CHAPTER 32: BLOODY!

The fight had turned wild and messy.

Luca and Killian were now a blur of fists and growls, moving their bodies like wolves in combat. They flashed gritted teeth, swinging their arms wildly at each other, grunts escaping their lips with every strike.

Their movements were too fast to be considered human. The crack of knuckles against bone, the thud of impact on skin, the sharp inhalations from the mouths, all of it echoed through the garden in strange sounds.

Bella’s voice rang through the garden, crying with desperation.

"Stop it! Please—STOP!"

But they didn’t even acknowledge her.

Neither of them turned to the sound of her voice, neither of them cared, neither of them bothered to stop.

Killian slammed Luca’s shoulder into the base of the water fountain, Luca retaliated with a hard elbow to his torso just beneath his ribs.

There was blood now, smeared on Luca’s lip and smeared across Killian’s cheek. Their uniforms were stained with mud, pure rage burning in their chests.

Bella grabbed Luca’s sleeve, "Luca, please!" but he tore away from her as he swung again.

Then from the distance, thundering footsteps rushed toward them.

Cassian appeared through the grass. "What the hell is happening?!"

"Cassian! Please help me stop them!" Bella cried, trying to wedge herself between the two.

Without hesitation, he dove in, throwing himself between the two boys. His arms shot out, one on each chest, trying desperately to shove them apart. "Stop this nonsense both of you! You’re going to kill each other!"

But they shoved against him like feral animals, their eyes glazing with fury. They were slipping, not just into ordinary violence anymore, but into something more primal, more raw, more brutal, more dangerous.

Cassian gritted his teeth, trying to hold them back. "I swear to the gods, if you two don’t calm down—!"

But neither of them listened to him. It was as if Bella had vanished from their minds entirely.

Killian pushed forward again, snarling like a dog. Luca lunged at his side, barring his teeth angrily, ignoring Cassian’s grip.

The boys resisted his efforts.

Cassian’s boots dragged through the grass as he strained to hold them back.

"You’re not even thinking anymore!" he shouted. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

But their eyes were glassy. They were far too gone in rage.

Cassian gritted his teeth, straining his muscles to hold the tension between them.

Bella took a shaky step forward, her voice thin and shaking.

"I SAID ENOUGH!"

But neither of them looked her way.

She moved straight between them, shaking with fear and desperation.

She grabbed Killian’s wrist as he pulled back for another blow.

"KILLIAN!"

"STOP!" she screamed.

But Killian didn’t register it fast enough.

Fighting Luca blindly, he hadn’t seen her. Until it was too late.

His arm jolted as she stepped between them, and the edge of his fist caught the side of her head. His fist connected with her temple.

It wasn’t a full hit with all his strength, but it was just enough.

A sickening WHOP! echoed through the garden.

Bella’s body went still.

Her eyes shone widely in their sockets.

Then she collapsed, her knees buckling beneath her.

"Bella!" Cassian shouted, catching her before her head hit the ground.

Time froze.

Luca’s fists dropped instantly, his face turning pale.

Killian stumbled back two steps, his eyes widening with horror as he saw her falling. "No. No, no, no, Bella—"

Cassian knelt beside her, gently easing her to the grass.

Placing his palms on both sides of her face, he examined her. "Oh gods, she’s unconscious."

"Let me—let me see her—" Luca moved forward, but Cassian shoved him back.

"Get away," he snapped. "Just stay back, both of you!"

Bella lay limp in his arms, her head resting against his chest. A red bruise was beginning to form by the side of her head. Her breathing came in short, shallow gasps.

"She didn’t even make any sound," Cassian whispered. "She just fell."

Killian stared at his hands, shaking slightly. "I didn’t mean to—she moved—I didn’t see her—I swear to the gods I didn’t—"

Luca looked like he wanted to say something, like he wanted to punch Killian again, like he wanted to scream. But instead, he just stood there, fisting his hands by his sides, trembling with fear for her.

Cassian brushed Bella’s hair from her face, checking her pulse. "We have to get her to the infirmary. Now."

Still, no one moved.

A quiet whimper left her lips, barely a sound.

But then...

Her wrist suddenly flared with light.

But the light wasn’t steady, the cresent mark just flickered softly beneath her skin

Soft and glowing

Cassian’s eyes locked onto it.

Killian backed up another step. "She’s... it’s happening again."

Luca whispered her name.

"Bella..."

The glow rippled beneath her skin. The lines of the crescent pulsed in and out like a heartbeat.

And the earth beneath her shifted.

A tiny crack snaked through the grass below her hand, no longer than a finger’s width.

The ground around her seemed to tremble. Just slightly, but enough to be noticed.

It shifted the boys on their footing.

Cassian’s breath caught. "Did you see that?"

Killian looked to the grass. "The ground around her... its moving."

The light beneath her skin flared again, and this time, it triggered something in all of them. Something that made the hairs on their arms stand.

Bella’s lips parted.

But she didn’t wake.

Then her body shuddered before she collapsed fully again, rolling her eyes shut.

The cresent mark flared once more then dimmed and went out.

The crack in the ground sealed like it had never been there.

She went completely still.

All three boys moved at once.

"Bella!"

Cassian was already lifting her again, careful to cradle her head.

Luca’s hands hovered like he wanted to help but didn’t trust himself to touch her.

Killian was pale, bloody, and shaking. "What... What the hell have I done?"

Bella remained lifeless on the ground.

Luca finally lowered himself to touch her neck, trying to feel her pulse.

But as he turned to the two boys again, he uttered three words...

"She is dead."