October and April (Bk 2 Of The Valhireya Series)-rewriting

Twenty nine

Cade

As we step on the land of Valhireya we are greeted by smoke and fire. People are running in all directions, trying to save other people trapped inside their burning homes or shops. Chaos is governing everything. My heart freezes in my chest as my worst fear comes to mind.

"What is going on?" My father stops a man and compels him to answer.

"He is here! He burned the castle!"

"Where is princess Idalia?"

"The queen is fighting... they are fighting on the coast." His words confuse me. Queen Rhea is fighting? She is a healer. How is she fighting?

"Take us there!" My father instructs him and we both follow the man's thoughts and are teleported on the beach. Soldiers are clashing, magic flashing through the air, cutting flesh or causing explosions. The are bodies scattered around everywhere and somewhere in the distance I see two blonde women fighting a man.

"Do something!" I shout at my father.

"You know we can't kill people, Cade!" He tells me and we both start running towards them.

Suddenly, the winds picks up speed and the water in the sea starts to move, waves forming very close to the shore. I see the water lifting and crashing upon the man, as Aurora screams, channeling all her force to maintain a constant ball but she fails and falls to the ground. Idalia looks at me for a second, her face covered in bruises and cuts. Why is she not healing herself? The man, which I presume is Viktor, launches a ball of fire towards her, which blasts her, full force.

"I'm sorry!" She mouth the words and finally heals herself.

It all happens within seconds. The wind picks up speed again as water raises again from the sea, crashing on Viktor. Idalia manages to maintain the ball of water enough for Viktor to start struggling how to breathe. This is it! He must morph to a merman now.

"Aurora!" I scream from the top of my lungs and she finally gets up again, helping Idalia mantain the water ball. The sand around Idalia starts to bubble and sizzle, as if melting.

"Get ready, father!" I tell him and he nods. A long steak made of glass flies through the air.

"Now!" I shout precisely when the arrow pierces the water ball and Viktor's heart. Time slows down enough for us to see Viktor's soul leaving his body. My father raises his hand and his soul travels to him, responding to his call.

"You know what? Why don't I run quickly downstairs and design the best Hell loop there's ever been for this piece of nothing? I will come back and visit after I'm done!" He says.

"Thank you!" I tell him and he smiles.

"This was fun! We should do it again!" He says just before he vanishes and time starts flowing again.

"You can stop now!" I tell Aurora as I run towards Idalia. I pull her in my arms as she cries against my chest.

"I am so sorry!" She says again, making me confused.

"My soul, he is gone. Dead! You have nothing to be sorry for!" I tell her. She looks at me and then her eyes close as her legs give up on her and she faints. When I pick her up in my arms, I see blood pouring down her legs.

"Aurora! She is hurt!" I shout and she runs towards us. Tears pour down her face as she checks Idalia's pulse.

"Let's get her to the town!" She tells me and start walking as fast as I can.

When we finally make it to the hospital, the doctors rush in and take her away.

"Do you know where she's been hit?" The nurse asks us, as Aurora wipes her tears away from her cheeks only to have new ones fall down.

"She's had a miscarriage!" She tells the nurse and my world stops. That is why she had cuts and bruises. She didn't want to shift because it would have hurt our baby. When Viktor hit her with the fireball, she had to shift to survive it and that's when the baby died. Suddenly, I can't breathe! I run outside and sit down on the stairs of the hospital, pulling my hair.

"There is nothing you could have done!" Aurora's voice startles me.

"I should have asked dad to stop time sooner!" I tell her and she looks at me confused.

"Your... dad? What are you talking about?" She asks me.

"My dad was on the beach. He captured Viktor's sould before he could restart his heart. He took him to Hell." I tell her and she looks away, her face turning into one of relief.

"He killed my aunt and uncle, you know? He killed his parents!" She says and my breathing stops. That means Idalia lost both her parents and our baby in one day? Tears run down my cheeks as I imagine the amount of pain she must have felt the moment she knew she had to shift at some point, the amount of pain she will be in when she wakes up.

"The queen is asking for you!" A nurse appears and tells Aurora. I start walking behind her but she stops me.

"Let me go in first! Give her a couple of minutes to process what has happened to her. I will let you know when she is ready!" She says to me before we enter the hospital again.

I nod and sit back down on the stairs, looking at the smoke still coming out of the buldings before me. People are sitting on the sideway, holding their children and wives and husbands. I look at them and my heart hurts in my chest. I have failed them!

I have failed my wife and children!