Amon's POV

So it actually happened.

Milo and I confessed our love for each other last night. In any other situation, I'd be incredibly happy.

But now I'm lying awake, waiting for Milo to wake up so I'm not alone with my thoughts anymore.

I'm scared. There's a high chance I won't live to see tomorrow.

But I can't think about that now. I need to be strong. For the Coven. And most importantly for Milo.

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. Oh, shit, that's not good. Milo and I are still cuddled together, naked. Yes, there's a blanket over our bodies, but still.

Sophia walks inside. "Good morning", she says, her face serious.

Milo moves a little and opens his eyes. We both just stare at Sophia. Well, this is awkward.

"I hope you two feel rested. This is an important day", she says, still not showing any kind of reaction to the fact that Milo and I are naked in bed together.

"Morning", both Milo and I reply a bit weakly.

"You guys alright?", Sophia asks chuckling.

"Yes, uhm, I'm sorry, I... I didn't expect you to react this way", Milo replies.

Sophia chuckles. "Oh, did you want me to act surprised? The only thing that surprised me is that it took you two so god damn long. I mean, you have been gazing into each other's eyes since day one, I thought you'd move a bit faster than that."

We just look back at her, both blushing. She smiles. "Also, I hate to interrupt your cuddling, but... we have a war to fight."

We both nod and Sophia leaves again. We both shower and get dressed. We have breakfast and then put on our armor.

Before we walk out to the big hall, I pull Milo closer one more time and kiss him.

"I love you", I say softly.

He gently strokes my cheek. "I love you too. Be careful, okay? You know you can do this. You've got it in you. Just believe in yourself, okay?"

I smile at him. "Of course. Thank you. Be careful too, alright?"

"Of course."

We hug tightly one more time before we walk up to the rest of the sorcerers who are assembled. I gulp. A lot of them are looking at me. Their hopes lie in me. The future of The Crimson Coven is in my hands.

I keep telling myself that I'm strong enough. That I can do this. I'm scared, but I believe in myself.

A few minutes later, Caspian arrives and creates a megaphone with his red glow.

"We have to win today. Failing is not an option." He looks at me when he says that and I gulp. "Today decides over the future of The Crimson Coven. Azrael must be destroyed. Everyone here knows their role. And I hope everyone here is ready to give everything for this coven."

He finishes his speech and then we all drive to the portal. Milo takes my hand as we step through it and I gently squeeze his. We step through and arrive on a hillside. We let go of each other's hands even though I really don't want to.

Then we get into position and wait.

I think about my life for a bit. I wrote letters to my friends and family, telling them that I love them, in case I don't make it out alive. I've asked Milo to send them in case I die today and he survives. I would have loved to talk to all of them one more time before today. I know they'd all believe in me.

Hours pass and I think it's about to be 12. I look down at my hands, thinking about the spells I've created with them and the things I'm able to do.

I believe in myself. I believe in myself.

"It's time", Philomena suddenly says and I flinch a little because it had been quiet for so long.

I take a deep breath and turn to Milo to whisper one more "I love you". He says it back and then I have to focus on the fight.

This is it.

The battle begins. Time to end this war.

We start floating towards the army of Onyx sorcerers that's coming our way. Purple sparks emerge from my hands.

I'm ready.

We get closer and closer and then they attack. I block the first spell and shoot back, still floating in the air. I drop back to the ground to be more stable. I shoot more energy blasts.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I see Milo battling with two at the same time. Then a third enemy flies up to him and he's struggling to defend himself.

I blast my current opponent away and rush over to Milo and help him fight the three off.

Turns out we're a pretty damn good team. We defend and attack together and so far, we're doing great.

We keep going like that for a while and I'm starting to lose all sense of time. So far, we seem to be stronger. But I haven't seen Clio and Azrael anywhere yet...

By now, I know spells to kill other sorcerers. But I haven't used them yet. I know I might have to today, but... I'm kind of dreading it. So, for now, I'm just sticking to spells that are gonna knock them out.

Suddenly, the clouds turn dark within a second and we hear thunder. Then we see a silhouette fly out of the sky and land a few yards away. The person seems to be glowing with a golden glow. 

Huh, that was basically a Thor entrance, but not quite as cool. I mean it's not Chris Hemsworth. 

Milo's eyes widen. "Azrael."

He jumps in the air and starts floating towards him. I decide to follow him.

"He has the key!", Milo yells.

Oh god. I follow Milo through the air, but suddenly, a familiar face appears in front of me. Clio.

