TRIGGER WARNING: graphic-ish violence, abuse, gore and torture.
Untitled
Thierry scoffed, smiling bitterly, rolling his eyes. He leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms.
"After all this, and you want to make a deal?" he asked incredulously.
Emerald sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, shifting her weight from one leg to the other.
"We're not getting anywhere with all this back-and-forth," she commented. "I can tell you now it doesn't matter if I have all the leverage in the world against you or not, I'm not going to let you get whatever it is that I have that will help you stop the end of the world. You can hurt me and torture me as much as your heart desires, but I won't give it to you. You kill my friends, you kill my soulmate, and you'll never see this little piece of magic I hold for your entire everlasting existence. I don't care about how it'll affect the new millennium.
"What I'm proposing gives us what we both want: me gone and out of this place and you with a Wild Power." Emerald twisted her wrist around, stretching it the bones having just finished mending. The pain slowly faded from her arm and she let out a small breath, but began messaging it.
Thierry snorted and rolled his eyes. He straightened up, stepping away from the wall and uncrossing his arms. "And how exactly do you expect to find it?" He sneered. "Wild Powers aren't some Easter eggs you go out and hunt. They don't stick out of their surroundings. The only reason we've even found three is the fact that their lives were in peril and their last resort was to use a power that they didn't even know they had."
Emerald arched a delicate eyebrow, pursing her lips, still massaging her wrist. "You didn't let me finish—"
"No, wait, let me guess," Thierry interrupted, looking at her condescendingly. "You haven't heard the prophecies." Emerald gritted her teeth, but rolled her eyes, prepared to tell him she had heard of the prophecies and finish what she was originally going to say, but Thierry continued speaking, not giving her a chance, "And I probably know why; it's okay if you're too… proud to admit it." He pushed away from the wall and walked toward her, only he skipped past her, going to his desk and leaning against it. Emerald turned slowly, following him, letting her hands fall to her sides. "I forgot, you're a narcissistic, pretentious know-it-all. Of course you wouldn't have heard the prophecies." He crossed his arms, meeting her narrowed eyes.
Emerald's hands fisted at his description of her, a few choice words of her own describing his character popping into her mind, but she held her tongue. They were getting somewhere, despite the insults.
"You're wrong," she retorted, unconsciously mimicking Thierry and crossing her arms. "I know more than you think about the Wild Powers and the apocalypse." She paused briefly to see if Thierry was going to say something else. When he didn't, she continued, uncrossing her arms, straightening up, squaring her shoulders, and meeting Thierry's gaze. "I have heard of the prophecies for your information. And if I fail, then I'll give you whatever it is I have that'll help you save the world."
Thierry stood up, loosening his crossed arms a bit, looking at Emerald in shock.
"Will you really?" he asked carefully, not trusting her words.
Emerald's blazing green eyes flashed dangerously. "Not as narcissistic as you think." She hissed before calming her tone. "Besides, isn't that the definition of a deal?"
Thierry glared at Emerald flatly at her comment but composed his face and addressed the deal at hand. "So, then, how much do you know?"
"All of it," Emerald bragged, giving him a haughty look. "The first prophecy talks about the power that the Wild Powers possess. If I recall correctly, you call it Blue Fire and it can be accessed by the spilling of the Wild Power's blood. The second one talks of the role the Wild Powers have and who they could possibly be. There are four of them and if all can be found, they can save the world. They all should be aged seventeen.
"The last prophecy gives hints as to who they could be. Obviously, they're easier to relate to once the Wild Power has been found, but that's counterintuitive. You've found three already—Delos Redfern, Illiana Dominick, and Jezebel Redfern. The fourth line of the prophecy states that the fourth Wild Power will be, 'One from the twilight to be one with the dark.' I also know about the dragons." Emerald finished with another cavalier look, daring Thierry to make another go at her.
He didn't, to Emerald's amusement, he simply glared at her through narrowed eyes.
"I've been keeping tabs on what you and your precious little Circle Daybreak have been up to, too, Lord Thierry." Emerald finally said, smirking. "Don't underestimate me." Her smile dropped, her face becoming menacing.
"Well, you're right," Thierry conceded, leaning back against his desk again. "I do want to you gone. Besides, if I'm being honest, I have no faith that you'll find the last one. This is just a last ditch effort to save your hide. I'd like to see you get somewhere with the information you have. We haven't."
"Well, you didn't have me before," Emerald short back, giving him a imperious look. Yeah, she was definitely pretentious. "Now you do." Thierry rolled his eyes once again and clicked his tongue.
"All right, I suppose if this a deal, we should lay out the ground rules." Thierry said, standing up and straightening his shirt.
"Ground rules," Emerald echoed distastefully.
"I'll help you along with her little journey and introduce you to someone who might just be able to help you find the fourth Wild Power. I'll even lend you a helicopter over—I was going to go back over there soon, anyway—however, I'm going to have two of my people shadow you the whole time, to make sure you're not playing me. I get to choose who."
Emerald narrowed her eyes. "Fine," she hissed. "I'll of course have two people of my choice to accompany me."
"Of course," Thierry replied curtly. "Oh, and I probably should tell you, I'm giving you a week to find the fourth Wild Power."
"A week," Emerald exclaimed. "You're joking."
Thierry's dark eyes blazed with a fire she'd never seen before. It was filled with pain and anguish, but also a fierce need to fight, to protect. It was odd… different from what Thierry had shown her during their little war.
"Yes, a week, Emerald," he started in a dark but pained tone, "because good people, my people, are dying out there to save the world from a fate worse than death. If we don't find this Wild Power, if you don't give your life to save millions, then their deaths will all be in vain. I won't let that happen. I will do anything to make sure that we succeed in our mission."
Emerald met his intense gaze for a long moment before finally asking softly, "All right, so when do we head out?"
They were going to Harmony, is what Thierry referred to it. One of his other safe havens located in Virginia. There were a few other more important Night People in Circle Daybreak over there, and Thierry had been meaning to visit them, check in. With Emerald stirring up trouble he hadn't found the time.
The helicopter was ready and waiting. Thierry, Emerald, Storm, and—much to Emerald's disappointment—Sky were heading toward the exit of the building they were in to get to the helicopter. Emerald had argued with Sky over it when he volunteered to go with her, to help her, because she didn't want Sky to get hurt or worse…. It was too risky and Emerald didn't want to take Sky away from Carter, whether that be to go on a dangerous mission and/or because he had died on said mission.
