A L M I R A

Chapter 30
Almira Davenport

"Where are we going?" I asked, following Calix's lead.

"You'll see," He answered shortly.

I rolled my eyes. "Real helpful detail, Calix."

He lead me into the castle and up to the balcony. I looked at him curiously as he opened the doors and pointed to the sky. "Watch."

I looked up and smiled. Up above was a million stars and a meteor shower. I leaned against the railings and smiled. "It's beautiful."

Calix leaned beside me and looked up. "Father used to take Cole and me to this exact balcony and show us the stars, sunsets, and meteor showers."

I looked at him. "That is so sweet," I gawked, adoring his relationship with his father. I had a similar relationship with my dad, but we bonded over music and stuff other than the sky.

"I suppose it is."

We stood there in silence watching the meteor shower. When it stopped, Calix bid me goodnight and walked off to our room. I look at the sky one last time before following him to bed. Once I made it to the bedroom, Calix was already asleep.

He must have been tired.

I got ready for bed and glanced at the pillows I would use for the pillow wall. Cole and Raiya's words raced through my mind. I sighed and set the pillow in the floor before crawling into the bed. I seriously hope I don't regret this.

~-~

I sat up in bed and scanned the room before I noticed a particular woman sitting in the corner.

"Abelia," I greeted, looking at her.

"I told you we'd meet again," She smiled. "I have updates."

"Do tell," I encouraged, throwing the blankets off of me.

"The five holy sacrifices have been picked. Now it's just due time before I can restore myself to me previous state," She explained before standing up. "Thank you for the spell. Now, try not to get killed, alright?"

I nodded. "No promises."

"If you don't mind me asking, where's the pillow wall?" Abelia interrogated, smirking.

"Raiya got onto me for having it so I took it down tonight," I responded, rolling my eyes.

"It's progress. Be happy," She sympathized, placing her warm hand on mine.

"I guess," I mumbled, basking in the warm and peace her hand provided.

"I'll see you soon, but remember, you can't tell anyone until I say."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Top secret stuff," I dismissed.

She waved goodbye and soon I was embraced with the cold and darkness.

It was long after that until I heard the door swing open, bringing me to consciousness. "Cole? What is it? It's not even sunrise yet," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

"That's the thing. It's not daylight which means vampires of all kinds are allowed to be out. We have a big problem, wake him up," Cole demanded, panic written on his face.

I turned to Calix and shook him. "Calix, wake up. Cole's here and it's urgent," I softly spoke, trying not to provoke him before Cole's news does.

"What is it, brother?" Calix gruffly asked, sitting up.

"I'm afraid Alastor and Wryler are attacking. Their troops aren't too far from the town plaza. What do you want us to do?" Cole affirmed, looking at the both of us for a reaction.

My first reaction was fear, then panic. I quickly jumped out of the bed, as did Calix. "I'll start casting the spells."

"Send the troops out, I'll get dressed and meet you all out there," Calix ordered, sliding pants on before grabbing a shirt.

Cole nodded and quickly sped away in a blur. I threw a coat on and sighed. "Be safe, alright? You better make it back in this bedroom alive and unarmed," I asserted, looking at him.

Calix slid a bright red jacket on and buttoned it up before grabbing his sword. "I've fought many wars before, I think I'll be fine," He argued, walking out. "Don't go out or get into trouble!"

I rolled my eyes and rushed to the library, grabbing spell books from the shelves. Ashli and Ambrielle ran in shortly after, both of them just as sleepy and worried as I am. "I'm thinking locator spell on Alastor and Wryler, a magic concealer for the witches, and a spell strong enough to weaken their hybrid army, any objections?"

The girls shook their heads no. I sighed and flipped open to the pages where the spells were. Ashli lit the candles and Ambrielle gathered the supplies we would need.

We all held hands and chanted the first spell. 

"εδώ μένουμε, εδώ για να προσευχηθούμε, να μας βοηθήσει να κάνουμε αδύναμους αυτούς που μας seak"

"Alright," I started, "that stalls the hybrids and helps our soldiers. Let's find Alastor and Wryler, then link Calix and Cole to let them know."

"Sounds good," Ashli agreed before turning the page in the spell book to a locator spell. We scanned over the spell before chanting yet again.

