The Lycan Twins and the Phoenix Warrior

Chapter 6: Astrid's POV

"Do you think she will wake up?"

Huh? Who is that?

"I'm not sure, we did everything we could, but..."

"I know, her body sustained great damage, even if she wakes up, I'm not sure she would have the spirit."

Were they talking about me? And who are they?

"It tried to consume her soul, but for some reason, it stopped."

They seem to be debating about something that happened to me, but I am not sure what happened.

"Let's call the healer, she will know what to do," The voice said, and then I heard footsteps retreating.

I can't open my eyes, I'm so weak.

The darkness clung to me like a second skin, thick and suffocating. I tried to move my fingers, but my body refused to obey. It was as if I were trapped in a void, floating between life and death.

The voices came and went—muffled, distant.

"She should be dead."

"The phoenix nearly burned her from the inside out."

"Then why is she still breathing?"

I wanted to scream, to demand answers. But my lips wouldn’t part. My lungs wouldn’t fill.

Then—

A new presence.

Cold fingers pressed against my forehead, and a rush of energy jolted through me like lightning. My back arched off whatever surface I was lying on, a silent scream tearing through my mind.

"Easy, little firebird." A woman’s voice, smooth as silk and sharp as a blade. "You’re not done yet."

The pain flared again, white-hot, searing through every nerve.

And then—

Light.

My eyes flew open.

I gasped, choking on air like a drowning woman breaking the surface. The world spun violently, shapes and colors blurring into chaos.

A face swam into view—pale, with silver eyes and dark hair braided tightly down her back.

I didn't need to ask who she was; I could tell.

She was a healer.

She studied me with an unnerving stillness. "There you are."

I tried to speak, but my throat was raw, scorched from the inside. All that came out was a broken rasp.

"Don’t force it," she murmured, pressing a cup of something bitter to my lips. "Drink."

I swallowed reflexively, the liquid burning like acid—but the moment it hit my stomach, warmth spread through my limbs, dulling the agony.

My vision cleared slowly, revealing the room around me.

Stone walls. A low ceiling. The scent of herbs and damp earth.

And three figures standing at the foot of the bed, watching me with varying degrees of wariness.

One of them I could identify. It was Adrineh.

The healer realized I recognized one of them. The other two were two men, one of whom looked like he was the same age as me, with black eyes and curly brown hair.

He wasn't a phoenix, though. In fact, I didn't sense anything supernatural from him.

The other guy has bright red hair and green eyes, and this man was a wolf.

"Adrineh, talk to your friend," the healer ordered.

Adrineh nodded and stepped closer. I gave her a wary look.

I had no idea who these people were.

"You are safe here, Astrid," Adrineh said softly, her dark eyes searching mine. "They won’t hurt you."

Safe? That was a joke. The last thing I remembered was fire—so much fire—and pain. I... I lost control and let the phoenix inside me tear me apart from within.

I tried to speak again, but my voice was still a shredded whisper. "What... happened?"

The healer exhaled sharply. "Your phoenix spirit almost consumed you."

A beat of silence.

Then—

The memories slammed into me.

The ritual. The flames. The betrayal. The loss of control. The darkness as my soul started vanishing.

I flinched, my hands flying to my chest, expecting to feel charred flesh. But my skin was smooth. Unmarked.

Impossible.

"It should have killed me," I croaked.

The red-haired wolf crossed his arms. "Yeah. It should have."

The younger one—the human—shot him a glare before turning back to me. "Adrineh found us a year ago; she asked for our help."

"And who are you?" I croaked, my throat felt better, but it was still far from being in its best shape.

"Outcasts," The healer replied. "Tommy over there," she pointed at the werewolf. "Was thrown out of his pack because the Beta hated his guts and decided to frame him."

Wow...

"Niles over there," she pointed at the human boy. "Tagged along after his father threw him out because he is gay."

"What an ass," I mumbled.

The healer smirked at my remark. "Indeed. Either way, we were all thrown out of our packs, covens, houses, or villages, and decided to join forces."

I looked up. How many of them were they?

"We are a group of twenty people. Among us, you have some witches. With your friend, we found a way to help you with your phoenix, but even though I would love to say we did all the work, that is not the case."

Huh?

"What do you mean?" I asked, and my voice was still raspy.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Adrineh knew they would perform that ritual, so we stayed close. We never imagined seeing everything around the village turn to ash. Thankfully, we were able to save the children and some elderly people. Your flames didn't attack anyone with a good heart."

Thank Godness.

"That was strange, as you know, once you lose control of the phoenix, you kill everything in your way, but for some reason... You didn't," she furrowed her eyebrows. "Not only that, but once we got to you, we saw your body turn into ash. Immediately, we used everything in our power to protect you, but it seemed all our efforts were futile, and then..." She paused.

