Chapter 119 Ocean Waves

Nikolai

My phone rang.

"It's an unknown number." Dimitri looked at the screen.

Dread spread across my heart. "Put it on speaker."

"Nikolai." A rough voice spoke. A voice I did not recognise it but it sounded familiar.

"I must admit, Avalyn here is delightful."

My heart dropped.

My knees shook.

My head spun.

"The both of you made a joke out of me. So I invaded your home and I will make a joke out of your mate in my home." My eyes slid shut when I realised who it was.

All fight left me. This is what I had saved Ava from once. I promised her no one will touch her without her permission. I promised her no one except me will touch her. I promised her she was safe with me. I promised her a safe home. A safe life. A happy life.

"Xillian." Dimitri hissed.

"How smart of you." He commented.

"What do you want?" Max spat.

"Nikolai. Find me. Come to my palace. Alone. I'll show you how to become a real King." He said, his voice hard. "I give you six hours. My coronation ceremony will end by then and the after-party will start. I can only stop my men and myself from having a piece of this faye for so long. But then who knows? I've haven't seen a woman as beautiful as her in centuries. I might not even be able to wait that long." And then he hung up.

All I heard was that he wanted me there.

A thousand thoughts flooded into my mind but I clamped them down. I don't need negative thoughts. I need my mind to work. I need to find Ava. And bring her back home. Safe. And untouched.

"Nikolai." Dimitri brought me out of my thoughts. "We need to find out where Ovzdusia is."

"I'll go call Anna. We can ask her to do a location spell." Max suddenly said. I could kiss him right now. I had completely forgotten about her. He rushed out to retrieve her and both of them along with Mikhail and Nat arrived in the west wing in five minutes.

"I will need four candles, a knife, a map, something that belongs to Luna Queen." Anna said.

I gave Tessa a look and she rushed to get everything.

"Do you have a wooden table?" She asked.

I nodded. "The coffee table in the living room."

"We should sit there." She said. I led her to the living room and she sat cross legged on the ground in front of the table. I took a seat across the table in front of her. Max, Natalia and Dimitri sat around the table too.

Tessa brought everything Anna said and placed it on the table.

Anna took the map and placed it in the middle of the table. She took the four candles and placed them on the corners of the map. She extended her hand, palm up towards me. "Give me your hand."

I placed my hand in hers. She picked up the knife and sliced my palm open and then turned my hand over before squeezing my hand in a fist. Drops of blood fell on the map.

When she thought it was enough, she released my hand.

She then picked up Ava's ring that Tessa bought and held it in her fist and started chanting something.

Suddenly, the candles lit themselves up, making all of us jerk.

Her chants grew louder and the blood started moving, without leaving any mark on the map. Slowly, the blood stopped in the middle of the ocean and Anna opened her eyes.

"What the hell." Max said flatly, "that's the middle of the ocean again. That's not possible."

"Luna Queen has to be here." Anna said confidently.

"Nikolai, show me the necklace location again." Mikhail muttered. Dimitri handed my phone to him. "This is the exact same place."

"Maybe, both the locations are correct." He added. "Maybe she is in the middle of the ocean."

"What do you mean?" Dimitri asked.

"Exactly what he said." Mikhaik said, his eyes connecting with Dimitri's. "Maybe there is something we don't know. If you notice, this is the south east of our island. The direction towards which Ovzdusia is located. The main island of Ovzdusia has to be nearby."

"I'm coming with you." Dimitri instantly said.

Mikhail is better with directions, finding stuff and he speaks all the languages there are in Jivan. "Change of plans. Dimitri, you're going with Natalia. Mikhial, you're with me."

"Yes, Alpha." Both of them said at once,

I went to my bedroom and started packing a bag with weapons. I don't want to waste any more time.

"I want to come too but I know it won't be wise," Max came in. "It's already going to be dangerous taking Mikhail."

"I know." I nodded. But I needed a back up. If I die, there should be someone who could free Ava. "If I don't make it back, promise me you will kill Adrik."

His expression darkened. Both of us knew Mikhail and I were going into the lion's den. There was no guarantee we will make out of there alive. Especially since it was just the two of us. I just know it's going to bite me in the ass in a couple of hours. But I know for a fact that taking the army is not a good idea. For the safety of Ava and for the safety of Soare-Luna.

"We will kill him together."

