Kamrynn’s POV
Her misery was pungent as she wept for her fallen loved ones, the weight of Xoria’s suffering pressing down on me like an unbearable burden. My hands clenched, my nails digging into my palms as the mirror continued to replay her torment.
The mirror shifted again, and the dim glow of a chamber appeared. My stomach tightened as I saw Xoria being dragged into the room by one of Corvis’s guards. She struggled against the man’s grip, her defiance palpable despite the fear etched on her face.
“Let me go!” she screamed, her voice echoing off the cold stone walls.
The guard hesitated, glancing back at the large bed in the center of the room. Corvis sat there, his eyes dark with intention.
“Leave her,” Corvis commanded, his tone sharp and final.
The guard released her, giving her a brief, apologetic look before retreating from the room and shutting the heavy door behind him.
Xoria’s chest heaved with anger as she turned to face Corvis. “What do you want from me now?” she demanded, her voice trembling with fury. “Haven’t you taken enough?”
Corvis stood and approached her, his expression unreadable. “What I want, Xoria, is for you to finally accept your place at my side,” he said, his voice deceptively soft. “You are mine, in every way that matters.”
She stepped back, her hands balling into fists. “I will never be yours,” she spat. “You killed my family, destroyed my life. I hate you, Corvis!”
Her words only seemed to amuse him. He chuckled darkly, his eyes narrowing as he closed the distance between them. “Hate me all you want,” he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “It doesn’t change the fact that you’re mine.”
Xoria’s defiance didn’t waver. “I would rather die than let you touch me,” she hissed.
Corvis’s expression hardened, and in an instant, he grabbed her by the arms, his grip bruising. “Then so be it,” he growled, dragging her toward the bed.
“No!” she screamed, struggling against him with every ounce of her strength. “Stop!”
But he was stronger, overpowering her with ease. He threw her onto the bed, his weight pinning her down as she continued to fight, her cries for help growing desperate.
I couldn’t watch anymore. My stomach twisted violently, and I turned away from the mirror, bile rising in my throat. My mind was bombarded with memories of Calvin, his cruel hands, his mocking voice. I clenched my fists, forcing the nausea down, but the pain was unbearable.
From behind me, Xoria’s screams echoed through the chamber, each one stabbing into my heart.
When I finally summoned the courage to turn back to the mirror, the scene had shifted again. Xoria sat on the edge of the same bed, her eyes hollow and lifeless. Her once radiant hair hung limp around her pale face. She stared into the distance, eyes dead as her hands rested protectively over her swollen belly.
Corvis stood beside her, his demeanor almost gentle. He placed a hand on her stomach, a twisted smile on his face. “Our son will be strong, just like his father,” he said, his voice filled with pride. “He’ll carry on my legacy.”
Xoria didn’t respond. She didn’t even flinch as he stroked her hair, murmuring promises of the future he envisioned for them.
When he finally left the room, Xoria sat in silence for a long moment. Then, slowly, she reached for a knife on the bedside table.
My breath caught as I watched her grip the blade, her hands trembling. She lifted it to her chest, the point pressing against her skin. But then, her gaze fell to her stomach.
Tears welled in her eyes, and the knife fell from her hands. She placed her palms over her belly, her shoulders shaking as she wept.
Through her tears, she whispered, “I will not let him take you, too.”
Her expression hardened, and I realized she had made a decision. She would escape.
The mirror swirled again, pulling me back into its cruel narrative. Xoria appeared in the dim halls of the Amethyst Pack, her movements cautious and calculated. Her swollen belly strained against the fabric of her dress as she carried a satchel close to her chest. Her determination was palpable, but so was her fear.
I could hear her whispered conversation with a guard stationed by the back exit. He was young, no more than twenty, and his hands trembled as he handed her a folded map.
“Thank you,” Xoria said softly, her voice filled with gratitude and desperation. “You’re risking everything to help me. I won’t forget this.”
The guard swallowed hard and glanced around nervously. “I just had a baby with my mate,” he whispered, his eyes glistening. “If someone was doing this to her, I’d want someone to help her too.”
