#Chapter 60 - Torn From Within

Eloise’s POV

When we arrived in the bedroom, Xavier laid me down on the bed gently. He closed my balcony door and covered the windows.

I watched as he took his shirt and tunic off, exposing his chiseled muscles underneath. I felt heat rise in my chest as he hovered his body over me.

He softly pressed his lips against mine as I parted my mouth to take in and relish his taste.

“Let us enjoy the night, my Lady. Whatever comes tomorrow, I want these moments to be filled with passion and tenderness.” Xavier’s voice was low against my ear.

I shuddered as his lips brushed against my collarbone. My voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m ready, my Lord. Let’s enjoy each other as if tonight might be our last.”

He looked up at me with a cheeky smile as our bodies intertwined for the night; pleasurable sighs and moans escaping our lips like music.

The next morning arrived all too soon as Xavier and I untangled each other from our bodies to get ready for the battle ahead. Though my heart hammered against my chest under Xavier’s desire, it was nothing in comparison to the way it hammered now out of fear and anxiety.

We got ready for the day and quickly made our way to the barracks to assemble our men. Then, we all gathered at the Witches Fields, a large open space meant to be nothing but a vast and empty distance so our enemies could never get the surprise on us.

Time ticked on and soon, the sun made its way to the highest point in the sky. That’s when Douglas and his massive army showed up. Even with mine and Xavier’s forces together, it seemed like Douglas’s men outnumbered ours.

It appeared as if he had close to a thousand men while we had just a little more than half.

Xavier and I stepped out in front of our army as Douglas stepped out in front of his.

A smirk spread across Douglas’s face. “Despite this direct act of treason, I’m more than willing to give you another shot, dear nephew.”

I squeezed Xavier’s hand as Douglas’s eyes landed on me.

“Of course, the Wisdoms will have to pay for breaching our agreements but I’m sure your wife and I can negotiate another arrangement.” Douglas’s smile made me feel disgusted. I didn’t like what he was implying.

Xavier didn’t say a word but instead shifted into his wolf form. He lowered himself so I could get on his back.

Douglas’s smile faded from his lips. “Then with the Moon Goddess as my witness, I will lay waste to those who dare oppose the royal crown and make you regret your acts of betrayal!”

I watched as countless men and wolves launched themselves at each other as well as spells flying through the air. This battle would decide the fate of the world.

I sent a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess. Please, let Xavier and I prevail. Let justice prevail.

I watched as a group of men started to charge for us. Hatred plastered on their faces as their swords were drawn at us.

I threw a fireball spell at them and watched as it blew up in their faces. The fire caused their iron swords to melt in their hands as it raged on and eventually claimed their bodies.

This was the first battle I had ever been in and I was already taking people’s lives away.

I couldn’t control the tears that rolled down my cheeks but I pushed on as Xavier clawed and tore weapons and limbs from our enemies. Xavier was so fast on the battlefield that it seemed like everyone around us moved in slow motion.

It was terrifying yet exhilarating.

None of them could land a hit on him as he moved with such agility and grace. For a moment, I thought he could’ve been an assassin.

Xavier often went for incapacitating blows. His claws or teeth would strike major arteries that would cause the enemies to bleed out within seconds.

His display of deadliness was awe-inspiring but also terrifying.

As we continued the assault, the sounds of war cries and deathly screams began to cloud my mind. I found it hard to focus because of how haunting it all sounded.

It was then that a mass of clouds rolled in overhead and thunder started to crack in the sky. Soon, rain began to pour and the sounds of water hitting the dirt beneath us would be enough to drown out the screaming.

Just like I did before, I summoned the power of the lightning above us and channeled it into a chain of offensive magic. I watched as the enemies who tried to surround us would fall to the ground because of my shock magic.

Despite the bodies that littered the ground around us, there were still so many of them. I had no idea how much time had passed or how many people Xavier and I killed, but I was already beginning to feel the effects of having expended my magic.

My vision started to blur from the tears I couldn’t control of actually having to kill people, coupled with the rain that didn’t seem to stop. I was glad that it seemed like Xavier wasn’t having an issue with navigating through the storm.

I decided to take a deep breath and focus on conjuring an ancient shield for Xavier. Before I could do anything, a club had swung right at Xavier’s jaw and caused me to fly off of his back and onto the soaking ground.

We were only a few feet apart but we were already getting swarmed by the enemy. Despite my strength leaving me, I conjured more lightning spells to keep the enemies at bay.

I tried looking for Xavier as I thinned out the wall of enemies between us. Clashing of iron swords, wooden shields, and explosions of spells coupled with the thunder above made it hard to hear much of anything else–aside from those screaming in pain and agony.

Despite that, I could’ve sworn I was hearing someone call my name.

After listening as hard as I could, that’s when I started to hear it.

“Eloise!” I couldn’t pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

“Eloise!” I looked all around but still didn’t see any friendly faces.

“Watch out!” I heard the voice call out and it sounded like it was coming from behind me this time.

I turned around to see a large red-headed man with fire and anger in his eyes charge at me with a sword. I couldn’t control the fact that my body froze up as he crossed the distance between us within the blink of an eye.

Do I die here?

I closed my eyes and prepared for a killing blow but instead heard the sound of a howl piercing the air, followed by a low growl.

I opened my eyes to see Xavier’s massive black wolf form in front of me. The sword that protruded from his chest and out his back was just a few inches away from piercing my chest.

My eyes widened in horror as Xavier fell to the ground.

Waves of sadness, hurt, anger, hatred, and despair crashed into me all at once and I dropped to the ground beside Xavier. I stretched my hands out in front of me and screamed my heart out.

Something else awakened in me at that moment and I knew it had to be magic.

The storm picked up tremendously as large bolts of lightning illuminated the sky and struck all of the enemies around me and Xavier. A new force of wind raged violently around us as it picked up Douglas’s soldiers and knocked them off their feet or completely flung them across the battlefield.

I took Xavier into my arms as the violence of the elemental magic intensified. I knew that the ground beneath us quaked as the enemies had trouble with standing on their own two feet.

I watched as the remaining men began to retreat. All that was left of Douglas’s mighty army was a unit of maybe one hundred men. They left with what I assumed was fear in their hearts.

As for my heart, it was shattering all over again. “Xavier, please stay with me! Please!”

His head was in my lap as he shifted back into his wolf form. His eyes remained close and his breathing was short and erratic.

He was dying.

I pulled out the mirror I had fastened to my leg. “Mona! Please! I don’t want Xavier to die! Not like this!”

I realized the words that left my mouth and it was then that I realized my feelings.

“Please, I love him! I’ll do anything!” I cried.

Mona materialized a potion into my hands and was oddly enough supportive of my want to keep him alive again. “This will help with stabilizing his breathing although it’s not meant to last long. It should be just enough to where he can be carried back to the Wisdom castle and be seen by the other healers there.”

I opened the potion bottle and slowly fed it to Xavier. After the bottle was empty, I remained rooted to the ground to see if the potion would work.

For a few seconds, his breathing did calm down; then it immediately became unstable again. I watched as all of the colors drained from his face. Even his hair turned white.

I began to hyperventilate. “Mona! Mona! The potion isn’t working!”

Tears streamed down my face as I looked at Monda disappearing from the mirror. The grin on her face was wide and wicked as she only laughed at me.