’t worry," I sigh before his head can come up with some ridiculous scenarios, "it isn’t anything like that. I was actually asked a favor by an idiot.""Fineon?" Uncle Elleric asks, knowing perfectly well who I would be referring to. I didn’t know if I was that obvious or if he also saw Fineon as a fool. "Or is it Chance?"I bit
[Fallon’s POV]A month passed in a blur before things were finally beginning to become normal once again. With things being so hectic, I didn’t get to see much of Fineon since he seemed to always be busy, but this time when we met, I wasn’t going to let him go until he told me what it was that he was up to.I manage to find Fineon heading out of dad's office with a look of frustration on his face."What’s wrong?" I ask, startling him."F-Fallon!" he gasps, taking me in. "Why are you...""Here?" I offer for him, moving forward. "Because if I wasn't, you would find some way to evade me like you have been doing for the past month."At my words, his expression shifts from shock to guilt. So he was intentionally avoiding me, which is interesting."Anyway, I was hoping you’d come somewhere with me today," I continue, wrapping my arms around his and squeezing. "Saying no is not an option.""But…""No buts!" I snap. "Come on."Giving a tug, I begin to move, dragging Fineon until we arrive at
[Fineon’s POV]Returning home was a bittersweet thing, given the circumstances we were returning under. Whether it should have been a time of celebration, it was instead a moment of saying welcome back and saying goodbye.As we made landfall and began to unload, Fallon rushed off to see her parents and allowed herself to get lost in their embrace.Deciding that the moment should be strictly for family, I stay back as the tears begin to fall."You want to help us with this?" Ramone asks, coming up behind me. "He’s a bit heavy."Nodding, I turn and follow him back onto the boat to collect Cyrus’ body, allowing Fallon and her parents to be alone with each other.Inside the cabin, I can feel the chill of death pressing against my skin, and it makes the fact that Cyrus and Gavin are gone that much more real. Now all that was left to do to say goodbye was give them the proper send-off that they deserved.Sighing, I move forward and help Ramone collect Cyrus first so that his parents could s
[Fallon’s POV]I don’t know how long I stayed in place, staring at the slowly disappearing door that Cyrus took to his final resting place. It was only when Titiana gently touched my shoulder that I finally snapped out of my daze."You need to get back now," she murmurs, giving me a smile filled with sympathy and sorrow. "Although your brother is no longer on earth, there are still many waiting on you.""Right," I sigh, getting to my feet. "I’m sure Fineon and Hindrick are at their wits end.""When you go back, you should really think about yourself more," Titiana chuckles."What do you mean?""You’ve worked so hard to gain everyone’s approval that you have lost yourself," she explains, touching my cheek."That’s what being a leader means," I counter. "I can’t think of myself. I can only think of my pack.""That’s not true," Titiana says, shaking her head. "You must also think of yourself, otherwise, you’ll end up regretting it one day. Now, go back to them."Before I can respond, I’m
[Fallon’s POV]"You had something you needed to speak with me about?" I ask hesitantly as Titiana examines me.After all the bombs that had been dropped on me earlier on, I wasn’t quite sure I was ready for another, but since this was the goddess’ request, there was no way that I could deny her."Not so much me," she responds, giving me a sad look.My stomach starts to roll as a bad feeling begins to creep up in me. Why was she looking at me like that, and why did it make my heart hurt?"Who is it?" I ask quietly, realizing that whoever it was must be someone close to me, and if they were here instead of on earth, then that meant that they were dead."It’s me."The world comes crashing down around me as I turn and find Cyrus making his way toward me.No, this couldn’t be real; there was no way it could. Was he like me, on the edge of life and death? If so, that meant he could be saved. Why was he here, and why did it feel like whatever was going to be said was goodbye?"Cy-cyrus," I w
[Anika’s POV]I continue to stare down at the lava where Mateo disappeared while Fineon and Hindrick remain silent, allowing me the space to process my emotions.Mateo was gone, for real this time. He would never come back to this world in this lifetime, and I wasn’t even sure if we would be able to find each other when we reincarnated like we promised. So that meant this was it, right?That thought alone left an immense loneliness in me that I thought I would never have to feel again. However, I had to admit, the second time around was so much more painful."Sorry to disturb," Fineon murmurs after a bit more time passes. "But how will we be sure that doing what Mateo said really did the trick?""I don’t know," I admitted, frowning."You don’t think that this was another trick of his, do you?" Hindrick growls. "What if...""He wasn’t lying," I say, cutting him off. "The one that was there in the end was Mateo, not Parker.""I understand that, but nothing seems to have happened," Hindr
[Anika’s POV]I wait as Fineon and Hindrick examine me as if trying to determine if they could convince me to stay. It is only when Mount Malum lets out another ominous roar that they seem to concede and begin to move again."Stay close," Hindrick orders when I scramble to catch up. "If you cause anything to happen to Fallon’s body, I’ll destroy you, understood?""Of course," I respond, not taking offense to his threat. "I know my limits.""Then let’s go," Hindrick sighs, though he still doesn’t seem fully convinced.Nodding, I begin to follow, staying close behind the two men who insisted on keeping me safe from any possible rockslides or attacks that may happen."It’ll take at least a day to get to the top of this," Hindrick mutters when we reach Mount Malum’s side. "Do we have that much time?"Looking up, I take in the lava that bubbles up and then explodes and the smoke that is quickly surrounding the mountain, blocking the rest of the world from view."I don’t know," I admit. "Bu
[Anika’s POV]Pain rips through my chest with every inch the anima sword makes through Mateo’s body. Even if I managed to destroy the mark he left on me, our bond was still there, and I wasn’t too surprised I was feeling what he was. This was how strong our bond had always been, and in a way, I was happy he wasn't alone."An…ika…" Mateo rasps, his eyes finding mine. "Why?""Because this must be done."Everything in me screamed to stop, to help him, and to save him from the painful death that he was currently experiencing, but I knew this had to be done. And I was the one who had to do it. Not Hindrick, not Fallon, but me. I had to end this once and for all.Closing my eyes, I allow all the beautiful memories that we shared to begin to flash across my mind. This would be the last time I allowed them to overtake me. Once this was finished, I would fully let go. I had to; there was no holding onto something that would never be again.SIghing, I let my tears flow as Mateo’s love-filled ey