Chapter 4 - Aurora's POV

Aurora’s POV

It’s too hot.

How is it so hot?

We’re going further north!

It’s the third day of this incessant journey. For three nights I’ve been stuck in this wagon with two vampires and eleven other criminals. All of which are men, and all of them stare at me with dark expectations in their eyes.

I recognize those lingering gazes and the not-so-subtle way they lick their lips as they trail lustful eyes over my body.

They always look away though, when they meet my hardened stare. My real eyes would give them heart palpitations, but even my innocent chocolate brown gaze – the eyes they see because of the cloaking spell my foolishly hopeful mother put on me – can bring a man to his knees with fear.

Gregory used to say he could see demons in my eyes, that there was always another presence within them, watching.

I used to tell him that he was the demon, haunting my every waking minute. And he would shut me up with a slap across my face and a cock down my throat.

A mad kind of excitement bubbles under my skin as I think about Gregory Stallard. He’s the last stop on my kill list, I want him ready and waiting for me. I can’t wait to see him finally tremble in fear.

The wagon making a left turn jolts me from my murderous thoughts. We’re making our way down a narrow road with lush vegetation along both sides.

It’s beautiful but feels out of place, it's sweltering hot and the haze in the air makes me think there’s a fire burning through the forest around us.

Even oxygen is beginning to feel a little sparse. My breathing becomes heavier in my attempt to take in a proper amount of air.

“The heat is going to get pretty intense as we enter the Eternal Flame Coven territory. The place we’re stopping has a cooling station in case you can’t handle the heat.” comes Dimitri’s bored voice.

 I have to stop myself from scoffing.

Please.

If I could handle that dungeon for the past year, I can handle a bit of heat.

Fuck, it is hot though.

At least there’s a slight breeze flowing through the wagon, though it’s an unnaturally warm breeze.

We make a right turn down a hidden side road, following the wagons in front. After a few minutes traversing down this winding road, we come across a large opening on the left side.

When the horses come to a stop and the wagon goes still, the sudden lack of a breeze causes the inside to become stagnant with an unbearable heat.

I can try to stop the discomfort from showing on my face, but I can’t stop the sweat from building up on my forehead.

A quick glance around reveals just how much more this heat is affecting the rest of the prisoners. They are all red-faced, dripping sweat, and visibly uncomfortable from the intensity of it.

Maybe I am getting stronger as I get closer to my birthday. If that’s the case then I definitely better not leave this wagon. If there are any witches around, they'll be sure to sense my mothers spell. She had told me to stay away from other supernatural species as they can sometimes sense powerful magic.

I’m honestly a little surprised Adrian and Dimitri haven’t sensed anything from me yet, with how close I’ve been sitting to them. I’m not sure how susceptible vampires are to magic, though I do catch Dimitri’s blinding green eyes sometimes burning a hole into me. He gazes at me with such an intense curiosity that I’m sure his eyes are piercing into my mind unveiling all my secrets. 

“Go feed the girls, I’ll let the prisoners out.” I hear Adrian mutter to Dimitri.

“No can do. I have a little fire witch to cool off.” Dimitri says with barely restrained excitement.

Adrian mutters something under his breath as Dimitri disappears. He takes off so fast, he actually creates a breeze in the air around us.

Adrian uses the same speed to appear at the back of the wagon, opening the little door to let us out.

I stay seated, and when the final prisoner scurries out, Adrian just looks at me for a second before turning away with a “Suit yourself.”

I lean back in my seat. A longing to see the Ember Field courses through me, but I can’t risk it. When my mother told me about the place, she said it is a very popular tourist destination because of how magical the field is. People come from all over just to see it.

After I complete my kill list, I will make sure to come back here before I go find my father.

I cannot risk going out there right now, in the middle of a witch coven territory while under both a cloaking spell and a magic suppression spell.

I’ll just sit here. Fuck the heat, I can handle this. It’s just some hot air.

It's just my skin melting off my body.

No big deal.

I spend the next fifteen minutes with my eyes closed, trying not to think of the layer of sweat now covering me entirely.

Think cold thoughts. Like the floor of my dungeon cell. It was always so bitterly cold there.

