Chapter 25
Rhea PoV
I don’t know where my power has come from, I’m not even sure how I am turning them to ash, all I know is that it is working, and I’ve never felt more powerful in my entire life. Fuck these vampires, I am glad they are dying. And I’m glad I’m the one that is helping to destroy them.
Gabriel isn’t doing too bad either, he’s surrounded, but he doesn’t even seem fazed. He almost seems happy to be fighting.
“How are we even doing this?” I ask my wolf, jumping to the side when a vampire female rushes me, missing me by only an inch or two.
“I told you that we were strong.” She brags, laughing. “And eventually we’ll be able to do so much more.”
“What do you mean by that?” I ask, confused.
We already have a strange magic that kills vampires on contact, what else is possible?
“You’ll find out soon enough.” She tells me cryptically, “but first we need to get stronger.”
Ugh, why can’t she just give me a straight answer?
I’m so tired, I wish I could lay down, I haven’t used this much energy in weeks, not since before I was taken from my home. Even my wolf Alora was struggling, and she was much stronger than me.
I thought the enemy would have stopped by now, but they keep on coming, waves and waves of vampires that want to destroy Gabriel and I.
I shift back into my human form, unable to hold the form of my wolf anymore. It hurts too much.
“Gabriel I can’t do this.” I gasp, panting heavily for every breath.
“You have no choice.” Gabriel growls, snapping the spine of a vampire as they try to attack him, and ripping off his head, throwing it into the growing pile of bodies. “Don’t you dare give up, Rhea, don’t you fucking dare.”
I wasn’t even thinking about giving up, but he could at least acknowledge that I’m only a she wolf, I’m not as strong as he is. I don’t have the same stamina.
I have the body of a human, and humans are much weaker than vampires, if I were born into the wrong family, I wouldn’t even have my wolf to help protect me.
“Fuck you.” I growl at him, throwing a rock at the back of his head. “I’m trying, we’ve been at this for hours.”
“Don’t throw things at me, Rhea, distraction means death.” He says, no longer sounding angry. “Just fight for a little longer. It’s nearly over.”
I wish he was right.
I wish it with every bone in my body, but he wasn’t. He was completely wrong. The enemy kept coming, and soon, the sun was beginning to set and fatigue was making its way into my every muscle. I hurt everywhere, and I winced every time I moved.
There was no way I could do this all night, suddenly death was seeming oddly inviting.
But Gabriel’s words echoed in my head every time I wanted to give up, reminding me that we needed to keep going, keep fighting, and keep holding on to our strength.
He repeatedly promised it would be over soon, and every time, I believed him. I prayed to every god and goddess out there, begging them to make this end. To make it stop. To make the vampires disappear. But none of them answered me, even my wolf had gone silent. She was as tired as I was. Perhaps more so, especially since she was still recovering from wolfsbane poisoning.
And then, as if by magic, there were no more vampires attacking us, bodies littered the ground, blood and body parts scattered across the dirt as far as the eye could see. It was over. It was finally over.
And I was glad for a minute of peace.
I collapsed onto my knees, panting and heaving at the same time, the smell was atrocious, sickening. I almost vomited a couple of times, but with nothing in my stomach, I only managed to heave dryly.
Gabriel stepped closely to me, his eyes lingering on my bloodied face, he looked worried, as though some sort of guilt ate him away, and whilst I wanted to blame him. I couldn’t. He didn’t choose to be attacked, just like I didn’t.
A nice walk in the garden turning into hours of fighting for our lives, and my brain couldn’t believe that it was over. I was shaking, every part of me.
I wanted to cry and scream, I wanted to throw things and shout into the mountains that it wasn’t fair. But that wouldn’t change anything. We were attacked, they tried to destroy us, but we survived.
Barely, but we were still here.
And I was suddenly very grateful for my life, even if it isn’t exactly going the way that I had always hoped.
Gabriel kneels in front of me, “sweet, sweet Rhea.” He says softly, “I am so proud of you.”
I look up at him, my eyes filling with tears. “You are proud of me for killing?”
He shakes his head, “No.” he says, “I am proud of you for defending yourself, and for not giving up.”
He lifts me up into his arms, cradling me against him, as he turns to one of his warriors, “tell Rayan to meet me in my office in thirty minutes, I want a full rundown of who we lost.”
The warrior nods, “yes my king.”
Gabriel kisses the top of my head as he walks back into the mansion, and for the first time since I arrived here, I felt safer knowing he was close by. He wouldn’t let me get hurt, I know that now.
And whilst we would never love each other, we had a mutual respect. He knew I wasn’t going to let him treat me badly, and he knew that I wasn’t someone he could use and discard.
I wasn’t even sure I could run from hi anymore, not when the vampires who weren’t allied to him wanted me dead, and as soon as the knowledge of my new power gets out there into the world, more vampires will want to see me hang. I’m dangerous to them.
“Are you hungry?” Gabriel asks me as he carries me up the stairs. “I can have the kitchen staff prepare something for you.”
I shake my head, unable to hide my tears any longer, “No, I’d just like to go to sleep. I’m exhausted.”
“Don’t cry Rhea.” He says softly, wiping them from my cheeks as he places me onto the bed in my room. “Don’t let them have your tears. They don’t deserve them.”
I sniffle, trying my best to stop, but now that I had started, I couldn’t control it. A sob burst out of me, followed by gasps and small screams. I was a wreck.
This had truly broken the last of my spirit.
But I did my best to hold on, I tried to be strong.
But I’m not strong, not at all, I’m weak.
Gabriel sits down next to me, letting me get all of my fear and pain out, letting me scream and shake as he holds me in his arms.
“You’re allowed to breakdown, love, but remember to pick yourself back up once you’re done.” He says, rocking me gently back and forth. “You have more bravery than anyone here believed you to have. You proved them all wrong today, you showed all of us just how strong you are.”
I look up at him, exhaustion taking its hold on me, “will you come back after your meeting?” I ask hesitantly, “I don’t want to sleep alone.”
He smiles, the first real smile I have ever seen from him, “of course, love.” He lays me down on the bed, kissing my head, “I will be back in thirty minutes.”
“Do you promise?” I ask, feeling small and tired.
“I promise.”
When he leaves, I stare at the ceiling, wondering if I will ever be the same again, I don’t know why, but I need Gabriel. I need him to want me.
I need him to see me for who I am, and I am going to show him.