Chapter 74: _End Of The Road
Celeste’s POV
*****
7:10 pm, Hybrid Trial.
A skull-splitting headache made me groan in pain, eyes opening wide. Strained gasps bled out of my lips—as well as the metallic taste of actual blood.
I looked around. I had my back to the ground, hair spread across the dirt and my face like spider legs.
The witch road—
Panic hit me as I groggily sat up, struggling to get a closer look at where I actually was. Lightning cracked in the clouds above unnaturally, signifying I was still in that hellhole of a pocket dimension.
"What the..." I blinked.
There was no more silver-violet path.
Just typical old muddy earth that stretched for several miles around me.
"Does this mean I got to the end of the road?" I rubbed my forehead, getting on my feet slowly. Exhaustion blurred the edges of my vision, making it hard to focus. "Where’s... Where’s Caelum then?"
I spun around, breath shuddering.
No.
No, no, no—gods, fuck no!
He told me we would see at the end of our individual paths. He assured me, gods damn it!
"Caelum!" I yelled, ignoring the crack behind my voice. "Caelum, you moron! Where are you?!"
Wetness already gathered behind my eyes but I bit it back.
There was that feeling I’d become too familiar with growing up.
Loneliness.
Except this time I was literally alone.
’We will learn in due time, Celeste.’ The words of the unknown voice that spoke in my mind before I passed out echoed yet again, making me scowl.
Learn what?
Who even was that? My non-existent wolf? An illusion? A spell messing with my psyche?
I could go on and on with theories but now wasn’t the time.
"First, I need to find Caelum," I told myself. "Then—we’ll get the heck out of here."
With renewed resolve, I moved a few steps, curling my fists.
Instant regret.
"Argh!" I whimpered, doubling over as that headache came back. Sharper and stronger.
Four distinct points in my head thrummed. Pulling me. Calling for me with an urgency that sent a ripple of sensation through my core.
My mates—was something happening back in the Crimson Expanse?
Faces flickered in my mind. Followed by screams, lightning flashes and the familiar scent of blood, sweat and desperation.
Yep. Something horribly wrong was happening back in the Expanse.
Clutching the roots of my hair, I snapped. "Make... This pain... Stop..."
Magic built up in my chest. Heavy and ready to burst.
"Celeste!" A firm hand on my shoulder pulled me out of my trance. I gasped, blinking and swerving my head to the hand’s owner.
Even the treacherous wind seemed to still as tears I’d been holding back broke out.
Caelum.
"Are you okay?" He looked okay—except for his dishevelled blonde hair. "I heard your screams and rushed here as fast as I could. I got out of the road not so long ago but—"
I didn’t let him finish, arms wrapping around him. My face found his chest, silent sobs breaking out of me. "Gods, you absolute idiot."
He didn’t move. Didn’t say anything for several seconds or even reciprocate the hug.
Still, I didn’t care, letting it all out.
"Sis," he finally returned my embrace, enveloping me in his warmth. "You seem so shaken. The witch path must have been a tough one, huh?"
By the moon, I didn’t even want to talk about it.
Sniffing in his annoying but familiar cologne right now was enough.
Eventually, I got a hold of myself and pulled away from him. I wiped my face, about to say something when I noticed the people standing behind him. Watching with blank expressions.
"Oh..." Heat flooded my cheeks.
It was the Whiteflame students.
Tearing my gaze away from them, I muttered awkwardly. "H–How long have they—?"
"That’s what I was trying to explain." Caelum brushed back stray strands of his hair. "Shortly after I left the wolf path, I bumped into them. We wondered if the next obstacle involved us working together. You know... Like the wolf trials."
I sniffled, nodding slowly for him to continue.
Phew. Sometimes crying it out really is relieving.
"But then we didn’t see you and I knew something was up," My brother became solemn. "When we saw the cracks I quickly decided we needed to find a way out of here. Not without finding you first, of course."
Confusion creased my brows.
Find a way out here?
"I’m lost." I gave a narrowed look. "Is the trial... Over? Did you guys see any signs of that or something? Also, what cracks are you..."
The rest of my words caught in my throat, arms tensing beside me.
Caelum followed my gaze, nodding when he saw what I was staring at. Right above us. "Goddess, it’s spreading."
By "it" he meant spatial cracks, spiderwebbing across the stormy sky until a black void began seeping out. These cracks spread fast, meeting others and forming bigger ones.
"Spatial collapse," the girl amongst the White flame students waltzed toward us. "Happens when a pocket dimension is unstable, usually if its power source or outside entry point is compromised."
I could feel that headache threatening to come again but shook my head through it. "Wait. Does this mean—if we don’t leave this whole dimension will collapse on us?"
Their simultaneous nods made my blood run cold.
Of all the possible ways to die, getting crushed into nothingness between the folds of space-time was not on my bingo card.
"Opening a portal is paramount." The White Flame male spoke with a deep voice. "There must be something happening back in the Crimson Expanse."
"And none of us can open a portal without risking speed running the spatial collapse," Caelum rubbed his nose. "Not to mention the dimension has destabilised our wolf and witch sides. Casting such a complex spell would be hectic."
Each word that came out of their mouths only worsened the dread pooling in my gut.
My fingers touched Atlas’ bracelet subconsciously just then.
’Rub it three times if you ever need him...’
Well, that time was now.
Pushing every doubt, I grabbed the bracelet, eyes shutting. "Atlas..." One rub. "If you can hear me through this somehow," second rub. "We... We’re—"
I hadn’t even rubbed it the third time when a flash of golden light sparked before us.
Caelum pulled me away from it, arm spread out to shield me.
However, the golden light twirled, forming a clockwise energy spiral. Space time warped, the wind picking up as a golden portal manifested in the spiral’s place.
No one moved or said a word for a few seconds.
"Our way out!" I shouted, sprinting into the portal first.
Golden light consumed my vision, forcing me to close my eyes.
Then—
Strong arms caught me, raising my leg and pressing my body against a hard surface. The scent a spicy cologne caused my nostrils to flare.
"You’re safe." A familiar deep voice made my eyelids flutter open.
Taking in the handsome features of the mate who caught me on the other side.
Silas.
