Prophecy

Chapter 62: Death

*Xavia's POV*

After our heartfelt goodbyes, I watched our mentors disappear into the distance, their forms becoming mere specks against the vast sky. The weight of the training we had endured began to settle into my bones, exhaustion seeping through every muscle. I could feel the relentless push of my abilities catching up with me, a weariness that I couldn't quite shake.

Grace, ever attentive, noticed immediately.

Her sharp, gorgeous eyes never missed a detail when it came to me, and I loved that about her more than anything.

"You look exhausted... That took a lot out of you, didn't it?" My mate asked, her voice soft and with utmost concern.

I nodded, a weary smile tugging at my lips. "Yeah, but it's nothing that some rest and finishing off what I was doing to you this morning can't help."

Her reaction was instant.

Grace visibly shuddered, and a thrill shot through me at my effect on her.

Her eyes darkened.

With a mix of desire and worry, she unconsciously licked her lips before speaking, "So, I take it we're going home right now, aren't we?"

"You bet your sweet ass we are," I whispered, my voice low and full of promise.

Without another word, I pulled her into a kiss, our lips crashing together in a fervor that made everything else disappear. The exhaustion that had weighed me down moments ago melted away in the heat of our connection, the world around us dissolving into nothingness as we lost ourselves in each other.

But then, as if the universe itself recoiled at our moment of peace, everything changed. The city's lights flickered and then extinguished, plunging the world around us into a suffocating darkness. I pulled away from Grace, my heart hammering in my chest as I looked around, trying to make sense of what was happening. Grace's brows furrowed as she scanned the now-inky blackness surrounding us.

"What could have caused that?" she asked, her voice tinged with unease.

"I don't know," I replied, a sense of dread creeping into my gut.

We both knew this wasn't just a power outage. Before we could react further, the ground beneath us shuddered violently. The mountain we stood on groaned, and I felt the Earth splitting apart, the very land beneath us rebelling against some unseen force.

"We need to move!" I shouted, grabbing Grace's hand as we both launched into the air, our wings beating furiously to escape the collapsing mountain.

Then, it tore apart, massive chunks of rock and debris falling away as if the very foundation of the world was being unmade. As we soared above the chaos, I saw the city below, usually vibrant and full of life, plunged into an ominous void. The air was filled with the sounds of destruction—crashes, the splintering of stone, and the terrified screams of people running for their lives.

We descended, our wings cutting through the darkness, but seeing anything in the pitch-black night was nearly impossible. The Earth beneath us quaked violently, splitting open to reveal gaping chasms that swallowed everything in their path. The city was unrecognizable, a landscape of shadow and fear.

As we landed, the ground trembled again, the cracks in the earth widening, and I felt a cold, deathly chill seep into the air.

Then we saw it.

Rising from the bowels of the Earth, a figure cloaked in shadows towered above everything else.

The Death Horseman.