My pounding heart plummeted to the sound of my mother's voice. I wrapped my arms around Henry, not wanting to let him go as I glanced back. My mother stood with that damned book in hand. Mason was right behind her.
I gave him a look of betrayal. It seemed that he chose his side.
"Mom, you can't do this," I choked. A burning sensation was forming in my throat, knowing that she was going to try and do anything she could to kill Henry.
"Millie, you need to understand something. I know exactly what you're going through," my mother started. Her hands clutched the sides of the book so tightly her knuckles were turning white. "I've been in your place in my life as well."
My arms loosened on Henry as I turned her way a little more. "What do you mean?"
"I was once in love with a shadow person. I was so in love that I broke the seal my father created. His love for me was false. You know why?" My mother's eyebrows lowered in pain. "Because they can't feel anything. It tricked me into believing it's lies, then killed my family. I spent the rest of my life studying these monsters so no one else had to go through what I did!"
I stared at my mom in shock. There were no words for me to say. My mind was completely blank.
"Please let me help you, Millie. Step away from the monster." Her eyes were filled with pleading messages.
But I held my ground.
When she noticed that I wasn't doing anything, she started to read out a spell from her book. Henry's muscles began to tighten under my arms. I looked up to him, but Henry seemed to be as still as a statue.
"What did you do?" I asked, worry getting to me.
"I froze him in place," my mother explained. "This will make him an easy target for the curse. I only have one minute before he can move again. Mason, I hate to do this, but could you please hold Millie back? I don't want her to get hurt."
Mason looked at me with conflicted eyes. I shook my head against Henry's chest, holding onto him. "Mason, don't listen to her. He's not like that anymore. I think he's hu-"
Mason's eyes began to gloss over with tears. He rubbed his face before marching up to me and cutting off my sentence. I yelled and tried to pull myself back to Henry, but Mason held me back. My vision blurred together as I began to sob. No matter how much prying and yanking I tried, there was no getting out of Mason's hold.
"Peribit, non revertetur..." the words began to pour out from my mother's mouth. The book was open in front of her eyes while her hand was pointed toward Henry. Even if he was still and unable to move, I watched a crystal-like tear fall from his eye.
Mason's arms gave away from my body, leaving me to collapse on the ground from my unsteady legs. It was too quick to react, but I remembered Mason standing in front of Henry before the quick flash jumped his way from my mother's hand.
Then, the limp body of a friend fell onto the forest floor.
All the sounds in the world had been cut. My eyes landed on Mason's resting face, the grass and forest brush matted under his head. Two sounds echoed through the trees: the drop of a book and quick footsteps running away from a mistake.
My shaky hand reached out to my old friend. Someone who loved me enough to sacrifice his own life to let me be happy.
How am I supposed to be happy without my lifelong friend by my side?
Henry began to stir next to me. "Millie..." he started.
"Don't." My tone was harsh. Harsher than intended. My hand never did make it to Mason. I couldn't even handle moving a muscle for fear of falling apart.
"Millie, just listen to me..."
I slowly blinked, finding the courage to turn my head to Henry. His eyes looked intently into mine.
"Mason isn't dead."
