Between Shadow & Ruin (Fangs & Fae Saga Book 2)

twenty-eight.

***TW: self-harm mentioned

-------------------------------------------

There was an invisible wall blocking me from the rest of the room.

"Are you three okay!?" I heard Chris say.

"Yeah," we answered. "You?"

"Yeah."

"She separated us..." Zane said. "That's what she thinks will keep her safe. If the four of us can't be together, then she wins."

"Like hell she wins! I'm getting us out of this." Val's hand lit up with magic as she tried to blast through the invisible wall.

"Be careful, Val... don't blast yourself with your own magic," I said. "It's bouncing back right towards you." Chris whimpered in the corner. "Chris?" He was back on the ground, cowering into the corner. "Chris, what's wrong?"

"...Get up, please... just get up," he cried quietly. "This isn't happening... this can't be happening..."

"Chris!" I yelled, banging against the wall trying to break it. I felt my knuckles crush against it. Chris was sobbing and I wasn't sure why. My heart was breaking at seeing him so upset, and I hated that I couldn't help him. I heard Val scream from her corner and her hand lit up bright white.

"No! This is over!" she yelled out.

"Val!?" I looked at Zane. He said nothing. He wasn't moving. I wasn't even sure he was breathing. "Zane?" He didn't answer me. I hit the wall again and saw a figure moving towards me. The shape was familiar. I blinked my eyes, making sure I was actually seeing what I was thinking. "Mom?"

"Hey, chère," Odette said, running her hand through my hair.

"Mom, how are you here? You've been dead for fifteen years." There were tears in my eyes.

"I'm so proud of you, mon chou." I held her hand close to my face, taking in her scent. I hadn't smelled her perfume in so long. Tears fell down my face. She wiped them from my cheek.

"I was so mad at you for sacrificing yourself to save Dylan. I hated you for doing that. But if I was in your shoes and had to save my kids... I would do the same thing." She nodded lightly.

"I had no choice." Odette grabbed at her chest and made a weird face.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Blood came out from the corners of her mouth. She fell to her knees in front of me and behind her was Ezekiel, the Elite fae responsible for her death. I felt angry, my fangs came down and I ran towards him. I hit the wall, hard.

I felt something wrap itself around my heart and suddenly, I couldn't breathe. I could see Odie in the distance watching it all happen. He was blasting magic at a black figure, but he wasn't strong enough for it to reach us. He was crying out for me, and I was crying for him to look away. I looked down. The shadow held my heart in its hand in front of my face, laughing. I tried to reach for it, but it disappeared with my heart in its hands. I collapsed to the ground. Odie ran over to me and put his hands on my face.

"Momma. Momma, get up! Momma, come on!" Odie was crying and yelling over me. He put his arms around my neck and tried to get me to sit up. He held me in his arms and rocked back and forth, crying about me being gone. I got angry that I couldn't tell Odie that I was fine, that this wasn't real, but the more I tried, the harder it became to separate myself from what was real.

This isn't real. Get yourself out of this, I heard Odette's voice say. This isn't real. You're going to die if you don't get out of this, Odette said again.