A LAND OF FIRE AND DARKNESS

Chapter 55

I woke up with a heavy breath as I looked around the darkened chambers. Delcallon's arm was draped over my waist as his face pressed into my back.

The night sky was as dark and still as it had been when I fell asleep.

I listened to the peaceful heartbeat of Del's. Heavy as his sleeping breaths. I closed my eyes and focused on that sound, allowing myself to fall back to sleep. His heartbeat calmed me down, like listening to heavy waves crashing on a beach.

My eyes snapped open when I heard the sound of another heartbeat.

I looked over the room and searched for the sound. My face dropped and my heart froze when I saw him leaning over the fireplace that was slowly dying out.

"This is not what I wanted for you." He murmured out as his dark hair fell to his neck.

I sat up in the bed as I examined him. He could not be here, he could not be real.

He looked over his shoulder at me and I met his crystal-blue eyes that were so similar to mine. My heart broke at the sight of him.

"Lewis," I muttered out as I looked over at the man I thought was dead.

He slowly turned to face me, allowing me to examine him. He appeared thin and sickly. His cheekbones protruded out of his face, and his eyes appeared to hollow in. He looked as ill as he did the last time I saw him.

"Did you choose this?" He asked pointing to the bed, to where Delcallon still slept next to me. "Did you choose the King, or did the Intwining force you?"

My heart began to race as I looked down at Del. How was he still asleep?

"Did you choose him!" Lewis growled out causing me to look back towards him. The room seemed to shake around me.

"I did." I barked back with a defensive tone.

He shook his head slowly, "You promised to pick the right side Alinta." He stated with a terrifying voice.

I shook my head in confusion at him.

The air shifted as bodies began to take shape around the bed. Their bodies vibrated and shifted as they looked down at me. I could not see their faces, they were a blur of light and color.

"Run, Alinta," Lewis ordered with a stern tone.

I looked over at him as my eyes widened. I began trying to wake up Del, shaking him violently and screaming his name. "Del wake up!"

But he remained in a deep sleep. "What did you do to him!" I cried out towards Lewis.

Lewis shook his head as he looked at me, "You need to run Alinta." He told me sternly.

I was not going to run. I was not going to leave Del.

I continued shaking him, trying to wake him up.

The forms around us each pulled out a silver blade causing my heart to freeze. "Del! Wake up!" I screamed as the figures walked towards us.

My skin began to glow as I thought about how to protect him. My hair whipped around me as my body began to light with a purple flame.

They walked closer still, unafraid of me or what I would do to them.

I aimed a ball of fire at the one, shooting it straight for their head.

I flew through the light and color blur, creating a hole. But the form recomposed and continued to stride towards me. What was happening?

They stepped over me and I watched completely helplessly as they drove their blades into the head of my Intwined. I screamed out as the blaze engulfed me completely.