Ok, wow. Am I actually reminiscing about my dungeon cell right now?

And those ice-cold showers…

A flirty giggle distracts me from my cooling thoughts.

“Dimitri!” A bubbly voice scolds.

I hear Dimitri’s cocky chuckle and turned my head toward the back of the wagon. A few seconds later a woman comes into view, walking backwards up the stairs.

Half of her back is covered by Dimitri’s arm as it wraps around her body, pulling her closer and using his hand to place a firm hold onto one of her ass cheeks. His other hand cups her face, pulling her up into a frantic kiss.

The way they desperately grab at each other is wildly passionate.

I feel even more heat rise to my face as I realize how awkward this situation is about to become.

I decide to make myself known before this gets out of hand.

“Hey, um, let me just… leave.” I stand up to make my way out as they pull apart looking startled.

I get a look at the girl next to Dimitri. Her skin is several shades darker than mine, and her eyes, which are currently wide in alarm, are a fiery orange and still burning with desire for… Dimitri. Really? I mean, yes, he is annoyingly attractive, but he also just seems like a bit of a dick.

“You can stay for the show if you want.” Dimitri smirks, recovering from his surprise quickly.

The girl’s eyes widen even more but she giggles as she gives him a slap on the chest.

“Don’t be so crude Dimitri” she chastises.

She takes a step toward me with her hand outstretched. “Hi, I’m Soleil.” I look down at her hand, panic brewing internally.  She continues, “I’m sorry about this, no one usually stays in these wagons with how hot it gets.”

I can’t shake her hand. I can’t let her touch me. She can probably already sense me. I just stand here, making the silence unnecessarily awkward.

I know the spell is supposed to weaken as I near my eighteenth birthday. It has to let my body get strong enough to handle the rush of power when the time comes. Not to mention, the arrival of a second entity in my head. My wolf; she should be getting stronger now too, as the day nears.

Soleil lowers her hand when she realizes I’m not going to take it. Her eyes sweep over my body and land on my face.

I try to avoid her stare, but I feel rooted in place by her gaze.

She looks into my eyes curiously, as if she knows they are not my real eyes. Like she knows the pretty brown irises are completely fake.

Fuck.

She opens her mouth to speak when Dimitri snakes his arms around her waist from behind.

“Weren’t you leaving princess?” he says, looking at me pointedly.

I leave quickly, adamantly avoiding Soleil and her gaze.

When I step away from the wagon and onto the grass a few feet away, I release the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. 

Hopefully Dimitri keeps her distracted enough to not think about me again before we get out of here.

Now that I’m outside it doesn’t feel as sweltering. It’s still close to unbearable though.

I’ve never felt such intense heat.

I look around at my surroundings. Behind me, parked neatly in a line are the six wagons and twelve vampiric horses, which a few vampires are still tending to. I spot Adrian at the front of our wagon, feeding the two horses a giant dead boar. It looks more like a bloodbath than a meal as they tear through a full-sized animal carcass.

Averting my gaze from the carnage, I turn around to take in the scene in front of me: Two vampires stand guard at the entrance to path. A tall archway is behind them with the words “Ember Field” engraved in large letters across the top.

I walk past the vampires in front of the entrance. Their eyes follow me, but they don’t speak.

It must be a slow tourist day because the seventy-two of us prisoners and the vampires escorting us are the only souls in the vicinity.

There are colourful garden beds on either side of me as I walk down the dirt path toward the rest of the vampires and prisoners. The path leads into a wide grassy area with picnic benches, water fountains, and a large gazebo type structure where most of the prisoners seem to be huddled. There’s also hammocks between the trees that surround the scenic park.

Directly across from me, on the other side of the park is the Ember Field. It looks to be perfectly circular and a lot larger than I expected. 

Mesmerized, I begin walking towards it. The closer I get, the hotter it gets. But my curiosity keeps me going anyway.

When I’m only a few steps away, the blazing heat forces me to stop.

There is barely a breeze, but the flowers are swaying in a hypnotizing dance. The flames flickering in the middle of each one only adding to the effect.

