Fake Mate of the Enemy Shifter (Red Oak Shifters #2)

28. Cassia

Chapter twenty-eight

Cassia

M y heart seizes with panic as I drop onto the ground next to Emeric, his large wolf body tensing and writhing in agony.

“No, no, no. You don’t get to die!” I tell him, my voice shaking as much as my hands as I reach out toward him.

Emeric whines as he flops onto his side facing me, blood still dripping from the fang marks in his underbelly.

Right after I brought Elise to Callista, I saw Voren attack Emeric, dealing a vicious bite to one of the most vulnerable places on a wolf. I’ve only heard about Shadowfang through stories, but they are far viler in person. They’re nightmares come to life.

I hover my hands over his wounds before pausing, my face paling. “I don’t have any magic. I can’t heal you.”

Emeric blinks slowly as the strength continues to fade from his body, leaving him weaker and weaker and that much closer to death.

“This can’t happen!” My heart pounds rapidly as I shake my head, a hole of despair opening up in the pit of my stomach. “You mean too much to Grey to die like this. You mean too much to the region! And I don’t even care if you hate me. You’re important to Grey, so you’re important to me!”

More blood trickles from the bite marks as his breaths grow weaker.

I close my eyes and grit my teeth, trying to put every single ounce of strength and focus that I have into casting a healing spell. He’ll die without it in minutes, and I refuse to let him die at the hands of pure evil!

Just before my energy completely dissipates, a faint glow blooms in the corner of my right eye. I glance down and drop my jaw at the sight of light spilling from my bag. With shaky hands, I open it, the light burning even brighter as it surrounds the tree sapling.

Indecipherable whispers radiate from the sapling, a magnetic sensation pulling on my chest. It’s calling to me. It’s answering my pleas.

My fingertips barely brush the leaves before the light surges into my body, a chilly feeling washing over the fiery darkness within the depths of my soul. Every nerve in my body ignites, all weight and tension alleviating. That’s when I feel it .

My powers rushing through my veins once more.

A gasp drifts from me as the light fades, leaving me feeling light as air. As bright as a sunny day. No traces of darkness.

I’ve been cleansed.

I look down at my fingertips as familiar magic crackles off them, hope and relief enveloping me whole. My powers are back! I can save him!

I place my hands over his wounds and lower my head, channeling every ounce of strength I have into a healing spell. Light radiates from my hands, the blood steadily spilling slower and slower until it stops.

Emeric takes a deeper breath, and I swear I hear a sigh of relief from him as the pain dwindles down to a tolerable level.

I remove my hands and let out a relieved exhale at the sight of his faintly healed wounds. He’ll need to be taken care of by an actual healer, but he won’t bleed out before getting to one. I saved him.

“I told you that you couldn’t die on me,” I tell him as I gently place my hand on his shoulder, offering a small smile.

I can’t read his expressions while he’s in wolf form, but I think the slow blink of his eyes is a sign of gratitude. If we make it out of this battle alive, I’m sure we’ll get to share our feelings later.

I catch my breath as I remain kneeled beside him, watching over him as he catches his breath. My eyes sweep over the field, my heartbeat quickening when I realize that more Everblade witches and good Moonveil witches are on their feet than bad witches.

We’re fighting together, and we’re doing it well. We might have a chance!

I glance behind me, spotting Grey as he starts to approach me. I give him a warm look, and telling from how he nods at me, I know he saw what I did for his father.

Before I can get to my feet, a blast of radiant energy hits me in the side, throwing me back. A broken cry bursts from me as my clothes burn and sizzle from the fiery energy. I pat myself down and look up as Morgana strides toward me.

A bead of blood drips down the side of her face as her expression contorts into a hateful glare. “You just can’t stop being a nuisance, can you? Always causing trouble. Always getting in the way!”

I suck in a deep breath, trying to steady myself as I crawl backward. I should’ve known we were going to come face to face eventually. Even if she’s on the verge of death or defeat, she’s going to do everything she can to overpower me one last time.

With a scowl, Morgana raises her hand to cast again, but she can’t utter a word before Grey knocks into her. She cries out and hits the ground on her side, but she bounces back quickly. “You beast!”

My eyes widen as she casts another lunar spell at him, sending him reeling back. I push myself to my feet and cast a jolt of lunar power at her.

Morgana hisses as the bolt hits the back of her right leg, making her stumble. She strikes back, spinning around as Grey and I try to hit her from two different sides. “I will not fail! Moonveil will consume you all!”

Grey snaps at her injured leg, his teeth grazing her calf.

With gritted teeth, Morgana kicks the side of his head with her good foot, making him yelp from the impact. She rips a dagger out from under her white cloak. “Enough!”

I freeze in place as I watch her let go of the dagger and use her powers to make it levitate in the air. I put my hands out as my heart races, my eyes training on the blade as she points it toward me. Even as I’m facing down death, I refuse to beg her for my life.

My teeth grit as I glare at Morgana, who smirks at me with fire in her eyes. She wants to see me fall, but only one of us will.

