Her feet were numbed. She felt so tired, and she was bruised all over. She had been running for more than an hour, but it seemed that the forest had no end.
'Where am I?' She thought. It's dark and dense. She wanted to rest, but a voice inside her echoed in her ears to keep on running. But why? Why did she have to run?
She looked around and frowned, and then she remembered what had happened. Eiris came to their hotel suite, telling her that Zion had to go with her.
Amaris threatened her and asked what the Gods were planning against them.
"It's just against you." Eiris said.
She didn't respond and waited for Eiris to continue.
"You have no idea what you're capable of. I'm tired of talking. How about I show you."
Amaris allowed Eiris to get closer to her. She was surprised when the messenger grabbed her hand. When she opened her eyes, she was already in that forest.
"Is this real?" She asked herself.
"It was.." She turned to her side and saw Eiris standing beside her.
She was confused, then turned her gaze again to the woman running in the forest. It was definitely her.
"You also forgot this part of your memory. This was the day you got caught by the guards of Caelum." Eiris answered.
Her eyes widened, and were more confused than earlier. Why would Eiris show her something about her past?
She stumbled into a huge branch and fell. She tried to stand up, but her ankle seemed broken. She wanted to cry, but her instinct said she had to be quiet.
The voice in her head also said not to look back and to keep her mouth shut. She found a small branch and used it as a cane. She couldn't run, but she had to try to walk faster. She stood up and tried to step forward.
'Damn! It hurts.'
Amaris flinched as if she really felt the pain of her past self.
Her whole body hurts so bad. She felt something flowing from her left eyebrow, and when she touched it, she saw blood. She cut herself when she fell, so her left eye was now getting blurry.
Snap!
She looked around. Her heart was pounding non-stop; she was scared. It sounded like a branch of a tree was cracked. Someone was following her. But who? She gained her strength and started to walk. She could feel the pain in every step she made. It doesn't matter, and she must ignore it for now because she had to get out of that forest.
She could hear someone running behind her. And it was getting closer. She couldn't look back and just kept going.
The sound of someone running towards her was getting louder, coming from different directions. She thought only one person was following her, but it wasn't.
She tried to walk faster, but she was so exhausted. She looked around to see if there was a place where she could hide. Then she saw a huge tree with a space in the middle. She walked closer to check if she could fit in.
"That hybrid really could run so fast. They will definitely kill us if we can't find her." One of the men said.
"I found something!" Another man shouted.
She knew they were close, so she tried to squeeze herself into the tree. She didn't think there were any insects or snakes inside; she just wanted to hide from the people following her. She thought it was better to get eaten by animals than caught by those following her.
She covered her mouth when she saw two of them in front of the tree. She couldn't see their faces from where she was hiding, but she saw a tattoo from the left hand of one of them, a rose with thorns. The other one looked like a woman because of her painted nails.
"Do you think she already got out of this forest?" the woman asked.
"I think not. She's wounded, and if she doesn't show herself, the werewolf's parents will die." The man answered.
Then the man yelled loud enough so she could hear him. "You heard that, princess? If you don't come out, we'll kill the wolf's family! Come back to the camp before sunrise if you want to save them." Then they left.
She came out of the tree and sat there leaning her back on the huge trunk. She was panting. There's not enough air inside the tree, and she had to cover her mouth, so she felt like she was losing her breath.
Amaris turned to Eiris again. "When the man said parents, was he talking about Zion's parents? What are you trying to show me?"
Eiris didn't answer her question and was just staring at her.
"Let's skip to the part where you were caught." Eiris whispered.
All of a sudden, they were in a tent. She was being held by two men and was dragged outside. There she saw not just one, but a whole army.
There were swordsmen, archers, warriors, and a lot more. She was confused once more. Why did the Gods send a whole army just to find her?
"You were a threat to both the immortal and mortal world. It was a prophecy from Phoebus, so the Gods were scared." Eiris commented.
"I still don't understand why you are showing me the past." Amaris said.
"So it won't happen again. The last time you died, Zion went crazy. He became a monster. Phoebus' prophecy has never been wrong. If he said it would happen, then no one could stop it."
"So are you saying to give him to you? You want me to give him up, don't you?"
Eiris turned her gaze away. Amaris was now convinced that Eiris had something towards Zion.
"You're in love with Ignus." Amaris exclaimed.
Eiris' eyes widened, surprised by what Amaris had said.
"I just heard your story before you came knocking on our doorstep. I already had this feeling that you felt the power of Ignus inside Zion. Now that I think about it. You gave Zion the mirror to show him that I was tortured and beaten by the Gods." Amaris chuckled.
"The Gods never gave that mirror. It was from you. You want Zion to see me die so he would get crazy. Zion became a monster, killing everyone who stopped him from finding me. It was part of your plan. You thought one of the gods would kill him, but you didn't expect my mother just to seal his powers and curse him."
"I-I don't know what you're talking about."
"I think you do."
They suddenly went back to the present. The others were surprised by Eiris' reaction, and they could feel her nervousness.
"You think I wouldn't find out? You underestimated me, Eiris." Amaris calmly said.
Eiris smirked then faced Amaris.
"So what if you're right? Do you think Zion wouldn't come to Caelum if the Sky God ordered him?"
Amaris frowned. She wasn't ready to hear those words. The Sky God wanted Zion? Why? She thought to herself.
"You really don't know anything. You haven't talked to Phoebus, and you're just basing your thoughts on that filthy blind girl."
Diana suddenly got mad and was about to attack when Amaris stopped her.
"Diana, stop!" She ordered.
Amaris walked closer to Eiris, facing her.
'Slap!'
Diana and the others were shocked by what their Luna did. They didn't expect Amaris to hurt someone. Eiris glared at her but couldn't attack her.
"Insult her again, and I swear you will never come out here alive!" Amaris said with gritted teeth.
"I'm not afraid of you. You're a halfling. You are someone that should have never been born! You're a curse to all creatures!" Eiris yelled.
Amaris felt something strike her heart, but she couldn't show Eiris her weakness.
"Shelly!" Zoila shouted.
Amaris saw Shelly fall on the floor. When she got closer, Shelly grabbed her by the wrist. She was surprised to see her eyes in pure white.
"Cursed by the moonlight. A love that was never meant to be will end all creatures. Seek for the sword hidden in darkness, concealed by fire."
Shelly's words surprised everyone, and no one could speak a single word. The opening of the door broke their silence.
"What happened to Shelly?" Damien asked while rushing towards his unconscious mate.