"So, we meet again, Amon", she says with a smirk.

"I guess we do, it's been a while", I reply and prepare to defend myself - and attack her. 

The big difference to last time is the fact that I genuinely believe in my abilities now. I know I can defeat her. I'm strong enough. I got this.

She starts shooting energy blasts at me and I put up my shield and start shooting back. She gets thrown back a bit in the air, caught off guard by my attack. She's underestimating me.

And that will be her downfall.

I shoot attack after attack at her, not giving her time to attack me. All she can do is defend herself at that moment.

She lets herself drop to the ground and I do the same thing. We just stand there for a while, our arms raised, staring at each other.

"You think you can be like us, Amon? You're nothing. The prophecy is a lie, none of it is true, it's-"

If you think I'm gonna let her finish her stupid monologue, you are dead wrong. I don't have time for her bullshit. All she's gonna do is try to make me self-conscious and I won't let her succeed.

I shoot energy blasts at her and she stumbles to the ground. I keep shooting at her and eventually knock her out.

As I'm standing above her body, I'm thinking about what I should do next. Am I supposed to kill her?

I can't do that. No, I... I'm not a murderer. I use a spell that chains her arms and legs together. Then I levitate her away from the battlefield, somewhere where one of ours can take her as a prisoner.

I turn back to the fight. Suddenly, I hear screaming. And I realize with horror that Milo is the one screaming out in pain.

Oh no.

I float into the air to see what's going on. I see Azreal, Ares' Key around his neck, fighting against Milo who's just floating in the air, his arms and legs sprawled out from his body. He's still screaming in pain.

I realize what Azrael is doing. He's using the morsus curse.

"No!", I yell.

I fly towards Azreal as fast as I can and shoot an attack at him. He turns to me and therefore the morsus curse stops. But that means Milo is no longer floating and now falling.

I catch him with an energy ball and set him down on the ground. Then I turn to Azrael who's grinning at me.

"I've been expecting you, Amon Poe."

"Good", I reply threateningly, "I hope you're scared."

"Fear is not in my vocabulary", he replies with a slight smirk. 

"Maybe. But it's in your eyes."

He raises his eyebrows in surprise and I shoot an attack at him. I let out all of my anger, all of the emotions that I have pent up since the last battle. And believe me, there are a lot. He puts up a shield.

"That's what happens if you hurt the people I love", I yell at him.

He narrows his eyes. Then he holds up his arms, seemingly charging an attack. "Love is for the weak."

God damn, that dude really is Voldemort.

As I see his attack fly towards me, I have to react. I throw a glance at Milo who's lying on the ground, unconscious from the immense pain he had to endure.

And then it's like I feel every feeling at once: Anger, love, fear, pride, hope - everything. I reach out my hands and close my eyes.

In my head, I can hear Milo tell me that he believes in me and that he loves me. It gives me so much strength. 

I open my eyes again and shoot out an energy blast and the two attacks collide.

His black glow against my vibrant, purple glow. If I let go, the impact is probably gonna kill me. I have to pull through.

It takes all of my strength to keep the force field up. I scream in pain, but I can't stop now. I need to pull through. I believe in myself. 

"You can do this!"

That was Milo. Not just in my head, but in real life. Hearing his voice makes me even stronger and I put everything in. It feels like there's electricity pulsing through my veins. Time seems to stand still. I can hear Azrael screaming as well.

I believe in myself.

I. believe. In. Myself.

Suddenly, Azrael seems to let go. His attack stops and he flies through the air and hits the ground.

Meanwhile, I let my hands sink and collapse to the ground.

Milo runs up to me. "Amon!"

I close my eyes, not feeling fully conscious anymore. My whole body is trembling and I'm breathing very heavily.

"Amon."

Milo kneels next to me and carefully touches my arm. "Are you okay?", he asks, sounding scared.

I force myself to open my eyes again and look at the man I love. His face is a bit bruised up but otherwise, he looks more or less fine, apart from the morsus curse of course.

"Did I do it?", I ask weakly.

"I-I think so", he replies and I see that he's wiping away a tear.

I smile at him in relief and take his hand. "I did it for you", I whisper, "I love you."

He smiles back at me, more tears in his eyes. "I love you too."

I lie my head down and groan in pain. I close my eyes again.

"You can rest now, okay?", Milo says gently. "We'll get you back to the headquarters and we can both rest, and you're gonna be okay."

I smile as I feel him kissing my forehead.

"Everything is okay now", is the last thing I hear before I lose consciousness.