Chapter six: kade's fire

Freya's pov

Power surged through my body a foreign energy building in my chest. It was as if the earth called me urging me to fight, to stand my ground.

"Kade won't win," I said aloud. My voice trembled with the strength of my conviction. "I won't allow it."

The creature took one more step closer, its massive paw lifted from the ground ready to fall.

And in that moment, everything changed. The atmosphere seemed to crackle, ground under me seemed to hum with energy, and I could feel the power in me as never before.

But I did not know what would be next.

I did not know if I had the strength to stop Kade, or if I had lost everything.

The scary figure stepped into the moonlight, its gigantic shape lurking over us like a hurricane. My breath stuck in my throat as I took a glance of it. The enormous creature was tremendous, its terrifying fur, black as night, its eyes shining an uncanny eerie amber. I froze, powerless to sprint my gaze from the huge beast. 

"Is that...?" I mumbled, my voice low over the resounding of my heart. 

Finnick’s expressions had void of color. He matched back, his hand instinctively stretching for the dagger at his side. "That's him. Kade’s leading in reinforcements."

The words struck me like a thwack to the gut. My mind bolted, trying to bring together the nightmare unveiling before me. Kade. Yes of course. This was his doing. He’d been waiting for this day—the day when Finnick and I were at our most unguarded. When we were at each other's throats, when our trust was wore out. 

I perceived the blood splatter to my face, rage gleaming in my chest. "You...You brought this upon us," I spat, my voice trembling with anger. "You wanted to prove something. And now, look what’s happened."

Finnick is looking at me. His guilt is right there on his face. "I never meant for it to get to this." His voice is almost desperate but it falls flat, useless in the air between us.

I didn’t know whether to trust him anymore. I didn’t know how or what to do anymore. My hands clenched into paw, nails ploughing into my palms. 

The ugly beast growled again, this time__louder,a deep sound that quivered between the ground, profound and primeval. Its golden eyes interlocked onto us, the hunger in them undeniable. 

And in that moment, everything clicked. "Kade was the real threat." Not the creature. Not Finnick. Not the lies. Kade. He was the architect. He had planned out everything—the betrayal, the alterations, the traps we’d slipped into. He was the one drawing all the strings. 

Finnick was just a pawn. 

My heart thumbed in my chest as I met Finnick’s eyes, feeling the pressure of the situation settle on my tiny shoulders. This was too large for the both of us. Larger than the pull that had erected between us for so long. 

The creature let loose another heavy bone-rattling growl, its gigantic figure shifting, stepping closer. It was playing with us. I could sense its presence forcing in, like a dark cloud frightening to swallow us whole. 

“We need to do something,” I said, my voice steady now, no longer shaky with fury but a keen, despairing determination. 

Finnick’s eyes flared to the massive creature and then back to me. You don't get it, do you? he said, voice rough. It is not just a monster. It is a guard.

“A protector?” I repeated, incredulous. “A protector of what?”

“The city," Finnick said, his gaze never leaving the creature. “The city Kade plans to burn to the ground.”

I sensed a cold quiver run down my spine. “set it ablaze ? But why?”

“Because Kade believes it’s the only way to rebuild it. To reset everything. To shatter the old world and build a new one from the ashes. He knows... he believes it’s the only way to make things right this time.”

“The only way?” My laugh was hollow, bitter. “By destroying everything?”

Finnick nodded grimly. “Kade has always thought of himself as the savior. But he's blinded by his obsession. And now he's willing to unloose the best of it."

It was hard for me to believe it. Kade had always been heartless, but this—this was above anything I’d ever thought of. Destroying everything in his way to create something new. He was a beast, and I’d been a halfwit to ever think I could control him.

The creature growled again, this time, louder, and I stepped back to reality. The beast was closer now, its huge shape only a few feet away. Its black fur was polished and extensive, its eyes glittering with a hunger that made my stomach rumble. 

“freya, You have to trust me,” Finnick said, his voice urgent now. “We don’t have all the time.”

“Trust you?” I fired back, my heart pounding in my chest. “finnick, How can I trust you,? you’ve used me. You've lied to me ,you —"

“I never planned any of this!” he interrupted, his glare wild. “But now we have no choices. We need to work together if we’re going to stop Kade. The creature—it’s only the part of what he’s planning. If we don’t do something now, everything we know will be dead.”

I didn’t have time left to harvest his words. The creature pounced, and without thinking, I thrust Finnick out of the way, rolling to the corners as the beast's claws pierced through the air where we’d just been standing. My heart stopped for a beat, my body froze.

It was quick. Too quick. 

My feet spring beneath me and I am running. But Finnick is faster. He has plunged his knife into the creature’s side and is now at the base of its throat. As he falls, as he dies, his hand reaches out and catches a single strip of the creature’s skin, slices it off as he falls and dies in the dirt.

“No!” I shouted, panic rising in my chest.

Finnick groaned, but he was still kicking. Barely

The creature swiveled its gaze of amber to me, deafening me with its snarl. It was playing a game. But I wouldn't let it win.

Power struck through me, an unfamiliar vitality rising up in my chest. It was as though the very earth were talking to me, pushing me to retaliate. To hold my ground.

Kade won't win. "I told myself, my voice trembling with conviction. He won't win."

The monster took another turn forward, it's large paw rising from the ground, preparing to attack.

And in a second, everything shifted. The air crackled, the ground beneath me seemed to thrum with power, and I sensed the power coursing through my nerves like never before. 

But I didn’t know what would my fate next. 

I didn’t know if I had the power to strike Kade__or if I had lost everything already.

Suddenly, the ground beneath us trembled. The monster froze, its eyes glittering with confusion.

And then, from the shadows, a figure erected. A figure i thou

ght I'd never see again ever.

My blood ran cold. 

It was Kade.

And he was smiling.