Xoria touched his arm, her expression solemn. “I’ll pray your family stays safe. You’ve done more for me than I can ever repay.”
He nodded, motioning for her to follow him. Together, they slipped into the shadows, moving toward the forest at the edge of the Pack’s territory.
But as they neared freedom, the air around them shifted. A cold wind swept through the trees, carrying with it a sinister energy. Xoria stopped, her breath hitching as her instincts screamed danger.
Suddenly, Corvis stepped out from behind a tree, his eyes blazing with fury.
“Did you really think you could leave me?” he snarled, his voice low and venomous.
Xoria gasped, clutching her belly protectively. The young guard stepped in front of her, drawing his sword.
“Run!” the guard shouted.
Xoria hesitated, her feet frozen to the ground.
“I said, run!” the guard bellowed, charging at Corvis.
It was over in seconds. Corvis sidestepped the attack with inhuman speed, grabbing the guard by the throat. The guard’s sword clattered to the ground as Corvis tightened his grip.
“You betrayed me,” Corvis hissed, his voice deadly calm. “And for what? To help her?”
The guard gasped for air, his hands clawing at Corvis’s iron grip.
“He has a family!” Xoria cried, stepping forward. “Let him go! Please!”
Corvis’s gaze flicked to her, his expression devoid of mercy. “Then he should have thought of them before crossing me.”
With a sickening crack, Corvis snapped the guard’s neck and let his lifeless body fall to the ground.
“No!” Xoria screamed, tears streaming down her face.
Corvis turned his attention to her, his expression twisted with rage and betrayal. “And you,” he growled, stalking toward her. “After everything I’ve given you, this is how you repay me?”
Xoria backed away, her heart pounding. “You killed my family! Forced yourself on me repeatedly! You destroyed everything I loved! I’ll never be yours!”
Corvis’s face darkened, his features contorted with madness. “Then you’ll be no one else’s.”
Before she could react, he lunged forward, a blade glinting in his hand. Pain blossomed in her abdomen as the knife plunged into her, tearing through flesh and muscle.
My breath caught as Xoria crumpled to the floor, blood pooling beneath her. Corvis’s rage seemed to dissipate as he realized what he’d done. He dropped to the ground beside her, his hands trembling as he gripped her shoulders.
“No!”
“Xoria,” he whispered, his voice breaking. “Stay with me. Please… don’t leave me.”
“Please don’t go, I love you so much. I didn’t mean- I lost control.” He cried.
She squinted as if struggling to stay awake, her breaths shallow and uneven. “You… you’ve ruined everything,” she rasped, her voice filled with anguish.
Corvis shook his head, tears streaming down his face. “I can fix this. I’ll make it right.”
But Xoria’s gaze hardened, her pain giving way to fury. With her last ounce of strength, she placed her bloodied hand on his chest.
“You will suffer,” she hissed, her voice trembling with power. “You, and all who carry your blood. They will feel my pain through gruesome deaths and never live past 40.”
A dark energy surged from her hand, wrapping around Corvis like a suffocating shroud. He screamed, clutching at his chest as the curse took hold.
Xoria’s body went limp, her head falling back as her life slipped away.
The mirror swirled once more, its surface darkening until the image disappeared entirely. The room fell silent, the only sound my ragged breathing as I processed what I’d just witnessed.
Xoria’s pain, her torment, her unimaginable loss-it was all too much. My chest ached, and tears blurred my vision as I turned to face her chained form.
“You see now,” she said, her voice cold and brittle. “Why I cannot forgive. Why I cannot undo what has been done.”
Her eyes burned with centuries of anguish as she gestured to the chains that bound her.
“Even in death, he holds me captive,” she said, her voice heavy with despair. “His binding spell keeps my soul here, tortured, chained to his memory and unable to ascend, unable to find peace.”
I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “I… I’m so sorry, Xoria,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “I… I can’t imagine-”
“No, you can’t,” she interrupted, her tone sharp. “You cannot imagine the depths of my pain, and you should not have come here.”
Her words struck me like a blow, and for the first time, doubt crept into my heart. Had I made a terrible mistake?