Heart of a Hunter

37. Where It All Began

Blair's POV:

The car ride was quiet, but it wasn't the comfortable kind of silence that Sam and I sometimes shared. This one was thick with uncertainty, heavy with everything unsaid. My heart pounded in my chest as I stared out the window, the passing trees blurring together in the darkness. We were heading back to where my family had been killed—back to where it had all started.

And, somehow, I knew this was where it would end, too.

Sam's hand was gripping mine tightly, his fingers warm and steady against my cold skin. I could feel his worry, his fear, but he didn't say anything. I was grateful for that. I wasn't sure I could handle hearing him try to comfort me right now. I didn't need comfort. I needed focus. I needed to be ready.

Because destroying the seal meant destroying a part of myself.

It was strange, thinking back to that night—when my parents had been killed, and my entire world had collapsed. I hadn't known what had really happened back then. It had just felt like chaos, like I'd lost everything in a single, violent moment. But now, I understood. The Arcani had been after the seal, after me, even then.

And now they were coming again.

I looked over at Sam, his jaw tight, his brow furrowed in concentration as he drove. He hadn't let go of my hand since we'd left the motel. I knew he was scared. I could see it in the way his eyes flicked over to me every few minutes, like he was afraid I might disappear if he didn't keep checking. And I wished, more than anything, that I could promise him it would all be okay.

But I couldn't. I didn't know what was going to happen once we got to the site. I didn't know what it would take to destroy the seal—or what it would do to me.

"You're quiet," Sam said softly, his voice cutting through the stillness.

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to meet his eyes. "Just... thinking."

He squeezed my hand gently, his eyes softening. "We'll figure this out. You're not doing this alone."

"I know," I whispered, but the truth was, part of me was terrified that I would have to do this alone. That once the seal was destroyed, I wouldn't be Blair anymore. I wouldn't be me. I'd be whatever was left behind—if anything was left at all.

Dean was in the front passenger seat, his gaze fixed out the window, his jaw set in that determined way he always had when we were about to face something dangerous. He hadn't said much since we'd gotten in the car, but that was Dean. When the stakes were high, he got quiet. Focused.

"We're close," Dean muttered, glancing at the GPS. "Another couple of miles."

I felt my stomach twist as the reality of what we were about to do set in. This wasn't just another hunt. This wasn't something we could fix with bullets and salt. The power inside me—the power tied to the seal—was ancient, dark, and dangerous. And once it was unleashed, I wasn't sure what would happen.

But there was no turning back now.

As we drove closer to the place where my family had died, I felt the pull of the seal growing stronger. It was like a weight in my chest, heavy and insistent, pulling me toward something I didn't fully understand. I closed my eyes, trying to steady my breathing. The power was there, just beneath the surface, waiting for me to let it out.

But I couldn't let it take control. Not yet.

When we finally arrived, Dean parked the car on the edge of a dirt road, the trees around us thick and foreboding. The night was still, the air cool against my skin as I stepped out of the Impala. My heart raced as I stared ahead, at the clearing just beyond the trees.

This was where my family had been slaughtered. This was where it had all started.

"Stay close," Sam said, his voice low and steady as he came up beside me, his hand resting on my back. "We don't know what we're walking into."

I nodded, my throat too tight to speak. I could feel the energy in the air, the weight of the seal pressing down on me, harder now than ever before. It was like the earth itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

We moved through the trees, the ground beneath our feet soft and uneven. Every step felt heavier, like the weight of the past was dragging me down, pulling me deeper into the darkness. But Sam was right there, his hand never leaving my back, and Dean was just ahead, his flashlight cutting through the shadows.

We reached the clearing, and I stopped, my breath catching in my throat. This was it. The place where my parents had died. The place where the Arcani had killed them, searching for the seal.

The earth felt alive beneath my feet, pulsing with energy. I could feel it now—stronger than ever before. The seal wasn't just a symbol. It was a living, breathing thing, tied to the very ground we were standing on. And it was connected to me.

Dean turned to me, his face grim. "This is it, isn't it?"

I nodded, unable to find my voice. My whole body was shaking, the power inside me threatening to burst free. The seal was pulling at me, calling to me, and I didn't know how much longer I could hold it back.

"We need to do this fast," Sam said, his voice tight with urgency. "The Arcani could be here any minute."

I swallowed hard, my heart racing as I took a step forward. The ground beneath me seemed to pulse in response, the energy rising up through me, stronger and darker than anything I'd ever felt before.

"I... I think I can feel it," I whispered, my voice trembling. "The seal. It's here."

Sam moved to my side, his eyes filled with worry. "Blair, are you sure you can—"

"I have to," I said, cutting him off. "It's the only way to stop them."

Dean moved to stand in front of me, his face hard. "Alright, so how do we do this? How do we destroy the seal?"

I stared at the ground, my hands shaking. "I don't know," I admitted, my voice barely a whisper. "But I can feel it. It's tied to me, to my family's blood. I think... I think I have to break it from within."

Sam's face paled. "Blair, that's too dangerous."

I nodded, my throat tight. "I know. But if we don't destroy it now, the Arcani will use me. They'll turn me into something worse than the seal itself."

Dean's jaw tightened, his fists clenched. "Then we do it. Whatever it takes."

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath as I reached for the power inside me. It was dark and cold, but it was mine. I could control it. I had to control it.

"Step back," I whispered, my voice trembling. "I don't know what's going to happen."

Sam hesitated, his eyes filled with fear and love and everything in between, but he stepped back, his hand lingering on my arm for just a moment. "Blair..."

"I love you," I whispered, giving him a small, sad smile. "But I have to do this."

And then, I let go.

The power surged through me like a tidal wave, crashing against my chest and rippling through my veins. I could feel the seal, feel it breaking, shattering as I unleashed the darkness inside me. The ground trembled beneath my feet, and the air around me crackled with energy.

But even as I felt the seal breaking, I felt something else, too—something inside me shifting, changing. The darkness wasn't just part of the seal. It was part of me. And now that it was free, I wasn't sure if I could put it back.

The world around me blurred, and I heard Sam calling my name, but his voice sounded distant, far away. The ground trembled beneath me, and I felt the power slipping through my fingers, wild and uncontrollable.

I gasped, falling to my knees as the last of the seal shattered, the energy ripping through the clearing and into the night.

And then, everything went dark.