Chapter 57: The Weight of Blood and Power
Lorraine’s POV
"Elise?" My voice cracked, panicking as I dragged myself across the dirt to where she lay. Blood soaked her brown hair, seeping into the earth beneath her. My hands shook violently as I reached out to her, brushing strands of hair from her face. "Elise, please....wake up. Come on. Elise!"
Her chest rose barely, shallow. Then, slowly, so slowly, her eyelids fluttered.
I exhaled hard, the relief crashing over me like a wave. "Thank the moon," I whispered.
Her eyes didn’t focus, her lips moved but made no sound. But she was alive. For now.
Behind me, I heard groans, Felix and Adrian, both beaten and bloodied, struggling to sit up. Adrian’s face was smeared with dirt and blood, his lip split open. Felix was clutching his ribs, blinking through a haze of pain. We were all wrecked.
And yet Varya and the two other lycans were still standing, untouched. Powerful. Smug.
She walked forward, her strides slow and deliberate, like she was giving us time to realize how powerless we were. Her boots crunched over leaves and bloodied twigs. Her red hair shimmered in the light slicing through the canopy, and when she laughed, it was a sound made for nightmares.
"The guts you all have...." she chuckled, her voice dancing with mockery. "To speak to a Lycan with no bloody respect." Her eyes swept over us like we were nothing more than trash scattered in her way.
Then her gaze shifted to Selene and Alistair, who stood as if they owned the entire forest. Watching. Waiting.
"You two," Varya said, narrowing her eyes. "You’re like the leaders of the Elites, aren’t you? The infamous Ashthornes." She looked them over like she was inspecting livestock.
Selene didn’t respond. Her face was impassive, cold as ever.