I didn't reply to that. I don't want to make fake promises.

I quickly packed a bag pack with all the necessities, slung it over my shoulder and walked out.

Xillian was the King of Air. Which was why traveling by air was a bad idea. We would have to travel by water.

I called Javier.

"Ava is in Ovzdusia." I told him. "We are taking a speed boat there. Make sure it gets there quickly." Javier is strong. He can easily change the ocean currents.

"Fine." He grunted and hung up.

We took the helicopter to the docks. The winds were so bad already that it took us way longer than what it normally should have. All of this is doing of fucking Xillian.

Once I get my hands on him, I'm going to torture him so bad, he will beg for me to kill him.

We landed on top of a yacht that had a helipad on it and then we ran to one of the speed boats. Time was crucial.

Mikhail got in the driver's seat and without waiting another second, we were out in the ocean.

The winds were really working against us but the water current was in our favour, thanks to Javier.

Ava consumed my thoughts.

I felt so guilty. I felt like it was my fault that she was kidnapped. And it was. There was no doubt about that. Maybe if I had told her to stay...maybe if I had convinced her to rest one more day...

Or I could have sent Dimitri with her.

I've committed so many sins in my life. This was long time incoming. This is what I deserve.

But she doesn't. And that is what makes it so much harder to watch. I just need Ava. I need to have her in my arms again. I need to hear her heart beat, I need to feel her head rest on my chest and hear my heartbeat.

I just need her.

Nothing and no one else.

Just please, keep her safe. Keep her safe for me till I get to her. I won't ask for anything else.

"Nikolai."

My eyes snapped to Mikhail's.

"We are going to get her back. Safe." He promised fiercely.

My eyes lowered.

Not only had I put my mate in danger, I had also caused them their Luna. I had also jeopardise the entire pack's peace.

Nothing will be the same without her. We tread the ocean in silence for a couple of hours, the waves helping us. Thank you, Javier.

"Nikolai?"

I lifted my head, not wanting to speak.

"We have a problem." Mikhail spoke over the sound of the wind and water.

My eyes snapped straight ahead.

There was a huge hurricane in front of us.

"It came out of nowhere. One second everything was normal and then the next, the wind started picking up really fast." He shouted.

Fuck.

It was so close that even if we try to avoid it, we will surely get sucked in. I could already feel the pull of the the winds.

"Call Javier." He should know what to do. I was on uncharted territories. I was good on land. In any situation, I knew what to do. But water, that was out of my expertise.

"No network." He shouted.

The boat started rocking hard.

I opened the locker under the seat and took out the life jackets and three ropes. The most important thing for us right now was to remain together. If someone caught one of us, we were dead. With the two of us together, we would give a decent fight.

"Wear this and tie ropes to them. We have to stay together." I shouted and then tossed them one jacket to Mikhail, tied the three roles to my jacket, twisted the ropes to make them stronger before tying them to his jacket .

The skies were dark because of clouds but sun managed to shine through them. We could see each other well but because of the high intensity of the winds, the ocean water was spraying around, making it seem like it was raining hard. Both of us were drenched by now.

I could barely maintain my footing.

"Now what?" He looked worried.

"We jump in the water." He held my eyes, making sure he heard me right.

"This is all because of the winds. The water is calm and the flow of the water is in the general direction of Ovzdusia. It will be easier to swim  underwater than to brave this hurricane. If we get sucked into it, its the end for us." I explained my plan to him even though I didn't need to. I know that one word out of my mouth and Mikhail will do it. But I wanted him to know my logic. That I wasn't just spiralling during trying times.

It sounded crazy to myself too. Especially when we had no idea where Ovzdusia was and how far we are from it.

But it's the only thing that made sense to me. So that is what we were going to do.

Ava needs me.

And I'm going to get there. By hook or crook.

And then suddenly a part of the boat broke and joined the whirlwind.

"Jump." I yelled over the noise of the winds and the water. "Now."

And then we jumped in the vast expanse of the ocean.

I took a huge gulp of air before I submerged in the water.

We started going deeper and deeper till I motioned him to keep swimming.

We could hold our breath underwater for seven to ten minutes. If we swim really hard and really fast, we should make it out on the other side. The hurricane was really close to us as it is.

We started swimming under the hurricane.

But I had mistaken the effect the hurricane would have under the water too.

And then we got sucked into the whirlwind.