Chapter 38

*The Ritual—Part 2*

**Nerissa POV**

A scream sounded coming out from my mouth as I twisted my back, feeling the burning fire peeling over my skin as it was eating me alive.
The pain wasn’t as any I ever felt before.
Breaking and tearing me inside out, piece by piece, making me unable to breathe.
The memories flooded my mind, my family, my friends, my mates.
Alexander…
Allister…
I silently called their names in my head as a tear slid down over my cheek.
The feeling of heaviness, like I was drowning in the fire, overtook my senses.
Screams kept falling out of my lips as tears freely kept on falling from my eyes, wetting my cheeks.
It felt like a life force was being ripped out off of me.
I tried to fight it, but I couldn’t.
I looked towards Reynard and Randall, and I saw the markings shine all over their skin, making me look at Hilda and see the same effect.
Looking down on my arms I saw the markings were glowing but as well steaming as the small smoke would now and then appear from a different marking.
The chants coming from Hilda grew louder and louder and it was like with each word she would say, a part of me was ripped away from me, piece by piece.
The heaviness was like a feeling that the space around me was pressing down on me while the burning, a raging fire burned me inside out.
The screams coming from me didn’t waver down, and I saw Randall rush towards me, but Hilda raised her hand towards him, pressing him down to the chair as the chains wrapped around his wrists. 
“Stop it!” Reynard screamed from the other side as I looked his way just to see he was also restrained just like Randall.
“Hilda!! That is enough!!” Randall roared out to her, but she continued on chanting.
The loud noise of chains and wood breaking made me snap my eyes open, just to see Randall ragged as he started to walk towards Hilda, hand raised up.
I realized he was about to use his magic to stop her but before he could; I screamed so loud, making everyone feel chills rise in their bones when suddenly it happened.
The breaking of something invisible inside of me, making me still as my eyes grew while the words Hilda said, flooded my mind.
As in that moment, Hilda spoke the last lines loudly, everything went still.
The feeling in my chest grew more intense, burning and piercing through my heart, making it impossible to breathe.
Randall stopped and looked over at me and in the next moment, his hands went straight to his heart as he screamed out in agonizing pain, falling down onto his knees while Hilda and the female Fae rushed to his side to help him out.
I could barely see him clearly as my vision started to grow darker, but I saw how all the blood drained from his face as his eyes closed and his body almost fell down but was held by Hilda and the Fae.
The darkness around me grew heavier and heavier, making me close my heavy eyelids as slowly it consumed me, swallowing me wholly into its black hole.
It was dark and cold all around me as I couldn’t find my way to where I was or which way to go to.
All I knew was that I was not chained to that stone table anymore, nor were any of the Fae’s, Hilda, Reynard, or Randall, here with me.
Randall… was he about to save me before he… did he die? I asked myself, making me wonder why would he do that.
A soft, warm breeze wrapped around my now cold body, making me wonder where it came from.
I was cocooned in it as it led me to turn around by some invisible force, so I did.
That is when I saw a glimpse of silhouette making me gasp by surprise.
Strangely, I was not feeling afraid as I was looking at them, more like drawn to them, making me walk towards them, feeling like they were reaching out for me to follow after them.
“Wait!!” I called out for them as I started to run through the endless darkness, following them, trying to reach closer towards them.
They were fast, and I was losing them, making me panic as I forced myself to push myself faster, “Please wait!! Don’t leave me here all alone.”
It felt like I was running there for hours, not being able to see anything around me except them.
The moment I saw the scenery change I stopped running, looking over them as they waved me goodbye and disappeared before my eyes, leaving me feeling surprised as I took in the new scenery around me.
That is when I saw a huge white with strikes of gold, a phoenix laying down next to the breezy stream that divided the land we were in.
The forest so rich and colorful in light green and dark green leaves was set to my right side making the entrance from the forest leading down to a little green, grassy tiny meadow that was filled with colorful flowers that were so inviting not only by their unique colors but also their mesmerizing smell.
Walking through the beautiful flowers as I decided to take a closer look at the while phoenix, that raised curiosity inside of me as I wondered if I knew him or her, I passed the grassy meadow and took a step onto the rocky path.
I took slow steps as little by little I grew closer to the white and golden phoenix, making its head snap up slowly as those hazel eyes, eyes I knew all too well, looked down, deep into my soul.
“It is you,” I said as I felt my heart swell with warmth as my palm raised to gently caress her head.
Tears of joy streamed down my cheeks as I jumped towards her and wrapped as much as I possibly could, my arms around her chest.
Sniffling, I mumbled into her chest, knowing well that she would hear me as I didn’t want to part away anymore from her, “I have missed you so much.”
I felt her wrap around me, holding me tight to her as her all-so-familiar voice sounded in my ears. “I have missed you too.”
Slowly parting away from her, she sat down as I asked her, “What happened to you? You look so different.”
Shaking her head as I saw her exhale deeply, she said, “We are finally fully as one, Nerissa. The reason why I was well hibernating, is because I was at the final stage that led me here, a full mature phoenix.”
“But couldn’t you hear me call for you a while ago?” I asked her and could see a guilty and sad look in her eyes.
“I am sorry, Nerissa, I didn’t hear you but I felt all your emotions, and trust me I have tried to wake up but she was always saying, no, now is not the right time,” Bellania spoke with a voice filled with guilt.
I knew it was not her fault also it was impossible to be mad at her, but there was one thing that piqued my interest. I asked her, “Who do you mean by she?”
She looked at me for a moment longer before she said, “The Moon Goddess.”
My eyes widened as I heard her answer. “The Goddess? You mean you saw her?”
Her head shakes as she says, “Yes.”
But before I could ask her something more, she said, “We need to go back there, Nerissa. Our destiny is waiting for us, they are waiting for us.”
The sadness filled my heart at the mention of them.
How was I supposed to tell her?
“Bellania, there is something I need to tell you.” I started, but she stood up and cut my speech, saying, “No time to waste more, Nerissa. We need to go.”
Before I could say anything more to her, she wrapped around me tightly, making me clench shut my eyes as I held my breath, feeling my body flying going up and up as the warmth spread through me coming to the point of eruption and then suddenly I felt complete, alive.
I could hear a loud noise coming from the distance followed by a loud, earthshaking roar, and commotion and screams of the people around me reached my ears.
I tried to open my eyes and to see what was going on, but I couldn’t, not yet.
I was still wrapped tightly as Bellania and I were holding onto each other, as our final process of uniting together on a higher level has started.
The sounds of fighting and breaking were everywhere around me.
Feeling cold hands touch my skin as the touch sent icy chills to run down my skin, a threatening growl sounded, and in the next moment, the icy touch was gone only to be replaced by the tingles that erupted by their touch all over my skin.
The sound of his voice so close to my ear made my heart swell in joy as he said, “Nerissa.”