Previously...

A deafening scream erupted from Zuber's pink lips and he fell on his knees with his arms wrapped around himself. He went kerflooey a minute later and his functioning seemed to freeze.

"Zuber!" Kyrah screamed and wrapped her shimmering tail around him. A scorching current channeled through her scales and she was thrown to the opposite corner due to its intensity.

Jeanette too tried to glide towards him, but was stopped when Hiram delivered a blow to her back.

"Coward!" she hissed disgustedly and resumed her fight, her energy dropping with each movement.

Zuber just watched everything helplessly. He couldn't move even an inch. It was as if someone had wrapped him tightly with cello tape.

Every nerve, every cell of his body twitched continuously and he felt as if his lungs were on fire.

His breathing felt constricted and came out ragged. Sweat rolled down from his body, making it seem like he had taken a bath. He was shaking vehemently.

He watched silently as Kyrah once again writhed to his side, her fiery, green eyes looking at him with worry.

She tried to hold the Naag Mani, which hovered above him, gleaming in all its intensity. It didn't budge.

Though she was in her snake form, he understood and knew what she must be going through and what emotions would be portrayed on her angelic face. Yes, that was the term he had used to describe her when he first saw her.

She was his... his angel.

He remembered the day he had kidnapped her. It seemed like ages ago. The sobbing princess, whom he had captured to protect, had fallen unconscious due to shock. He had touched her eyelashes then, which brushed her cheek with their length, giving her an innocent look.

Though she was clueless about everything at first, she had grown so much after that.

Her childlike behavior had matured, making her an independent and strong woman. She had learned how to live alone, without her parents, maids, and servants. He had grown to love her in this one month.

He felt guilty of wishing to be a serpent. Kyrah had told him not to, but he didn't listen to her. He was so bent on saving them, that now he couldn't do anything but watch hers and Jeanette's every wound.

Each of their wounds felt like a stab to his heart. He couldn't watch them in pain: he felt sick, helpless and furious.

Whenever Kyrah screamed in agony, his pain felt doubled. He couldn't understand this. He thought about his intuition of her being hurt when they had wandered in search of her. His gut feeling was confirmed later when he saw her wounded.

Now, when he cast his gaze at her, she looked lost in one place, her actions slowed down and her snake form was ripped off her. She fell on her knees, her clothes revealing several tears and were painted in crimson waves.

Zuber felt that his pain could be felt by her and vice-versa, but he didn't know the reason behind this.

He locked his glistening, azure eyes with her confused ones and soon hot tears fell on his palm, making his condition a bit better.

His hand automatically reached to touch his eyelids, which felt as if a fire had been lit in them. They were shut tightly for a while and he couldn't even open them. He could just hear Kyrah's howls and then followed Jeanette's shrieks laced with horror.

Slowly, the blue of his eyes swirled and started changing to a blazing green with specks of gold in them.

The skin of his arms was being replaced by green scales. His legs vanished and were replaced by an enormous mint-green tail, which was layered with a glossy gold. His shift completed and he was released from his frozen state.

With his new found power, he writhed towards the scene of action. Jeanette was still battling Hiram, but seemed to be losing. Hiram's tail had been cut off, its end covered in his blood. Zuber wanted to go help Jeanette but stopped.

His heart broke into a million pieces when he found Kyrah in a pool her own blood, a sword plunged into her chest with her eyes glazed over.

The world seemed to stop for him. Panic, horror, sorrow, and guilt filled his soul. He wrapped his tail around her fragile body and lifted her near him.

"This can't happen!"

"Answer me, Kyrah!"

"You can't leave me like this!" he screamed in anguish.

"I promised myself to protect you. Please don't leave me."

"Get up, please. Are you listening to me?" he sobbed, turning back to his human state.

He patted her cold cheeks in haste, not understanding what to do. He held her wrist to find her pulse, but he couldn't find any. He didn't even know if he was doing it the right way or not.

He was lost in a daze, the blue of his eyes filled with a sea of tears, making them seem like a storm.

