The Last Hope (AU Book 1 of The Last Series)

Chapter 17

I sat up in bed with a loud scream bursting through my tight lips, opening my eyes and clutching my blanket tighter to my chest. My heart pounded hard and fast in my chest, and I looked around my room with a blurry and hazy vision, not knowing what was going on or why my heart was beating so fast that it felt like a runaway train.

What was happening to me..?

"Caroline!" someone exclaimed from somewhere to my right, and I instantly looked that way to see Fernos, coming toward me with furrowed brows and a grave and worried look on his face. "You're safe. You're ok."

I stopped screaming when Fernos came closer to me and basically lurched into his arms, even though I knew that he hated being touched and hugged him tight, but I couldn't care less because I needed his comfort.

Fernos grew tense before he hugged me back, sitting on the bed and pulling me closer to his side. "You're safe," he soothed and rubbed my back. "You're safe."

I didn't say a word and cried in his arms, grabbing him tighter and moving as close to him as I could. I set my jaw, trying to stop it from quivering, and squeezed my eyes shut while I waited for this panic attack to pass, my mouth and throat going dry.

"Fernos?" someone asked from the opening of the tent, and I grew tense while my heart skipped a beat before it started to pound harder and faster in my chest because I could tell that it was Cooper.

Shit...

"What is it?" he asked coldly. "What happened?" He gestured to me, and Fernos grew tense while he pulled me closer to him and away from Cooper. "What's wrong with her?"

I closed my eyes and pressed my lips into a thin line. My heart skipped another beat before it started to pound harder and faster in my chest, not liking the fact that he was in my tent, especially since he was the one that had choked me.

But it wasn't him...

He didn't do this to me...

Fernos set his jaw and pulled me closer to him and further away from Cooper. His whole body was tense, and I had a feeling that he did not like the fact that I had grown tense in front of Cooper.

"Fernos," Cooper snapped, and I flinched and closed my eyes while I set my jaw, my jaw quivering while I tried to gain my composure, even though it didn't work, and I continued to cry in the arms of Fernos. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Fernos said coldly while he pressed his lips into a thin line. "I have not been able to talk to her when she woke up." He paused and cleared his throat while he shifted in the bed, and I had a feeling that he looked at Tabitha, who was still in the tent with us, before he looked at Cooper again. "I am trying to get her to stop crying first before I ask her what happened and why she is crying."

"And why is she crying?" Cooper asked, and I had a feeling that he raised an eyebrow in question. "This is unlike her."

"Yes, I know, Cooper," Fernos replied coldly with a small nod, and I had a feeling that he set his jaw and narrowed his eyes. "Can you do me a favor and leave so that I can calm her down, please?"

Cooper growled and took a step toward us threateningly, and I couldn't help but flinch and move further away from him, not able to meet his gaze at all. "What did you say?" he asked, baring his teeth in a threatening manner. "What did you ask me to do?"

"I asked you to leave," Fernos said coldly, "so please, leave, or else I will take her out of the tent against your orders so that I will be able to calm her down and see what has happened to her."

Cooper growled again. "Tabitha," he said and looked at Tabitha, and the Witch Queen hesitated before she shook her head, not looking at him. "And what is that supposed to mean?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question. "Why did you shake your head?"