She felt like dying all over again. One moment she felt his weight on top of her, his hands wrapped around her throat, his loud panting, his grunts. One moment she closed her eyes as her lungs burned and screamed for fresh oxygen and then the next moment he was gone. 

She gasped as the pressure had been lifted. She gasped again, letting the air fill her up and allowed it to drive away the darkness. One moment she was being choked to death and the next she wasn't. 

Azura coughed, her throat burned as bile rose up from her stomach. Her eyes fluttered open, disoriented as she felt her whole body come back to life in the worst way possible. Every muscle seemed to burn, every cell in her body stung, letting her know she was still alive. She kept on gasping, desperate for air, needing more as she felt like her throat was still being constricted. Her stomach turned itself around. Feeling the urge to throw up, Azura managed to painfully roll on her side and did just that. Her whole body convulsed with the waves of nausea hitting her over and over. It didn't leave room to breathe in between, something she so desperately craved. A rush of panic set in her clearing mind as she tried to breathe. Every time she had to heave, vomit seemed to go places it shouldn't go. She burst out in heavy coughs in between, tears filling her eyes as her body seemed to mess with her in ways she did not deem possible. Her heart rate was spiking, she could feel it and it was going dangerously fast. Something in the back of her mind was telling her to calm down and take it slow.

How was she supposed to take it slow if she was choking on her own fluids and vomit?! As another coughing fit took over she felt someone hitting her on the back. It was helping as Azura managed to spit out the last remnants of her stomach content on the ground. It left her panting heavily but she could breathe again. Slowly she opened her eyes again and blinked she stared at the snow and everything she had thrown out.

"That's it, Azu. Breathe and calm down. You're fine, you're doing great!" Azura snapped her head around and stared at Rose bewildered. When had she arrived? She felt the smaller woman support her as Azura somehow had crawled up on all fours while choking herself to death instead of Lucas doing it for her. Somehow it had felt more comforting when he was killing her instead of her own body.

When his name crossed her mind she gasped again and turned her head to the other side. It was Jeff, he had a raging Lucas in his grip trying to restrain him but was obviously struggling. Jeff was larger than Lucas but Lucas had this wild look in his eyes as if he was a wild animal who would not let himself be contained. He had no barriers, no boundaries, his eyes fixated on her as he tried to free himself from Jeff's strong arms. His only life goal was to kill her.

"Get her out of here, Rose! I'm not sure how much longer I can hold him!" Jeff's panicked eyes met with Azura's briefly. 

If he was surprised at seeing her, he was not showing it right now. He was not showing anything except the tremendous strain it took to keep Lucas away. Sweat dripped down Jeff's reddened face and as her she slowly took the entire sight in, she noticed Jeff was slipping. Her hands were still on the snow-covered ground and Azura dug her fingers in the cold snow and dirt until her the fingers of her right hand curled around something hard and solid. She dug it out carefully while locking eyes with Lucas again. He was fuming by now. Anything but himself. This was not the man she knew and a piercing pain struck her as the thought of him never coming back, crossed her mind. 

"Get up, Azura! Come on!" Rose's voice was shrill and fear coated her words. Azura complied as she felt her friend tug on her left arm trying to drag her up. In her right, Azura concealed the rock she had dug up from the dirt, clenching it tight as she kept her eyes locked with Lucas.

Her legs felt like jello but she was standing. Her knees trembled, her mind swayed and her attention wavered as lightheadedness struck her. Rose grabbed onto her tighter, keeping her in place while Jeff cried out and cursed loudly.

It happened so fast Azura did not comprehend what was happening. She moved as if driven by instinct. Lucas lunged for her again. Rose screamed as he collided with Azura and tossed the three of them to the ground. The rock she had clenched in her hand connected with the side of his head as her arm had swung around in a motion Azura did not remember performing. 

Silence overcame them.

Azura breathed hard as she stared in shock at the limp body of Lucas. Blood trickled down the side of his head from where she had hit him with the rock. Just above his temple... A few centimeters lower and she could have killed him with one blow. He was still breathing now though but his eyes were closed and he was knocked out cold.

She dropped the rock. 

"Fuck... Fuck... Fuck..." Azura cleared her throat, the burning feeling was still there but it was soothing quickly as she dropped to her knees beside him.

