Chapter 13 - Victory was supposed to mean survival. Instead, it summoned something far worse

Nyra's POV

The beast swung its tail, sweeping us off our feet and sending us flying into the air. I landed on my back. Every single bone in my body screamed in panic, but the harm had already been done. I coughed up some blood, washing off the metallic taste in my mouth with saliva.

Kade was already standing, but he put all the weight of his body on his left leg, holding his injured right side with his hands.  

"I doubt I have any normal bone left in my body. Are you really sure you want to do this? No magic?"

"Sorry, princess, but we wouldn't need your magical power."

"Now what?" I asked pointedly.

"Use your sixth sense. Be alert. Watch it closely and learn. That's the only way to defeat this beast."

"I've been watching and trust me, there's nothing to see other than a blood thirsty, bitter, angry, and ruthless beast!"

"You need to look beyond the surface. The left flank, can you see it?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"It has been guarding that place ever since. Even after so many attempts, I still haven't been able to hit that spot."

"Now that you mentioned it, I think I noticed too."

"Good. It is obviously protecting something. Something very important."

"Alright, Einstein. Let's find out what it is!"

"Hey, hey, wait!" He snapped. "We're doing this together, alright?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Cool, so on three!"

"Two!" I shouted 

The beast retreated, poised to attack once more.

And "One!" We screamed in unison.

We split up and ran at it in two different directions. Kade ran straight, headstrong with lethal precision, getting its attention easily while I took the left. Massive jaws snapped inches from his throat as the beast pounced for him, but Kade ducked beneath it and dragged his claws through its gut in a clean, savage arc.

At that moment, I noticed the faint but noticeable glimmer beneath its left side. A void that glowed a dim red. Kade was right.

"Now!" he ordered.

I didn't think twice. I twisted in midair, leaped high, and slammed both claws into the spot. The air shook as the beast let out a deep, guttural scream. In an attempt to shrug me off, it convulsed furiously, spraying black ichor everywhere. Kade grabbed its horn and pushed its head down as it lunged beside me. "Stay still!"

"I'm trying. That thing is twice my size."

The beast threw off its body in one breath, but I quickly caught myself. I had let Kade distract me. The creature was obviously weak, but we hadn't completely killed it.

The ground shook, then froze for a split second.

My knees went weak as a rush of relief swept over me. I made a brief, gasping sound like a sob as I chuckled. With a long, ragged breath, Kade briefly gave the impression that he might permit himself to feel victorious. Heat pressed over me, making my eyes sting from perspiration and blood.

Then came a loud roar, "The Dreadmoor isn't the place for you." The beast's furnace flashed white-hot, drowning out the words as his chest clenched. Its voice cracked the stones and divided the chamber in a torrent of ash and fire.

With his arms folded, Kade flung himself in front of me, bearing the force of the blow. The blast tore at his skin and scorched his fur. Smoke billowed from his wounds as he fell to one knee.

"You idiot!" I growled, clutching his arm.

"Stay back." He ordered, forcing himself to his feet, digging his claws into the ground. "This thing is after me. It's after my life, not yours."

"Then it would have to take mine first!" I barked, charging ahead before he could stop me, letting off a torrent of energy that lit my veins like lightning as I tore into the beast's weak spot mercilessly.

Kade trailed behind, hurling himself at its throat with a cry that echoed like thunder. This time, his claws dug deeper, blending fire and blood. Fury filled the chamber as the furnace sputtered.

Wolf and shadow, Alpha and witch, joined forces. The beast screamed, thrashed until it fell apart. One final flare came from its furnace, followed by a burst of white fire.

Then the room was filled with pleasant silence. Victory at long last.

With smoke curling from his wounds and his chest heaving, Kade fell to his knees. I staggered next to him, my hands losing their magic as beads of sweat rolled down my temple.

The air was thick with ash, and only our ragged breaths filled it until Kade broke the silence.

"You shouldn't have come here."

"You're welcome."

"I didn't say thank you."

"I know you meant to say it because without my help, you would have been roasted to ash."

"Why did you come here? How could you be so reckless?"

"You're one to talk. Whoever told you that being a good Alpha involves embarking on a suicide mission alone for absolutely no reason?"

"What I do as Alpha is none of your business."

"Oh, it is Kade. It is my business!"

Kade's eyes flashed red in the dark cloud as his jaw tightened in defiance, "Since when?" 

"Since you chose to play the fearless wolf hero. If I hadn't come earlier, you'd probably be dead by now." I said, arms akimbo.

"It would have saved me from this annoying and very unnecessary argument at least."

"Maybe, but you'd still face other problems, like…"

"Like what?" He asked.

"Like getting to the underworld and having to attend your troll welcome party as the dumbest Alpha that ever lived."

He growled in annoyance.

"What?" I shuddered, "I wasn't going to say anything, you were the one who asked for it."

"You talk too much."

 "Yet you don't ever stop listening."

The ground throbbed beneath us before he could respond.  The mirrors on the walls shook like agitated bones as the Dreadmoor shook again - this time it was stronger, as if it were alive.  

Kade stiffened, scanning the shadows. "Tell me that was your magic."

"Not this time," I whispered.

The temperature dropped by 10 degrees. My heart was racing so fast, yet I was breathless.  Then came the footsteps.  Slow. Deliberate. Like a clock, it echoed. 

The room dimmed as a figure emerged from the shadows.

Crowned with gloom and bone, tall as the ceiling, clad in something older than death itself, with eyes that flashed with hunger, not fire.

Kade's faint, stifled voice broke the silence. "Don't move, Nyra."

I wasn't planning to.

The figure smiled with a faint curl of something otherworldly.

Finally.