With a shout, Morgana throws her hand forward, making the dagger sail toward my chest.

My muscles tense as I prepare to throw myself to the side, but the dagger cuts through the air far too quickly. My eyes squeeze shut as I prepare for the deadly thud of the blade into my body, but I feel a large force knock me aside instead.

The air leaves my lungs as I hit the ground on my back, the sky spinning above me. I blink in confusion before pushing myself up on my elbows, my eyes widening at the sight of Alastor dropping to his knees with the dagger stuck in his chest.

“No!” I gasp as he hits the ground.

His eyes roll toward the sky, his chest not moving.

I crawl over to him, my trembling hands hovering over his still body. “No, no, no … this wasn’t supposed to happen. We were supposed to have more time!”

What about our plans to talk and get to know each other? What about our chance to explore our family ties? It’s all gone.

Grey’s yelp of pain makes my eyes dart upward just as Morgana rushes at me. She grabs me by the hair, dragging me away from Alastor. “See what you’ve done? See the mess you’ve made?”

I slam my fist against her injured leg, seeing where Grey’s bite nearly reached the bone.

Morgana hisses in pain and stumbles before yanking my hair again, forcing me across the field. “I’m going to bury you. There will be nothing left of you when I’m done!”

My eyes stray behind me to see Grey fending off two loyalists as he limps. We’re falling apart on the final stretch of the battle! Our strength is fading. Our magic is waning.

But I’m not going to give up.

“Let go!” I shout before planting my hand on her other leg, burning her skin with lunar power.

Morgana crumbles to the ground, her body shaking from the pain. She kicks me away from her, seething in fury. “You’re dead!”

“Morgana!”

Morgana and I turn to see Gliselle approaching us. My heart pounds as I watch her get closer. “Mom, don’t!”

Gliselle gives me a gentle smile. “It’ll be okay. This has to stop now, Cassia.”

Morgana struggles to get to her feet, her stance wavering from her injured legs. “You’re finally right about something, little sister. This does need to stop now.”

“No!” I shout as Morgana lifts her hand.

Gliselle and Morgana both cast a lunar beam at each other at the same time, their magic clashing in the air with sparks.

I can’t just stand by and watch this. I have to help somehow! As they continue casting and trying to overpower the other, I whip around, seeing Grey chase off the loyalists. At least he’s okay, but I can’t lose Gliselle.

I need a miracle.

With burning eyes, I rush back over to Alastor and pull the dagger out of his chest. “I’m so sorry.”

I turn back around and rush toward Gliselle and Morgana just as Morgana has a surge of strength, her beam of power tearing through Gliselle’s. If it hits Gliselle, the damage will be crippling.

Morgana moves closer to Gliselle in a pained shuffle, but she doesn’t stop moving. A cruel scowl forms on her face. “You’ll regret not standing beside your family. I will take everything away from you!”

Gliselle grimaces as the glow of the beams becomes blinding, her hands beginning to shake as her strength starts to fade. She won’t last much longer.

“Mom!”

Gliselle glances over at me just as I toss the dagger in her direction. It thumps in the grass by her feet. With a look of anguish on her face, she slashes her concentration and ducks away from the lunar beam, scooping the dagger off the ground and burying the blade into Morgana’s stomach.

Morgana gasps, her eyes dropping to the hilt sticking out of her body. She blinks in shock as she looks back up at Gliselle.

Tears break from Gliselle’s eyes and course down her cheeks. “I didn’t want to do this. I never wanted this for us! But you took it too far … you always took it too far.”

My heart lurches as I watch Gliselle lower her sister down to the ground, the sounds of battle fading all around as the last leader on the other side falls. When I hear noise behind me, I whip around, my muscles tensing for a fight.

Instead, I see Grey approaching me in his human form with a solemn look on his face. Morgana’s death is the best thing for everyone, but Gliselle still had to kill her sister. Her family.

“Shadowfang is dead,” Grey tells me as he reaches my side.

I take a look around, seeing the bodies of the fallen dotting the field. Captured Moonveil witches kneel in a guarded circle of Everblade wolves and witches and good Moonveil witches, while the others tend to the wounded and mourn together. “So is Moonveil.”

Grey places his hand on the back of my shoulder, sharing a bittersweet look with me. “It’s over, Cassia.”

I look toward the forest, releasing an unsteady breath. The trees still live, but their condition has worsened from the battle. Only time will tell how long they have left. “I can’t believe this. We won.”

Grey moves his hand to cup my cheek, drawing me close into a tight embrace. “But we still have a lot left to do. A lot of damage to fix. A large mess to clean up.”

I turn my head to rest my cheek against his chest, my eyes falling upon Gliselle as she sits near Morgana’s body. So much death and destruction had to happen for us to come out victorious, but the other ending would’ve resulted in so much more blood and chaos. The Land of Aragay would’ve become a graveyard, a desolate shell of what it used to be.

There may be a lot of destruction in the aftermath of our victory, but we can turn that into something new. Something better and stronger than before.

From the ashes, a new and better life for us all can be reborn.