Even so, Emerald had lost that fight because both Carter and Sky agreed that he should go. It would be better than having one of Thierry's people go with her and Storm and they both told her it was fine when she told them she would feel guilty if anything happened to Sky. It wasn't actually completely fine, Emerald had seen the fear and worry in Carter's eyes, but she put on a brave face and let Sky go nonetheless. Emerald could've still refused, but they had a point in that she could trust Sky over one of Thierry's workers.
Emerald was still upset that he was coming along, but it was the smartest more tactful choice. She'd rather have two other friends and people she could trust, for the most part—Storm—then only one other person and three of Thierry's workers, because of his whole condition on having two of his go with her. She hoped he would at least choose two Night People, so they wouldn't hold her back or purposefully sabotage her mission.
As soon as the door opened though, the breeze blowing into Emerald's face, she froze and hissed. Her eyes instantly went to glare at Thierry, who had stepped out but turned to face her at her hiss.
"No," she growled, fisting her hands.
Both Sky and Storm put a restraining hand on either of Emerald's shoulders. Sky and Carter had been informed what Thierry had been up to lately, and what Lucas had done to get her into that cell, so Sky knew exactly where Emerald's fury was coming from.
"What?" Thierry asked innocently.
"You know exactly what," Emerald snarled, taking a step toward Thierry, though it was hard with two strong hands holding her shoulders. Immediately one of the workers who'd been waiting outside for them stepped in front of Thierry to defend and protect him. She was a vampire, but Emerald couldn't recall her name. Still, even with his guard, she continued to glare straight at Thierry, only addressing him.
"I told you, our deal was that I get to send two people of my choice with you." Thierry reiterated unnecessarily.
"He'll just hold me back, pick someone else. Anyone else, but him." Lucas stepped into view then, mocking hurt. Emerald's eyes slid over to him as she said, "He's human." She growled through gritted teeth, Storm and Sky's hands the only thing reminding her to stay where she was. It would've been all too easy to break away from them before they could do anything and attack Thierry, but Storm also knew Emerald well enough that his mere touch would help her keep her wits about her. Sky was extra security.
"You're missing the point, princess," Lucas taunted.
Emerald let out a sigh and rolled her eyes, gritting her teeth though, trying to control her anger. Though deep down, it was still hard to see him so different from the sweet, kind, caring man she'd fallen in love with. Despite this, she thought about what he meant. Thierry would never willingly send someone to their deaths; not if he thought they couldn't handle it. Humans could only do so much against Night World creatures—Thierry knew this—which wasn't even all that much to begin with. Lucas would be slaughtered and quickly too. So why would Thierry ever send him out with her?
Part of her wanted to say it was because they hadn't gotten over their petty scuffle and he was still holding a grudge for outsmarting him and making him loose his temper more than once. So he was sending in Lucas because he knew how she felt about him. The other part, the more rational part, figured there was something more to it than emotions. Thierry may have been an emotional person and he may have shown a side no one else had seen, but he wasn't inherently a bad person. He really did care about his workers and those in Circle Daybreak, when it came down to it. He'd never throw someone to the wolves, so to speak.
Emerald looked back and forth between Thierry and Lucas trying to fit the puzzle pieces together. It took a moment, but it finally clicked and her eyes widened at the revelation. Her eyes went to rest on Thierry.
Her lip curled as she said, "You think I'm going to fail, you won't even give me the benefit of the doubt."
Thierry shrugged. "I honestly don't believe that you'll be able to find the last Wild Power. There isn't some indictor that tells us they're a Wild Power. There is absolutely no way you'll find them."
Emerald wanted to desperately scream at him that she was going to prove him wrong, but those were just words. If she was going to prove him wrong, then she would have do so in her actions. So she bit her tongue, swallowing her words, and took a step back. Her nails were drawing blood from her palms at this point, but she continued to squeeze them tightly.
"Let's go," she finally said, shrugging off Storm and Sky's hands and striding forward. Isabelle, the vampire standing in front of Thierry, Emerald remembered, took a step forward, her whole body tensing.
"It's fine," Thierry told her. Not even questioning it, she nodded and stepped away. Together the six of them started toward the helicopter, which looked to be some kind of military model. It was already on, just waiting. Emerald vaguely wondered how long it'd been sitting there waiting for them as she got inside, but didn't think on it too much. It didn't matter.
There were four others inside, with AK-47s, a strap over one shoulder making them easier to hold like they were some kind of messenger bag or accessory. Emerald thought for sure the cab would be crowded then, but it was still surprisingly spacious inside. The four workers sat near either side of the doors, prepared to shoot if necessary. The doors remained closed for now.
The ride was utterly silent. The atmosphere tense, however. But no one spoke, no one broke the through the helicopter blades chopping the air. That is until someone came onto the headset telling the passengers that they spotted something following them, something that they were pretty sure was a dragon.
As soon as everyone heard that the doors flew open on each side, a gust of wind rushing in and stealing Emerald's breath momentarily. The four at the door didn't seem at all bothered as they kneeled next to the open door and aimed their guns behind the chopper. Emerald figured that it was, at the very least, something flying and dangerous because they began shooting at whatever was behind them.
Emerald threw off the headphones she was wearing and grabbed the buckle on her seatbelt, her other hand going to grasp the one of the straps of the seatbelt itself.
What are you doing? Storm asked immediately, looking over at her and putting a hand over hers at the buckle. He looked concerned, but most of all like she was crazy for doing that. Emerald looked back at him with a serious expression.
I'm getting prepared to get out if needed. She explained, for she hadn't actually planned on unbuckling her seatbelt right then and there. She knew it would be safer for her, if they crashed, if she had her seatbelt on. However, she wanted to be prepared to take it off early if the situation called for it, or to take it off after they landed/crashed.
Do you not have faith the people protecting us? Thierry's voice chimed. Emerald's head turned to look at him across from her. Had she been projecting or was he making an assumption based on where her hands were placed?
Of course I do, but what I remember learning about dragons is that meager bullets are just going to slow it down and piss it off. It still had its horns. We either need to land now or it'll land this thing for us. Emerald replied coldly. Just as she finished, almost as if the dragon had been listening or life had a cruel definition of comedic timing, something hit the back of the helicopter.
