14. Beyond Salvation

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Nadia ran as her legs would carry her, narrowly avoiding the flames from the were-dragons, her heart thumping so loud against her ears. At this time, there were a few vampires already running around, trying to get through the protection that surrounded the werewolves and witches. The moment Collins saw Nadia dash past them with Adrian hot on her heels, he hadn’t hesitated in trying to make the witches drop it down so he could pass through. Maybe it was the mate instinct or perhaps how much he loved her but either way, the need to protect her was overwhelming. He couldn’t trust that Adrian guy around her despite him being her brother.

“It would be a danger to all of us if we let the spell down. The vampires are relentless as it is,” Deborah, one of the coven leaders countered, her face drawn into a suppressed look of struggle as she tried to keep the protection up. The constant swirls of hot dragon breath were making it harder to remain strong and all they could do was pray the dragons run out of energy to keep throwing the fire balls.

“She could get hurt and I would never be able to forgive myself,” He reiterated, his jaw drawn tight. Could they not understand how much Nadia meant to him? For her, he would take down the whole world if he had to.

“And we could all perish,” She glanced over her shoulder at the younger man, “The were dragons cannot expel fire from the mouths for too long. It would suck their own mortal lives dry and so in a few minutes they will be too exhausted then we’d lower it,”

“But-“Miranda reached over, touching Collins’ palm.

“They would never hurt her. Adrian is her twin brother, Trina is her best friend and God knows Drake would kill anyone that even touches a hair of Nadia’s head. So relax and focus on winning the war instead of worrying about someone who has got protectors from the enemy lines,” Miranda pointed out.

That did not ease his worries, not even in the least. What if Drake uses that to his advantage and somehow lures Nadia into a trap? What if he kidnaps her? That thought alone made his blood freeze in fear. He had to win this war no matter what happened. On the other hand, Nadia climbed a small cliff overlooking the rest of the town and the sight that met her eyes had her shuddering as tears gathered on the slit edge of her eyes. Houses burning as dragons flew over them, property getting destroyed and who knows? Probably people dying too.

“Look at me, Nadia,” Adrian pestered in a quiet voice as he stopped behind her. Nadia went rigid for a few seconds before turning around, tears now rolling down her cheeks.

“Then stop this madness,” she grabbed his arm, “You can stop all this. People don’t have to die,”

“I need this,” he sandwiched her face between his palms, staring deep into her eyes with utter determination, “We need this,”

She pushed his plasm away, “Innocent people are going to die, Adrian,”

“They are not innocent, Nadia! Who the hell lied to you? Those werewolves you keep defending so much, killed our parents, robbing us so many years of our life! And for what? Because those witches you are siding with now didn’t want to pay for their use of dark magic? Open your fucking eyes Nadia. We were the innocent ones here. Harry was innocent. Our brother was innocent. Mrs. Miller was innocent. But you want to know who wasn’t innocent? The werewolves and those damn witches,” He was breathing fast, the rage written clearly in his eyes and face.

She looked him dead in the eyes, shaking her head out of pity, “This was not the kind of reunion I was looking for. No, I wasn’t dreaming of pizza nights and some bonding time but I was hoping there would be a touch of humanity left in you,”

She brushed him, walking away but his next words stopped her on her tracks, “Is his dick really that good that you’d forget what they did to us? Is some werewolf guy, the son of the man who is the reason we lost our entire lives as we knew them, really worth forgetting that our entire family was slaughtered in cold blood?”

“That werewolf boy is my mate, brother. That werewolf boy is the man who makes me have hopes of moving on from the past. When he is with me, I don’t see the dark clouds that have been in my almost entire life. No, I see the sunrise of a beautiful day and that is what I want,” she shook her head, smiling, “Maybe you need that too. Getting revenge and having innocent people die won’t save you from your demons, brother. I can guarantee they’ll pull you deeper into their darkness and before you know it, you are far from saving,”

“You know, I was hoping for a much warmer welcome but seems like your werewolf toy has brain washed you,” he leaned down, his voice growing sinister and cold,” You are not a saint either dear sister. Your fiancée is a vampire because of you now and your friend is a hybrid and once again, because of you. So before you come for me for decisions I’ve made, think about what you’ve done too. At least I’m doing the right to avenge all we lost. I wish I could say the same for you. See you around, if you make it that is,”

He walked down the cliff, already shouting orders to the vampires as Nadia sank to the ground, her chin resting on knees as cuddled them. It felt like the energy was being sucked out of her body. Why couldn’t she have just one second where she didn’t feel like she was being torn between two opposing worlds? Was her brother really beyond salvation? And how much of a bad person was she? All she had left in her wake is just a tail of destruction and pain.