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I sensed someone behind me and turned to see Dimitris arrive. He didn’t hesitate to walk over to me until he stood next to me, which ensured those below witnessed his presence as well.
“Stand down until further instructions are given!” he declared, and I noticed my men were already filtering through the bottom of the cliff.
The whiplash of relief made me want to break down and cry, the exhaustion finally settling into my bones. Dimitris didn’t hesitate to hook an arm around me, sensing my relief and the drop of energy without expressing it on the surface.
I smiled in appreciation and saw the strands of relief in his own pink eyes as he squeezed my side gently so I knew everything was going to be okay.
Glancing back at Aurelia, we shared a look once more — our expression proving we had a lot of reconciling to do. A part of me knew we’d understand why our friendship had to break, and I bet after everything that had happened, she knew without a doubt that we’d always have her back.
Even if the Coven didn’t.
“I’m sorry,” she mouthed to me, and I fought harder now to not break down and cry.
“Silly. I’m sorry more,” I mouthed back and did everything to smile. “Besties?”
Her smile was priceless as she managed to weakly bob her head.
“Besties.”
“NO!” A scream from Ace drew our attention to him, only for my eyes to catch onto the single match that was already lit — the flames a sickly green and a mere second from landing right at its target.
I couldn’t even attempt to tug at the strands of time as my eyes widened and my scream hit the frosty air.
“AURELIA!”
My eyes landed on her, just like everyone who observed what was about to unravel. What broke me wasn’t the upcoming fact my best friend was going to burst into flames, but her expression.
An expression of acceptance.
“Farewell.”
In a flash, her body was engulfed in flames, her screams piercing the air as her body involuntarily fought the very ropes that kept her tied to the stake.
“NO!” My scream was heart-wrenching. My body jolted forward, only for Dimitris to grab onto my waist so I didn’t drop from the cliff. I fought against his hold with everything I could, and yet it was no use as I watched with massive eyes as Aurelia’s body literally burned.
The smell of burnt flesh hit the air far too fast, and it came to a point that I couldn’t fight Dimitris’s hold any longer as my knees buckled, forcing us to the floor. I listened as Aurelia’s screams dwindled until there was silence while we witnessed her body crumbling into burnt pieces until all that was left was literal ash.
No one could move or say a word — our eyes were glued to the spot as if waiting for a miracle to happen. There just had to be one, because I couldn’t dare accept this as truth.
That we went through everything to prove Aurelia was innocent and made it on time, only to witness her demise.
A shift of movement caught the corner of my eye, and I watched a woman who I remembered being a pain in the ass to Aurelia step forward. I could only remember her name was Lucy or something with an L, but her progress forward had to mean something as she stood nice and tall.
“The Coven has chosen a new leader to replace the position of Aurelia Delianna Clementine’s post in our witch ranks. Due to her endless scandals and actions to disgrace the Coven and our long-time alliances with the Phoenix Family and High Council, the new Coven leader has determined the punishment for Aurelia’s actions was death.”
She dared to smile as she gestured over to the group of witches in black.
“Any complaints and disapproval of our decision can be confronted by our new Coven Leader,” she proudly declared. “Introducing our new leader of the Coven who will ascend to the next High Chair position offered to the Coven at the strike of twelve: Anastasia Delianna Clementine!”
If what was transpiring before my eyes were in a book, I’d be throwing the entire thing away in scrutiny because I couldn’t believe what I was fucking witnessing.
The tall woman walked out from the crowd that had clearly been protecting her aura because now it was free to reign and sent chills down my spine as the temperature dropped significantly. Every step she took ignited frost beneath her feet and I could feel the fear of many as the woman in question stopped next to Lucy and proceeded to reach up to lower her hood.
The reveal left many gasping in dread as the similarities between this woman and Aurelia were insane. They looked identical, only there was one significant part that proved that this woman was indeed the Vile Queen.
The right side of her face was severely burned.
It was as if she’d fallen on one half of her body, which had to be the explanation for her burned arm that was clearly mutated and altered to somehow still function. Her black cloak covered everything else from visibility, but despite the obvious mutations, she was grinning with pride as her eyes twinkled with triumph.
