Chapter 519: Sage’s Wish
"August’s fine, mom," Selah breathed, "look at her."
Sage turned in his mother’s arms as well as she continued to clutch him against her, but he had to see the Luna. The Luna was so amazing. How had she known the vampire’s name?
August was standing at ease right in front of Daegel despite the anger that had reanimated him. Whatever soothing peace he had found in her presence that persuaded him to release his small prisoner was no longer enough to quell his fury.
"I trusted you," the vampire fumed, his whole body swelling large and arching over her.
"Have you done anything other than bring suffering to others in your entire existence Daegel?" She asked, her head tilting to the side as she raised her chin to follow his ever increasing size.
"I have done what is in my nature," he snarled. "It is who I am. I am not supposed to have this heart. I am not supposed to be alive!"
He seemed frozen in his fury. He wanted to attack her. He wanted to crush her into a million pieces, destroying any evidence that she had ever even existed—this witch who made him a living thing and knew his name. But he couldn’t. For whatever reason, he couldn’t do it.
"I am afraid that you were not meant to exist forever," she said. "There is too much suffering, and it must be stopped. Balance has to be restored."
"And you think killing me alone will restore it? There are others who will replace me in what I do. The torture will go on. It does not end with me."
"Balance will always return, Daegel. You are only the first step."
She turned to the wall of the cage and placed the palm of her hand on it. The invisible walls glittered to life before his eyes and then disintegrated. He stood staring, unsure of what had just happened. Had she just set him free?
The crazed look in his eyes darted to each of those standing around, watching in surprise at what August had just done. Apparently none of them were expecting it.
He took advantage of their shock and lunged toward her with the intent of using her as a means to escape. If he had her with him, he could leave without being harmed. He could protect his vulnerable beating heart long enough to get out of this nightmare and figure out what to do next.
He was part fae. There had to be a way. There had to be some kind of spell or magic or something to turn him back. He was going to make her help him find a way—no matter how long it took. He would keep her until it was done.
It all happened so quickly. Vampires were so much faster than any other creature, but when Daegel lunged at the Luna, time seemed to slow down for Sage. The swallowtail butterfly Sage had healed was fluttering by unaware of the supernatural forces at work around it, but its wings slowed into the most graceful, vibrant blue as they opened to meet the air and let it glide past before another beat.
Sage’s breath shuttered in this paused reality. He knew what was about to happen. He could see the vampire’s intent in his contorted, ugly face that was focused on the Luna.
The pup turned his head to see Graeme’s reaction—the eyebrows that were arched in worry and the sadness that had already begun to well there. He had been so strong and brave all this time—so trusting of his mate, allowing her to find her own strength and place and prove herself. Making himself risk that which he held most dear all over again, even after how much he had lost in the past—his parents and all of his pack’s alyko.
He had suffered alone for such a long time before he even met Luna August. And then he was forced to go on alone without her while she was here on Zagan’s island, unaware of what was happening to her. Unaware of what kind of danger she was in. And now she was threatened right before his eyes but too far for him to help prevent it.
When Sage’s eyes flitted back to Daegel who was lunging at August, the vampire appeared to be a little further in his progress like time was pressing to catch up with itself... to move forward despite this hold on it.
August was right. Balance would always return, and time was the same way. It wanted to right itself again, and Sage had to make a decision about what to do before it did.
He could disintegrate the vampire right now with one snap of his fingers. He could feel it—the ability to do it pulsing at his fingertips. When time caught up, the horrifying vampire would be gone—no longer a threat that needed to be dealt with. No longer a villain that had to be endured and then overcome. No one would need to get hurt anymore. He would just.... Poof. Be a memory.
But the dark mass of energy that was contained within Daegel’s being would be dispersed unnaturally, catching on the wind and in the beats of butterfly wings like this swallowtail’s, dispersing but then collecting somewhere else only to be reimagined a new way—in a new form. It wasn’t the right way to deal with this. He had to let them fight.
Sage’s bottom lip quivered with the weight of this knowledge. It was a lot. It had always been a lot.
The least he could do was blow this monster a little off course—give him a little bump so he would stumble on his way. It was only fair to balance the speed he was given that would otherwise keep his victims from seeing him coming.
The pup blew a heavy breath out of his mouth as if he was blowing a wish through the white puffy seed pods of a flower. The breath seemed to collect with time that now suddenly sped up, and as Daegel finished his lunge toward August, he crashed into the ground instead of into her.
A loud grunt escaped him with the surprise of missing his target. How had that happened? But before he could bring himself to understand and return to the plan of capturing the witch, there were two sharp canines sinking into the meat of his shoulder.
