Heart Of A Lycan King
Chapter 91

‘Ruhinku sun tafi.’

‘Ruhinku na kuka.’

‘Bankwana mukeyi.’

‘A kullum daku a rai.’

‘Zuciya fargaba’

‘Rai cikin kunci’

‘Bankwana mukeyi’

‘Kuma roqu mukeyi’

‘Roqu ga Nyala,’

‘Ta amshi ruhinku.’

‘Bankwana mukeyi’

‘Bankwana ga ruhinku…’

We sang in soft sad voices, the sound floating through the cave as the biting cold of the water sucked the remaining life out of me. Aiden and I stood in the middle of a small lake in the cave with the water reaching to our midriff, a single candle in both our hands. I held the candle, while Aiden had his hands wrapped around mine.

We were dressed in white see through robes, just like the rest of the people in the cave and those outside. However, only Aiden and I stood in the water, with Inna hovering over us from the edge. She held no candle, but simply hit her staff as we continued to sing.

The cave was still muddy, but not as muddy as it had been two days ago. Especially the part we currently were in. There were small trees and plants around, a testament of life once being here. Or hopes for life to continue.

It’s been two days since my encounter with the Fiko Luna, two days since Aiden’s test, and two days since the full moon.

Because of all that we had found, it took us two days to prepare for the farewell ritual. Two days to replace the hidden hideout beneath the cave the Luna made, and two days to narrate the real story of what happened here to the citizens of the kingdom.

Today, we were here to bid the souls farewell.

It was nighttime, and while it may not be the full night, the moon still shone from above, being the source of light to those outside, while Inna’s staff was the source of light to those of us in the cave.

The song finally ended. I watched in awe as the water bubbled and rumbled, as though trying to communicate to us. I could still feel the darkness embracing the forest, and I was sure, until we properly send their souls off, this forest would never be a place anyone can visit.

When Aiden and I emerged from the forest, Inna was still dancing, while Baba, Mav, Kane, and Kamal paced around. But Aiden and I remember being knocked out by something or someone. But then we woke up to replace ourselves laying on the ground, with dried leaves scattered around.

And we ran. We ran as though our lives depended on it till we finally got to the boundary.

Mav and Baba rushed towards us, covering us in thick blankets as we shiver, our teeth gritting.

“What happened? Are you two okay?” Mav asked in a concerned voice while Baba simply dabbed away the tears rolling down my cheeks.

Funny enough though, I had no idea why I was crying.

“I…we…we passed…the test…” Aiden said between pants, bending with his hands on his knees.

But before anyone could say anything, with Inna still dancing like her life depended on it, a piercing pitched scream filled our ears, to the point where we had to cover them with our hands because it felt like small insects were chewing on the insides.

At least, I felt that way.

“We need to complete the ritual and unseal them,” Karima said quickly as she approached us. “That was a desperate call for help,” she added.

And so, Aiden and I stood there, while Karima made a slit on Aiden’s and I’s wrist, pressed the places she made the slits together and chanted in a foreign language I’ve never heard.

Three trickles of our b***d dropped at the exact place on the boundary the Fiko forest started, the earth swallowing it in mere seconds before everything began to shake.

Inna never stopped dancing, neither did the Dragon witch stopped chanting. It continued to rumble and shake, with sounds like muffled cries or screams. The trees shook, the rustling sound of them hitting against each other, alongside the sound of dried leaves breaking as though someone was walking on them filled everywhere.

Then everything quieted down, and something like a thick dark blanket covering the whole forest vanished.

The once dark, scary, gloomy forest now stood in its finest glory. Greens all around, the light from the moon shining down brightly on the lush trees. The chirping of happy birds and sounds of insects all around. It was a beautiful sight to see. But one could also feel the remnants of the looming darkness, which Inna explained would clear once the souls have been sent off.

And my body chose that moment to give way.

I fainted.

Through my series of unconsciousness, my body burned. I was going in and out of consciousness, unable to fathom what was going on. And I had a dream. I dreamt of laughter and happiness. Of a beautiful garden. Of loud bubbly songs and family love.

I also dreamt of b***d, the pungent smell of it raw and throat gripping. I saw sadness, pain and anger. Broken hearts. Broken bonds, and emptiness. I saw it all, and just like I felt all those emotions when I stared at the rock with Fiko Luna, I felt them too in that moment. Aiden affirmed that.

When I woke up, however, the presence in my mind was gone, as though it never existed, but Aiden still had the burn and the wolf tattoo.

