Shadow of the Key | Sebastian Sallow

Chapter 37: Sanctuary

"Oh, girl, it's you that I lie with, as the atom bomb locks in. Oh, girl, it's you I watch TV with, as the world, as the world caves in."

- Matt Maltese

~

WARNING: This chapter mentions and contains mild sexually explicit content.

Sebastian's POV

Once Sebastian spoke that single word, a bright, white ball of magic came hurling towards him and Amelia. Before it could reach them, they both ducked to dodge it, the spell making contact with the stone wall behind them. A loud explosion followed that caused both of them to stumble on their feet.

He needed to get her out of there. Fast.

"Go!" He urges her with a light push in the direction of the forest, both of them breaking into a sprint through the trees.

He remained close behind her, blocking spell after spell as they ran like their life depended on it. Because in that moment, it did.

He didn't want to consider the possible outcomes if he miscalculated a Protego, became distracted, or worse, one of them tripped.

With how fast his adrenaline was coursing through him, even if he wanted to think about it, he couldn't.

His only priority was to get Amelia to safety.

When one cloaked figure emerged in a cloud of black smoke near them, Sebastian flicked his wand in their direction mid-sprint, while ducking to dodge a Killing Curse from behind. "Reducto!"

They had no time to counter it when the spell connected with their chest, reducing them to dust.

With the surrounding trees that breezed past them and the sun setting over the horizon, Sebastian's vision became limited. He had a general idea of where they were and where they could go to safety Disapparate, but he was also worried about running them right into Harlow's hands.

But, the only thing they could do in this situation was sprint through the dark forest, with the unrelenting spells whizzing past their heads and the shadows that continued to spawn around them.

When another cloaked figure appeared in front of them, in quick succession, Amelia swiftly drew a dagger from her strap and hurled it directly into their throat. Blood poured like a torrent out of their hood as they clutched their neck and collapsed with a strangled, gurgling sound.

He would've grown a boner if their lives weren't currently at stake.

They continued their sprint, and when Sebastian saw a path where there were less trees to dodge, he frantically called out to Amelia with urgency, "Take a right!"

Luckily, she was good at following orders in dire situations, taking a sharp right turn with him following right behind her.

Unluckily, his sight wasn't that great.

He missed the sharp, downhill descent that he and Amelia both ended up tumbling down, evoking a noise of surprise from him and a shriek from her.

They tumbled and rolled through dirt for what seemed like a minute until they reached the bottom of the steep hill, with Sebastian coming to a stop face down while Amelia rolled right into a tree trunk, slamming her head and unconsciously collapsing on the ground.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

FUCK.

Panic wracking through his bones, with a pained grunt, he hastily lifted himself off the ground and ran towards her before dropping on his knees next to her.