The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 145

CAIN

The sun sank dangerously low to the horizon, and I could feel the immense presence approaching us. Everyone was already in position, ready to fight the forthcoming battle. We had sentries ready on the front line to rush into the action, rangers in the tree lines, healers in the distance, behind a line of warriors meant to drive away and protect the healers as they did their work.

I hoped we wouldn't have to use all of the prepared warriors, but deep down I knew that wouldn't be the case.

Kenzo and I approached the center of the clearing we had picked specifically for this battle. We had minutes at most before Winslow arrived. His magic flowed through the air as he approached. He wanted to be seen and heard. He wanted to intimidate us, trying to make us back down. He always did like to make a show of his power.

I wondered if he knew he wouldn't be the strongest sorcerer on the battlefield. He likely did. That was why he was desperate to take the twins and use their powers. They were strong on their own. Twins often had a bond that made them stronger than all others around them. On top of that, they received my gift of magic before they were even out of the womb. They were each a force not to be reckoned with.

And together they would be unstoppable.

At least one day they would be. They were still too young and untrained, but if we survived this battle-if they survived-they would go on to do great things. It didn't take magic to see that strength and power in them. I just hoped they saw it in themselves. I knew they would be the force that determined the final outcome of the battle.

Small figures started to emerge from the treelines. Just as we predicted, vampires and sorcerers mixed together to take us down. The majority of the figures stopped just in vision, while two men walked forward. I was surprised Winslow didn't shift them to where we were standing, but he wanted to give us time to sweat and panic. He clearly underestimated the force we were if he thought a small power play like that would do anything to shake our confidence.

Winslow finally approached, stopping just a few feet in front of us. Next to him stood a dark vampire, who I could only assume was the Draven everyone had told me about. His wicked aura did not disappoint the horrors I had heard. His lips were curled into a permanent scowl, and I knew it wasn't his idea to meet on the battlefield. It was an old tradition, and since centuries had passed since the last war, I wasn't surprised that this tradition had disappeared with the vampires.

"I'm surprised to find you standing here on the battlefield," Winslow said, sizing me up. "Especially with your lack of magic. You do realize I could cut you down by barely lifting a finger."

"You could, but you won't." I knew my confidence would irritate him. It was a dangerous game to play. If he decided he had enough, I was dead. I knew it was worth the gamble. If I seemed too meek, he would brush me off like a fly. If I acted confident, it would make him second guess my powers. It would shake his confidence.

"So confident," Winslow mused. The corner of his lip twitched, and I knew he was trying to hide his true fear.

"Can we just get this over with? This is a waste of my time," Draven snapped.

I glanced over at him. I would not taunt him. Draven was a different breed, and his hatred spilled into the air, suffocating me. He would be the biggest problem on the battlefield. I could convince Winslow to let this war go if I pressed the right buttons and played a good game, but Draven would not fall for such simple tricks.

"What are your demands?" I asked, cutting to the chase. I wasn't going to lose my life because of an impatient vampire.

"The twins," Winslow said simply. "If you give them to us, we won't destroy everyone and everything you have ever known."

"Do you really think that's a demand we can accept?" I asked. I knew he would want Caulder and Remy, and he knew I would never give them up. There was only one way this conversation would end, but tradition kept Winslow standing there. It was all I needed. "I would think carefully before rejecting our kind demands," Draven said, venom dripping from his teeth. He gestured to the crowd gathered on the treeline. "Surely you can sense that we outnumber you quite significantly. You can't win this war. If you don't give up those brats, you and everyone else will be slaughtered, likely including the twins."

Lies. They needed Caulder and Remy too much to kill them on the battlefield. When it came down to it, I knew they had a plan. So did I.

I did my best to look nervous and scared. "You will spare everyone else if we let you take the twins with you?" I would never actually agree to it, but I was buying myself some time.

"We would." There was a glint in Draven's eyes that told me it was all a lie. When he got what he wanted, he would s*r us anyway. He was not the negotiating type, and it was clear he only did what he wanted. Even this meeting was an act to help him get to his end goal. Winslow was just a tool as well, and he was a fool to not realize it.

