Chapter 219: I’m Sorry

Azura’s POV

Everything around me remained locked in that agonizingly slow, suspended state.

The wind had ceased its whispering, and the gray dust hung in the air like tiny, frozen insects.

Isadora’s massive rosette-patterned wolf was suspended mid-air, her front paws outstretched and her jaw agape in a silent, sluggish leap toward my throat.

I could see the individual saliva droplets hanging near her fangs, frozen like glass beads.

My body, fueled by the awakening of the Sovereign blood inside me, moved with a fluid grace that defied the heavy atmosphere.

I didn’t feel the weight of my own limbs anymore. I felt light, swift, and entirely focused.

I ran directly toward the floating wolf, my boots barely making a sound against the ground.

As I closed the distance, I uncoiled the long, heavy chain of my spinning blade weapon, the metal links clicking together in a muffled, slow rhythm.

With a sharp flick of my wrist, I sent the chain wrapping around Isadora’s midsection, binding her ribs tightly.

I planted my back foot and pulled with all the strength in my core. The momentum dragged her massive wolf body backward, her limbs still twitching in slow motion as she floated through the space like a helpless puppet on strings.

I let go of the chain, leaving her to drift aimlessly through the gray air.

My eyes instantly locked onto Rhydor. He stood a few yards away, his heavy battle axe raised, his body caught in the slow, downward arc of a strike meant to shatter me.

Even knowing this was a cruel illusion designed to break my spirit, looking at his face still caused a sharp, physical ache in my chest. But I couldn’t let that hesitation hold me back.

I sprinted toward him, my boots kicking up frozen gray particles. I threw my spinning blade high into the air, watching it rotate sluggishly above our heads.

As the heavy steel weapon fell back down, I didn’t reach for the leather-wrapped handle. I didn’t grab the chain. Instead, I reached out and caught the sharp, deadly edge of the blade itself, the cold metal biting slightly into my palm.

Using the momentum of the catch, I drove the pointed tip directly into the side of Rhydor’s neck.

His eyes, still glowing with that unnatural red light, began to close. It happened slowly, far too slowly, the crimson hue fading from his pupils as his head tilted back.

I didn’t stop to watch him fall. I ripped the blade free and slipped behind Amanda, pressing the flat, humming edge of the steel firmly against the side of her throat.

I held her tight against my chest, locking my arm around her shoulder to keep her pinned.

I took a deep breath, looking at the three of them frozen in this bizarre, silent tableau.

"Now," I whispered into the quiet.

Everything suddenly snapped back to normal speed with a violent, earsplitting rush of sound.

The silence evaporated instantly. Isadora’s wolf hit the ground with a heavy, physical thud, but she didn’t roll or fight to her feet. The moment her fur touched the surface, her body erupted into a thick cloud of dark gray smoke, vanishing into the cold air with a loud pop.

Beside us, the massive form of Rhydor dissolved in the same way, turning into a harmless mist that drifted away into the void.

Only Amanda remained, her small body trembling slightly against my chest as the cold steel of my blade pressed into her neck.

I kept my grip tight, my breathing shallow but steady.

"Playtime is officially over," I said, my voice firm and echoing off the invisible walls of the domain.

"Surrender, Amanda."

Instead of showing fear, Amanda let out a quiet, raspy laugh that sounded entirely too old for her young face.

"Do it," she mocked, her voice dripping with a cold, superior amusement.

"Go ahead and do it, Azura."

She knew me too well. She knew that despite everything she had done, despite the horror she had put us through, I still saw her as the little girl I had fought so hard to protect. She knew I could never bring myself to slice her throat.

"You see?" Amanda continued, her tone sharp and mocking as she tilted her head against the blade.

"No matter what kind of power you inherit, you will always be weak."

Before I could tighten my hold, she twisted her torso with an unnatural, fluid motion, slipping out of my grip. She caught my wrist, pulling me closer to her frame, and drove her foot sharply into my midsection.

The air left my lungs in a sharp gasp, and I stumbled backward, my boots scraping against the stone as I fought to keep my balance.