Emerald, Storm, and Sky were all thrust forward as the force turned the tail up into the air for a moment. The four at the window stopped firing to keep their balance. In the cockpit the pilot and co-pilot struggled to get the chopper straight again. Unfortunately, the blast didn't just push the back of the chopper up a bit, there was a large, loud explosion where the motor was located in the back. Emerald could feel the heat from where she sat as it blew out. The helicopter lurched forward again, bigger this time, and swayed as the pilot and co-pilot tried to get control of it again.
The four men kneeling at the doors were lurched forward again as well, one of them falling completely out of the cab. His comrade standing across from him stopped shooting and held her hand out. Emerald couldn't see if she'd caught her buddy, but figured she had by the way that she was kneeling, and gritting her teeth. She also, obviously, didn't go back to shooting. The two closest to Emerald had simply been thrown into each other. One quickly went back to their station and continued shooting while the other helped hoist the one hanging over the edge of the chopper.
Though their faces remained professional and stoic, Emerald could hear their hearts pounding wildly in their chests and smell the odor of sweat mixed with adrenaline waft off of them and into the cab, the blades helping circulate that air. It reminded her of the time she'd had that streak of rebellion, she loved that smell, the smell of fear, the smell of something fighting for their life. She still loved it, but she gripped the buckle and the strap tighter, reminding herself what was important right now: staying alive.
Emerald also thought about what she would do when they landed or if they crashed. Because with the engine gone, there was no way they were staying up in the sky. The blades still twirled but they were no longer being powered. Slowly, the pilot and co-pilot maneuvered the helicopter toward the ground. For a moment, she thought it odd that the dragon behind them hadn't done anything more, but just as she thought that—perfect timing yet again—she felt a blast of pure, energetic Power surge from the helicopter's tail all the way to its front.
It stole her breath and pain radiated through her body but she gripped her seatbelt even tighter, forcing breaths through her gritted teeth as the pain echoed and reverberated through her body with each breath until it had all been expelled from her body. She'd just managed to get her breathing under control when the she realized that the sound of blades slicing through air was no more. It was eerily silent for a split second right before the chopper dropped.
Emerald sucked in a sharp breath and gripped her seatbelt even tighter than before, if that was even possible, as her stomach flew into her throat. The four who were shooting at the open doors were thrown up into the hinges with sickening thuds and cracks of bones. Two of them flew out after impact with shrieks of terror. The other two managed to pull themselves back into the cab, but were pushed to the ceiling the chopper was falling so quickly.
Emerald then braced herself for the impact, squeezing her eyes shut tight. She didn't know what was underneath them, if they were going to land in trees, on asphalt, in water—either way the impact would still be like hitting concrete—but she braced herself for whatever would come. The best thing about being a vampire was quick healing. A thought occurred to her and her eyes flew open. She turned her head to look past Storm and at Sky, who looked beside himself with fear and panic, who was gripping his own seatbelt so tight his hands were white.
But he wasn't a vampire, he couldn't heal as quick vampires… hell if you took away his shapeshifting abilities he'd be as good as human.
Emerald's breath rushed out in hiss as her mind raced to figure out some way to keep him safe, but she'd wasted all the time she had left. With a thunderous boom, the helicopter connected with the earth, metal groaning as it gave way to the hard-packed dirt underneath. Unfortunately for them, the helicopter had tipped to one side, the side Emerald happened to be on of course, during their decent, so much so that upon impact it rolled onto its side. The blades snapped. Shrapnel from the snapping point flew in all directions and managing to imbed themselves into Emerald's arm and cheek before the chopper could roll onto its side fully. She didn't feel any of it.
The chopper came to a shuddering stop. Even before it had, Thierry was yelling commands, trying to get people out, for the dragon was still after them. It had been quite a ways away from the chopper but now that they were no longer mobile, it would have a much easier time vaporizing them. When the metal stopped groaning, there was another eerie silence. Emerald, who had closed her eyes when the chopper hit the ground, opened her eyes slowly. It was hazy, and she wasn't sure if it was because there was still dust floating around them or if it was because she'd hit the back of her head at some point. She saw no sign of Thierry or the rest of his workers, not the two snipers who'd survived (she assumed), not Lucas, not Isabelle.
She turned her head painfully to look to see if Storm was still there. He was—figures—and he was also completely limp. For a moment she panicked, thinking the worst. She reached over, straining against the belts, and whimpered his name, not thinking about pulling the chord. Storm, to her utter relief groaned when she shook him. There was blood coming from a gash near his hairline, but other than that he looked unscathed.
"Emerald," he mumbled, shifting and trying to gather his bearings, which he found difficult considering he was hanging on his side.
"Storm," she breathed in relief. "Storm you have to get out, quickly." She urged.
Storm blinked hard and shook his head to clear it. He winced, finally feeling the gash and his hand went up to touch it. "Ouch. What about Sky?" He groaned, still prodding his wound.
Emerald's eyes instantly focused in on their friend. He too was limp, but Emerald couldn't tell if he was breathing. There were too many other heartbeats and panic was starting to rise in her once again, clouding her judgment, her rational mind. Without really thinking, she unbuckled her seat belt, falling onto her right side, the impact pushing the shrapnel from the blade into her arm deeper. Sharp pain shot up her arm and she let out a gasp and a yelp. Storm called her name, but she ignored the stinging and Storm's disapproval, getting to her feet. She reached for Sky's seatbelt, having to jump slightly to get to it.
"What are you doing?" Storm asked, fumbling with his seatbelt now.
Emerald continued to ignore him as she hoisted herself up to Sky's height once she'd grabbed the seatbelt. She then used her free hand, her wounded arm, to take his pulse. Her heart skipped a beat and her breath stopped.
No pulse.
No pulse.
No pulse!
Emerald's heart dropped like the chopper had, all the way to her feet, everything slowing around her, as if they were all moving through molasses—even the dragon that was still advancing on them. Storm felt this change in her through the bond just as he got free of his seatbelt. He too went tumbling to the ground, but was on his feet faster than Emerald was, having expected the impact.
"What, what is it?" he asked in a high whisper.
Before Emerald could answer, above her, through the other door that was now facing the calm blue sky (a juxtaposition to what was happening now) Thierry's face appeared.
"Give me your hand," he ordered a low, calm, commanding voice. And for a moment, Emerald could see why he'd become Lord of the Night World, why Night People respected him so much.
"No, grab Sky's arm," she said, shaking her head.
"We don't have time, he's dead—" Thierry started.
"What?" Storm exclaimed from below.
