Chapter 257: It’s over

Azura’s POV

She pulled back with everything she had.

Lysander let out a horrific, high-pitched shriek of pure terror.

"No! It can’t be! Get away from me!

Aunt Alisa gritted her teeth; her glowing gray eyes, which were now turning ocean blue, flashed as she gave one final, powerful yank. The crown tore completely free from his skull with a sickening crack.

The Alpha King screamed as his dark shadow energy began to leak out of his body violently.

She tossed the pulsing crown high into the air above the battlefield.

"Destroy it, now!" Elisa commanded, her voice echoing with a deep, double-layered resonance.

I reacted instantly. I spat a blast of zero ice upward, completely encasing the huge crown in a thick block of solid glacier ice.

Alisa looked over at Torin.

"Now."

Torin brought his blood-stained hands together and clapped them with a deafening boom. A column of bright, holy fire exploded around the frozen crown.

The obsidian crown shattered into a million tiny particles, burning away into nothingness.

The moment the crown broke, every single shadow creature and giant skeleton monster on the battlefield stopped moving. They dissolved instantly, turning into fine grey dust that was carried away by the wind.

The heavy red storm clouds parted above us. Bright, warm sunshine poured down over the valley for the first time in weeks.

The chaotic noise of war vanished into silence. All the warriors stopped fighting, turning back into their human forms as they looked around in disbelief.

I shifted back to my aunties, and I ran straight over to where they were standing.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice trembling with shock as I looked back and forth between them. "You are not my aunts."

Aunt Alisa looked down at me, a soft, immensely gentle smile spreading across her lips.

Aunt Elisa looked at me too, her eyes warm and tender

"She’s all grown up," she whispered.

I stared at Alisa, my breath catching in my throat as I looked deep into those sharp gray eyes.

"Why do you have my mother’s eyes?"

Alisa leaned down slightly, her voice dropping into a comforting, familiar murmur.

"Because I am your mother, silly girl."

Tears immediately flooded my eyes, spilling down my cheeks before I could stop them.

"How?" I choked out.

I turned my head to look at Elisa, taking in the tall posture and proud, strong movement.

"Father?"

He smiled down at me, the warmth in his face completely radiant.

"My little Princess. Look at you. You’re all grown up now."

I threw my arms around both of them at once, burying my face in their shoulders as heavy sobs wracked my entire body.

"I missed you," I cried, holding onto them with every bit of strength I had left. "I missed you so much."

My father wrapped his arms tightly around my back, holding me close.

"We missed you too, my little light."

He looked over at my mother over the top of my head, a small, proud smile on his face.

"She is so much like me."

"I told you she would look like me," he added, a soft chuckle in his chest.

My mother let out a dry, exasperated breath, though her eyes were filled with love.

"Can we please not do this right now, Kai?"

I slowly pulled back, wiping the tears from my cheeks as I looked up at them in complete wonder.

"How is this possible?"

My mother reached out, her soft thumb wiping a stray tear from my cheek.

"You asked for help, my darling. Don’t you remember? The Moon Goddess heard your heart, and she opened the door for us to lend you our strength one last time."

Hope flared in my chest, bright and desperate.

"Does that mean you’re staying? Can you stay with me now?"

My mother shook her head gently, a touch of sadness in her soft smile.

"If we stay in these bodies, your aunties would cease to exist. Their souls would be pushed out completely, and that would not be right."

"Can we find another body?" I begged, gripping her hands tightly.

"Anybody? I can help you!"

My father reached out and gently placed his hand flat against my chest, right over my heart.

"We cannot stay in this realm, Princess. We no longer belong to this world of the living. But that does not mean we are leaving you completely."

He patted my chest softly.

"We will always be right here. And we will be watching over you from somewhere far above the stars."

My mother leaned in, her soft voice dropping to a whisper.

"We do not have much time left before the door closes. I just want you to know... we will always love you, Azura."

"Always," my father whispered.