I stood up straight, brushing the gray dust from my clothes as I looked at her. The panic that had consumed me earlier was entirely gone, replaced by a quiet, deep determination.

"I might be weak in the presence of the ones I love," I said, my voice remarkably calm as I looked into her cold blue eyes.

"But that does not mean I cannot beat you up for being a naughty girl."

I tilted my head to the side, letting my weapon drop to my side.

"I am about to give you the spanking of a lifetime," I added, my tone turning much firmer.

Amanda’s smirk vanished, a deep frown twisting her features at my lack of fear. She let out a frustrated growl and rushed directly at me, her hands curling into claws.

"That is enough," I said, cutting her off before she could reach me.

I closed my eyes, taking one last deep breath of the stale, heavy air.

"Let us get this over with," I whispered. "Once and for all."

I opened my eyes, and the world slowed down to a complete crawl once again.

Amanda was frozen a foot away from me, her fingers outstretched, her face locked in a snarl of pure rage. I stepped to the side, easily evading her path, and walked slowly toward her.

My eyes dropped to her chest, focusing entirely on her sternum.

As I channeled the raw energy of the Sovereign, the layers of her flesh and bone began to appear translucent to my sight. Deep inside her chest, embedded right between her ribs, sat the glowing blue pearl.

It pulsated with a sickening, beautiful cobalt light, sending thin, spiderweb-like veins of blue energy wrapping tightly around her heart.

I froze, remembering Torin’s words about how he had saved Leo and Ethan by extracting their stones. But Genevieve’s warnings echoed even louder in my mind.

She had told me that Amanda’s pearl was different. It was deeply connected, feeding directly off her life force. Removing it by force would sever her heart, killing her instantly.

But I also remembered the final piece of Genevieve’s advice. Something needs to be given. Something of equal value needs to be sacrificed.

I brought my right hand up, hovering my palm just an inch away from Amanda’s open mouth.

I didn’t know if my theory would work. I didn’t know if my body could even handle the exchange, but I knew I couldn’t let this innocent child die for a curse she never asked to carry.

I focused my energy, commanding the dark magic inside her to release its grip.

Deep within her chest, the blue stone began to vibrate violently. A sharp, snapping sound echoed in the slow-motion quiet as the first vein of blue light ripped away from her heart, the energy instantly redirecting toward my hand.

Even in this slowed state, Amanda’s eyes widened, her face twisting as she felt the agonizing phantom pain of the disconnection.

Another vein snapped.

Then another.

One by one, the glowing blue threads severed their connection to her heart, leaving her life force intact but completely free of the corruption.

The blue pearl began to rise, traveling slowly up through her chest cavity, passing her collarbone, and moving up into her throat. It dissolved into a thick, swirling cloud of dark blue smoke that poured out from between her parted lips, flowing directly toward my waiting palm.

The moment the smoke gathered in my hand, it solidified once again, turning into a smooth, cold blue pearl that floated just a millimeter above my skin.

I closed my fingers tightly around the stone.

Everything snapped back to normal speed in an instant.

The slow-motion haze vanished, and Amanda’s limp, exhausted body dropped heavily to the floor. I rushed to her side, checking her chest. It was rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm.

She was unconscious, but she was alive. She was breathing.

I let out a shaky breath of relief, but the feeling was incredibly short-lived.

A sharp, burning pain flared in my right hand, the hand clutching the pearl. I opened my fingers, and a gasp of pure horror tore from my throat. My skin was turning pitch black.

It wasn’t a normal bruise. It was a deep, liquid black that seemed to swallow the light, moving rapidly beneath my skin like ink spreading through water.

The corruption was spreading incredibly fast, traveling up my wrist and past my forearm. I looked down at my left hand, and to my horror, the skin there was beginning to turn black as well, the dark veins creeping up toward my elbows.

No.

I scrambled away from Amanda’s sleeping form; panic seized my chest. I couldn’t stay near her. If I lost control, if this dark energy consumed me, I couldn’t risk the pearl getting anywhere near her body again.

I turned and ran.