"No, take his arm," Emerald begged, ignoring Storm for the third time. "I'm going to unstrap him. Just… just get him onto solid ground, please."
Thierry looked uncertain, but he glanced to his right before reaching down and grabbing Sky's arm. Emerald immediately went to his buckle and quickly unlatched it. Thierry and Emerald worked together for once to untangle him from the seatbelt and then Thierry pulled him out. Emerald dropped back to the ground.
"Now you," she said, facing Storm.
"Sky's not really—" Storm started, electric blue eyes stricken.
"Next," Thierry's voice come again.
"Go," Emerald ordered, grabbing Storm's arm and lifting him toward Thierry's outstretched hand, without waiting for Storm's response. Storm didn't protest as he reached up for Thierry's hand with his own free one. When Thierry had pulled Storm out, Emerald jumped again and grabbed the edge of the bottom of the chopper, hauling herself up and out. She jumped down nimbly, eyes scanning the clearing for Sky. The clearing was flanked by trees on one side, and a decimated city straight from dystopian futures in novels and movies on the other side.
As soon as she saw his body, she ran over to it, straddling his body to start chest compressions. Now all she could think of was that: getting Sky breathing again. Nothing else mattered. Not the others' wellbeing, not the dragon that was closing in on them, nothing.
On her first downbeat, she felt bone give way, followed by ribs cracking. She had forgotten he was still nearly human and used too much force. But she took a deep breath and continued, making sure to use just the right amount of pressure.
Someone was calling her name, multiple someones, but she ignored them, their voices sounding muted and distant, and kept the chest compressions up, tears stinging her eyes, dust from the crash that was still floating in the air, stinging her nose. Hands pulled at her arms, trying to get her away, but she jerked free before continuing the CPR.
It was her soulmate's voice that broke through the barrier. The sound of people shouting hit her ears, along with frantic breathing, and then his voice.
"Emerald," he was saying. "Emerald, we have to go. We have to go, right now."
"No," Emerald gasped. "No, I can't leave him. I can't. Carter deserves better than this. I promised her." She looked up, but continued the CPR, her watery eyes meeting Storm's pained, conflicted ones. "I can't leave him. I can't let him die. He can't die. I promised Carter. I promised…" Emerald trailed off and looked back down at Sky's pale, emotionless face, her tears finally overflowing and dropping onto Sky's chest.
Another voice came over, hit Emerald's ears, and had she not been trying to revive Sky, she would've leapt at it and strangled the throat connected to the voice.
"What is she doing? We have to go!" Lucas hissed.
Emerald looked up at Lucas this time, glaring at him. "I won't leave him. You're free to go, if you want to. No one's stopping you," she snarled before looking back down.
Storm and Lucas waited for her, in silence. Mostly silence. The beating of dragon's wings was getting closer, louder. The sound of its bass voice grew in volume, too. Deafening to both Storm and Emerald's ears, but they ignored it. They ignored the fact that it sounded all too much like laughter.
Lucas shifted uneasily as he stood there, eyes shooting back and forth between Emerald and the large, dark mass coming toward them. He clearly didn't want to be there, but didn't want to leave Emerald hanging. Not that that would win any sort of points with her. He'd lost all her trust and faith at this point. There was no redeeming him. But he didn't know that. So he stayed.
Storm sat near Sky's head, but off to his right. His eyes never left Emerald, though his heart pounded unsteadily in his chest. It wasn't fear of the dragon. No, it was fear of losing Emerald. He'd almost felt what it was like to live without his soulmate, and he wasn't prepared to do that again. If she went out, he would follow soon after, if they didn't go out together. He had accepted that part of this world, part of this now apocalyptic life would more likely than not, end in death. So he sat there, almost serene as could be.
Emerald continued her chest compressions, not even hearing the approaching of the dragon. All she could think about was not abandoning Sky. Not only were they friends, but Emerald's best friend was his soulmate. She knew what it was like to live without a soulmate, and she would never wish that upon her best friend. Neither would she abandon her friend and her best friend's soulmate. If there was a slim chance that he would live, she would take hold and never let go.
The dragon was gaining, getting closer, closer, closer… and just when Lucas thought they were all going to be ashes, when Storm closed his eyes, prepared for whatever came, Sky gasped and coughed, his eyes flying open. His breathing was ragged, disjointed, and labored. He tried to form sentences, even a word, but nothing came out but gasps. His zircon blue eyes looked around confused and dazedly, but the three around him ignored this.
Emerald got off of him, carefully helping him stand by throwing one of his arms over her shoulders. As soon as he was up, she pushed him toward Storm.
"Go," she commanded in a detached voice. "Get to safety. I'll distract ugly." Lucas caught on more quickly, taking the arm around Emerald's shoulders and switching them to his. Storm was too stunned to help. He simply stared at Emerald, eyes wide, pupils dilated.
"No," he objected. "I'm with you." His voice shook. "Emerald—" Storm tried, his voice breaking and pained. He wasn't quite sure what he had wanted to say.
Emerald ignored him, ignored the ache in her heart, as she shoved him away.
"Go," she ordered in a rough voice. "You won't have time to get away. Just go! Please." Her voice softened, lowered. "You don't have time. Please, go."
Storm held her gaze as he fumbled to get Sky's other arm around his shoulders, all the while Lucas slowly started pulling them back, toward the forest. When Storm had Sky's arm over his shoulders, they turned and started away at a quicker pace. He looked over his shoulder at Emerald, who simply stood there and watched them leave with sad eyes.
I love you. She sent through the chord before turning away to face the dragon, by herself.
This creature was like nothing she'd ever seen in her entire life before. It was horrifying in the most awesome way. The beast was so big, so inky black, it was unbelievable. And she lived in a world of vampires, witches, werewolves, and shapeshifters that was shadowed by the night. She had learned about the dragons during her travels to find her father, about how they were the apocalypse, but she never thought she'd actually see one in real life.
As it came closer, though, she remembered she had a job to do. From what she could tell, it was still after the group it could sense, trying to get away from it through the trees. She frantically looked around for a weapon, spotting one of the helicopter blades that'd been broken off upon impact. Perfect.
She sprinted over to it, snatching it up, before she ran back, straight in the dragon's pathway. It didn't seem to acknowledge her as it flew overhead, but she reeled her arm back and chucked the blade with all the vampire strength she could muster right at the monstrosity. It flew, twirling in the air, nearly as fast as it did when attached to the helicopter, whistling as it went. Emerald watched with bated breath, hoping it'd make a mark. Any mark would do. She had a feeling, pissing off a dragon, or even annoying it, would steer it away from what it was doing. At the very least, it would delay it from reaching its intended target long enough for the others to get to someplace safe.