He shook his head and put his face on top of hers. Everything felt like a bad dream to him. He never knew that he could lose the only girl he loved, the only one whom he had protected since the beginning. The only one for whom he had pretended to be on Hiram's side, the only one for whom he accepted the title of a kidnapper.

He just wanted to make her his own. He had taken all the troubles for her sake, to save her, to be with her, to make her realize that there is love, that someone could love her so much. That he could love her so much...

"I love you, Kyrah! Do you hear that? I won't love anyone else other than you. You're-You're mine... do you hear that? Please listen to me... I want to marry you, I want our daughter to be just like you. Childish, pretty, kind, innocent, soft-hearted, silly."

He chuckled sadly. "You might be thinking that I'm taking this too far... but that was my plan since I saw you."

"I love you," he whispered softly in her hair. "Don't leave me, please... I'm nothing without you."

"I love you too," came Kyrah's feeble voice. "I won't leave you."

Zuber lifted his face and saw her blinking away her tears. She was good as new and he wrapped his arms around her in disbelief, burying his head in her shoulder. He clutched her tightly, fearing that she would go away any moment.

"I was so scared," he sniffled.

"I'm fine now," she said looking at him with pure love.

They were interrupted when they heard a loud thud and a sickening cackle. Jeanette's end was near and she looked at them with a sad expression.

"No!" Kyrah shifted in a millisecond, grabbed the Naag Mani and rushed towards her.

She passed the gem in Jeanette's bloodied hands, wrapping her long, bony fingers around it. Her heart squeezed out of pain for her pitiful state.

"Kyrah, you're like a sister to me... I can't believe that I won't live long," she spoke in a wheezy voice.

"Shh! Nothing will happen to you, have faith..."

"Precious gem, restore Jeanette's power to her original state," she prayed silently.

A light erupted from the gem, circling around Jeanette's whole form, its rays seeping through her wounded, pale skin.

Her wounds healed quickly, the sparkle returning to her marbly, green eyes. A minute later, Jeanette shifted into an elegant snake, similar to Zuber, but her form was of a jade color, minus the gloss.

"Thank you, Kyrah, you don't know how much I wanted my original self back... I owe you," Jeanette gushed gratefully.

"Welcome back," Kyrah smiled at her form. "You're beautiful."

"Please go and wish that my parents heal," Kyrah said hastily, wrapping the gem in Jeanette's tail. She rushed towards Hiram and Zuber, who were matched in fighting.

No one was getting the upper hand. She shifted in her muddy-brown snake form, gliding towards them furiously.

She entwined her tail with Zuber's, which looked like a double-edged sword. Together, they plunged this sword in Hiram's scales, making him fall on the floor, his human form sporting a huge wound in his stomach.

His form then vanished a second later. This puzzled everyone, who now turned back to their human forms.

"Baby!" Lilah screeched and engulfed her daughter in a tight hug.

"Mother, father, you're alright," Kyrah cried in happiness and hugged them both.

"It's over, everything's over, my child," Marsel beamed, wiping Kyrah's tears away.

"Mother, father, I would like you to meet them." Kyrah turned around, a huge grin plastered on her face. Lilah and Marsel looked at each other confusedly.

"Meet whom, sweetheart?"

Kyrah's grin soon faltered and her face fell seeing that there wasn't anyone present other than the three of them.

Zuber and Jeanette weren't there anymore.

Hi, everybody! How are you all? ❤ 💙 I hope you all are doing well. I have something to say. This is the second last chapter, the end will be followed by an epilogue. I am already feeling so sad, that my first book is going to end soon. Honestly, I didn't know whether I would be able to write in the first place.

So, how was this chapter? This is the longest chapter till now. I felt so much pain while writing it and I have written it with a sad expression. Kyrah and Zuber's part especially. Did you feel Zuber's love and pain?

Hiram is now defeated. Yay! But, he has vanished from there. What do you think has happened to him? Any guesses?

Everything seems well now, except for one fact. Where do you think Jeanette and Zuber are? Where have they gone? Will they be back? Comment in and share your thoughts with me!

Like this chapter? Please make me happy by clicking the 🌟 icon below. Thanks a lot! It just takes a second to vote, but it will make my day. Have a nice day everyone! See you soon! 😉

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