I watched intently, waiting for what she had to say next.

"Your body recovered on its own. Do you know what happened?" She asked.

I blinked twice, not sure how to answer her. I had no memory of anything after the phoenix started consuming my soul, so I only furrowed my eyebrow.

"I'll take that as a no," the healer said.

"Astrid doesn't know much about her phoenix side, her mother died years ago," Adrineh replied for me.

"A pity, there are not many records of phoenixes. I can't say if you still have the spirit or not," She said.

I looked at my hands and tried to focus on that spark, but... nothing. I didn't feel the fire I always felt.

"Better," I croaked, making everyone look at me once again.

"Pardon?" The healer asked.

"Better, I... don't want to... have that inside me," I replied as best as I could.

She didn't look surprised by my answer. Instead, she just bowed her head slightly in recognition.

"Then we will let you rest, guys, come on," She ordered.

Adrineh lingered behind, like she wanted to say something to me, but in the end, she turned around and left.

I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath.

I lost everything... my father betrayed my mother and killed her.

I... have nothing left to live. I'm not sure I want to anymore.

Soon, a stray tear formed in my eyes and fell down my neck.

Enough, Astrid!

I shook those thoughts away and decided I would no longer feel sorry for myself.

I'm not going to let them break me. No, what I'm going to do next is make sure he is dead.

Something inside me tells me it is not over.

First, I need to regain my strength, and then... I'm going to train.

———————————————————————

Three months later...

———————————————————————

The cold bite of the morning air stung my cheeks as I swung the practice blade in a sharp arc. Sweat dripped down my temple despite the chill, my muscles burning with exertion.

Again.

I adjusted my grip, pivoted, and struck the wooden dummy with enough force to splinter the post.

"Damn," came a low whistle from behind me.

I didn’t turn. I already knew it was Niles. He loves to watch me practice. I don't know why, but he developed a habit of watching my training sessions, though he rarely commented.

"You’re gonna break that thing if you keep at it," he said, stepping closer.

"Good," I muttered, wiping my forearm across my brow. "Then I’ll know I’m getting stronger."

Niles exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ariana says you’re pushing too hard."

"Ariana thinks I am pushing too hard because I almost died. She doesn't say the same about you," I countered as I drank my bottle of water.

Niles rolled his eyes. "She has a point; we were never on the brink of death."

"And I came back, that shows I still have some strength left, even if I am no longer a phoenix."

I could no longer feel it anymore. Even when I got angry, I could not ignite that fire inside. I am unsure if I feel better or worse because I can no longer summon it.

I mean... it almost killed me, but at the same time, I am not sure if I will be able to avenge my mother without it.

In the meantime, I am staying with what Ariana calls the 'Outcasts' Hideout."

We are in the middle of the woods; apparently, this place is protected by a magic barrier. We can see what happens on the outside, but nobody can see what happens on the inside. If anyone looked our way, all they would see is a forest.

The perfect place to hide.

Over the past three months, I’d learned more about this ragtag group than I ever expected.

There were witches, but they had created a coven and were the most secretive among the group. From what I've been told, most of them were thrown out of their covens because they practiced forbidden magic. The rest roamed around freely, including Adrineh and all the people who were saved the day I lost control. They stayed here because they had nowhere else to go, but since they didn't have any power, they will probably go and find a human town later.

Shifters like Tommy were mostly exiled for crimes they didn't commit, or their packs were completely destroyed, leaving them without a home. The only human was Niles, but even though he wasn't a supernatural, he could fight like one.

There were also bears, birds, a fairy, and two vampires.

And then there was me.

The phoenix girl who lost the spirit.

The one who should have died but didn't.

Ariana still didn’t have answers. They have checked my body numerous times, but haven't found anything. It was as if I never had it in the first place.

"You should take a break, Astrid. You train nonstop," Niles suggested, but I was not ready to leave yet.

"We can spar if you want," I countered, but he shook his head.

"Nope, no thanks. Last time you broke my ribs, and I am not a wolf, so the witches had to heal me."

I quirked an eyebrow, not understanding what the problem was. "They don't like me!"

"They must have a reason not to," I replied.

Niles was a good guy, but he enjoyed joking around, and witches don't like being teased. As I said before, they liked to stay in their coven, among their books and spells.

"I didn't do anything!" He tried to defend himself, but of course, I didn't believe him.

"Sure, you..."

The sound of a horn suddenly cut me off. Ariana had warned me about it, but I didn't expect to hear it, and so soon.

"We are under attack!"