The Bell of Freedom (King and human romance)✔

Chapter Fifty-One

I chew into a chicken leg as I watch what the others are watching—Marina acting weird. It's almost nightfall and the thirteen of us are sitting around the fire in silence as we watch her mysterious gathering with the wolves beyond the fence.

"Can they even understand each other?" Christian says.

"I have no idea," I say. "It looks like they can."

I squint my eyes at the trees, seeing strange shadows among them. It's not just the wolves, hundreds of birds are gathered around her. Birds of all species. Some are so big that I can't tell if they have bird wings or creature wings.

"Oh my god!" a voice screams.

Christian grips his hand around Holly's wrist and stares right past my face, his cheeks going white with an expression of terror. I jump to my feet immediately, along with everyone else, and I instantly move towards Jackson who is cowering closer to Natalie.

Through the dark sky, mighty wings land in the middle of our small village. Wings that belong to the bodies of dozens of lions. Some of them recall their wings while others stare at us with their teeth snarling.

"Marina!" Christian shouts.

Marina turns around, her red eyes flashing with amazement through the forest. She doesn't seem concerned and her calmness is putting a few of us at ease. One of the lions separates from the pack and it walks right over to me while the others stay near the fence. It keeps its head down as though it is hunting, its red eyes are like a laser beam.

"Aurora," Christian says from across the circle. "Don't."

The creature stops walking, its form as a lion is so realistic that my hands shake as I cross the short distance. The creature sits and its nose sniffs against the air as I draw closer. The creature's form of a lion is the biggest animal I've ever seen in person. The mane is thick and soft, my fingers touch it first as I kneel in front of the magnificent beast. The red eyes just stare back at me and it lifts its paw. I swallow before placing my hand underneath it, cradling it as though it is merely a dog. The creature twists its head as a shiver runs through it. It backs away steadily, unleashing a pant before roaring at the sky.

"His name is Kazeelek," Marina says as she lands next to us. "King of the animal-eaters."

"King?" I mumble.

"Remarkable specimens," Marina says, running her hand along the lion's head. "He and Cain have an understanding. Kazeelek and his army remain far away from the rest of our kind, they do not interact or tolerate each other. My kind shunned them for being different but Cain has always respected their choice."

I stand to my feet, eyeing her suspiciously. "What are they doing here?"

"They are here for you," she says. "Kazeelek doesn't consume completed souls, he worships them."

I look across the circle and I find Christian staring back at me with the same look of absolute bewilderment, as though there's a question caught in his throat that he can't quite spit out. This information is not working right with my brain, I look down at the beast and it seems to be waiting for me to give it some kind of order.

Marina notices my confusion and she steps towards me, taking my hands and pulling me closer to her. "You have allies here, Aurora," she whispers. "Do you trust me?"

I nod my head.

"I know it is strange but they are our ticket out of here." She smiles at me, not willing to give anymore than that when her eyes go over my shoulder. The dozen pairs of human eyes staring at us forces her into silence. She takes a deep breath and squeezes her fingers into my arm. "It's time."