Chapter 307 What’s the plan?

*~Aurora’s POV~*

After we buried Rebecca, we rose to our feet and continued moving. I led them back in the direction where I had abandoned the carriage—back to where we lost Leon, Darius, and my sister.

Along the way, we heard noises, and my heartbeat quickened. Hazel’s head snapped up instantly.

“I can hear Leon’s voice,” she whispered. “I think they’re here.”

Cayden shifted into his wolf form without hesitation.

“Everyone stay here,” he ordered, then sprinted off into the forest.

Hazel turned to me. “Are you alright?”

I nodded quickly. “I’m very sure that’s Leon.”

She nodded too. “I hope so. And I really hope everyone is fine. I just want all of this to be over so we can go home.”

Lilith spoke up behind us. “Everything will be fine.”

Just then, Cayden returned—no longer in wolf form—and he wasn’t alone. Figures moved behind him, and then I saw them clearly: Caspian, Leon… and Caspian was carrying someone.

My breath caught as my eyes searched frantically for Alice, but I couldn’t find her face.

Hazel ran ahead and threw her arms around Caspian.

“Oh my God, you’re fine,” she breathed. “I knew splitting up was a horrible idea. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” Caspian replied before kissing her quickly.

Then he lowered what he had been carrying.

My sister.

I rushed forward, dropping to my knees.

Alice lay still—too still.

“What’s wrong with her? Is she fine?” I asked, my voice trembling.

“She is fine,” Caspian started, but his voice cracked. “She’s just—”

She was not fine. And we all knew it.

I let out a shaky breath and looked at Leon. He hadn’t come to hug me. He wouldn’t even look at me. He kept staring at the ground, jaw tight.

“Leon… what’s happening?” I asked.

He didn’t respond.

“Caspian?” I whispered, kneeling beside my sister. “Alice, stand up. Please. You’re alive. Stand up.”

But her skin was cold.

Cold like Rebecca’s body had been.

I turned back to Leon, desperation clawing at my chest.

“What’s happening? What’s wrong with my sister?”

Leon finally lifted his eyes—red, hollow, broken.

“Aurora… she’s dead.”

The world around me blurred instantly.

My ears rang. My vision went white.

“Wait… what?” I choked.

Leon shook his head, voice trembling.

“She died. Darius killed her… and then he disappeared. We were too late.”

My mouth went dry. My heart sank. Azazel knelt beside me and wrapped her arms around me as I broke.

“No… no, she cannot die!”

Lilith stared in shock. Hazel covered her mouth. Caspian and Cayden stood frozen, their hands clasped together as the last bit of hope drained from the air.

This was bad.

Worse than anything.

“My sister cannot die,” I sobbed. “She cannot… she can’t…”

My mind couldn’t wrap itself around it.

What do you mean my sister will never see my baby?

What do you mean my child will never know their only family from my side?

No.

No…

But she was right there in front of me.

Still.

Silent.

Gone.

My sister was dead. She was no longer breathing. Her green eyes no longer sparkled. Her radiant smile was gone.

Everything… everything felt gone for me.

And then anger—sharp, violent, explosive—cut through the sorrow. Pain flared like fire.

Cayden lost control. Caspian tried to pull him back, but Cayden slapped his hands away.

“No. This is complete bullshit,” he snarled. “These bloody demons have taken enough. They’ve harmed and almost ruined my baby’s life. They’ve fought us again and again, and now they’ve killed one of us.”

He gritted his teeth and turned to Caspian.

“When did they die? Where is Darius? I promise you, when I find him, I will tear his head into tiny pieces.”

“Cayden, no,” Caspian said firmly, shaking his head. “He’s gone.”

“Gone?” I blinked. “He can’t kill my sister and run away. I will find him—and I will kill him myself.”

Leon knelt beside me and pulled me into his arms. I rested my head on his shoulder, trying to breathe.

“I know,” he murmured. “But by the time we got to where we found your sister… he was already gone. We only caught a glimpse. It looked like something was wrong with him.”

Azazel spoke up from behind us.

“We should go to the demon realm. All of us together can bring them down. We have witches, Crescents, werewolves—we’re strong enough. We have each other.”

“No,” I said. “Let’s just go home. Home is best.”

“But how do we not take revenge?” Azazel demanded. “Revenge is not just for us. They’re gone now, yes—but they will keep coming back. For my babies. For you. For all of us. We are not safe.”

“When have I ever been safe?” I asked, my voice shattering. “None of us have ever been safe. We keep having trouble after trouble, and somehow… we keep surviving. That is what makes us us.”

Lilith shook her head. Tears streaked down her face, but she wiped them away and forced herself to speak.

“They just killed my best friend. The only family I’ve had since I grew up—the only person who watched me grow. And you think I’ll just let them go?” Her voice cracked, fury rising. “No. I say we hunt them down. We call Cyrus back home for backup. Every werewolf in New Orleans. Every Crescent in New Orleans. All of them should come help us fight this battle.”

Her voice hardened.

“And we will win.”

There was a sudden surge of morale between every single one of us. Even I felt it—despite being the only one against this fight. But I shook my head. I didn’t want to go back to the demons. I didn’t want to face them again. It all felt… pointless.

I turned to Leon.

“Do you really want to fight? Do you really have any fight left in you?”

He clenched his fists until his knuckles whitened.

“My Lord, I have every breath, every drop of life, every fight left in me to give. Even if it’s the last thing I ever do, I will do it right. I will fight with everything I own and bring those bloody demon fools down.”

Rage pulsed through him like a heartbeat.

I looked at Hazel, Lilith, Caspian, Cayden. The same fury burned in every one of their eyes.

I nodded and rose to my feet.

“But we are not summoning Cyrius here. He doesn’t need to be in this forest. He needs to be at home—with the twins, with the entire Crescent line—just in case they decide to strike there.” I turned to Hazel. “And like you said earlier… we are strong enough to take them down. And we will.”

My mind flashed to Sarah and her lover, George—and her demon husband, George. She was pregnant, like me. And now, I had no idea what punishment she might be facing… all because of me.

It’s true. I needed to fight for them. For every witch trapped down there by demons. For every innocent caught in their grip.

So I turned to Cayden.

“What’s the plan?”

My sister death will not be in vain.