As I look down, I realize there is no dirt or soil, but a bed of red-hot coals which the flowers are growing out of.

This is some really fascinating magic. I feel excitement start to bloom in my chest at the thought of soon being able to access my own magic.

I stand here, dealing with the sweltering heat so I can admire the flowers for longer.

I’m lost in the trance of the dancing flames when I feel a gentle touch on my shoulder. Turning to my left to see Soleil staring down at me. She is a little taller than me, but as I look down, I realized she’s wearing extremely high heels.

Her wavy golden hair is a little dishevelled but otherwise she looks completely put together. “That was quick,” I blurt out.

She laughs, “Oh please, I can make it last however long I want it to. He might sulk a bit, but he’ll get over it.”

I can’t help but chuckle a little at her words, other than that I’m sure what to say to her.

She sighs and leans down to whisper in my ear, “I know what you are. There’s a spell trying to block it, but I can sense it. I’m honestly surprised these vampires can’t, but they’ve always been a little dim I guess.”

My eyes widen as I stare at her.

“You look worried. If what I’m sensing is right, then you’re a true hybrid.” She pauses, looking around before continuing in an even quieter whisper. “I won’t tell anyone; I know how dangerous it can be for your kind.”

I feel myself relaxing slightly at her words. “Thank you.” I say genuinely. I honestly don’t give a shit about the danger of being a true hybrid. If anyone wants to covet me for my blood, they can come fucking try it, I’ve survived worse.

“No problem, I believe all witches should look out for each other. What’s your other half by the way? It feels like it’s hiding from me, I can’t quite get a grasp on it,” she asks with a curious tilt of her head.

“Werewolf” I answer, making a snap decision to trust her. I haven’t trusted anyone for so long and it feels good to share my burden with someone.

She gasps softly. “Wow. Werewolf and witch. That’s a powerful combination. No wonder you’re in hiding.” She thinks I’m just hiding because I’m a hybrid. She has no idea I’m the product of a bloody, unresolved war between the werewolf kingdom and a coven of witches.

“Yeah, tell me about it” I reply light-heartedly.

“So who spelled you?” she asks with interest. “It's not an easy spell combination. Cloaking your identity and suppressing your magic. That had to have been a very powerful witch.”

I freeze. It was a very powerful witch. Somehow my mother was always able to find the power she needed. She severed her mate bond with the werewolf king to make the witches think she was dead, and escaped to raise me safely away from the fighting. Even after destroying a part of her soul, she was still immensely powerful.

No. I can’t answer her question. It would just bring more questions I cannot answer. I press my lips together and stay silent.

A knowing look crosses her face, and she nods. “It's ok, you don’t have to tell me.” 

I let out a sigh of appreciation. “Thank you, I’ve been hiding for a long time. It's nice to have someone to talk to about it, even a little.”

Soleil smiles and locks her right arm around my left. “No worries, Hun. Although, if you want to keep it a secret from the vampires, you might want to step back a bit from this field. If they can't sense anything from you, standing this close to the Ember Field will at least cause some suspicion.”

 I realize she is probably right, and take a couple steps back. There’s a reason the other prisoners have not left the cooling station.

“You know, Adrian might actually be able to help you. He has…” she pauses for a moment, as if trying to find the proper word, “...connections with a witch coven in Dema Mortem, The Blood of Nyx Coven. Adelaide Vesper is the coven mother, and she has no need to use you or your blood for strength. That woman has more than enough power. I actually think she would be interested in teaching you how to harness your magic.” She says all this quickly and in a hushed voice.

I think through her words for a moment. Could I put my survival in the hands of a vampire and a witch? I’m reluctant to. I don’t trust easily. I mean, what if the vampire kingdom is at odds with the werewolf kingdom. I have no clue about the politics between countries; I’ve been locked in a dungeon for the past year.

If I tell them I’m a werewolf-witch hybrid they will want to know what werewolf pack I came from. True hybrids are rare and it takes real power from both parents for one to be created. If I tell them my father is Lothar Crescent, the alpha king himself, would they use that knowledge to hurt him or his kingdom?

My father doesn’t know I exist, and having the vampires use me against him would be an awful way for him to find out about me.