Emerald rejoiced silently when the blade twirled right across the dragon's chest and imbedded into its skin, black blood spirting from the wound. It roared in pain, the sound so loud, Emerald could've sworn it rocked the very earth she stood on. Despite this, she started sprinting in the opposite direction, hoping the dragon would follow her. She didn't dare look back. She strained her ears to listen for the beating of wings against the air, though. And for a while it sounded like it was following her, but after a however long running, she realized she no longer heard its wings.
She came to a screeching halt, gasping breaths of air (which, in retrospect, probably wasn't a good idea, considering she was using precious human blood), and looking around the ruined city. It was completely empty, a ghost town. There weren't any smoldering buildings, no fires or smoke, no dust, or a whole lot of trash. Cars were still in the road, though they looked in good condition and they were turned off. Some of their doors were open, as if the drivers and passengers had simply stopped and left. There were some buildings that were crumbling but only because something had smashed into them, causing them to cave in on themselves.
Still trying to catch her breath, she leaned against one of the many cars, resting her hands against the top of the car, and bending over. Closing her eyes, she took large, deep breaths to calm her racing heart.
Had she failed? Was she not able to lead the dragon away? Did it not see her before she ran off? Maybe she should've have stayed and actually made sure it was following her. Yet, she could've sworn she'd heard the beating of wings following her as she ran—
There was a loud clatter right next to the car she was leaning against. Emerald's eyes opened but she didn't straighten up. Not yet. Breathing shallowly now, she glanced at where the sound came from out of the corner of her eyes, and saw what looked to be a helicopter blade covered in black blood. Waves of chills ran down her spine as she slowly straightened up, keeping her eyes on the blade only a few feet in front of her.
She could hear them now, the flapping of giant wings coming from in front, above, behind, from the sides. It was circling her, blotting out the sun with its wings alone. The shadow it cast making Emerald shiver, though it wasn't cold.
Hello, it said, its voice deep. There was no indication it had been hurt not even five minutes ago. The power that it held made her breath catch, her head ache, her knees nearly buckled. She tried not to wince, or cringe. Who do we have here?
Emerald couldn't speak, her throat had closed up. Was she going to die now; vaporized by the black fire she'd heard they spouted? The dragon, as if being able to read her thoughts, laughed. It was akin to the music being played too loud, with emphasis on the bass. She could feel it in her chest, and the energy that came with the laugh—malicious, violent, cold—made all the hairs stand on the back of her neck.
Don't be scared, little one, it mocked. It continued to circle her, but its strokes of its wings were getting louder and Emerald could feel the air hit her. I'm not going to kill you. Yet.
She would've made a sarcastic comment to that, maybe even rolled her eyes and scoffed, but she was still frozen with fear. All she could do was stand there, staring at the blood-soaked blade lying at her feet. The beat of the wings slowed and then stopped. The last little gust of air whooshed past Emerald, stirring her hair. It had landed behind her, and gracefully too, she had to admit. It was so quiet, just a small thump that shook the street, but that was all.
Emerald lifted her head slowly, looking straight ahead, unable to turn around or even turn her head. Her breath was shallow and ragged. She closed her eyes, ready to be hit with searing pain. This is what she wanted, right? This is why she had pushed Storm and Sky away, to safety; why she had thrown the blade at the dragon in the first place. One life for others, isn't that what Thierry had said? Something of the like.
Millions. Millions is what he had said, one life for millions. This probably wasn't what Thierry had in mind when he said one life for millions. She didn't think he had included his life in that, either.
When nothing came after a moment, Emerald opened her eyes, blinking a few times. Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Keeping still as a statue, she only moved her eyes to her right. It was the dragon's head, big and black, with three horns.
Do I know you? It asked.
"I… I don't… think so," she stuttered in a whisper before flinching when, as the giant beast came forward, into her line of sight, its foot smashed a car, causing the car alarm to go off for a few seconds, before smashing it completely. The alarm cut off abruptly, the city becoming silent once again except for the echo throughout the empty streets.
The creature continued to lumber forward, never taking its big, blazing red eyes off Emerald. Her own eyes flickered to meet the dragon's and she could feel the all the breath being stolen from her. Panic seized her heart, but she still couldn't move and it was physically painful.
Are you sure about that, little one? It asked as it continued to circle her, except now on the ground, crushing cars, and smashing buildings as it went.
"I'm pretty sure I'd remember meeting a dragon," Emerald replied, her sarcasm popping up without her permission.
Hmm… It moved fast for something so big, surrounding her completely with its body, both its tail and its head coming back to her right side. What's your name?
"…Emerald Song,"
Emerald Song, it repeated, moving so fast, Emerald blinked and suddenly she was face to face with the dragon. Her heart stopped again. Daughter of Jonathan and Trinity.
Ice water ran through Emerald's veins at the mention of her parents. The mention of her parents from a dragon. A dragon that'd been sleeping for however many millennia.
"H-h-how… how—" She tried to stutter out in a breathless whisper, but was cut off when the dragon's tail prodded her back. She let out a squeak of surprise and terror.
Come forward, the dragon beckoned as it pushed her forward with its tail. Having really no choice, she stumbled toward its massive head. It sat back on its haunches and pushed her in between its two front legs before lowering its head and twisting it so that it could look at her with at least one eye. We need to chat.
Emerald's eyes went from its one eye up to one of its horns for it had made a crackling noise, almost like lightning did when it connected with something. And as soon as she fully looked at it, the force that she equated to the literal sky falling into her shoulders hit her. Her vision blurred before unconsciousness overtook her and the searing pain eventually faded into blissful nothingness.
When she awoke again, she awoke to a memory.
She was bound: her wrists were tied with bast rope—no, that was wrong, it should've been metal chains and cuffs—which were connected to metal poles about four feet tall and about two to three feet apart. The poles were just tall enough and the ropes just long enough that it forced her to sit or kneel. She wasn't able to stand. When she pulled at the ropes, they only tightened around her wrists, there was no give.
