My horror turns into devastation as I watch him finally break. It’s eerie to watch as a sinister smile takes the place of his normal features. He beats my precious queen with a chair until her face and skin are unrecognizable. I can’t imagine how poor Jacob is reacting next to me. This is a sight that no one should have to watch and we likely will never be able to forget. It will be ingrained into our minds until the day we die, a recurring nightmare of helplessness and horror.
I was near closing my eyes when a surge of magic sends a shockwave through the room. Bella must have needed time for hers to replenish, especially if those explosions were from her.
Bella’s jaw is stiff with determination as she locks her eyes on the vile king. She looks like an avenging angel, her magic glowing on her body, her hair whipping in the wind she’s creating.
His body lifts into the air and the look on his face would have been comical if not for the situation. I can’t hear what she says to him before he’s slammed into the fireplace, the crunching of bones is loud even over the cacophony of her magic. If it was anyone but this sadistic fucker, I might have cared. Instead, I was internally cheering her on.
She’s magnificent.
Somehow he still manages to get himself upright, though he walks like he’s two bottles of tequila into a night of drinking. He stumbles haphazardly around for a few moments before his body lifts and she throws him a second time. I watch as their bodies both go limp at the same time.
Several breaths go by as I watch them for any signs of life. There’s a stillness in the air that is unnerving, the calm before the storm. My attention falls away from them as a gust of wind blows through the ballroom. From the brilliant glow in the air, it’s not normal wind. The magic in the room fizzles out with a loud pop before warmth envelops me. I’ve been so numb that it’s startling. My body slowly regains feeling and I know instinctively what it means.
The king is dead.
That’s the only thing that could have ended this spell so abruptly. And the overwhelming relief I feel at that news is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The evil things he’s done, the damage to the realm, the poor prisoners in this room, he deserved to die as painfully as he did.
The incessant tingling that is flooding my entire body is close to the feeling when your foot falls asleep. It’s almost too much to handle and it’s taking far too long to wear off. I want to rush to my mate, to make sure she’s alright, but I still can’t move.
The thud of bodies hitting the floor fills the room. Nearly everyone is unable to stay upright once the magic wears off. Hell, most in the room have been here for thirteen years Earth time… which is far longer here.
When my feet release, I fall forward, barely catching myself before slamming my face on the marble floor. Instead of picking myself up on useless legs, I start to drag myself toward Bella. She still hasn’t stirred, and my worry is overwhelming. I need to make sure she’s not… no, I can’t even think it.
“Bella!” Jacob half sobs and half yells at her as he drags his body alongside mine. The room is now filled with cries of sadness and outrage as everyone regains their ability to move and speak.
My thoughts drift to my brothers, frozen at the gates of winter, waiting on us to save them. Emrick would wake up and not see Bella, knowing how many days have passed. They’re likely just as beside themselves as I am. Emrick would tear this realm apart to find her, all of us would.
She is our Queen. Our Lover. Ours to protect.
Jacob
Watching Bella get beat with a chair was the single most horrifying thing I have ever had to witness, and I’ve seen some shit in my life. This evil bastard needed to die. I hold on to my rage as I regain the ability to move, though all of my emotions are literally at war inside of me. Anger, fear, worry, relief, hope… all of them swirling into a jumbled mess.
Next to me Gerwyn is already pulling himself together. He doesn’t bother to stand, seeing the others around us try and fail. Instead, he pulls himself across the floor. Despite the awful tingling in my muscles, I grit my teeth and do the same. Each excruciating scoot of my body across the floor leads me closer to my best friend, and that’s enough for me.
Andras is still on my mind, but after living through the same frozen state I know he’ll be alright. Bella is more uncertain, her body isn’t moving in the slightest, even her breathing is impossible to detect.
Part of me feels like if she were gone, I’d know. Some kind of best friend sixth sense. But there was nothing other than my own messed up thoughts.
“Bella!” She doesn’t react to my shout and it fuels me forward. I’m going to make it to her, one way or another.
Gerwyn and I somehow reach her at the same time, both of our hands shooting out to look for a pulse. The moment I feel her pulse steady under my fingers, I collapse next to her, finally giving into my exhaustion.
Bowen
Being trapped under this awful spell is the longest torture I have ever had to endure, and I’ve lived through a fucking war. There’s no movement outside other than the steadily falling snow, so we literally spend days staring ahead and watching the sun rise and fall.
In my case, I am forced to stare at the back of Maddox’s blonde head. Not a stimulating sight to be trapped staring at for weeks on end. I bet he doesn’t even know he has a mole on the back of his neck… but I now know it well. Life is strange.
Finally, a pulse of magic reaches us, warmth encompassing us and the frozen spell receding until we all collapse into a heap. Thankfully Emrick falls first, so everyone else can survive this awkward moment.
“Oh good, a closer look at the mole on your neck,” I mutter to Maddox as I try to lift myself off of him.
“This tingling is fucking awful," Maddox bites out, shoving me off of him. He sounds just as angry as I feel.
“It’s a whole lot better than the days we just spent immobile," Andras replies as he flops over to his side, taking deep breaths and trying to shake out his limbs.
“The not being able to feel myself taking breaths, was fucking crazy," I grimace at the thought and take a few deep breaths just to appreciate the sensation.