Chapter 116

I woke up slowly to the smell of burning trees and smoke. I felt the heat of it on my back and still tasted sweetness in my mouth. I choked and tried to cover my mouth, searching for the source of the fire. I felt the heat, but it wasn’t so close that I couldn’t get away. I felt terrible, dizzy, and nauseous. I dragged my body away from the fires, trying to get further into the forest and away from the fire.

I heard something roar and the ground began to shake as if something was coming toward me. Was it another beast? Had the fire been set by Shiloh? Maybe one of the vampires that had been attacking the van? Where were they? Were they still nearby waiting to grab me and drag me to Damian?

Who was the person who pulled me out of the van? What had he done to me? My stomach lurched. I didn’t feel any odd pains. My head ached, but the rest of me didn’t hurt any more than it had when I’d been pulled out of the van. I looked down and felt a shudder of relief go through me as I realized I was still fully dressed. I was a bit dirtier than before, but I was okay.

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder. Who was that and what did they want?

Where was Candido? I was so sick, so weak. My eyes prickled. I wanted Candido to come save me. I remember screaming for him, but he hadn’t come? Hadn’t he felt my panic? Hadn’t he felt that I was in danger? He’d always come before. That’s what mates were supposed to do when the other was in danger. I bet his father tried to save his mother or vis versa when the attack on the mansion happened.

The only thing I could think was that there was a reason that he couldn’t come.

Was he dead?

I let out a sob at the thought. I didn’t want to believe it. Was everyone I knew dead? Was Claire and Francium dead? What about the rest of Blue Moon?

“Candido?” I called as loudly as I could manage as I felt the heat coming after me. I looked back and started to crawl faster as if the fire was chasing me. I could see faces in the flames. They were twisted and hungry as they looked at me and hands reached out toward me. Was I hallucinating? Maybe I was, but it didn’t matter. The darkness was swarming and weaving toward me. The fire grew and gushed like water over the dry leaves and branches.

I felt sick, like I needed to just lay down.

I heard the roar of a car, and my stomach lurched. Was it someone with Damian or Blue Moon? Maybe it was someone else? Some other vampire prince with a grudge against the werewolf world? I tried to crawl over a large rock and towards the sound of running water. The rock was slippery and my limbs were too weak to get me over the rock smoothly.

I hefted myself up and hoped that the glimmer I was seeing nearby was water. I could hear it, but I couldn’t be sure. I couldn’t smell it in the air. I couldn’t feel the humidity rising either. The vehicles were getting closer, but were they friends? Were they enemies?

“Candido?” I said again. “Candido, please come. Please save me. Help me… Please help me!”

I heard the jeep pull up. I saw the lights flash over me, and I rolled over. My strength was fading. I was so scared. I wished I had just stayed at home. If I’d known that this was going to happen, I would have never come.

“Hedy!” My head shot up as I heard Candido’s voice. I heard boots coming towards me, then I saw him. I reached out for him sobbing.

“Candido?” I cried. He wrapped his arms around me and scooped up close. “Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me.”

He hushed me. “I have you now. I have you. I found you. Everything’s okay, princess. Everything’s okay.”

“I just… It was so dark, and then I was in a van and…”

He scooped me up. I heard myself talking, babbling, and sobbing, but I wasn’t sure if I was making much sense or if he was listening. The world was swimming around me. My stomach heaved several times. I was sure that I had thrown up or I was about to, but I couldn’t be sure of anything.

He climbed into the back of one of the jeeps and kept me close.

“Let’s go!” Candido shouted.

I heard thunder and watched lightning twist through the sky. The air turned wet and humid as the rain began to pour down. The jeep roared and jerked forward away from the oncoming fire. Candido held me close, stroking my hair as we drove away. I sniffled and let my tears fall as it felt like everything was finally calming down.

Candido was here. I was with him. Everything was guaranteed to be alright because that’s what Candido was good at.

As we crested a hill, a flare of fire flashed across the sky. I saw the tower of fire that was consuming another building in the capital. It crumbled and fell. The capital was burning down in tall towers of flame. My heart clenched at the realization that a lot of my favorite places were gone and might never be rebuilt.

What about the school? It wasn’t in the capital proper, but just outside of it. Was it okay? Would they use the passage there to escape back into the cave?

“It’s unlikely,” Candido said. I must have said that out loud. “They were headed towards the next town. We’ve evacuated most of the capital and the nearby towns, but there was no stopping the fire.”

“The Estate?” I asked weakly. “Is it gone?”

“I’ve already had them evacuated… There was an attack there too. I’m not sure about the state of it.”

My eyes burned and I curled into his arms. “Is… everyone okay?”

“They are save for a few injuries,” Candido said. “Allen’s taking people to designated safe houses around the territory. Everything will be fine. Just rest. We’ll talk later.”

I closed my eyes, wanting to believe him. Letting myself be protected and curl up in his arms. I loved it. It was all Candido ever did and I could always trust him to protect me. He hadn’t stopped protecting me yet. He never would, I was sure of it. We were mates. He said he loved me. He’d always be here.

“How is she?” Vanessa asked from behind me.

“Scared. Shocked,” Candido said, stroking my hair. “I think she’ll be okay… she’s so pale, but she’s not injured as far as I can tell.”

“Good,” Vanessa said. “Any thoughts about how she got way out here?”

“… there are only a few options,” Candido said. “We can talk about it later. How much further?”

“We’re headed into the caves. We’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

I frowned. “The… caves?”

“It’s another route to Blue Moon HQ,” Candido said. “Don’t worry. It’s completely safe.”

Yet as I turned to look ahead. I saw the mouth of a cave getting closer and something was whispering at the back of my mind not to go in there. I clung to Candido and turned my face into his chest.

I didn’t want to think about anything. Nothing else but being in Candido’s arms mattered right now.

“I want hot chocolate,” I said.

“As soon as we get back,” Candido said. “I’ll make you whatever you want.”

“And pudding.”

“Okay.”

“And cake.”

He chuckled. “I got it. Just this once, I’ll let you eat nothing but dessert, okay? For now, just rest.”

I smiled, nodding, and trying to ignore the growing sense of unease in me. I swallowed my doubts and wrapped my arms around Candido’s waist, snuggling into his arms. The battle was over. We didn’t win, but we didn’t lose either if Candido was still alive. People would rally around him if there had to be more fighting, but I didn’t think it would go on.

The vampires had burned down city hall for a reason, but if it was just Damian’s faction, then it shouldn’t be hard to stop him from doing any more danger.

I frowned, thinking back to my conversation with Messiah and Shiloh.

They’d said that Damian was weak, but they also said that it was because Claire had fed from him. Was there a chance that Claire had some sort of bond with Damian that we could use to our advantage?

“Where’s Claire and Francium?”

“I lost contact with them,” Candido said.

“They’re headed back on a different route,” Vanessa said. “He was going to meet up with Francia. Why?”

I shook my head. “We can talk about it later.”

“We’re almost at the cave entrance,” someone said gruffly. “Everyone stay alert!”