Avelyn heard her. From across the battleground and the cobblestone alley, Avelyn heard Christine’s last thought and fell to her knees. She screamed her pain and started crying like she had never cried in her entire life. Her body shook with sobs, her tears flowed freely down her cheeks, landing on h
er blouse. Miss Delacroix was there to hug her tightly.
***
Max stood up over the old woman’s body, stretched his neck towards the moon, and released a long, wailing howl.
Somewhere close, the dragon’s tail snapped with the force of a whip. It uncoiled and the limp body of a black she-wolf escaped its clutch, but what hit the ground was the pale figure of a dark-haired girl.
Seeing their Alpha gone, the rogue werewolves snarled, then turned around and scattered into the dark forest, running as fast as they could. But if Viggo thought he had won, he was wrong. The three-tailed Inari gave a cry of battle and attacked the towering dragon, followed by his remaining werefoxes. Viggo used his tail, sharp wings, and strong forelegs to hit right and left. As long as they didn’t find a way underneath his body, where the skin on his stomach was more vulnerable, they stood no chance against his sheer power.
The desperate, hopeless fight didn’t last long. Soon, the ground was covered in foxes that were turning into their human forms with the last breath their lungs struggled to push out, and the three-tailed Inari, whose choice of blindly following Sabine would remain a mystery, was forced to accept defeat and disappear into the forest. His shameful retreat was accompanied by Clan Blackmane’s rising howls.
CHAPTER FIVE
Tears of Sorrow
Avelyn sat in a small chair by the bed, her empty eyes fixed on the wall in front of her. She couldn’t look at Christine anymore, at the cold, still body whose chest did not rise and fall in the steady rhythm of life. She couldn’t stand up and leave the room either. She was stuck in that place, away from the world, away from the people who continued their lives between the walls of Alma Venus. Somewhere, in another room, Sabine lay on a similar bed, just as still as Christine. Then, yet in another room, Val lay cold and motionless too. Val, a Moon Child and one of Avelyn’s only friends at the Schloss. Caleb and Rosanna were probably staring at a similar white wall, refusing to accept reality. Poor Caleb. He and Val had been dating. Avelyn remembered the very first time they went to Dunkelstadt together. How Caleb had carried all their bags, and how she had thought he and Rosanna would make a great couple. What had Val said? “Don’t even think about it.” Of course, Caleb was with Val, and had no interest in the blonde Crescent. After so many mistakes and misjudgments, it was safe to say that Avelyn’s instincts sucked.
The clock on the wall read 9 AM. They couldn’t stay at Alma Venus forever. They had already jeopardized the school’s routine and scared the headmistress out of her mind. They had turned everyone’s lives upside down. They had to go. But not before they took care of all the bodies in front of the gate. Viggo and the wolves who hadn’t been injured too badly had managed to clean the battleground before sunrise. The rogue werewolves and the werefoxes had been taken somewhere deep into the woods, behind the boarding school, at the foot of the mountain, and buried in complete secrecy. The fallen Crescents, Moon Children, and Dark Wolves were going to be taken to the Schloss. Sabine too.
Sabine. For a second, Avelyn wondered if there was anyone watching over her cold, pale frame, as she was doing for Christine, and Caleb and Rosanna for Val.
Sabine.
Avelyn’s chest clenched in pain. It hurt so bad that she thought she might be sick. She breathed in and out for a couple of minutes, and struggled to regain control over her body. They had both been her friends. Christine and Sabine. It didn’t matter that both of them had hurt her, lied to her, used her to achieve their own selfish goals. Nothing mattered now. Avelyn remembered the deep, dark bruises the dragon’s tail had left on Sabine’s lithe body, and swallowed down the bitter taste in her mouth. She would never be able to look into Viggo’s eyes again.
Max tried to reach her through their telepathic connection, but Avelyn blocked him. She didn’t want him in her head now. She wanted to be alone, with her own pain and despair. He had been badly injured by Sabine because he had refused to fight back, but he was recovering quickly. His body healed almost completely in a matter of hours. Jocelyn, on the other hand… Jocelyn had been on the brick of death. Ryan, her Beta, had carried her back to the school, and when he stepped over the threshold, he started screaming for help. Avelyn had never seen that big, intimidating man so vulnerable and terrified. Josie would heal too, but it would take her a bit more time, and a lot of rest.
Avelyn shivered in her chair, but didn’t even consider looking for a blanket. Even though the sun was up, its hot rays assaulting the building’s every window, the curtains were drawn and it was dark and chilly in the room. Goosebumps rose on Avelyn’s arms, and her stomach churned in pain. It felt as if it were filled with poisonous acid. She ignored it and continued staring at the white wall. She knew she would have to rise to her feet at some point, take the steps separating her from the door, open it, step over the threshold, then leave the room and close the door behind her. At some point, but not now. Now, she wasn’t ready. Now, she just wanted to sit there and think of nothing.
***
It was just before lunch when Max summoned Viggo in the garden. He was waiting for the dragon-shifter in the same spot Avelyn had stood months ago, when he had seen her for the first time and fell in love with her wonderful body, wild red hair, and cocky attitude. He should have sensed she wasn’t wolf-bride material then and there. And what if he had? Would he have done differently? No. There was no doubt about that.
Max sighed and looked far into the distance, at the frosty peaks of the mountains. Viggo had made sure there would be nothing to obstruct that perfect view for years to come. The beautiful garden of Alma Venus Boarding School was a fine pile of ash. He smiled to himself, but it was a bitter smile. He took a couple of steps to what once was Avelyn’s favorite lime tree, and winced at the movement. His body still hurt in so many places, even though the scars were slowly disappearing. He wondered if Avelyn was all right and if she would want to have a light lunch. She had refused to leave that dark, gloomy room, and she had kept him away from her thoughts. He figured she simply needed some time.
He heard Viggo before he even rounded the building. He turned around to see the young dragon approach him with bold, confident steps. He looked calm and unfazed. It seemed that sending so many shifters to the afterlife last night hadn’t shaken him in the least.
“You wanted to see me.” It was not a question. It was a statement.
Sun rays danced in Viggo’s golden eyes as if that was their favorite place to be. His tousled dark blond hair, chiseled jaw, and sensual lips made him look like some sort of god who had decided to roam the Earth for a couple of centuries. Just like that, out of boredom. How old was he? Max couldn’t tell. Dragon-shifters lived for thousands and thousands of years. They could as well be immortal. Maybe that was why making tough calls was so easy for him. He had lived too long and seen too much.
“Yes, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Viggo stepped by Max’s side and looked at the horizon. “If you’re waiting for an apology…”
“No. It has nothing to do with what happened last night. You did the right thing. We were losing the battle and you saved us.”
“What about the girl?”
“Avelyn?”
“No. Sabine. You all seemed to care about her.”
There was a long, heavy silence. Viggo gave Max time to find his words or change the subject.
“We did. Sabine was… part of the family. A long time ago.”