Soleil takes my silence as an answer without question, “It’s ok if you don’t want to. Whatever you have planned, whatever you want to do, obviously it’s your own choice.”

I can see pity in her eyes as she continues, “If you do change your mind though, I’m sure Adrian will help you. He is a good guy, and he does have a good relationship with the witches up north. Dimitri as well, but I think they mostly just tolerate him because of Adrian.

I nod and smile at her.

She leans in to give me a side hug. “I’m glad I met you, Aurora.”

I nearly choke on my own lungs. How the fuck does she know my name?

“Hun, chill. Dimitri told me your name.” she says, her words instantly calming me down.

“Sorry,” I say. “I’m just not used to talking so openly.”

“It’s ok Hun. Listen, I can read people pretty well, and I know you don’t belong here with these prisoners.” Soleil focuses on me. Her eyes are searching, and it really feels like she is reading my soul like it’s an open book.

I can feel a pained expression forming on my face. “I’ve done some unforgivable things, this could be exactly where I belong” I say quietly, looking back at the vampires who are guarding every entrance to the field and eyeing the prisoners with hard stares.

“Maybe that’s true,” she says, “but I can sense that you’re not completely heartless.” She gives my shoulder a light squeeze and turns to leave. “I was in such a hurry to talk to you; I think I may have bruised Dimitri’s ego.”

Her fiery eyes glint with desire when she says Dimitri’s name. I admit he is hot, but the guy must be packing if he causes that reaction to form in her eyes from simply speaking his name.

“I hope to see you again someday Aurora.” She says before walking away with a wave and leaving me with a lot to think about.

I turn around and head to the gazebo structure which is actually a large cooling area where most of the other prisoners are. Some of them are sitting at small tables socializing with each other, some are pacing the area, and some are simply standing under the places where icy cool mist sprays from the ceiling every few seconds.

I step into the massive gazebo and immediately feel the effects of the misty-cool air as it brings my body temperature down to a bearable level. I feel eyes on me, and suddenly I’m very aware I’m the only female in a group of prisoners and vampire guards.

My heart thuds loudly in my chest and I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up, making me uneasy, but I attempt to ignore the other prisoners around me, and enjoy the revitalizing mist. 

Looking around I notice that all the vampires are standing in various strategic places as they guard us. All except two.

Dimitri is obviously busy with Soleil back in the wagon. I look out at the trees surrounding the park; all the hammocks are empty except the one where Everett lays, one arm dangling off to the side and the other resting over his face, blocking the sun from his eyes.

I wonder why they’re the only two who get a break.

My thoughts are interrupted by the presence of someone directly behind me. A sweaty body pushes into me, and I feel whoever it is rub his hardness against my behind.

My body stiffens.

“Let me have a taste of that sweet little pussy of yours, hmm?” a foul voice breathes into my ear. Hands reach from behind me and grab my breasts with eagerness.

“Stop.” I grit through my teeth, giving him a chance to back away.

His grip only tightens, “You know, I saw you when they brought you to the dungeons a year ago, you were a feisty little thing weren’t you?” One hand moves down my body, trailing along my stomach and lifting my shirt.

Other prisoners stand in a circle around us, blocking the guards from view. It probably looks like they are just standing around talking, but they watch me eagerly, probably hoping for a show.

The man’s rancid breath hits me again as he whispers to me, his crusty lips brushing against my ear, “I asked the guards to let me visit you, but they never did. But sometimes, at night, you would scream and scream, and well, that was enough… until now.” He nips my ear painfully and grabs the waistband of my pants.

I embrace the rage coursing through me and lean into his disgusting body, grinding my ass against his hardness. He gives me space to turn around and face him, which I do. I look into his mud-coloured eyes, tilting my head to the side.

His desire turns to absolute horror when he sees the promise in my eyes. He tries to back away but it's too late.

My hands are on either side of his face within a split second and I twist, snapping his pitiful neck.

I watch the life leave him as his body drops to the ground with a thud.

When I look up, the first thing I see is Adrian standing a few feet in front of me. His light blue eyes are wide with shock as he looks from me to the dead prisoner at my feet.