Chapter 230: Bring her to me.
~Raphael's POV~
As Ava held her grandmother in her arms, something terrible started happening. Her powers began getting out of control. Ice and fire started forming around her body, growing bigger and more dangerous.
The flames and ice spread across Haggar's chamber like a wild storm. The power was so strong that it blew people away from Ava. Even I felt myself being pushed back by the force of her magic.
"Raphael, we need to run!" Caleb shouted over the sound of snapping flames and ice.
"Get away from her!" Gemma cried, pulling on my arm. "She's going to hurt you!"
But I refused to move. I planted my feet firmly on the ground and tried to battle against the wind and power that was pushing me away. I could feel Ava's pain through our mate bond. Her hurt was so deep that it made my own heart ache.
Because I could feel her pain so strongly, rage started coursing through my veins too. My own powers became unstable. Flames began forming in my hands, burning hot and bright. I had to fight hard to control myself and not let my fire powers explode too.
I spoke to Ava through our mate bond.
"Little one, calm down," I said in my mind, hoping she could hear me. "Please, look at me. I'm here."
Ava turned to look at me when she heard my voice in her head. What I saw made my blood run cold. Her beautiful blue eyes were no longer blue. They had turned completely silver, glowing with rage.
"I will kill all the people of Lystra!" Ava roared, her voice echoing through the chamber. "They did this to my grandmother!"
She started flying toward me with full force. Her hands formed sharp long claws. She was coming straight for me, ready to stab me with it.
"Raphael, move!" Caleb cried. "She's lost her mind! Get out of the way!"
But I didn't move. I stood perfectly still and waited for her to reach me. If stabbing me would make her feel better, then I would let her do it. All I wanted was for her pain to stop. I would take any hurt she wanted to give me if it meant she could feel better.
As Ava flew toward me with her claws raised, someone moved very quickly. I saw a flash of movement, and then someone hit Ava in the neck with their hand. She immediately stopped flying and lost consciousness.
I ran forward as fast as I could and caught Ava before she could hit the ground. Her body was limp in my arms, but she was still breathing.
Everyone in the room turned to look at Gwen, who was dusting off her hands. She looked at Ava with a far-away look in her eyes, like she was thinking about something else completely.
I stared at Gwen with anger. How dare she hurt my mate? I was ready to yell at her or worse.
Drogon must have seen the dangerous look in my eyes because he quickly moved in front of Gwen to block my view. He thought I was going to hurt her.
"She is not dead," Gwen said calmly, like nothing important had happened.
Then Gwen said some words in a language I didn't understand. Suddenly, all the things that had been scattered around the chamber by Ava's power returned to their proper places. The broken furniture fixed itself. The scattered papers flew back to where they belonged.
Haggar went over to Lorraine, who was still lying on the floor covered in blood. She checked Lorraine's pulse and breathing, then forced some small pills into her mouth.
"Caleb," Haggar called, "carry her to the bed."
Caleb did as he was told, gently lifting Lorraine and placing her on the soft bed in the corner of the room.
During all of this, I was still holding Ava in my arms. I looked down at her peaceful face and felt my heart break.
My mate had been suffering so much, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. All I wanted was for her to be happy, not to have this constant pain that kept coming to her life.
"Was it really the people of Lystra that hurt Lorraine?" I asked Haggar. "Can you tell if they were the ones who did this to her?"
I was already making plans in my head. If the people of Lystra had hurt Lorraine, then I would join Ava in her anger. I would ask her to let me help her, and together we would destroy Lystra completely.
"No," Haggar answered, pulling me out of my dark thoughts. "These are not the marks of second realm people. These are the marks of the gods."
"Goddess Selene, to be precise," Gwen said. She had somehow found time to sit down and was now sitting cross-legged on the floor, sipping tea like nothing had happened.
"Why would the goddess hurt her own people?" I asked, confused.
To me, Goddess Selene had always seemed like a wonderful god who would never cause harm to anyone. She was supposed to protect people, not hurt them.
"You still trust a god, Your Majesty?" Gwen replied, still sipping her tea calmly. "I am disappointed in you."
I felt a growl building in my throat. I was about to give Gwen an angry answer, but her next words stopped me completely.
"Bring her to me," Gwen said, pointing at Ava. "Let me try to make her powers stable. If I don't, she will blow up this entire kingdom when she wakes up."
That scared me more than anything. The thought of Ava's powers destroying everything and everyone she cared about would hurt her even more when she came back to her senses.
I carefully carried Ava over to where Gwen was sitting and laid her down on a makeshift bed that Haggar had quickly prepared with soft blankets and pillows.
Gwen settled herself in front of Ava, sitting very still with her eyes closed. After a moment, green lights started coming out of Gwen's hands.
The lights were beautiful and peaceful-looking. She began transferring the green light into Ava's body, trying to calm her unstable powers.
But something was wrong. Instead of Ava's body accepting the healing light, it seemed like she was fighting against it. Worse than that, it looked like Ava was somehow sucking Gwen's life force out of her instead of being healed.
Gwen's face became pale and strained. She was clearly struggling to continue the healing process.
Unable to hold on any longer, Gwen suddenly pulled her hands away from Ava and started coughing up blood. She wiped the red blood from her mouth with the back of her hand and looked at all of us with serious eyes.
"A new power is waking within her," Gwen said, looking directly at me. "And her wolf is completely gone. No trace at all."
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
