CHAPTER 3

The awakening

The night sounded alive in the forest, a symphony of faraway howling and rustling leaves. Their bodies were but their souls intact, Seraphina sat next to Lucian. High above, the moon glowed silver over the forest canopy. This was a calm setting, a far cry from the anarchy they had just avoided.

Lucian stirred his face in contact with suffering. He stared at Seraphina, his eyes a combination of respect and worry. "How are you finding it?"

Though her body hurt with every motion, she mustered a feeble grind. "I'll survive; I've been better all because of you."

He stretched out his fingers, touching her face. "Remember? We are a team and we get through this together."

Her spine shivered at his touch, a reminder of the link they had. Beneft that warmth, however, lurked a simmering worry and a persistent uncertainty that threatened to overwhelm her. She felt as if their fight was far from done.

The first beam of sunshine emerged from the woodland as morning arrived, modernizing everything. Breathing deeply, Seraphina smelled fresh pine and dirt filling her lungs. Today was fresh, a new opportunity to resist the gloom hovering over them.

"We should find somewhere to rest," Lucian murmured, his voice soft yet forceful. "You have to get well; we also have to decide where to go from here.

She nodded, her head whirling with images of Morgan and his unrelenting search. "Do you believe he still exists? Hunting us?"

Lucian's jaw clenched and his eyes flicked with rage. "Exactly. He won't stop until he has taken everything from me."

As they moved more into the jungle, they stood helping one another. Driven by a common will, the road was rocky and erratic yet they persisted. Seraphina considered their relationship as they strolled, the how it had transformed her life in such a short period.

"Lucian," she started, stuttering somewhat. "Do you ever wonder why we were chosen for each other? Why does fate bring us together?"

He looked at her, his lips softly smiling. "Every day but I believe there's a reason for everything. Maybe we were meant to meet this challenge together, to find strength in each other."

His comments offered solace, a glimmer of optimism among the gloom. For a time they strolled silently, the woodland surrounding them as a haven from the turmoil of their life. But Seraphina's senses sharpened as they drew into a clearing. Something felt strange, a tingling in the back of the neck.

She said "Wait," clutching Lucian's arm. Do you feel that?

He stopped, looking around the room. "Yeah. We're not alone."

There was obvious strain in the air, like a weight pressing down on them. Their senses were on great alert, and they proceeded slowly. A person emerged from the shadows as they arrived in the clearing, his appearance terrible and dominating.

"Well, well," Morgan said with a slick, hateful tone. Look who we have here star-crossed lovers.

Seraphina's heart flew and her body stiffened with terror and rage. "Morgan, What do you want?"

He laughed; the sound made her spine shudder. "Is not it clear? I want you, Seraphina. And I want to see Lucian suffer."

Lucian moved forward, his posture defensive. "You won't set a hand on her, Morgan. Not while I'm alive."

Morgan's eyes shimmered with entertainment. "Oh, I want to see you broken, Lucian, to watch as everything you love is torn away; I do not yet intend to kill you."

Tension permeated the air, violence's potential hanging heavy. Her head flew, looking for a means of escape, a means of shielding Lucian and herself. But Morgan attacked, his motions quick and deadly before she could respond.

Lucian confronted him squarely, their bodies slamming in a violent battle. Their battle resounded across the clearing, the growls and snarls of wolves dancing in a lethal ballet. Her heart in her throat, Seraphina watched Lucian battle with all he had.

But Morgan was tenacious; his power sprung from a dark, twisted need. He knocked Lucian down with a terrible punch. The air carried the harsh, desperate sound of Seraphina's cries of suffering.

Screaming, racing to his side, "Lucian!"

Morgan laughed, a chilly, mocking voice cutting through the anarchy. "This is only the beginning, Seraphina. You'll see what happens when you defile me."

Morgan vanished into the darkness before she could respond; his presence lingered like a black fog. Her hands quivering, she moved to Lucian to examine his injuries. He was only barely alive.

Tears running down her cheeks, "Lucian, please," she said. Stay with me.

His eyes opened and resolve and suffering mixed in his view. Seraphina... I'm sorry; I wasn't strong enough.

She held his hand firmly as she wept and said, "Don't say that, "We'll get through this; I won't let him succeed."

He grinned weakly, his hold on her hand tightening. "Your strength exceeds your knowledge, Seraphina. I believe in you."

The forest all about them appeared to shrink, the trees murmuring secrets of the past and the future. Thoughts of what they needed to do and how they might survive this tore across Seraphina's mind. One thing was very evident, though: they couldn't do it by themselves.

"We need help," she remarked, her voice resolutely strong. "We have to locate others who will stand beside us."

Lucian nodded; his spirit was intact although his power was diminishing. "You're correct. We simply have to find allies; they exist out there.

Seraphina burst into hope as the first glimmer of morning emerged from the woods. They would discover means of resistance, of safeguarding their link and their future. They would confront whatever gloom lay ahead together.

But a dark figure watched from the edge of the woodland, his eyes ablaze with a terrible joy as they were ready to leave the clearing. Morgan's intentions were far from finished, and his actual authority remained unknown.

The road ahead for Seraphina and Lucian was dangerous and unknown; their trip was only starting. Their strength and will be challenged, their relationship tested as well. But hope existed as long as they were together.

The woodland surrounding them seemed to whisper a promise as they started forth into the future: that love, real and relentless, could surpass even the worst of circumstances.