Divine Destiny: Serendipity Saga Book Two

Epilogue

I came to swaying gently in a pair of warm, solid arms. My head was nuzzled against someone's neck and my fangs were out without my permission.

"Have at it, you champ," he said, his voice rough but still with his characteristic playfulness.

Anton walked through the forest, cradling me near to him. I could just barely see the remnants of the chaos we were leaving behind.

The circle from the spell had seared its path into the grass and dozens of dead bodies were scattered around the trees. Tempest and Valeria were laid out on different sides of the clearing. I felt bad, seeing Tempest who had been driven mad by a spirit she couldn't fight and Valeria who had chosen to save me, whether through selfish reasons or not in her final moments both tossed aside like dolls whose use had expired.

Kellic and Carson were nowhere to be seen, nor were the amulets.

"Are you okay?" I asked Anton as he walked.

He laughed, glancing down at me. "Am I okay? I only got a little slapped around. You just harnessed incredible power and got injured dozens of times. But you want to know if I'm okay?" He shook his head though it didn't seem to be at me. "That's so typically you." He smiled and the expression warmed my heart.

I had worried for a time that he may not have survived that blow. I had worried the same for Carson. I should've known they were both alive when I didn't feel any distress on our imprint. At the moment I hadn't even considered it. It didn't help that I had been so jacked up on Order's power that I wasn't sure if a shattered imprint would actually have killed me.

"I'm fine," he replied, "I think there was a paralytic in those spears. I was unconscious and completely unable to fight it. When I finally woke up, you were out of it and Carson was gone."

I hesitated, realizing he hadn't seen the outcome of the fight. "I didn't save us," I said quietly. The words felt heavy in my chest but they were true. I had failed. I had failed Valeria and I had failed my friends and family.

Anton gazed down at me curiously, not needing to watch his steps.

"Kellic," I said softly. "Kellic saved us. And I'm not sure if she's even Kellic anymore."

Anton went rigid but he continued on his path. "What do you mean?"

I looked up at him. He was so handsome. He was young as far as vampires went. He was several years older than me but biologically so, not just in appearance. He had auburn hair that looked coppery in the darkness beneath the trees. His amber eyes were bright.

"Kellic saved me. Tempest or Kenos or whatever you want to call her was about to kill me. She was about to win. But Kellic killed her and in doing that, she absorbed the powers of Chaos. Even Seira--the woman from the vision--isn't sure what will become of her. All she knew was that her use of the Order Amulet had driven her mad. Literally. Every anger or outrage has turned massive inside her. She might hate us." Damnable tears ran hot down my face. I was so sick of crying.

Anton didn't reply, he just walked quietly until we reached the edge of the forest.

Though it had been dawn when this excursion had begun, it was dark now, twinkling stars above lighting our path. He carried me across the field between the trees and the house silently. The building was scarred, smoke billowing from the front gates, but otherwise, it remained intact.

Anton made his way to the back door we'd exited through and swung it open with one hand. He helped me down to my feet but still held most of my weight. I was grateful for that because I was certain my legs wouldn't hold me.