Chapter 48

Cirilla's Point Of View

The heat that accompanied the pain in my body seeped deeper into my bones, dragging me out of the deep silent cave of slumber.

I gasped awake. My lips parched and my throat was too dry as well. I swallowed hard, muffling the groan that almost climbed its way to my lips.

For a minute or two, my eyes were pinned on the wooden ceiling, adjusting my vision to the lighting in the room, and memories from earlier seeped in.

Without warning, I jerked up to a sitting position, hugging my stomach with both my hands as the pain from there grew worse.

"You shouldn't be up. It might reopen your wounds," A voice sounded calmly. I knew that voice. With almost impossible difficulty, I raised my eyes to meet Mason Hartley standing a few distance from me, and he started to the bed with a bowl and napkin in his hands.

I looked around and there were napkins soaked in blood, discarded aside in bowls. "I tried to stop your bleeding, but couldn't," He plopped on the bed, inches away from me, bringing the napkin to the bandaged area of my stomach.

I gripped his hand quickly. "What are you doing?"

The look he pinned me was that of perplexion. "Your wound has reopened, and you are not healing, I need to stop—"

"Where am I?" I slipped past him, getting off the bed in my cropped black vest and jeans, but I collapsed right back on the bed from the killer pain feasting on me.

It was really hurting, surprising me, because it shouldn't. I was supposed to be healing. What the fuck!

"Relax," Mason helped me against the headboard. "You have to be careful," He placed the napkin against the bandage that had soaked in my blood.

"Where am I?" I asked breathlessly, greedily sucking in every air I could get.

"Somewhere safe, I promise," His eyes were on my stomach.

"And what? I'm supposed to believe that?" As the words left my lips, Mason's hands froze on my body, and his deep gray eyes silently wandered to mine.

"I would never hurt you," He counted the words, carefully. "Never,"

"But you can deceive me, right?" I held his gaze and the whites around the gray beads in his eyes softened.

"It was never my intention. I swear. I just couldn't, I couldn't…"

"Tell me exactly who you were?" I aided him.

He sighed, not sparing me from his gaze. "You wouldn't have believed me. You wouldn't have understood at that point,"

I took a sharp intake of breath, feeling the heat crawling up my skin. "Don't you dare turn this around, Mason," I hissed through my words, groaning at the pain in my stomach as I tried to move again.

"Fuck! Be still Ciri," His eyes dropped to my stomach, and his eyes shined a little as his hands worked on my stomach.

I felt relieved from the gut-wrenching pain. "What are you?"

Those gray eyes met mine again and before he could speak, I added sternly.

"The truth Mason. I want the truth. What are you? A witch?"

He leaned back a little, studying me. "Partly," He replied. "And partly fae,"

My gaze adjusted on him perfectly. "A witch and a fae?"

He nodded.

I was at a loss for words. I didn't know much about faes, but Lyra and Trish had mentioned something about them.

"So when you approached me, did you know who I was?" He hesitated but nodded eventually. "How did you—" No scratch that. "Why the fuck did you approach me? And lie to me and—"

"I had no choice, Ciri. I had to find you and stay by your side. That was the only way I could think of to keep you safe. To protect you,"

I gasped at the words leaving his lips. "To protect me? What are you even talking about?"

"It all sounds ridiculous and insane. I know, but that's the truth and trust me, from this moment things are about to get far worse and insane,"

At this point, all I felt was confusion. "What are you saying?"

"Now that that woman is dead, Jasmine, the spell on you has been lifted and that alone has made you a big target—"

"Whoa! Mason, slow down," I couldn't deny it, his words were reaching me differently. "What the heck are you saying and did you know about Jasmine?"

His hands came up to my arms. "I want to explain everything to you but it's a long long story and way too complicated—"

I interrupted him. "Start talking Mason. How did you know about Jasmine and what she had done to me,"

His eyes locked with mine dropped in defeat. "I just know Ci. You and I are much more connected than you think. The first time I met you, I could feel the spell on you. The only way to break the spell is to end Jasmine's life. That's why that darkness went after her, and now it's coming for you," He stopped, watching my shocked state cautiously. "You must have met it or felt it. That oddly familiar, yet sickening presence hounding you,"

I couldn't even hide my emotions. They were raw on my face for him to read. "What is it?"

