THE ALPHA’S VENGEFUL LUNA

CHAPTER 30: CONFLICT OF BONDS

FREYA

I could not run forever.

With everyday that rolled by, I knew I was missing the opportunity to finally end Icarus's reign. I knew I needed to stop running from him so I could eventually get close to him again to be able to get hold of a strand or more of his hair.

As minute as it seemed, that was the only thing stopping me from completing the potion. I decided to take the bold step one of those evenings. So I put on a fancy nightwear, spritz some sweet smelling perfume and headed over to Icarus's tower.

I braced myself, taking a deep breath before knocking on Icarus's door. Heavy footsteps followed, and soon the door unlocked to reveal Icarus in all his glory.

“F-Freya?” Icarus said, surprised to see me. His scent hit me with so much force and I felt myself go dizzy.

I forgot how it felt to be around him and the effect he had on me. Standing in front of him at that moment, everything came rushing back with full force and it took me a lot of effort to eventually control the swirling emotions.

“Yeah, It is me...” I chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back or my neck.

“Do you want to come in?” Icarus asked, and I shrugged nonchalantly, before walking in.

Nothing much had changed since I last came to the tower. Just the bedsheets, and a few other minuscule details.

“Um... I am sorry I have been distant lately... I have just...been through a lot recently.” I said, putting on a convincing act.

Icarus walked over to me, taking my hands in his. “I understand Freya. And I have missed you so much.”

Icarus wrapped his hand around me and I seized the opportunity to comb my fingers through his long mane. I resisted the urge to pump my fist in excitement when some strands got caught in my fingers.

After the embrace, I excused myself to use the bathroom. When I got in, I quickly wiped my fingers in a handkerchief to keep the hairs intact, before slipping it into my pocket.

“Are you spending the night with me?” Icarus asked when I came out of the bathroom, his eyes gleaming with hope. Too bad I was going to crush it.

“I am sorry but...no. Maybe tomorrow?” I replied and Icarus's face fell.

“It is okay... Goodnight then.”

“Goodnight.” I replied before exiting the room. I hurried back to my room, trying to hide the excitement that welled up in me. The ingredients were finally complete and I was ready to finish the potion.

I was restless, tossing and turning while waiting for midnight and after what felt like years, it finally came. I jumped on my feet, slipping on my cloak before racing into the woods.

I unveiled the cauldron, excitement coursing through me as I tossed in the last ingredient before the sealer. My chants rose up in the air and I danced around the cauldron, stirring its content.

Now it was time for the moment I had waited for. The moonbell glowed in the dark, and with my eyes squeezed shut and with shaky hands, I threw it into the cauldron while muttering the chants some more.

Ik heb je samengesteld om je potentie en kracht nu

te mixen! mengen! en word de ultieme oplossing!

I stirred and stirred until the blue steam slowly turned into green. It rose up into the air, and as the strong scent hit my nose, I knew my potion was ready.

I transferred the content into a bottle, raising the bottle high.

It was time to leave a mark in history.

-****-

“Arghhh!” I screamed in frustration, pulling at my hair as tears streamed down my face.

It had been several days since I completed the potion, and I was shocked out of my mind when I put it in his meal and nothing happened.

I thought I had used it wrong, so I put it in his tea the next day, and still no result. I tried mixing it with his bath gel, his shampoo, and nothing seemed to work!

I was so confused and frustrated, hence the mental breakdown I was having.

“The gods must be crazy, because how is this even possible?” I whispered in disbelief. I had done everything right, ensured I put in all the ingredients, but it still had no effect on Icarus.

I decided to test if the potion was the problem, so I left Icarus's leftover meal in the kitchen, knowing one or more of the servants would be greedy enough to eat from it. The next day, word got to me that two servants were dead from strange causes.

I became even more perplexed than ever, because if one of the strongest potions I have ever made could not work on Icarus, then what could possibly work on him?

If the impotency of the potion was the only thing that was going wrong, then that would be enough problems on my plate.

To my dismay, there was more.

Every time I used the potion, I felt my powers grow weaker. The changes became more visible when I practised my spells. What usually came easily for me now required me to strain out energy to get done, and it was terrifying.

At that point I was aware that if I did not get help, I could lose my powers permanently.

It was time to contact Imani again.

I arose at midnight, headed for the woods to summon Imani. My heart slammed against my ribcage with the fear that I might not be able to summon her.

I decided to go further into the heart of the woods, hoping that I would be able to draw energy from the forest as well to complete the process.

I bent over and grabbed a twig from the ground, drawing a pentagon, like I did the last time. With quivering hands, I completed the procedure, but I was still not confident that I would be able to pull it off.

After drawing the pentagram, I lifted up my two hands high in the air, taking a shaky breath.

Ustani! Ustani! Neka se duh Imanija digne!

I chanted the spell six times. My head felt heavy and my sight grew blurry at the last chant of the spell, but I had to complete it.

Ustani! Ustani! Neka... se duh Imanija digne!

As I completed the last round of spells, the triangle lit up with green fire, and Imani appeared at the centre.

“Tsk, tsk, you do not look so good, Freya.”

Those were Imani's first words and it did nothing to quell the fear that welled up inside me.

“That is the exact reason I summoned you, Imani.” I breathed heavily. “Something is terribly wrong and I do not know what.”

“Hmmm...what do you suspect?” Imani asked me.

“The Moonbell potion, that is what." I replied. “I thought fate was on my side when I was able to get hold of the Moonbell at Rivendale, but after all that I went through to secure the ingredients, it still did not work on him!”

I groaned, massaging my temples. “And since I started using the potion on Icarus, I noticed some changes in me. The changes are no good. I feel my powers ebbing away from me, Imani.”

“That is definitely not good…" Imani's face grew grim. “Something must have gone wrong in the procedure.”

“But what could have possibly gone wrong, Imani?” I cried out. “I followed the recipe, I did everything right!”

“Everything?" Imani lifted a wrinkly brow at me. “Are you sure about that?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but Imani's question re-echoed in my head again and I began to second guess myself.

“I...I do not know.”

“Indeed.” Imani replied. “It is quite obvious that you are starting to lose focus on your mission, Freya.”

I stared at Imani in disbelief. “What do you mean?”

Imani shook her head. “Freya, there is an ongoing battle within you between your soul bond with Icarus and that with your late husband.”

My eyes widened as I processed Imani's words. “The soulbond with your late husband is what fuelled your desire to come back for revenge, but your soulbond with Icarus is distracting you from your quest.”

“What does this have to do with why the potion did not work?” I asked Imani, perplexed by her analogy.

“Preparing a potion as strong as the Moonbell potion, especially one to be used on an immortal like Icarus, requires intense focus and singleness of purpose…” Imani explained.

“One which you lack at this time.”

I wanted to scream at Imani that she was lying, but deep down, I knew the truth. My soulbond with Icarus was waxing stronger and it was getting harder to fight it.

There were times I had gotten carried away and it took a lot of effort to get back in line with my mission.

This was hard. Really hard, and I had never been so conflicted in both my past and present lives.

“You are living in a borrowed body, Freya, one which can only accommodate one soulbond. If you do not win this war, it will destroy you.”

Imani's last words sent shivers down my spine and I still stood frozen on my feet in front of the pentagon, long after Imani had disappeared.