Just before the break of dawn, I toss the last vampire body into the pyre.
Alex counted about 56 of them while the tiger casualties according to Ganzorig were in the low 20s. Astrid is tending to the wounded fighters nearby as some villagers carry a bloodied man with multiple bite wounds over to her and a few of the elders. She catches a glimpse of me watching her with pride and affection as I remember how bravely she fought beside me. To think, we had declared our love for each other just a few hours ago. I shake the thought of the euphoric mark she left on me with a smile on my face. What a night it's been.
Meanwhile, Bianca stands silently by the pyre, gazing at its dancing flames, biting her lips in contemplation.
"It's all my fault," she whispers.
"No, it wasn't," I tell her.
She turns to look at me, her bright green eyes almost transparent against the light of the fire.
"I messed everything up when I ran away instead of facing down my dad like I should have," she says with a quaver in her voice.
"You can say all the should-haves and could-haves in the world in hindsight, but that still doesn't make this your fault, Bianca. Nobody knows these things except for the Gods and Goddesses up above."
"Yeah, well where's the Moon Goddess to save us now? We're all alone."
That part, she's right about.
Bianca sits down on the ground where the fire has melted away the snow to reveal dry mountain stone and hold her head between her hands. I gaze back at Astrid, who immediately looks away. She's been watching us all this time, worried for her friend despite the current stalemate between them. I think about what Astrid would do in this tough situation and somehow a memory of the time she scolded me in the artifacts room of the family manor back home pops up. How she'd called me and my pack selfish for keeping things from the rest of the Mighty Five.
I sit down next to Bianca. She looks a little confused at this, probably harboring the same sort of prejudice Astrid had for me back when we had just met.
"We may be all alone down here, but we still have each other," I tell her. "Lycans and wolves."
She scoffs, looking back at the fire.
"You know," I continue, "Astrid really gave it to me when we first met. She gave me her 100% honest opinion of Lycans and how...arrogant we are. Of course, I couldn't see this myself, but eventually, I realized that she was right."
"She's usually right about many things," Bianca responds. "And she'll always be honest with you. That's what I love about her."
My ears prick up to this, though Bianca doesn't seem to feel my reaction at her Freudian slip. I take a breath to ask her if she's ever confessed her love to Astrid, but I think better of it. Feelings are quite sensitive at the moment and we should focus on the task at hand.
"Having said all of that, we need to work together—all of us—to defeat the First Son," I state.
"And how do you propose we do that?" she asks sceptically. "How do we defeat an unearthly entity that goes around inhabiting different hosts and disappears into thin air just like that?"
"For a start, the Sun Goddess may provide some answers."
"I don't know what good that will do considering I hardly lasted 5 minutes trying to talk to her before passing out for half a day."
"Remind me again what the Sun Goddess told you?"
Bianca sighs exasperatedly, racking her brain for the hazy memory.
YOU ARE READING
Sun & Moon
ChickLit"I'll have a whiskey and the lady will have a shot." A very tall man appears right beside me with a curly dark lock of hair resting above his brow that reminds me of Superman. His nose slopes down straight like a Grecian sculpture. His voice is cool...