“She’s completely gone,” I told Aiden. And it made me sad. It made me sad that I can’t feel Luna Nikki anymore, that the presence I got used to over the past few months was not there anymore.

“Today we are gathered here to send off our people,” Inna began, cutting off my reverie. “Souls of those wronged without them having a say in the issue. These souls were wrongfully taken when they had a full life ahead of them. But what has happened has happened, and hopefully, we learned a lesson or two from what led to this,” Inna finished, her pitchy voice making my skin crawl at its authority.

“The king and queen will drop the candle in their hands into the water,” she continued.

Aiden and I slowly sank into the water as we squatted, the water now reaching to our neck, then dropped the candle in. Inna indicated that we remained in the same position, hands clasped overhead before she turned to the rest of the people standing in a semi circle and nodded her head.

Baba and Mama were the first to drop theirs, before Mama’s twin, Mav, Donald, David, and Lacie. Then the elders from each pack dropped theirs one after the other.

My attention may be on them, but inside, I was burning up again. The once cold lake was now hot, as though the candles were warming it. No, this wasn’t just a warm up, because the water was truly burning my skin, eating at it, as though it was going to make it charred.

A choked cry left my lips, and my eyes burned with thick tears as they rolled down my cheeks. Aiden wasn’t better, at least, I didn’t notice earlier, not until I heard him hiss, as his grip on my hand tightened even more. And neither was Erin, who tossed and hissed in my head. We were going through all this together.

Our bodies were both burning, with thick smoke rising from the water which shouldn’t be possible. How can we be burning in a cold lake? My throat clogged and burned as I tried to speak, to ask Inna to stop this because I can’t take anymore of this. But I couldn’t. Neither my vocal cords nor my mouth were moving.

Then ever slowly, I felt myself being lifted from the lake. And just like the last time Aiden and I floated above during the ritual to get into the Fiko forest, we were also floating now. Only that this time, we were both being choked, with a thick fog around us, as though trying to fuse us into the chaos it carried.

I fought and struggled to pull my hands from Aiden but I couldn’t. Neither could he. Although I couldn’t see, I felt like many hands were wrapped around my neck, choking me, stopping the air from seeping into my throat.

My vision was slowly turning blurred. At first, I saw a starburst, then it began to narrow like I got blinkers on. I couldn’t hear anything anymore, as though the sounds around had been cut off completely.

My mouth opened, as I tried to see if I would be able to scream, but only a sick gurgled sound escaped. My eyeballs felt like they were going to pop out, and for a moment, I couldn’t help but picture myself walking into a tunnel, which had some light at first, and then it rapidly began to shrink till everything finally went black.

Then just like everything began, it stopped. Aiden and I were dropped back into the water with a loud thud.

Submerged in water, it was also impossible to breath after being choked for too long. But no matter how hard Aiden and I tried to swim, we couldn’t. And our hands were still clasped. Small whispers began to rise, before they got louder and louder till the sound became too deafening to my ears.

The water swirled and danced around us. I heard it all. I felt it. Then as though a voice had whispered to my ears, I pried my eyes open to see the shadows around. And they were pushing Aiden and I up.

I gasped as air rushed into my throat, causing it to get caught as I began to cough. Mav and Donald helped us out of the water, which was not hot anymore but back to its coldness.

But the shadows were still swirling above the water. Now that I knew they were wronged spirits, who only wanted happiness, I wasn’t scared of them anymore. My only wish is that they lay to rest and replace the peace they craved.

‘Thank you for cleansing our angered souls,’ the swirling shadows spoke in whispers. Too many whispers. And hissings.

‘As the Fikoians, even if we aren’t alive anymore, we’ll still protect the forest till maybe someday, perhaps somewhere, someone will build the pack and b***d again. We have been appeased, and we’ll rest now.’

Then they vanished like thick smoke, and the remaining gloominess surrounding the cave and everywhere vanished with them.

“The ritual is done,” Inna yelled, hitting her staff on the wet ground. “Long live the king! Long live the Queen!” She chanted, and everyone else joined in, the sound an echo in the cave.

Aiden pulled me into his arms in a shaky breath and hugged me . I hugged him back, a shaky breath leaving my cold cracked lips.

“We did it, Nala,” he whispered, kissing the top of my head.

“Yes we did. We did it, Rabin Rai.” I kissed the side of his neck, inhaling his deep manly scent. It has been three long tiring days, and they were bearable because I had him beside me.

I had done my first duty as a queen.