A Luna's Flame

Chapter Seventy-Three

"Pythia, I'm sorry that I didn't get back to you in time. If we hadn't separated and I was stronger, I could've s—," I began.

"Did you save them? The children?" she asked as she gazed down at her former self.

"Yes," I answered with a nod.

"Then you were exactly where you needed to be. Had you not shown up when you did, they were going to die that night. Stop walking around with that guilt on your shoulders, or your spine will never straighten, pup," she explained as she looked up at me with no disappointment or regret.

I looked at her for a moment before realization dawned on me.

"You knew you would be taken," I whispered in understanding.

"The future that I see is not always guaranteed. But yes, I was aware of the risks well before I joined you," Pythia confirmed.

"So, why didn't you stop me when I suggested getting the herbs? I could've gone alone or with Noah, and you would still be with us," I argued.

"The odds were against you from the moment you opened your eyes that day. Both you and those children wouldn't have made it to nightfall had I not gone with you," she answered with a sigh.

"But you just said that the visions you see aren't guaranteed! I'm not weak—," I spiritedly started.

"Anymore," she finished with a furrowed brow.

"You needed more time to grow and mature. You had to find your purpose. The woman that stands in front of me with her head held high and authority coating her words is enough to show me that I made the right choice," she added.

"But what of you, Pythia? You deserve to be free with us. Are you even okay? Please, Pythia, help me find you," I pleaded.

"Despite the scar that drags across my face, I am perfectly fine, Calista. A bit annoyed but fine nonetheless," she dismissed as she dipped the tips of her fingers into the water.

She pulled out a piece of torn, brown fabric, the scent of oakmoss and black pepper wafting into the air. She shook off the excess water before placing it in my hand and closing my fingers around it.

"You asked for help several times, might I add, and so you shall have it," she said as I looked down at the cloth in confusion.

I looked up with a question readied and found myself standing in the forest again, this time beside a frozen-in-place Pythia. She was confident as she stood with her back against a tree, her face free of blemishes. Her signature cloak was clasped around her shoulders, covering her black, gem-lined tunic. She was pointing toward something with words stuck on the tip of her tongue. No doubt, a colorful insult awaits. I turned to follow her gaze and found two brooding men approaching her.

A burly man with steel blue eyes and a shaved head was preparing to shift. A branded wolf fang was burned into his forearm. I knew him. Ixion. He was an ignorant bastard known for trafficking young wolves between the most disgusting packs for profit. I had recently gotten used to tracking Ixion's movements and dismantling his schemes.

His slender, muscular comrade was frozen in the middle of what seemed to be a chilling rant. I had never seen him before. The man appeared to be the less threatening of the two, his red hair wild around his shoulders. However, his pitch-black eyes unnerved me as I looked closer. I knew nothing but sinister ideations played behind them.

"They have all that you are looking for. Be careful when facing them, Calista. Together, they are cunning and ruthless. Let your nose guide you to your truths," Pythia said as she walked to stand beside me.

"I am coming for you, Pythia. I will find you," I said with complete confidence as I looked at her.

She caressed my face lovingly, her dual irises full of battling emotions. A mix of something I couldn't understand.

"Calista!" someone called in the distance.

"I know. You will find me when the Moon Goddess deems you ready. Until then, get smarter and even stronger because only then can you make them pay for their atrocities," she reassured me.

"Enyo!" a familiar voice shouted as the thunderous sounds of running grew closer.

"Don't fret over me, Lisy. I will be fine until you get here. It takes a lot more than a few claw marks to kill me. I haven't lived long enough to see different centuries pass because of a good stroke of luck. Protect the family in my stead and tell Atlas to stop trying to enter my mind. He's giving me a bloody headache. Maybe get Moroi to rattle him for me," she said with a wink.

"Anything to tell Noah?" I asked, feeling a tear glide down my cheek.

"He will know that I heard him soon enough," she reassured me, wiping my tears away.

"Until then, Phy," I promised, trying my best to stay strong in front of her.

"Calista, please hear me! Enyo, where are you?" a man pleaded in the distance, causing my heart to skip a beat.

I turned around hastily, searching the distance for the other person I longed to see. I was suddenly standing in a large clearing in the forest, sunlight kissing my skin.

"Go to him," Pythia whispered behind me.

"Noah! Aias! I'm here!" I screamed as loud as I could as I began to run aimlessly.

"Calista!" I heard from my left, causing me to take an abrupt turn.

I could barely contain myself as I pushed my feet to cover as much ground as possible. I began to whistle as the unkempt grass whipped around me. I heard what I thought to be the beginning of his responding whistle before it was abruptly cut short. I pushed myself even harder to close the distance, nerves rattling my bones. He couldn't slip through my fingers again. Suddenly, a chocolate brown wolf shot out from the trees, barreling straight toward me. Before I could shift to join him, a whisper floated on the breeze that drifted past me.

"What do you know about Hidden Paw?"

I looked over my shoulder, confused, only to see Pythia standing in the distance. She wore large silver chains that covered her hands with black incantations drawn onto her skin. The witch looked frail and thin. Her usual neat, wavy hair hung matted down her back. She looked like a shell of the person who was just standing there, but when I looked up into her eyes, they were still full of life and burning determination.

Before I could say anything or turn fully around, Aias collided into me, knocking me off my feet. Just as my back was about to hit the ground, I woke up gasping, sweat drenching the back of my clothes. My hands grabbed onto the small dining table I had fallen asleep next to as I tried to regain my bearings as my heart raced. The damp piece of torn fabric fell from my gasp, my mind unable to register its presence. Thinking back to the chocolate brown wolf that was so excited to see me, I looked over to Nox's bed to find a pair of pale amber eyes staring back at me.