May Death Do Us Part

318 Chapter 318 : dagger to the heart

Damien gawked at the embers of the dying fire he had set alight to keep himself warm through the cold snowy night. It had been four nights since he had left for Ervelon, he knew he was getting close, the slight rise in temperature assured him that he would arrive in the elven kingdom soon.

Ervlon faced no winter, just like the snowlands faced no summer, some referred to the two polar kindoms as the heaven and hell of Ronia Cresus, with Ervelon in all its warm radiant beauty; the heaven, and the snowlands with their cold gloomy days; the hell.

Damien scoffed at the irony, especially considering the fact that once he had Ronda in his grasp, he would make Ervlon a living hell for her.

The mere thought of Ronda made Damien gnash his teeth in both frustration and anger. That wretched woman was the reason Eira was gone, he had failed to keep her safe from Ronda’s clutches even when every fiber of his being told him something was wrong.

Even though Damien was very inexpressive about what was going on in his head, later on his heart, he did open up a bit more than usual around Eira and Zhelimir. With them he didn’t feel so different, they were the same after all, and they were his family.

Eira was like the little sister he never had, he had watched her grow and always kept an eye on her from a distance, something no one but himself was knowledgeable about. He always had the urge to look after her, just like any older brother would his younger sister. And for years he had managed to keep her from harms way, until now.

His failure, his inability to protect her when it mattered most, boiled Damien’s core. He had failed to protect the people he loved before, his mother, his family, and money others. It was then he swore never to fail again, but alas, he was unsuccessful yet again.

A rustling sound from a nearby bush drew the redhead from his reverie. His blue eyes trailed the snowy ground to the bush where the sound was coming from, causing him to draw his dagger and get to his feet.

Swiftly, he walked to the bush and reached into it. When he pulled his hand out, he had a grey rabbit dangling in the air by the ears.

.....

“Today isn’t your lucky day little fella,” he mumbled coldly.

The rabbit crunched itself into a little ball and whimpered at the impending doom.

The hybrid brought the dagger close to its fat little neck, ready to bask in the satisfaction of spilling some blood after holding in all his bloodlust for so long.

He stared at the little rabbit for a long while, his dagger to its neck. After minutes of self badgering to end the little critter’s life, he placed it back on the ground and sheathed his dagger with a sigh.

“Go on, get out of here,” he told the animal as if expecting it to understand. “Shedding blood won’t bring her back.”

The rabbit stood still as Damien walked back to his dying fire, probably surprised why the large man had let it go.

Damien sat back down and gazed at the rabbit that was seemingly staring at him in shock.

“Didn’t you hear me? Get out of here before I change my mind and have you for dinner!”

As if heeding the hybrid’s warning, the rabbit scampered away into the bushes.

Damien scoffed before burying his head into his knees. If he couldn’t bring himself to slaughter a small woodland creature, how on earth was he going to reprimand Eira’s killer?

“Grandmother was right, I should have traveled with someone...”

*

Layla’s face paled at Renly’s words...

“We need to leave now and find them,” Renly spoke with much urgency. “If Gavin casts this spell wrong, many will die.”

“Edron....” Layla whimpered through quivering lips. “My husband.... my son!”

Melissa walked to where the Luna was sitting and took her hand. “What is it? Where is your husband?”

“He went after Elric,” Layla mumbled panickingly as she got up from her chair, “You heard what the mage said! If anything goes wrong....” Layla pulled her hand away from Melissa’s grasp and started walking towards the door. “I have to go after them, I can’t lose them both!”

Melissa zipped to Layla and blocked her path, “you can’t Layla, it’s too dangerous-”

“They are the only family I have!” The Luna screamed making Melissa step back.

Never had she seen Layla angry before, that glow in her silvery eyes, that aura of protectiveness over the people she loved, it reminded Melissa of Elric.

“Step aside! My family is in danger!”

The Luna pushed Melissa aside and ran out the room towards the exit. By the time Melissa was able to make her way to the door herself, all she could see was a beautiful black wolf running towards the palace gates.

“Layla!-”

A hand pulled Melissa back, gripping it firmly before a pair of reassuring eyes met hers.

“It’s alright, we will go after them...”

“But Gareth you said it yourself, it’s dangerous!”

“Do not worry your majesty,” Renly spoke in response. “I won’t let anything happen to your husband, nor to anyone else.”

*

Elric stared at Gavin with furrowed eyebrows, not believing what the mage was asking of him.

“No!” Elric yelled and threw the dagger Gavin had given him onto the ground. “I can’t do that, I won’t!”

Gavin picked the dagger up and walked towards Elric, “but your grace you must, it’s the only way.”

“Do you have any idea want you want me to do? To plunge a blade into the heart of the woman I love?! Never!”

Gavin held back the words ‘but she is already dead’, knowing very well he might trigger the prince.

“Why don’t you do it?!” Elric suggested with much difficulty.

“I cannot,” Gavin responded, “it has to be done by someone who loves her dearly. We have no choice your grace, it must be you!”

“I.... I can’t....”

The whispers around them became louder, making Gavin more and more impatient. He grabbed the prince’s hand and shoved the dagger into it.

“We are running out of time prince Elric! It’s either now or you lose her forever, the choice is yours!”

Elric looked down at the dagger in his hand and then at Eira. He took a few steps towards her, his soul screaming at him to stop. But the whispers in his ears drowned out his irrational fears, he was doing this for her... for them.

He got down on his knees and placed the blade right above her chest. His hand was shaking and his breathing was aggravated, but his mind was focused.

“I swear Gavin, if this doesn’t work I will plunge this dagger right where the sun doesn’t shine.”

As he lowered the blade, he heard a loud growl behind him, followed by Gavin granting in pain.

Elric turned around to see what was going on, but in the process was rammed by a large silver wolf. The dagger fell out of his hand and his body flew across the terrain into a pile of snow.

The silver haired prince clawed himself out of the snow and looked in Eira’s direction. Over her stood his father, claws and fangs bared as if warning him not to try anything.

Elric stood up and glared at the alpha, “step aside father! This has nothing to do with you!”

The large wolf growled angrily, indicating that he was not going to do anything Elric was asking for.

“Well then I’m sorry father...” Elric mattered to himself as his flesh was slowly engulfed by silver fur. “I cannot let you get in the way of this. This is may be my only chance to see her again!”