Giving up on that, Emerald looked around the room, as much as she could with how she was tied. It was dank and dirty, not well taken care of. There were patches of trash and a single lightbulb hanging above her, at the very center of the room. The poles were new, though. The metal was clean and shiny. The bolts they used to hold it to the ground were also shiny and flashed in the light from the bulb. The room was pretty large and rectangular—that was wrong too, it should've been smaller and squarer…. The walls on Emerald's left and right were closer to her than the walls in front and back of her.
There was a singular door straight in front of her, and around the room, two windows—another detail wrong, there hadn't been windows, she was sure of it—spaced evenly apart on each wall, at least the walls on Emerald's sides. She couldn't turn her head all the way around to look; if she did, she'd only pull the ropes around her wrists tighter. The windows that were in her view had been covered in black paper, so Emerald couldn't tell if night had fallen or not. She wasn't even sure how long she'd been asleep.
The door opened then and she flinched, looking down at the ground, shifting uncomfortably. The metal cuffs had been uncomfortable, but this rope was doing a damn good job of causing her pain, too.
A man she didn't recognize at all, probably mid-twenties stepped in. He was handsome, she had to admit, with fair skin, deep auburn hair and hazel eyes. A vampire from what she could tell, lamia because he was out of his teens. What she couldn't fathom was why he was here. Where was her father? And all the people standing behind him weren't her father's buddies either, though they were vampires. And there were less of them. Only three, not five. What was going on?
The man in front smiled at her. Chills ran down her spine, it was cold and vicious. It certainly reminded her of her father. Maybe these people were friends of her fathers?
"You look confused," he said, voice deep and low. It stirred another memory… the voice, it was like… like… Emerald bowed her head and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember what she was forgetting. Something on the tip of her tongue, on the edge of her memory—like the dragons!
Emerald's head snapped up, opening her eyes and gasping. She glanced around at the four in front of her as it all clicked back into place. Her father was dead. She had killed him. His buddies were also dead. She had killed them too. It was bast rope instead of chains holding her because she was now a vampire. And there were windows, the room was larger because this wasn't the room her father had kept her in for a whole year, tied to these poles like an animal.
Though someone had certainly went to a lot of trouble to replicate the conditions of that year of Hell.
Jonathan had come looking for Emerald when she was fourteen and kidnapped her. He kept her in a room like this, tied up like this, and fed off her, let his buddies feed off her, too. She was given the barest amount of food and water and always accompanied to the bathroom. Occasionally she was sent out to run errands. Not accompanied, but what was a fourteen-year-old girl going to do against six vampires? What was anyone going to do? No one would believe her and if she fudged the details and called them human, whoever did help would be slaughtered and Emerald would be punished.
Emerald cringed at those memories that were now resurfacing: stomach pains, cold nights, and so much biting. It was a miracle she didn't have bite scars littering her neck, her jaw, her arms, her shoulders.
"Figured it out, yet, little one?" the man in front of her asked, that wicked smile still on his lips.
"Little one," Emerald repeated nearly silently. Her eyes widened in shock and her jaw went slack as she looked at the clearly lamia vampire before her. "No," she whispered.
"Briam," he introduced himself, grinning, showing his pearly white teeth. "Did they not tell you that dragons can shapeshift into anything they please?"
Of course they had. She knew this, but just like seeing a dragon for the first time, seeing it as something completely different from what it inherently was, left Emerald awestruck and a little bit frightened.
Instead of addressing this, though, she looked around again.
"W-why…?" she trailed off and pulled at the ropes binding her wrists. Her memories were flashing behind her eyes now, making her heart pound in her chest and her stomach tighten into sickening knots. They kept overlapping and switching, changing, morphing until she could barely tell which the memory was and which was reality.
Briam laughed and spun around, admiring his artistry.
"Do you like it? Tried to replicate it as best I could." He wrinkled his nose. "Though sources are limited when I'm trying to stay close to—" He broke off and looked at Emerald, his eyes flashing the same ruby red as the dragon she'd faced as he smiled again. "Well, you don't need to know about that."
Close to what? What did he mean?
"How… how did you know?" Emerald asked breathless, trying to focus on the present. The past had long gone, she'd gotten her revenge. Those who had hurt her were dead. But there were four others standing right in front of her that could easily hurt her more than she'd ever experienced.
"That would be my doing," another male voice said from behind. Emerald flinched as the man behind her walked around so that she could actually see him.
Her eyes narrowed and her tone blackened, "Hale," she spat. It made sense now. How this dragon, this dragon that had been sleeping while everything in her life had taken place, knew about her parents, about her, about this room.
Hale smiled, but it didn't have that edge to it as Briam's had.
"Hello again, Emerald," he greeted in a velvety smooth voice. "I'm terribly sorry that we have to meet again like this."
"He told you," Emerald deadpanned, her grip tightening on the ropes. She was careful not to pull on them from her wrists, though.
"We're best friends, lest you forgot." Hale replied. His face suddenly dropped from conversational and friendly in a business way to grim. "Well, we were, friends."
"He got what he deserved," Emerald growled. "It's his own damn fault." She broke her gaze with Hale to look at Briam. "Why do this? Why bring me here? Keep me alive?" Her anger got the best of her, but it also kept the memories and horrid flashbacks as bay so she could concentrate at what was happening in the present.
"You weren't joking, she's got a temper," Briam commented, looking at Hale, who shrugged. Briam turned his gaze back to Emerald. "Just wanted to rattle you a bit. See what would happen. I thought it would be good incentive to join our side, or be killed in the most painful was possible."
Emerald vaguely wondered if they knew there was another way to defeat the dragons. And that she held that power.
"You clearly don't know me as well as you'd like to think," Emerald retorted with the hint of a smirk looking from Briam and over to Hale, her smirk widening.
"I don't think you quite understand the situation you're in here," Briam warned darkly, glaring at Emerald, bringing her attention back to him. "Come Hell or high water, the new millennia will be ruled by dragons." He stepped forward and leaned down, getting into Emerald's face. "And for your information we are the Hell and the high water." Emerald met his gaze evenly until his eyes slid down to her cheek. He inclined his head slightly to the left. "What's this?" He questioned, grabbing Emerald's chin with his right hand, his left hand reaching up and touching something on Emerald's cheek.
A sharp pain raced through her body and she pulled away from Briam and let out a pained hiss. The shrapnel.
"Why don't we take care of that," Briam said with a devilish smile. He reached forward, grabbing a fistful of Emerald's hair this time. Emerald gritted her teeth, a small grunt of pain escaping anyway. She tried to pull away and struggled against her bonds, but it did no good, not that she thought it would. Briam then reached up again, handling the piece of shrapnel roughly before finally pulling it out.