I reached my hand towards Winslow and said, "Okay. If it means the rest of my people survive."

Winslow smirked in triumph. "I always knew you were a smart man, Cain." He grabbed my hand and instantly sucked in a sharp breath.

I squeezed his hand tighter, piercing his skin with my ring that was specifically designed for this.

"What have you done?" Winslow demanded, fear filling his eyes.

I pulled him in close to me and whispered, "I am giving you what you deserve. You see, I had this ring filled with bella donna. Your powers are weakening with every breath you take. You were foolish to think a threat of death would stop me and all of the sorcerers you have degraded over the years. We fight for freedom of all, and we will never give in to the Council of Magic again. This is the beginning of the end of your reign of terror." "You bastard!" Winslow glowed with magic, and I knew that was my cue to leave.

I pulled back, ready for Kenzo to shift us both away. Before Kenzo could reach me, I felt a sharp pain rip through my stomach. Blood dripped down Draven's hand, and he took the time to lick his finger with a smirk. "Wrong choice," he said.

Kenzo touched my shoulder and shifted us away from the two, and the battle had officially begun.

-

REMY

Everything happened so fast. Draven stabbed Cain, and then Kenzo shifted both of them away from the enemy, but it was too late. War cries rang out as werewolves sprang onto the battlefield. Sorcerers from both sides started shifting, appearing out of nowhere, and the air filled with the scent of magic and blood.

I lost sight of everyone except Blade as they disappeared into the battle. I kept my eyes glued to Blade as we moved forward, rushing right towards the vampires. Since we hadn't been able to stop the war, I knew I had to stay by Blade's side to stop the vision of Draven killing him from coming true. If I fought side by side with him, I could guarantee his safety. I needed to believe that.

"Remy!" Blade shouted.

The vampires finally met us halfway across the battlefield, and there were several moving straight towards me. I quickly shifted into my wolf form and lunged for the nearest vampire, easily tearing off her head. Blade fought two others coming towards me, and I was able to keep up as one vampire after another tried to slice my throat.

There were more vampires than I had expected. There were at least three vampires for every werewolf we had, if not more. Draven had gone all out making sure he had the numbers to defeat us. Most of the vampires were untrained and easy to tear into, especially with the months of training I had been through. However, I was worried the numbers would end up overwhelming us or wearing us down against the stronger vampires.

When there was a slight lull in vampires, Blade rushed to my side. "We have to go after Draven. If we stop him, we can get these vampires to back down."

I growled in objection. The last thing I wanted to do was let Blade go after Draven. There were others here to fight the vampire leader.

Blade dashed for an incoming vampire. He quickly blocked the first two attacks before countering and ripping off his head. The head hit the ground with a sickening thud, but I didn't let myself waste energy focusing on all of the death falling around me. I needed to focus on survival, so we could win this battle and stop a full war from breaking out.

"I know," Blade said, taking a quick breath. "I know the risks, but we have to change the future. If we go after Draven together, we can win. We're stronger together."

I growled in response again. I understood what he was saying, but I couldn't agree to it. I knew Draven deserved to die, and I knew Blade had the need for revenge simmering deep inside of him for years, but I wanted him nowhere near that monster. Two more vampires came after us, and it only took a minute to dispose of them.

"Remy, please. We're wasting our talents by fighting these underlings. We're wasting the lives of people we could save. These new vampires have only known the world as Draven has explained it to them. If we dispose of their leader, we can show them there is a different world out there, one where they don't have to kill to survive." Blade held my eyes, and his words filled my heart.

I knew it was fear holding me back, and I knew it wasn't fair, but I was still scared. I couldn't let that fear hold me or Blade back though. He pleaded with me because he wanted to save these people. This wasn't just about revenge for him, even though I knew a part of him wanted to make Draven pay for what he had done to him.

No. Blade's eyes wanted to kill Draven to create a future where no one had to ever go through what he did. I didn't know when his drive had changed exactly. It must have been a slow process from all of the time he had spent with Rido. He saw himself in Rido, and he saw the pain Draven had put another child through, and he wanted to break the cycle.

Finally, I gave Blade a nod. If he wanted to go after Draven, I would fight alongside him every step of the way.