Terra (The Vulgari Hybrids, #1) ✔

29|Chocolate|

You are always gonna be my love
You are always gonna be the one

| Lia |

He changed.

I was sure he was now a foot taller, his chest broader, and his arms bigger. But most importantly, he cut his hair. It was short on the sides and longer on top. It was also very messy as if he was continuously running his hands through it in sheer frustration.

As our eyes continued to lock on one another, I could feel my heartbeat hammering in my chest and a delicate yearning flutter deep inside my soul.

I missed him.

Finally admitting it to myself, the wave of longing crashed into me like a million needles stabbing into my heart. This man was mine. And I was his. It took all of my willpower to stop myself from running to him. Right there and then, I wanted to put my heart in his hands and offer him everything, anything that could keep me with him. Only, I couldn't.

He was on his side and I was on mine.

"Uh-oh," Yllona muttered.

"Holy Shit, this is so exciting," Lana added. 

One of the royal guards spoke up. "Where are the princesses?"

I peeled my gaze away from Theo and looked at Ethan. His attention was on the enemies but his jaw was clenched and his fist was closed tightly. I could see the veins popping on his forearm. Ethan nodded at the men who were holding the princesses' chains. They were urged forward. I bit my lower lip to contain the guilty feeling that was creeping into my gut.

"Release three of ours first," Ethan said, his tone low and clear. 

Three Black Claw members were pushed forward by the warriors. I trained my eyes on them as they went to our side. But there was an invisible mighty force that was telling me to look at my mate again. And yes, he was still staring at me intensely. I averted my gaze. It was too much for me to handle.

Ethan released the chain of one princess. "You can go." 

The princess held her chin high and without sparing us a glance, ambled towards to their side. One more Black Claw member was released, leaving Jorge the remaining hostage. I scanned the rest of our enemies. Seeing Pedro Javier with them, I snarled beneath my mask. My hands trembled and all I could see was red. 

"What's wrong, Lia?" Lana asked me, following my gaze. When she saw Pedro, she clenched her jaw. 

I was no longer in the academy. This was a rare opportunity and I'll be damned if I didn't use it. My hatred for the man was consuming me and I watched impatiently as we went on with the last exchange. The tension was clearly building up. Lana was cracking her knuckles and Yllona was doing a deep breathing exercise of her own. 

"They're not going to let us go that easy," Yllona said, her eyes focused on the enemies. "We kidnapped the princesses. If that happened in my kingdom, it would be war." 

I agreed with her that's why I was already building up my mana and remembering all the training that I had done for the past three years. 

'Lia, go back to the van.' Ethan pushed the mind-link to me.  

I scowled. 'What? No!'

'You're not supposed to be here. I clearly said ─'

The arrows came first. My reaction time was just enough for me to conjure a wall of mud to protect my allies. A war cry echoed throughout the forest. And I found myself being attacked by an Ilwani, my wall effectively penetrated. I jumped back to see my attacker clearly. Around me, everyone was engaged in battle. Lana was throwing fireballs at her perpetrators while Yllona was in a sword fight with another Ilwani.