The words left her trembling lips, quiet and raspy at first but she could feel her voice strengthen. Her fingers trailed the side of his face lovingly, followed his jawline as tears fell down on him. 

"You need to come back to me, Lucas... I need you to come back." She paused as she briefly looked up to see Jeff and Rose who had knelt next to them as well before turning her attention back to Lucas. "I'll come back for you. I'll find a way." She lowered herself and pressed her lips against his for a short moment. 

A sob escaped her lips. Azura clenched her fists and pounded on Lucas's chest before Jeff grabbed her hands and stopped her. She looked up at the man who always had been a strong pillar of happiness and joy in both their lives. She didn't care tear stains covered her face, she did not care she looked like a hot mess. The understanding in Jeff's eyes was enough to soothe and calm her even though he probably had no idea what was going on. 

"You need to go. Lucas might wake at any moment. He can't see you." Jeff was right. She knew it. She could not linger any longer and risk Lucas going crazy again.

"Thank you. Both of you." She softly spoke as she forced a small smile on her face. "And..." Her gaze went back to Lucas briefly. "Take care of him for now. I'll come back eventually. When I know how to fix this."

Jeff and Rose both gave her a small nod as Azura pushed herself up. She knew both of them had probably a thousand questions about what was going on but she was glad they did not ask. Her muscles protested with every move, her mind screamed to go back and help Lucas. She wavered a bit as she stood upright, still in shock from what had happened. The bruises on her neck would soon disappear she knew and she wasn't hurt physically in any other way luckily.

Reluctantly she turned her back to them. It felt so wrong to walk away like that, every fiber in her body screamed at her to turn around and go back but her feelings were not thinking straight. Her brain was by now and logic was the one thing she could rely on. With every step she took her emotions protested and she felt the fury ignite inside of her. It was growing with every step. Despair was replaced for anger.

Anger at the situation, at herself for leaving, her inability to help him and anger at the reason why Lucas had become an enemy. By the time she almost reached Killian and Zahair, she was fuming. She managed to channel all her fury at one point and for the first time since leaving Scire, she felt in control of her anger.

When she broke through the treeline Killian and Zahair immediately jumped up eager to see her again but their smiles dropped the moment the saw her red infused eyes and the strong and dangerous vibes coming from her. They backed up as she approached them until they both stood with their back against the car. Killian felt the tremendous power surging from her making it hard for him to breathe and even look her in the eye. 

"How long does it take to get to Scire from here?!" she snapped at them as she stopped a few steps away. Zahair cowered next to Killian at the power oozing from her voice. 

Killian flinched but managed to look up and meet her eyes. She was fueled by anger, but it was controlled. She would not hurt them. He tried telling himself over and over while wishing Kaenan was there with him able to calm her down. She was still unpredictable in this state and he would rather not have her explode.

"Five days by car... Two if you shift and cross the mountains." He managed to speak the words without fear coating the words too much. "But you can't go there! Marric would make you the enemy in a blink of an eye!"

"I don't care!" Azura fumed back. "He needs to pay! He needs to fix this!" 

"What happened, Azura? Challenging Marric without a plan is a mistake. He will know exactly what to do to manipulate you." Killian felt his fear fall the more he was speaking to her. Azura was like a sister to him and she needed to be protected before she would ruin every chance of life returning back to normal.

"It's a mistake I'm willing to make! I've made several so what's one more to set things right. Marric is going down whether you like it or not. He can surrender and help fix this mess or I'll force him. Kill him if needed." Her lips twitched up in a wicked smile as she mentioned killing Marric. 

She would enjoy it... It was not a question if she would kill Marric, it was the question of when she would kill him. Killian shuddered with the idea. Marric was a bastard, that much was true. He had manipulated and used everyone around him including Killian but death? Marric had the backing of the villagers. They had no idea of who he truly was, they would not let Azura barge in and kill him. No... Marric would use them, turn them against her and make her look like the enemy. The whole thing could backfire on her if she wouldn't be careful.

"I'm coming with you." Killian made up his mind. He couldn't prevent her from going but maybe he would be able to help her through the situation without too much bloodshed.

Azura stared at him for a moment as if she was debating what to do. Eventually, she gave him a curt nod.

"Fine. We move now and we travel across the mountains."