Emily and I tensed, our bodies taut with the readiness to act. But before we could move, the air shifted—charged with an oppressive energy that prickled against my skin.
Mathias materialized before us like a shadow-given form, his tall stature and piercing gaze commanding the space. He bore a predatory grin that sent waves of dread coursing through me. The air around him seemed to ripple and distort as though reality itself bent beneath the weight of his presence. His silent entrance was more deafening than any sound, a thunderclap of power that froze me in place.
“Why the fuck are you standing there? Shoot her!” Mathias barked at Alina, his tone sharp as a blade. His gaze fixated on the sun and moon dagger trembling in my hand. When Alina hesitated, he stormed forward, his movements swift and deliberate. Before I could react, his iron grip wrenched the blade from my grasp.
“Mom, no!” I screamed, my voice cracking with desperation. But my plea was drowned out by the deafening blast of the gun. Time slowed as I watched in horror, the bullet tearing through the air straight toward me.
Suddenly, Lee’s figure blurred into my line of sight, his body intercepting the bullet meant for me. The force of the impact jolted him backward, a sharp gasp escaping his lips before he crumpled to the ground.
In the blink of an eye, the sun and moon dagger disappeared—along with Alina, Mathias, and my father. The woods fell eerily silent, the haunting whisper of the wind the only trace left of their presence.
“Moon Lee!” Marcellious’ anguished scream tore through the quiet, a sound so raw and heart-wrenching it reverberated in my soul.
“Oh, gods!” Roman bellowed as he and Malik burst through the trees, the children—Luna and Rosie—clutched tightly in their arms.
Panic surged through my body as I fell to my knees, pressing my trembling hands against the bullet wound in Lee’s chest. Warm, sticky blood oozed between my fingers, staining them deep-crimson. My heart thundered in my chest as I desperately tried to stem the flow, each second feeling like a lifetime. The metallic tang of blood filled the air, sharp and bitter, as the weight of the situation settled heavily on my shoulders.
“Little Moon,” Lee rasped, his voice a fragile thread that fought against the inevitable. Blood flecked his lips as he spoke, each word a monumental effort. “My time has come. Fight for your destiny; fight for what is yours. We will see each other again.”
Each word felt like a parting gift, a fragile ember of hope against the encroaching shadows. His eyes locked with mine, filled with unwavering love and a profound sacrifice that shattered every barrier around my heart.
“No, Lee, please!” I screamed, my voice raw and breaking under the weight of grief. My cries echoed through the forest, carried by the wind like a desperate plea to the universe. Tears streamed down my face in relentless torrents as I clung to him, refusing to let go as if my sheer will could tether him to this world.
My chest tightened as though being crushed by an invisible force, each beat of my heart resonating with the searing pain in my soul. It felt as if every fiber of my being was being torn apart, unraveled into fragments too broken to piece back together.
Roman and Malik knelt beside me, their faces etched with despair. Together, we encircled Lee, enfolding him in our collective embrace as if the warmth of our presence could stave off the inevitable. The atmosphere grew heavier with each passing moment, the weight of our sorrow tangible, pressing against us like a suffocating fog.
Despite our desperate grip, the vitality within him ebbed away, slipping through our fingers like sand. His final breath was a whisper, a fleeting moment that left a chasm of silence. As we clung to him, unwilling to release him to the void, the crushing reality of his loss descended upon us.
Without his steadfast mentorship and unwavering support, the trials ahead seemed insurmountable, the path forward a daunting void. Yet even in the depth of our despair, his words echoed in my mind, igniting a fragile flame of resolve—Fight for your destiny; fight for what is yours.
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
ROMAN
Lee’s blood was warm on my hands as I cradled him in Olivia’s father’s overgrown yard. Marcellious’ cries cut through the heavy air, a relentless keen that melded with the rustle of leaves and the distant calls of evening birds. Beside me, Malik stood rigid as stone, his features carved into an expression of grim resignation, his arms tightening protectively around Luna and Rosie.
“Lee...” I murmured, but it was useless. Lee was gone, snatched away by a bullet never meant for him. Hatred for Alina churned in my gut, a black tide that threatened to swallow me whole.
“Roman…” Olivia’s voice broke through the fog of my anguish. “Roman, please…”
I rose, gently laying Lee’s body down on the vibrant grass—a cruel juxtaposition to the loss we bore. Marcellious’ screams of rage tore at my soul, each cry a mirror to my turmoil.
Why? How could this happen?
“I fucking hate my mother. I am going to kill her,” Olivia wailed, collapsing into my arms. Her body trembled as sobs wracked her frame. “My beloved friend and mentor isgone!”
Her words were raw, jagged edges slicing through the suffocating quiet.
“Shh, love,” I murmured, though my voice was a fragile thread against the torrent of grief surrounding us. “We’ll get through this.”
My heart felt like it was being wrenched apart. The weight of her despair, the unbearable loss of Lee—it was too much to bear.
“Lee shouldn’t be dead,” Olivia cried, her voice cracking with every word. “He should still be alive, and it’s all because of me.”
Tears streamed down my face as I fought to reconcile the tragic reality before us. My mind raced, replaying every moment that led to this devastating outcome. Each misstep, each choice—it all felt like it had spiraled into this unbearable loss.
“I can’t stand her, you know?” Olivia said, her voice thick with emotion. “It’s like this never-ending storm inside me, tearing at everything good. All those years of letdowns and lies, threats that cut deeper than any blade, words that poisoned every memory… Mom’s like a monster growing stronger daily, impossible to escape.”
