The Beast And The Blessed

Eighty: Natalie

Natalie's P.O.V.

The tone of the council changed after the announcement that Talia had chosen the other side and that I was Aurora's daughter, making me a descendant as well. They focused even more on tracking the witches, trying to get a lock on them before the battle. If we could take them down, the vampires would be no problem.

But the magic that was protecting them, hiding them, made it almost impossible to fight them in battle.

No one had brought up Talia again, but I could see the anger and disappointment in everyone's eyes. Especially Charlie's. She seemed to have a connection with the witch and had been excited to see her. For the rest of the night, the princess looked crushed. She and her brother had mastered masking their emotions, but even she couldn't hide how upset it had made her to hear of the treason.

I kept glancing at Killian in the mirror as we prepared for bed, but he was void of emotions. The eerie feeling that had settled over the castle only worsened when the sun went down.

”Bound...darkness...runs free."

The low and deep voice barely reached my ears, and I looked up at the mirror, watching as Killian rinsed the soap from his hair through the glass shower wall. It was a sight that normally took all thoughts from my mind and left me a desperate mess.

"What did you say?” I called out, hoping to be heard over the running water and thoughts going through his head. Killian opened his hazel eyes, staring at me with confusion as he shook his head.

’I didn't say anything."

I hummed in response as I brushed it off. No one else was in the room, and if Killian hadn't spoken, then perhaps I had picked up someone's thoughts in the pack link. That was even more concerning than if Killian had been the one who said it.

the pack to have thoughts that contained those words so close together made me feel even more unsafe in our

Killian would need to know about something like that. "Is it possible to cross signals in the pack link? Like for someone to accidentally pick up on someone

down his torso. "Thoughts can never be heard in the

the room proved it to be empty. "I thought I heard someone talking about darkness and running free, but it must

off the water. He didn't seem concerned, so I had to trust that everything was

if you hear anything else." His tone was firm as he grabbed the towel and dried off. I felt

and got under the blanket. Killian didn't say anything more on

***

I sat up as the thick air closed in on me. In the past, when I had felt this, I struggled to pull enough air into my lungs. But now, while it was physically evident there was something

silence, and my hands gripped the blanket tightly as I turned to Killian. He had rolled onto his back during the night, which happened often, but he almost always turned back to hold me

could see them moving behind his eyelids

took in deep and even breaths. I pushed against his body again, trying to wake him.

eye, there was a cold barrier between us that prevented me from actually getting to

The whisper left my lips as soon as the thought crossed my mind, only to be confirmed as the bedroom door

wanted me to see, or the owner of the voice wanted me to see. If it

I reached the hallway and found the guards standing watch, not seeming to

own, and I stood still as I glanced into the dimly lit room. The ominous feeling I once had associated with the dying or dead was still

the gems had been replaced with

to go into the room and take my crown back from the clutches of whatever spirit had brought me here tonight, but I stayed rooted to my place in

didn't know who or why they were