I didn’t know where I was going in this endless, shattered wasteland. I just ran, my boots pounding against the gray stone as the cold, numbing poison spread up my legs, making every step feel like I was dragging blocks of ice.

I stumbled, my knees scraping the ground, but I forced myself back up and kept moving.

Ahead of me, a small, shallow stream of silver water cut through a heavy stone. I didn’t hesitate. I threw myself forward, wading into the freezing water until I stood directly in the middle of the shallow current.

The physical pain of the corruption was unbearable, a freezing fire that felt like it was calcifying my very bones.

Tears streamed down my face, dripping into the silent water.

Even if I wanted to die, I wanted the painless one. Not this

"I do not want to die like this," I whispered, my voice trembling as the sheer terror of the dark took hold of me. "It hurts."

I slowly looked down, staring at my reflection in the quiet surface of the stream.

My heart shattered at the sight. One entire side of my face had already turned completely black, the skin dry and tight. My right eye was gone, replaced by a hollow, glassy pool of absolute darkness, matching the terrifying look of the creatures that had hunted us.

But as I stared at the monster in the water, a sudden spark of defiance flared deep in my chest. I was not one of them. I was still Azura. I was still me.

I thought of my mother’s final words. There are so many things we can do that we do not know until we try.

I remembered how she had managed to control Genevieve’s mind from a vast distance, guiding her without her even realizing it.

I stared down at my hand.

The pearl in my hand was the source of Amanda’s powers, and she controlled monsters with it. If the corruption was inside me, then that meant I might be able to do the same.

I let out a long, shaky breath, stabilizing my stance in the freezing water.

"Come to me," I commanded, my voice dropping into a deep, echoing tone that vibrated through the silent valley.

For a long, agonizing moment, there was nothing but silence. The water remained still, and a single tear slipped from my normal eye, splashing into the stream.

Then, the ground beneath my boots began to vibrate.

I looked up, my one good eye scanning the horizon.

In the far distance, massive clouds of gray dust began to billow into the air, rolling toward the stream like an incoming storm. The sound of hundreds of heavy, scratching footsteps began to echo off the canyon walls, growing louder and louder by the second.

The creatures. They were running toward me from every single direction, drawn to the call of the pearl like moths to a flame.

A sad, quiet smile broke across my face.

"It worked," I whispered, the dark water rippling around my shins. "It actually worked."

I looked down at the glowing blue pearl in my hand.

The silver bangle resting on my right wrist began to spin rapidly, the metal humming with a high-pitched, desperate frequency as if it knew the danger we were in.

I reached down with my left hand, firmly stopping the rotation. With a quiet sigh, I slipped the first bangle off my wrist, setting it carefully in my palm.

I transferred the glowing blue pearl to my left hand, the corruption stinging my skin, and quickly removed the second silver bangle from my opposite wrist.

I carefully placed the vibrating blue pearl directly into the hollow center of the first bangle, the metal instantly locking it in place as the energy began to crackle wildly.

I held the second bangle tightly in my other hand, my fingers tracing the familiar patterns of my weapon.

The massive black-eyed creatures were incredibly close now. They crested the final ridge, their dry, leathery limbs moving in a terrifying frenzy as they leaped into the air, descending toward the stream in a massive, suffocating wave of claws and teeth.

Everything went slow one last time.

The pearl locked inside the silver bangle began to vibrate violently, the blue light turning into a blinding, unstable white as the magic reached its breaking point.

I closed my eyes, letting the faces of everyone I loved wash over my mind. I thought of Amanda, safe and breathing on the stone floor. I thought of Liona, Axel, Silas, Torin, and Genevieve.

And finally, the image of Rhydor appeared in my mind, not the cold, red-eyed monster of the illusion, but the fierce, protective Alpha who had held me in the courtyard.

"You better not give up on me," I whispered into the freezing wind, a final tear slipping down my cheek.

"You better still fight to earn my love... in our next life."

"And... I’m sorry, Rhydor."

With every ounce of strength left in my fading body, I brought the second bangle down, smashing it violently against the first.

The blinding, white-hot explosion consumed the stream, the valley, and the darkness, swallowing the entire world in a flash of pure, brilliant light.