Chapter 194- The Weight of Power
Lexy
The battlefield was silent.
No clashing of steel. No howls of wolves loyal to Adrian. No shrieks of power ripping through the air. Only the faint crackle of embers and the soft hiss of smoke rising from what was left of his army. My chest rose and fell unevenly, lungs burning as though I had swallowed fire whole.
I pressed a trembling hand to the earth, grounding myself, though every muscle protested. My strength was gone—no, worse than gone. I had emptied myself for CJ, for Xazul, for the alliance. My flames still flickered faintly under my skin, but they were little more than sparks clinging to the edge of collapse.
Xazul towered in the distance, a silhouette of otherworldly might. His form standing on 2 legs while one hand remained almost human, and his body emanating heat as if he carried the sun inside him. Adrian’s monstrous form lay broken beneath him, unmoving at last. I had seen Adrian defeated before, but this time there was no question. The weight of finality pressed down on the field, and everyone felt it.
The warriors of the alliance approached cautiously, surrounding the area, weapons were lowered but not forgotten. Even in victory, tension lingered. My gaze shifted from them to the figure at the center of it all—my mate.
“CJ…” My whisper cracked on the wind.
Xazul’s form began to ripple, his colossal body unraveling in streams of shadow and fire. It wasn’t violent, but it wasn’t gentle either. The air rippled as he shrank, the terrible power receding until CJ knelt in the ash, chest heaving, sweat and soot streaking his skin. His eyes glowed faintly still—Xazul’s gaze lingering in him—but slowly, human warmth replaced the wolf’s presence.
He collapsed forward onto his hands. My legs moved before I thought, carrying me across the charred earth until I fell to my knees beside him.
“CJ,” I breathed again, brushing damp strands of curly hair from his forehead. His skin burned hot beneath my fingers, not from fever but from sheer exhaustion. I knew it well—I felt it mirrored in my own bones.
He looked up at me, his voice hoarse. “It’s done.”
I wanted to weep at those words. Instead, I pressed my forehead to him, holding him there as the silence of the battlefield stretched around us. “Yes. It’s done.”
But even as I said it, I knew it wasn’t over. Adrian may have fallen, Kael may have vanished into whatever shadows remained, but our war wasn’t finished. This was only one victory. A necessary one, but not the end.
I could feel eyes on us—the leaders of the alliance, the warriors, and Tarria standing apart with her dark smoke flickering faintly around her hand. They looked at me not just as Lexy but as their queen, their center. I wanted to rise, to speak, to command—but my body betrayed me. The fire I had poured into CJ and Xazul left me hollow, like a phoenix too soon after rebirth, feathers still sang, wings too weak to fly.
CJ must have seen it in me, because his arm slipped around my back, steadying me even as his body trembled with the effort. We leaned into each other, two pillars cracked but still holding.
“Let them see us standing,” he murmured.
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat, and together we rose. The crowd parted slightly as we straightened, soot-stained but unbroken. Heads bowed, weapons were sheathed, and relief spread like a quiet wave. For the first time in weeks—no, months—hope bloomed without restraint.
The medics insisted we leave the field. I didn’t argue. I barely had the strength to climb onto the wagon they prepared, CJ at my side, though neither of us loosened our grip on each other’s hands. The rumble of wheels on dirt lulled me into a haze, the sounds of camp and recovery a muted backdrop.
By the time we reached our tribe, I could no longer tell where my exhaustion ended, and CJs began. They ushered us inside, a wave of cool air brushing my overheated skin. I sank onto a stretcher, closing my eyes as hands moved over me, checking, mending, soothing. CJ was across from me, arguing weakly that he didn’t need tending to, though the tremor in his limbs betrayed him.
“Stubborn,” I muttered, forcing my eyes open.
He shot me with a weary half-smile. “Takes one to know one.”
Despite everything, laughter escaped me—soft, shaky, but real.
Hours passed. The world slowed. The fires outside dimmed, the murmurs of the alliance turned to quiet rest. My body finally yielded to stillness, though every so often I jolted awake, reaching for CJ to make sure he hadn’t vanished, hadn’t dissolved back in Adrian’s beast. Each time, his hand was there. Warm. Solid.
Near dawn, Doctor Bennett entered, her presence as steady as always. She looked over at me first, nodding at the signs of recovery. Then her gaze shifted to CJ, lingering longer than I expected.
“You two burned through more than power tonight,” she said gently. “You burned through reserves your bodies didn’t have to spare.”
CJ tensed, sitting straighter. “We’ll recover.”
“Yes, you will,” Dr. Bennett agreed, but her tone carried weight. “But there’s something else you need to know.”
Something in her eyes froze me. “What is it?” I asked, pushing myself upright despite the ache in my bones.
Bennett exhaled slowly. “Lexy, the triplets… their growth has accelerated. Significantly.”
For a moment, I thought I misheard her. My mind spun, replaying the words again and again. Accelerated.
CJ’s hand gripped mine, grounding me. “How much faster?” he asked, voice low.
“Much faster than we anticipated,” Bennett said carefully. “At the current rate, they may arrive far earlier than planned. Their energy is responding to the powers you’ve both been channeling—especially tonight. The bond you share with them is intensifying their development.”
My stomach tightened. A rush of fear warred with awe inside me. I had felt them stronger than before, fluttering with life, but I hadn’t understood why. I thought it was just me—my fire, my strain.
“They’re… growing with us,” I whispered.
Bennett nodded. “Exactly. They’re tied to your strength. To both of you. And while that is a gift, it is also a burden. You’ll need to be careful, Lexy. Both of you will.”
CJ squeezed my hand, his jaw set but his eyes softening when they met mine. “We’ll protect them. No matter what it takes.”
I swallowed hard, a tear slipping free before I could stop it. “We just fought a battle that nearly tore us apart… and now—”
“Now,” CJ interrupted gently, brushing the tear from my cheek, “we fight for them. For us. Together.”
The words settled in me like a vow, steadying the storm in my chest. Exhaustion still weighed me down, fear still whispered sharp warnings, but beneath it all was something stronger. The triplets were coming sooner than expected, yes—but they were ours. Our fire. Our legacy.
And I would not let anything in this world—or the next—take them from us.
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