She could never be her

Adrian's POV

‘Your mission is to go Terrae. Daniel, you must dream walk and speak to the seer that's in charge of that area. She will give you the details. But your main focus is to stop Defaeron at any cost. There is something that he is after. Find out what it is and when you do, protect it. And don't let him get away.’

The leader's words rang through my head. I will put an end to him. He has caused so much pain in my life and to so many other caelestians. My one goal in life is to finally end him.

I dashed through the tents in the carnival and spotted those idiots.

"We need to leave now." I didn't need to explain to them. They jumped from their seats and we made a run for the forest leaving Jade and her friends alone.

"His essence is too powerful! I can feel it further ahead towards the houses." Daniel yelled as Isaac shifted into his wolf and made a dash for it. And in no time we made it to a little house that was near the forest. The house was destroyed. We were too late… in the span of a few minutes; Defaeron had done so much damage.

‘Defaeron was here and he was with a vampire and a rogue wolf. There are bodies further ahead.’ Isaac spoke through the mind link as he strutted forward.

Dammit! He got away again! I punched the wall in anger. We were too late!

"Those aren't normal bodies." Daniel ran towards the bodies examining them. He whispered a few words in his foreign tongue and the bodies revealed their true essence before I could even take a look at the bodies. The three of us froze when we heard a scream within the forest.

‘I'm picking up Azaliah's scent and she's being chased by that rogue wolf and vampire,’ Isaac yelled.

I didn't need to be told twice. I had already failed this mission by letting Defaeron escape. I wasn't going to let her die.

‘I'm going for that wolf, go save Azaliah.’ Isaac rammed into that wolf. And then a flash of red started running. I ran to the place where I first saw her. And there she was pinned against the wall. She looked like a corpse and the vampire was still attached to her. Anger bubbled within me and in a fit of rage. I ripped the vampire away from her.

"Yrotagrup fo emalf eht nommus, lleh fo shtped eht morf"

I summoned the flames of hell and burnt the vampire to a crisp. Till there was nothing left. But it didn't appease my anger. I walked up to her and I could hear her faint breathing. My heart twisted at the sight of her. She had a bite mark on her neck and chest and her flesh was torn from her skin. The gash on her leg was ripped open. Claw marks scathed her leg. Her forehead was cracked but that wasn't the only thing that surprised me. Because on her forehead, there was ancient writing etched in gold glowing on her skin.

No...

How could he...

He cursed her...

But why... she's a human...

What did she ever do to him?

"Azaliah?" She looked up at the mention of her name. There were tears in her eyes and she took a step forward.

"Adrian... please save Felix... H-he's the only person that I have left..." Her legs failed her as she fell forward. I caught her in my arms. And she closed her eyes. But she wasn't dead... I could still feel her heartbeat.

Felix...

I wonder who she wanted me to save... but whoever that is... I'll keep them safe...

I heard crunching behind me and glanced to see Isaac’s wolf.

"No... Not her... what did she ever do to him to harm her?" Isaac had shifted back to his human skin. In his hand was an unconscious wolf. He then turned and looked at the burnt ashes on the ground.

"Let's go back to Daniel" I heard him whisper. We all had lost something to Defaeron. Every mission we went on was like life and death and we had seen enough death to know that Defaeron needs to be stopped.

Without saying a word, we made our way back to that house. Azaliah was groaning in pain in my arms, her breathing becoming fainter and fainter. Once we passed through the back gates we noticed that Daniel wasn't alone. There was a girl there and it was none other than Jade, Azaliah's friend.

"So he finally got to them." She whispered staggering forward as she approached me.

"Azaliah... you should have listened to your father..." Jade whispered as began to cry.

"She's the seer in charge of this area," Daniel spoke and there was so much sadness in the air and yet I became furious.

"Why didn't you protect her? You should have known this was going to happen!" I yelled at the seer.

"If we weren't playing singer and going to carnivals then those people would still be alive and Azaliah wouldn't be lying half-dead in my arms." I was shaking with so much anger...

"Blaming each other isn't going to bring anyone back," Jade replied and raised her hand in the air. A force field surrounded the area.

"We don't have much time left. We need to save her." Jade said as she walked into the broken house. But before walking in, she looked back at the corpses and said a spell that wrapped the bodies up. With her hands raised in the air and few incarnations, a portal opened up. She gestured for us to follow her.

"Do you think she can be saved with this much damage? She bloody has the curse mark on her! She was bitten by a vampire and slashed by that wolf! She's not going to survive!" I yelled and held Azaliah tightly.

"What?!" Isaac and Daniel said in unison running towards me. Daniel gasps at the mark and Isaac groans and shakes his head.

"That's exactly why I'm saying we need to save her. That girl in your arms will survive." Jade yelled.

Jade came forward and with a smile, she replied, “She is stronger than you think.”

"How could you be so sure?" I said barely in a whisper but the three of them heard it.

"Because she is Azaliah Krimson and my best friend," That was all she said as she disappeared into the portal.

…Azaliah Krimson… the girl that reminded me so much of her and yet she could never be her…

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