"βοηθήστε μας να αποκαλύψουμε σε αυτό το διάστημα τόσο πραγματικό τον άνθρωπο που έχουμε γνωρίσει, αφήστε τον να εμφανίζεται"

We look to where the locator spell says he is and lock eyes with each other. I quickly channeled Calix.

"Calix! Alastor isn't there but Wryler is approaching the plaza where the merchants are. You can meet him there and get the element of surprsie if you hurry. We did a locator spell and are trying a couple more things. The hybrids should be weaker, but we can talk about what all we ladies did when you guys get back," I rushed, silently praying he heard me.

We only had a couple more spells before we finished all of the spells we could think of. I quickly got an idea and walked out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Ambrielle called out.

"You think I'm letting them fight alone? I'm going out there," I replied, grabbing a sword from one of the knight stands. I mumbled a quick enchant on the sword before pulling my hair back.

"Calix will kill you," Ashli countered.

"You were the one who told me he's my mate, not my dad. He can deal with me when he gets back, but I'm going out there. They're my people too. Try and stop me and I'll trap you two in this library with a confinement spell," I threatened, running out. I grabbed a cape and through the hood over my head.

When I set foot outside, I seen first hand what chaos and madness was. If we're being honest, it was scary, but I couldn't let my fear control me when my people need me more than ever. I ran further into the calamity and found the hybrids going against our soldiers. They were weakened but still had an advantage since they were hybrids.

I hesitated for a split second before a hybrid spotted me and came in wolf form. I squeezed the sword and aimlessly swung. I heard a whimper before opening my eyes to see a wolf body and head completely seaperated from each other.

Oh my gosh, gross.

This continued for quite some time, hybrids coming after me and me attempting to swing, luckily killing them. Without warning, a group of hybrids came after me. I panicked and quickly mumbled a spell. "τέλος εκείνους που σκοπεύουν να βλάψουν, αφήστε τους με τίποτα, αλλά συναγερμού!"

The wolves before me dropped to the floor, their hearts stopping. I sighed in relief before everybody paused to an ear piercing howl. After the howl, the hybrids retreated and so did our soliders. I quickly ran back to the castle.

When I set foot in the castle walls, I doubled over trying to catch my breath. I was not ready for that in the slightest. I leaned against the wall before Alexander, Cole, Calix, Adam, Ryker, and a couple guards walked inside.

"Almira? What are you doing out here?" Alexander asked, walking over to me. He put a hand on my shoulder before he stepped back. "Oh my, you wreak of-"

"Blood," Calix coldly finished. He walked up to me and threw me over his shoulder effortlessly, walking away from the guys. "Looks like we have something to talk about, wouldn't you say?"

"I don't have a choice in the matter, do I?" I acknowledged, squirming in his grip.

"Nope." He threw me onto the bed and closed the door, crossing his arms. "Start talking."

"We did the spells, just like I said we would, and they were working, but I didn't think it would be enough, so I enchanted a sword, grabbed a cape, and went out to fight," I answered, looking at him sternly.

"Did it ever cross your mind that you could get hurt out there?" He remarked, leaning against the door.

"Oh, absolutely," I replied.

"And what happened to me telling you not to go out and to stay out of trouble?" Calix snarled. "Did you not hear a word that I said?"

I stood up and walked up to his tall figure. "I heard what you said, but in case you've forgotten, I'll remind you of a couple things. Number one, you don't run this kingdom on your own anymore. As your mate, they're my people too. Whether we run this kingdom as a couple or as two royals working together for their people, they're not just your responsibility anymore. Number two, I am my own person. You do not control me. I'm your mate, your equal, your other half, not some child who sits around and waits to be told what to do. You don't own me, I own me. Number three, before you go after Ambrielle and Ashli, they didn't have a choice but to let me go. I specifically told them if they tried to stop me, I'd confine them to that library with no escape, so they did the smart thing and let me leave."

Calix looked down at me, his chest heaving up and down. He was angry, and so was I. I think we both had enough of each other for tonight. "Fine."

"Fine?" I raised an eyebrow, watching him suspiciously.

"You've said what you needed to say. I'm headed back to bed." With that, Calix walked off and I stood there, watching him grow farther and farther away. I was too upset with him and his attitude to sleep in the same bed as him, but I knew if I wasn't in there, he'd only be in an even more sour mood than he already his.

I angrily marched my way to the bedroom and crawled into bed, turning my back to Calix. I drifted off into sleep, the events of this morning replaying trhough my mind like a loop.

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