The Judas Kiss
1451 Words
Aria’s POV
I ran.
My lungs burned with every breath, the cold air of the corridors cutting my skin like glass, but the vibration in my blood gave me a terrifying amount of energy. I didn't head for the safety of my room; I headed for the room where I had left the so-called perfect Vaelor family.
I burst through the double doors, my hair standing on different ends and my chest heaving. The Grand Luna was still seated, calmly sipping tea as if the world weren't ending a few hundred yards away. Elena was standing by the window, her hand resting protectively over her stomach.
"The estate," I gasped, clutching the doorframe to keep from collapsing. "It’s under attack. The southern wall is down. Noah is at the breach... he’s fighting ferals."
The Grand Luna didn't even set her cup down. She looked at me with a slow, chilling boredom. "Sit down, girl. Your hysterics are tiresome. The Vaelor estate has silver-lined wards that have stood for three generations. It cannot be under attack by a few forest strays."
"It's not just strays!" I screamed, turning to Elena. "Noah told me to find you. He said you need to start a protection spell now. Julian is at the gate. He bypassed the silver!"
Elena’s face paled at the mention of Julian, but she looked toward the Grand Luna for permission, her expression clouded with confusion. "Aria, the magic... they would have triggered an alarm. I don't feel anything."
"Because he’s peeling them back! He’s making them silent!" I stepped toward them, desperate.
"Please, Elena. You’re a healer, you have the light. Use it!"
The Grand Luna stood up, her golden eyes flashing with a sudden, sharp cruelty. "Enough of this lie. You’re trying to cause a panic because you were embarrassed. You are a lowlife Omega with a parasite in your veins, and I will not have you—"
CRASH.
The massive stained-glass window behind Elena shattered inward. A feral wolf, its fur matted with black goo and its eyes glowing a sickly yellow, lunged through the glass. It didn't go for the Grand Luna. It went straight for straight for Elena.
Elena screamed, freezing in place, her hands flying up to cover her face. The Grand Luna reached for a silver poker by the fire, but she was too slow.
The world slowed down. The vibration in my chest snapped, turning into a cold, black rope. I didn't think; I just threw my hand out. A blast of dark, violet energy, heavy like oil, erupted from my palm.
It hit the wolf mid-air, not just knocking it back, but pinning it against the wall with a force that cracked the stone.
The wolf let out a choked whimper before the dark energy dissipated, leaving the beast slumped and unconscious on the rug.
Silence fell over the room, broken only by the sound of Elena’s frantic sobbing. I stood there, my hand still trembling, wisps of dark smoke curling off my fingers. My skin felt cold, but for the first time, I felt like I was the one holding the leash.
I looked at Elena, who was huddled on the floor, staring at me in absolute terror.
"Now," I said, my voice sounding deeper, echoing with the weight of the Void. "We are even."
The Grand Luna looked from the dead wolf to me, her pride finally replaced by a flicker of genuine fear. But before she could speak, the doors at the far end of the hall creaked open.
A familiar scent filled the room, lilies and ozone.
Maeve stepped into the light. She wasn't wearing the simple clothes of my cousin anymore. She was dressed in dark leathers, her eyes glowing with the same flat, hollow light I had seen in Julian's.
Beside her, Julian stepped out of the shadows, a smile on his face, a possessive hand resting on her shoulder.
"Quite a show, Aria," Maeve said, her voice dripping with a sweetness that made my skin crawl. "But I think it's time you stopped playing house with the family.”
"Julian," Elena whispered, her voice trembling, but she wasn't looking at him with fear. She was looking at him with recognition.
My heart stopped. I looked at the Grand Luna, who was staring at Elena with a dawning horror. "Elena? What is this?"
"I had to," Elena breathed, scrambling to her feet and moving toward the Grand Luna instead of Julian. She grabbed the older woman’s arm, her voice rising in a frantic, desperate pitch. "He threatened the child! He told me if I didn't bypass the southern wards from the inside, he would rip the heir from me!"
The lie was so smooth it made my stomach turn. Elena wasn't Julian’s victim; she was his insurance policy. She was playing both sides, using the Vaelor Heir to keep the Grand Luna’s protection while she opened the gates for the enemy.
"You traitress!" I screamed, but before I could move, Julian flicked his wrist. A pulse of invisible force slammed into my chest, throwing me back against the heavy oak table.
"Enough theatrics," Julian hissed, his eyes fixed on me. "The girl is coming with me.”
He stepped toward me, a silver dagger appearing in his hand. He wasn't going to capture me, he was going to kill me.
BOOM.
The heavy double doors of the room were blown off their hinges.
Cassian stepped through the dust and splinters. He looked like a nightmare. His white shirt was torn, his skin soaked with blood that wasn't his own, and his eyes were glowing.
"Get away from her," Cassian growled, the sound vibrating in the very floorboards.
Julian sneered, his body shifting and muscles bulging as he prepared to shift. "You’re late, little Alpha. The estate is already crawling with my kin."
"Then I'll just have to kill them all after I finish with you," Cassian replied. With a roar that shook the chandeliers, he lunged.
The transformation was a blur of silver fur and snapping bone. In a heartbeat, a massive charcoal wolf collided with Julian’s form. They tore into each other, teeth and claws that sent furniture flying and shattered the remaining mirrors.
"Noah! Now!" Cassian’s voice echoed in my mind, a telepathic command through the pack link.
Noah appeared from the side entrance. He didn't look at me, he couldn't. He grabbed the Grand Luna and the High Council member, who had stumbled back into the room looking disoriented and smelling of expensive bourbon, unaware that the world had turned to hell while he was at the bar.
"Elena, move!" Noah commanded.
I watched, paralyzed with bitter irony, as Noah shielded Elena, the woman who had betrayed us, and led the important guests toward the safe room, tearing through a stray wolf that tried to stop them in the hall.
He couldn't kill her. Not while she carried what he believed was his brother's blood.
I was alone in the chaos, watching Cassian fight Julian in a brutal, wolf-to-wolf dance of death.
"Aria! Look out!"
I turned, but I was too slow. A blur of dark leather slammed into me, pinning me against the wall. It was Maeve. Her eyes were glazed, reflecting a madness that Julian had spent weeks carving into her soul.
"Maeve, stop!" I cried out, grabbing her wrists. "He’s lying to you! He doesn't love you, he’s using you to get to me! He’s using Elena, too!"
"Shut up!" Maeve screamed, her hand coming down in a stinging blow across my face. The force of it made my vision swim. "You always had everything! The mark, the brothers, the attention! Now, I have the power. I have him!"
She raised her hand again, a shard of glass clutched in her fist. She was far gone, drowned in the venom Julian had fed her.
In a moment of pure, desperate instinct, I didn't fight back. I lunged forward, throwing my arms around her in a tight, crushing hug.
"I'm sorry, Maeve," I whispered into her ear as she struggled against me, her claws digging into my back. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you from yourself."
I squeezed harder, my skin beginning to glow with a violent violet.
"Let... go..." Maeve choked out, but her voice was fading as the dark energy began to surround us both, locking us in a deadly embrace.
- Writer