Emerald let go of the breath she'd been holding in, now breathing rapidly, small whimpers escaping her lips. Tears pooled in her eyes, but she wasn't going to let them fall. They weren't going to break her.
Briam let go of her hair and she slumped, breathing heavily.
"Oh," He paused. "There's more imbedded in your arm. Why don't we take care of that? Free of charge." Briam teased. Emerald lifted her head slowly to see the dragon grinning, showing his teeth again. His eyes flashed red as he held out his hand like he was carrying a tray of drinks or food at a restaurant. One of the men behind him stepped forward to hand him a pocket knife and a pair of tweezers. Emerald locked her jaw, swallowing hard, but met Briam's gaze challengingly. His eyes narrowed slightly before he descended on her, digging the knife into her arm before jabbing her with the tweezers just to get a piece of shrapnel out.
Emerald turned her head away, struggling to keep the screams and thrashing locked inside her as sharp pain after sharp pain hit her. The ropes around her wrists tightened as she pulled at them, chaffing her skin, but that burning was nothing compared to the stinging. Though, combined and she was starting to feel like she'd just entered Hell again.
They left her when Briam had finished, his fingers, the knife, and the tweezers covered in blood. Her mangled arm ached, a thin stream of blood flowing from her wounds, over her arm and onto the floor.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Emerald winced every time her blood splashed against the concrete floor. She slumped as far the ropes would let her, her breathing ragged. Her body mended slower than usual, but soon the pain faded and the blood stopped dripping. Just when she thought she'd get a break, the door opened once again. She stifled a groan and lifted her head. It was just Hale and two other of Briam's vampire cohorts.
Emerald unconsciously gripped the ropes that bound her, leaning away from them. Her memories had resurfaced full force now and the scene of Hale and the two flanking him flickered between her father approaching, with two of his buddies.
"Please don't do this," she whispered.
Hale came to kneel in front of her. "Emerald, sweetie," he crooned, reaching up to stroke her hair. She jerked away but he grabbed her hair roughly, leaning in close to murmur in her ear. "Just give it up, and this'll all be over." Hale reached up to brush away Emerald's hair from the left side of her neck. "The pain." He continued, his lips ghosting over her neck and she shuddered. She involuntarily jerked at the ropes, but they dug into her skin painfully. "The torture." He kissed her neck, and she pulled even harder at the ropes, ignoring the pain. She bit her lip, though, to keep from screaming. "The memories that haunt you."
Emerald's eyes closed, tears that had formed sliding down her cheeks, as she braced herself for what she knew was coming. Something that had haunted her since that fateful day her father kidnapped her. Something that she thought had finally closed up, healed, because those who had hurt her had all been killed. But she was wrong, there was no scar, it hadn't even healed. It had remained open, festering, bleeding, and throbbing. It was now being viciously ripped open even wider.
Emerald's whole body tensed and she held her breath as Hale's teeth pierced her neck. Two more pairs of teeth punctured her skin soon after. One pair on her shoulder, the other on her arm. It was always an odd experience, connecting to multiple minds at once, but she never really experienced it fully to see what it would feel like. She curled in on herself, stayed far away from the others minds, tried to drown out the pain, their thoughts, everything until it was finally over….
Emerald was woken this time by searing, stabbing, burning pain like nothing she'd ever felt before. Before she could stop it a scream of pure agony rose in her chest and traveled up her throat and right out her mouth. Her back arched, and she pulled her limbs toward her body instinctively, but her wrists were being held down to whatever she was lying on and so were here ankles. Her arms came off the floor only about a half-inch, her legs about an inch. Her arms were splayed out, legs held together, like she was on a cross. Only, she was on the floor, the concrete floor of the room she had woken up in the first time, she was sure… but not too sure, for the pain was mind-numbing. She just wanted it to stop!
And it did, but the pain didn't go away. It only lessened slightly and remained there as a dull-but-not-really-dull ache, coming from her right arm. As Emerald's back slumped back to the ground and her limbs went limp, with her chest heaving, still whimpering, she looked over to her right. The first thing she saw was a thin wooden skewer (like the ones people used for shish kabobs) sticking out of her wrist. The second thing she saw were the same green vines the assassin/torturer, Jasmine, had used to tie her down, holding her wrists, and probably her ankles, to the floor.
Footsteps sounded to Emerald's left and she turned her head to face them. It was Briam. He was standing over her, hands behind his back, leaning over and examining her.
"Ready to cooperate now, little one?" he asked.
Still panting Emerald answered, "You should just… kill me… now. Because I will… never…. join the likes… of you."
"Well, Emerald, I'm sorry to hear that," Briam told her, straightening up and shaking his head before looking at the vampire sitting next to her. He nodded once and his aid started the slow, excruciating process of pushing another wooden skewer through another point on Emerald's arm. It was all she could do to hold back her scream, but her hands tightened into fists, making the pain that much worse, and her back arched again. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to go to her happy place…. Picturing Storm in her mind, telling him she loved him again, because she had a feeling she wasn't going to be making it out of this alive.
This agonizing, slow, torturous process continued. When Emerald's will gave out, she screamed and cried and begged for him to stop, but he continued up the length of her right arm. Then up the length of her left arm. And when her voice became so horse, her vocal chords became damaged because of how much screaming she'd done, she whimpered, causing more pain to blossom in her throat. Tears stained her face, but there was nothing left to produce. All she had left was the searing, ripping pain. And when they were done with her arms, they moved on to her legs, starting at her ankles, but going horizontally all the way through the calf muscle on the back of the leg.
Over and over and over again, the waves of agony never ending, because they left the skewers in. At one point, she could barely even tell when the old pain stopped and a new pain began. They just blended together in a mass of throbbing, hurting misery. It never peaked and never ended as far as Emerald could tell. It just remained there, echoing through her body, exponentially rising.
She wouldn't be able to heal quickly from this or at all if this wasn't treated and if she didn't get the proper nourishment. This could possibly be the thing that killed her. She wouldn't mind, though, she'd been wishing for death after her tears ran dry and her vocal chords had given out.
When Storm finally found her, she was exactly where the dragon and his accomplices had left her when they went to attack Harmony, still held to the floor, the skewers still sticking out of her rams and the bottom half of her legs. They'd stopped when they hit the knee, though no would ever figure out why, because the dragon was now dead and his subordinates had fled, including Hale.
