Page 135 of A Dusk Of Stars

I spot her high on the wall to my right, pressing herself tight against it as she keeps trying to climb out of reach, but the fox is already kicking itself off the ground and digging its claws into the earth to her sides, its maw opening on a snarl.

It opens and closes shut around her neck, a blood-curdling scream piercing the air.

The very next moment, the fox jumps down, jerking its head with Serra’s broken body in its teeth. He’s finishing the job.

I watch him toss her onto the ground. He’s breathing heavily and his focus is still on the body on the ground before him, but he’s alive and well. My paralysis has dissipated a bit, and I breathe the biggest sigh of relief.

I open my mouth to call out to him, to make him come to me, when I hear it.

The fox hears it, too, I can tell by the way it tenses up.

The low, unsettling chuckle coming from Serra’s body.

She’s standing on broken legs, with the cane in her broken arms. Disfigured, but most definitely alive.

The fox growls.

It all happens so fast. Watching him lunge at her again, I’m yelling, “Jericho, please, no,” while she’s doing a movement with the fingers of her right hand, making her Runes glow and sending another, much more powerful swarm of blades at him. Her laughter is downright maniacal.

My head snaps to my right, where I see him being sent flying back and hitting the wall with a whimper.

I hear myself let out a pained wail.

As soon as he slides down to the ground, he starts trying to get up, but it hurts just looking at all the wounds on his body.

That doesn’t make Serra slow down. She tries to use her cane again, tossing it to the side when she realizes it’s spent, but that only makes her take something out of her pocket and throw it in his direction.

I watch seeds fall around him, the ground almost instantly cracking and roots shooting out to wrap around his entire body. He’s snarling and thrashing, maybe even trying to shift back, but it’s useless.

“I thought I told you you were no match for me, kitty cat,” I hear Serra grit out as she starts approaching him, taking the knife out of her pocket.

“I havehiminside me, almost all parts of him. None of you can stop me now. Though youwerea tougher nut to crack than I thought you’d be, Bane. I’m going to enjoy killing you.”

I barely hear her last words. I finally see it — the strange, faint glow coming through the nasty wounds he inflicted on her.

The realization hits me like a cold wave. The graying strand of hair…

She used Divine Magic to fuse Baldur’s pieces to her own body.

Realizing how powerful she must still be, it makes all my hope turn to dust and sends my mind reeling as I watch her keep dragging herself over to him.

The fear is so overwhelming, but so is the determination.

I muster all my strength and manage to free my right hand.

Without a second of hesitation, I reach for the moonstone and I mercilessly yank it out, feeling my wolf take a lungful of air.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her, hoping she’ll feel how much exactly, “you were right abouteverything. I did horrible things and I never listened to a word you said and now it's all—”

“Just let me out,” she grits out, albeit softly, “and everything will be alright.”

***

It feels right this time, when my paws hit the ground.

Mine. No one hurts what’s mine.

Just as a snarl begs to be let out and my body moves to lunge, this sickening energy makes me turn my attention onto the pedestal.

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