Chapter 21

And he is waiting. He planned this all, and one day the dragons will come back to the world of Pennitan.

Two powerful descendants of Twilight will hold the books.

The books are the other deities, Sun and Moon, trapped within the pages…

This is how you free them…

T here's blood in my mouth, and I cough it out, my lungs and ribs screaming in pain with the movement. The unimaginable pain shooting straight up my bones in my leg is the worst and makes my eyes pop open, even as everything spins. Thick drops of blood slide down my eyebrow, and I brush it away with the back of my hand. Everything hurts too much, and I can't remember for a second what happened. I was flying with Maeve…and Hettie.

We crashed because of Emyr and his Silkvir. Hettie. I hear a slight cry, and I sit up, my body shaking as the world comes into view. I almost wish it didn't. Maeve is crashed on the forest floor with trees sticking through her beautiful red wings, blood pouring out of them, and she isn't awake. Deities, please save my dragon. Hettie…is being held up by Emyr. He's got his hand wrapped around Hettie's neck, holding her up in front of me in the air as she cries and wiggles to get free. Pure fear spills through my body and washes the pain away. I'm not scared for me. What is left of me at this point? Something feels very wrong in my body, and I bet I have internal injuries from the landing. Hettie, thank the deities, doesn't look too bad. A few cuts and scratches, but that's it.

I don't care what this monster does to me anymore, but if it's the last thing I do, I'll save her. For Ziven. For that innocent, sweet little girl to have a future. I clamp my teeth down as I stare up at my personal monster, who has me again. "Let her the fuck go, Emyr."

He blinks at me, and I realise I haven't shouted at him before. I've always been too scared, but I'm not anymore. I've changed and grown stronger. I'm too strong for him to break, no matter what he does to me. "No. Aren't you happy to see me?"

Is he fucking kidding me? "No. I hoped you were dead."

He looks shocked, and it only confirms to me that he is crazy. His features harden, and I instantly want to hide, run and cower like I always did when he was angry. But I'm not his victim anymore. I won't let him take me, and when I promised myself that, I meant it. "This place has you under some disbelief that running away would ever mean that you do not belong to me. You do."

I lift my head. "I belong to no one, especially not you. My body, my mind and my blood are mine. You are nothing to me." He tightens his hand on Hettie, who starts screaming, sobbing and thrashing in his arms. "Let her go!" I beg, holding my hands up. "Please, please."

"I'll let her go, but only if you come with me." He smirks. He won't be smiling soon. "You're going to be my bride. Mine forever." I don't know what his idea of forever means, but it turns my blood cold. It makes me terrified, absolutely fucking terrified. I look at Hettie's terrified face, and I see myself at her age. I see a young little girl that deserved nothing that she got. I can't let her die. My life for hers seems like an easy trade.

I nod to Emyr. "You can have me." What's left of me, I don't add.

He drops her straight onto the ground. Hettie runs to me, flinging her arms around my neck, and I breathe in her scent one more time. I hold her one more time for strength and whisper in her ear, "Hettie, you need to run in the forest. Don't stop until you find a fae, and then tell them who you are. Sun or Moon, you're their princess. Do you understand?"

She shakes her head in my chest. "I'm not leaving you!" Her voice is cracked, her throat swollen and red.

I tilt her face up to look at mine. "I love you too. You need to run into the forest, and don't look back. Catherine is out there. Please, just go." I push her away from me, even if it's the last thing I want to do. I want to hold her to me and never let go. Not when the sky is at war and there are monsters in that forest fighting. She is still better off than here. Emyr could change his mind at any moment, but he hates children.

She looks at me with tears falling down her cheeks and turns, running into the forest until I can't see her anymore. Maeve. I look at her and wish she would wake up, help me somehow, but I know deep down, she can't. She is seriously injured, just like I am, and she will heal. I will not.

I turn to face him. Him, the monster who tormented me for years. Him who abused me and hurt me. "Where's my mother?"

He smiles widely as he takes a step closer. I take one away from him. "Oh, you heard that lie. I never had her. I knew she existed all along, but your mother's pretty sneaky. I never did manage to find her, but it would have been fun if I did. I only told Kyrell that to make sure you'd come back, but it seems you're more heartless than I thought. I do like this side to you, Story."

I slip the dagger out of my thigh while the prince goes on and on. I only heard that he doesn't have my mother. Ziven, forgive me for this. I wish I could tell you I'll always love you, even when you fucked up. This black dagger was a gift from Ziven, but I don't think he intended it for this. I'm not leaving with Emyr. "Did you know I hated you?"

He takes a step forward, and his fangs slip out. "You won't hate me anymore."

I laugh in his face. I have nothing to lose anymore. My dragon is injured, Ziven is…I don't know where, but he can't save me from Emyr. I won't be taken by him. My body is crumbling, and I know I'm going to die. No healer is going to be able to fix me. "Did you know that every moment you touched me, I felt disgust? Every moment that you were close to me, all I felt was hate. Not love, not acceptance. You will never find anybody who hates you as much as I do, Prince Emyr. I had freedom back there, I had love, I had everything that was real. I found out I actually like sex when it's with someone I love, and I found out who I was born to be. You are nothing to me, and no matter what you do to my body, you will never leave a long-lasting mark on my heart like others did."

"Story!" He snarls like an animal, his eyes glowing with anger that bleeds to surprise as I slam the dagger straight into my neck. I don't want to die or kill myself, but if I am dying, it will be my choice. This is the last thing I can choose for my own life, and death is better than being his blood slave again. The pain is instant and I choke on my blood as I pull the dagger out and fall to my knees. Emyr picks me up, putting his hand over my neck as pure blood pours out on his fingers. I don't want to die.

"And you won't." My head rolls back in his arms, and I watch the sky full of dragons and stars. He shoves something into my mouth, a vial of something bitter that sticks to my tongue. It tastes like bark and magic. I scream and thrash as my body suddenly burns. He doesn't let me go. "Death can't take you, my vampyre queen. You're my immortal story."

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