Storm didn't see the skewers at first, all he saw was Emerald's face. It was turned to her left, ashen, and stuck in an expression of immeasurable pain—her eyebrows furrowed delicately, her jaw slack. Her eyes were wide and glazed over, they didn't move when Storm ran toward her and fell to his knees. She didn't blink or twitch when Storm caressed her cheek or called her name. For a moment Storm had thought maybe he'd lost her, but a tug on the chord and he could feel her soul. A tug on a chord and he could feel the fiery pain she was experiencing and had been experiencing for hours upon hours now.
He also looked down to see her chest rise and fall but only slightly. Even with his heightened vampiric eyesight, he could still barely tell she was breathing. It was then did Storm finally see what had happened, all the skewers sticking out from her body. It was horrific, it made his stomach knot and twist sickeningly and it made his heart break and ache with anguish. He shouldn't have listened to her after the crash, he should've followed her, stayed with her, protected her.
Storm turned to look over his shoulder at Thierry's workers who had joined him to help search for Emerald. They did nothing to hide their shocked faces and stricken looks, especially those who were vampires themselves. One of them even shuddered at the mere thought of being stabbed once with wood.
"Will you help me?" Storm asked, his voice much calmer and quieter than he felt on the inside. They all at once rushed to Emerald's side, despite her reputation, and kneeled down. One of them grabbed a skewer and quickly pulled it out. "Wait!" Storm exclaimed when he saw Emerald move. Her chest had risen but froze there, her mouth had snapped shut, and her face had cleared, eyebrows no longer furrowed. But her eyes… they became even more glazed over if that was even possible.
"Emerald," Storm asked softly, stroking her cheek with his thumb, careful to be as gentle as a feather. "Emerald, love, can you hear me?" Tears stung his eyes as he waited for a response, but none came. Finally, he looked back up at the one who was at Emerald's right. "Keep going."
Working together, they had the skewers out in no time at all. Emerald didn't move or make a noise once. And she still didn't move when they were all out. The wounds were red and angry, inflamed and oozing blood. While they'd been doing that, a witch had been called in to take away her binds. The vines unfurled and sunk back into the ground, revealing angry red marks on her wrists as well.
When the vines were gone, Emerald let out a breath through her mouth, blinking once before her eyes shifted over to Storm. All the emotion and absolute pain coming through her gorgeous emerald eyes was all-consuming but she still didn't speak. Without breaking her gaze, Storm reached up with a shaking hand to brush some of her hair behind her ear before caressing her face once again and stroking her cheek.
"Rest now, love," Storm murmured. "I've got you. You're safe." Emerald looked at him for a moment longer before blinking once, her eyes returning to look ahead before she closed them for good. With a heavy sigh of both weariness and relief, Storm carefully and gently lifted Emerald into his arms. He held her close to him, breathing in her scent that was now tainted with torment and fear.
Storm shuddered and held Emerald tighter to him, kissing her forehead, burying his nose in her hair.
"I've got you," he whispered in her ear, though she wouldn't be able to hear him. "I love you."
Emerald awoke for the third time. It wasn't the room of horrors and nightmares any more. She slowly sat up, taking in her surroundings. In fact, it looked more like an infirmary. Beds with fresh, white, clean linens lined either side of the walls. A few beds down from Emerald laid two other dark-haired girls, who were bandaged up, too. Beside them were two boys. The one boy closest to her was facing away, but she'd recognize him anywhere: John Quinn. So that must've been Rashel in the cot. Across from those two were someone she recognized as Galen Drache, so Keller must've been in the cot in front of him. She was bandaged more than Rashel.
When she had sat up they all looked, giving their own glares, but Emerald ignored them as she always had and turned back to face front. She could still feel their eyes on her, though, and it was a little unnerving. There was an accusation somewhere in their stares, but what were they accusing her of, exactly?
She lifted a hand to brush some hair out of her face but met slight resistance. Upon closer inspection she realized that she was as much a prisoner here as she had been with Briam. Bast rope wrapped around her wrists like shackles, the rope leading to the floor near the wall, tied around a small metal loop.
Unwanted tears welled up in her eyes but she bit her lip to keep them back. To keep her mind occupied she looked at her arms, which were bandaged from her wrists all the way up to her shoulders. Remembering vaguely that they had started in on her legs, Emerald lifted the sheets slightly so she could get a look at her legs: also bandaged, from her ankles to just below her knees. She let the sheet fall back down and went back to stare at her chains.
After all that, they still didn't trust her?
Emerald's hand snapped up when the door opened. Someone came in announcing Thierry before he actually appeared. His gait was slow and precise, and almost king-like. But Storm came in after, pushing his way through, past Thierry and straight to Emerald, who had opened her arms as soon as she saw him.
They embraced, Emerald's arm wrapping around Storm's middle because of how her tethers were positioned. She gripped his shirt in fistfuls and buried her head in his neck. He sat down to be closer to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, one of his hands knotting in her hair, cradling her head.
I've got you. He told her through the link. I've got you.
More tears flooded Emerald's eyes and she held Storm tighter to her. Everything that had happened surged through her mind and into Storm's. He held her tighter too, watching in woe at what had been inflicted upon her as he felt her tears run down his neck and stain his shirt.
There was no other indication that she was crying. Her body remained still and she remained utterly silent, but she sobbed away, into Storm's neck, inhaling his comforting, familiar scent and holding him as tightly as she possibly could, ignoring the chorus of throbs it caused in her arms, as she gripped the back of his shirt like a lifeline.
I know it's been a very, very long time, but I lost my muse somewhere along there and only recently found it again. I've also moved into college and my classes officially start on Monday, so I was stressing out about that long before I had actually moved in. I'm going to try to make up for it by apologizing for taking so long, and also giving you an 18 page in a Word Doc long chapter.
I will update when I can, because as I stated before, college is going to start for me soon, and as this is only a hobby, academics come first. However, I've added a new addition to my profile page. If I'm late posting (when I have a schedule) and/or if I'm taking a long time to post, there will now be a section on my profile page that will give you updates on what's going on for that story/in my life that is preventing me from posting. The section will be clearly labeled and underneath will be a list of all in-progress stories along with the status and any notes I have for my lovely readers.
As always, I hope you enjoyed this extremely long chapter and I will update when I can. I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long.
Thank you for reading,
TheBrightestNight