"Death itself. A darkness far more dangerous than anything Ciri, and it's after you. It has always been and won't stop until it has you,"

A cold feeling fell on my skin, and I didn't even know how it managed to immerse itself into the marrow of my bones. "I- I don't understand. This doesn't make sense, Mason. Why will something like.. like… that be after me?"

I needed it to make sense in my ears because somehow it just couldn't. I had no idea what this darkness was, so why the fuck was it after me?

"You have no idea how special you are, Ciri. Far special than anything that has been encountered for a long, long time,"

"That doesn't answer my question, Mason,"

"That's another long story, Ci and it's after you because you are its very source and the only one that can end it. Last night I was tracking it, and it led me to Greengrove, to you. It wanted you and I had to do everything in my power to ensure it didn't take you. For now, you are safe here. There's no way it can find us here or any one of them,"

My eyes snapped back to him. "Wait, what do you mean by any one of them?"

"We can't trust anyone, Ciri. This darkness is powerful, it corrupts minds and has them under its will. There's no telling who is who, so I couldn't let any of them take you, especially that bloody demon. He's—"

"Asher?" I pulled up from the bed. "Asher was there?"

"What looked like him. I couldn't risk your safety Ciri. That place was infested with dark magic, there's no way of telling if he can be trusted or not!"

His words sparked rage in me. "I trust him with my life Mase," I got up from the bed, sucking the pain. "None of these fucking make sense. This darkness. Me being the source. A connection between you and me. I don't believe any of these, and you are right, I can't trust anyone, especially someone who lied about who he was and approached me for a reason. For someone who wants to protect me from this darkness," I air-quoted the last word, staring at Mason's hooded eyes, following my every move. "You sure know a lot about this darkness and that makes you the person I shouldn't trust the most,"

He was quiet and the air suddenly thickened and my heavy breathing echoed.

"I understand, Ciri. And I wouldn't trust me either. But I would never harm you. You mean a lot to me," He stood up, strolling to me. "I may have approached you under deceit, but everything I felt when I was with you was real," His blood-stained hand fell on my icy cheek. "All I want is to keep you safe from that darkness. It can't win again. I won't let it. There's a lot you don't know, Cirilla, and deep down you know everything I said is the truth. That symbol that has hunted your dreams," My eyes widened at his words. How did he know?

He continued. "Those people after you are all sent by this darkness. And it's not the only one after you. Like I said, after last night, you just became a big target. The entire supernatural realm is now after you and trust me, more than half of them want you dead and some for more evil intentions,"

I dragged a few feet back, and Mason's hand on my cheek fell to his side. The questions may have been imprinted on my face because Mason kept talking.

"Because in this world, people tend to fear what they cannot control. They are frightened of what they cannot explain, and because of that small-minded conception, they tend to get rid of it. You. It's like an unsaid rule, it happened then and will repeat itself, but I swear, I won't let it happen again,"

"What do you mean by it happened then and happening again?"

His eyes hardened, and no matter how he tried to hide it I could see it all. Secrets he wasn't saying.

I swallowed a lump. "Mason?"

"There's a prophecy Cirilla. It appeared years ago and now every supernatural species has gotten wind of it. 'A darkness will be awakened. You are the source of this darkness. It cannot be stopped, Cirilla. You will cast the last spell and finish the last kill. You will unleash hell'. Those words have reigned for years, and now, everyone knows that source is you and they are after you. Don't you still get it? You are in danger and I am the only one that can help you because everything that's happening now is my fault as well," He took a few steps backward, his eyes were moist and I was shocked it held tears.

"Your fault? How Mason?"

When he turned to face me, his eyes were filled with sadness and guilt. "I created this darkness, Ciri. I am the cause of everything and since you awakened us, it became stronger. I failed to stop it thousands of years ago, and now, it's starting all over and this time, hell is a luxury compared to what's about to come,"

My legs wobbled, causing me to stagger backway, knocking off the cluster of things on the wooden table behind me and finally, my body collided against the wall.

All through my eyes were still fixated on Mason's as his were on me.

"Mas—"

"You heard me right, Cirilla. You awakened us. As I said, we share a connection quite unexplainable," He walked slowly to where I was rooted like a fixture against the wooden wall. "You wanted the entire truth, didn't you? I swear I'll tell you everything,"

His words caused my heart to drum in my ears, and I badly wanted to take back everything I had said.

I didn't know if I was ready to hear whatever truth Mason wanted to tell me. But something within me burned with indescribable fear.