They wrapped their arms around me one final time, a deep, overwhelming warmth filling my body. Slowly, I felt the heavy, divine presence inside them begin to fade away, like a soft breeze drifting into the summer air.

A second later, Elisa blinked her eyes rapidly, her posture collapsing into a slouch as she rubbed her temples with a loud groan.

"Can you quit hugging me like that?" Elisa complained, her voice back to its sharp, annoyed tone. "You’re breaking my bones, girl."

I pulled back instantly, my mouth open in shock. Their eyes were back to their normal green color. Both of them.

Elisa looked around at the sunny valley, her brow furrowing in deep confusion.

"Are we dead?" Alisa looked down at her hands, feeling her own arms with a puzzled expression.

"I do not know." Elisa turned her head and squinted at me. "Can you see her too?"

"I can see her," Alisa said, nodding slowly.

Elisa’s face went completely flat. "Then we are definitely dead."

"I do not think we are dead," Alisa said, shaking her head as she looked around at the living warriors scattered across the grass.

They looked at each other for a long moment, the reality of the situation slowly washing over their faces.

Alisa’s breath caught. Her eyes locked on me, and her hands flew to her mouth.

"Oh, my God. You’re alive."

She crossed the space between us in two strides and threw her arms around me, holding on as if she would never let go. Her body shook against mine as she sobbed into my shoulder.

I wrapped my arms around her just as tight, tears spilling down my own cheeks.

"I thought you were gone," she cried. "I thought we lost you."

I couldn’t speak. I just held her.

Elisa stood apart, watching us. Her eyes were wet, but she didn’t move. She just stared at me like she was looking at something that couldn’t possibly be real.

"Is she really real?"

Her voice cracked on the last word.

Alisa pulled back just enough to look at her sister, one arm still wrapped around me. She reached out her other hand.

"Come here."

Elisa hesitated for only a second. Then she walked forward, slow at first, then faster, until she crashed into us. The three of us held each other under the bright blue sky, crying and laughing all at once.

I looked up over their shoulders as the sound of dragging footsteps caught my attention.

Rhydor was walking back toward us, his human body covered in deep bruises and cuts. Silas was standing on his left side, supporting most of his weight as they slowly crossed the field.

I let go of my aunts and ran straight to him.

Rhydor looked up at me, his face pale and exhausted, but a small, weak smile touched his lips. "Are you okay?"

I didn’t answer; I just threw my arms around his neck, holding him tight against me as I buried my face in his neck.

Rhydor wrapped his arms around my waist, leaning his heavy weight against me as he took a long, deep breath.

"Is it over?"

"It’s all over," I whispered, my voice thick with emotion as I squeezed him tighter.

"He’s gone. He’s really gone."

He leaned down and pressed a soft, warm kiss against my forehead, holding it there for a long moment.

"You did it, Azura."

I shook my head, looking up into his dark amber eyes with a soft smile.

"No. We did it together."

He smiled back, his eyes full of warmth.

We turned around to look at the rest of our group scattered across the meadow.

Torin had collapsed onto his back in the grass, his chest heaving as Axel knelt beside him, carefully lifting his head to wipe the blood from his face.

Amanda was leaning against the Dragon King’s heavy sword, wiping sweat from her forehead with a breathless, relieved smile.

Isadora was kneeling in the grass a few feet away, staring down at Nicholas’s motionless body. She wasn’t touching him; she was just watching his quiet, shallow breathing with a strange, solemn expression.

Rhydor slowly walked over to where his brother lay in the tall grass. He stood over him for a long moment, watching the soft rise and fall of Nicholas’s chest, now completely freed from the Alpha King’s dark presence.

Rhydor looked over his shoulder at me.

I gave him a reassuring nod.

He reached down, carefully lifting his younger brother into his arms, pulling Nicholas’s pale form against his chest.

Rhydor looked down at his brother’s peaceful face, a quiet, sad smile touching his lips.

"We need to get him home."

"He will be treated," I said firmly, stepping up beside him as we prepared to take our family back.