By the order of Chris, a member of his weird military squad drove me home. I got out of the car swaying on my feet. I walked inside the house barefoot, with slightly torn and dirtied dress, but… I was alive, and I managed to save my boss, or at least, I helped saving him.
As the levels of adrenalin inside my body were slowly dropping I felt a stinging pain in the sole of the foot. I thought I must have got injured while running down stairs with Samil leaning on me. I raised my foot up and only then I saw it was bleeding… Actually, I had cuts on both of my feet, and I already left bloody footprints on the porch of the house and in the corridor leading to the kitchen…
In an instant, illogical reaction I took some cloth to wipe the blood from the floor first, instead of taking care of my feet, and so I wiped the floor… just to leave fresh blood in the same places again. When I saw it, I collapsed on the floor laughing from my stupidity and exha
Camilla Artois, the golden-haired fiancé of the man I deeply cared about, was now standing silently with a glare that was clearly telling me she was seconds before bursting out. I put down my concealer and glanced at her curiously.“What can I do for you, Ms. Artois?” I asked with a professional smile.“You little seductive bitch…” she squeezed through her teeth, “How long did you beg him to get to Lua Media anniversary instead of me?!”I sighed and closed my eyes. My heart ached too much for me to be agitated by her words.“Why does her type has to be so predictable?” I wondered.“Ms. Artois… why don't ask your fiancé about why he didn't ask you to come with him, and took his secretary instead,” I suggested calmly.“You dare talk back to me?!” she roared.At that moment, I had a feeling of déjà vu… I clearly had be
Elijah grabbed my hand and dragged me away from the crowd. We ran through the side alley to a small café at the back of our station. I didn't even know such place existed so near our headquarters. Before we walked inside he gave me a tissue so I could wipe my tears. He acted considerate, without asking any questions, just like a real friend… and I needed a friend at that moment.We walked inside, he led me to a seat by the corner, so we could have more privacy and ordered us some hot drinks, without even asking what I wanted. The waiter brought the order few minutes later.“Hot chocolate…?” I asked staring at my drink.“With chilly, sweet and spicy. Try it, it'll make you feel better,” he smiled kindly.I took a sip. The sweetness hit my tastebuds and immediately increased the level of dopamine inside my body. I smiled faintly.“See? I told you, it's good,” he chuckled.“T-thank
After reading a message from Samil and getting sure that I was not going to be fired I could finally try falling asleep. One thing was for certain, I was getting tired of constant accusations, I was getting tired of taking one step forward and two steps back. I became much closer to admitting that I needed Sister's help. She could truly become my only hope…Surely, I believed that my Grandma would do her best in finding a way to solve my problems, she was going to risk everything, so I didn't die on my birthday, but perhaps, that was the whole point… Deep in my mind I knew that she was even going to sacrifice herself in order to make me live, and I was not going to stand back and watch her decide on something like that. I needed to make a choice on my own, and my choice was clear. I had to learn how to fully understand and control my magic. I needed to work on some backup plan, in case it would turn out that Samil and I weren't meant to be together after all&hel
I kept crying and nervously panting for a long time before I finally regained my composure. I pitied Immara, or maybe I cried over my own soul, and I couldn't understand how could anyone treat another human the way she had been treated. Now I knew for certain it was one thing to read about it in history books, but experiencing it was something completely different. At the same time, I kept wondering why did I see this? I felt like my own soul wanted me to be aware of something that happened before, perhaps I should think of it as a warning, so that I wouldn't trust people easily, or I would be betrayed just like Immara was?I didn't know what happened, but it was obvious that Immara would never kill people, and if there were people from Sunakampo that were murdered, she was clearly framed. Another thing that was bothering me… who was that damn so-called “Princess” that was announced as Duke's legit fiancé?! I wished there was some way I could find ou
I followed Sister to the theatre's audience hall, where she had her “room” and tons of magic books she gathered over the years. She invited me to sit and offered a tea. Then she sat next to me and observed me with a faint smile.“What made you come here again?” she asked curiously.“A lot of things…” I laughed nervously, “But I think the main one was… I need to be able to protect the ones close to me and myself…”“Good,” Sister chuckled, “Tell about your magic. Tell me what do you feel when you cast a spell.”I took a deep breath before I answered her question, like a student at the oral exam.“I feel a force running through my body whenever I put my emotions in what I want,” I explained hesitantly.“But… I can see your are not certain of your own magic,” she glanced at me testing me.“I don't know whether
Grace and I were the first to sit by the table in the restaurant. We waited nervously for Charlotte and Sonia even though we knew each other for over four years and used to spend a lot of time together… at work. The problem was, we never acted as friends, moreover we often argue with each other. Of course, it was good then, because it led us to a lot of marvelous ideas none of us would have come up with alone. Yet, the situation now was slightly more complicated, since the truth was… we needed Charlotte and Sonia desperately, and far more than they needed us.As far as I was aware of, right after losing her job at TVM, Charlotte became a freelance stylist with a financial support from her newest boyfriend, while Sonia… got back to being rich and spoiled, unemployed lady. It was obvious that the kind of job they both would agree on was probably the one that would require minimum work with maximum salary, and concerning our project it was… almost the
After Grace and I convinced the girls to host the show that we were about to produce I left more at ease. I could finally take my mind off of work for a while and focus on practicing magic. I read the rest of the book that Sister gave me and already learnt a lot.I felt like I was closer to make objects move at my will… using wind power, of course. I reorganized Grandma's herbal garden, making all the plants grow faster and making flowers bloom, hoping she wouldn't kill me for it. I even thought of texting her and telling her about it, but then I figured it was much safer for me to let her see it after she comes back…The one element I wasn't able to control, no matter how I tried was – fire. Suddenly, I wondered if Immara could control fire before she was burned at the stake. If she did that would mean that one of the abilities my soul had, was gone because of Immara's cruel fate. It didn't sound fair at all.In all of the stories about some
My heart stopped, I couldn't breathe. I stood there staring at Samil blankly praying in my mind that he would fast deny his own words. If the woman looking at me right now was his current secretary, did it mean that I…“Am I… fired?” I mumbled petrified.“Of course not,” Samil smirked, “I thought that you should have more time to handle the production details and focus on the marketing project. Emma will take your place, and you will have your own office and new position. Take it as a promotion…”My face became expressionless. I felt helpless, everything within me screamed, my insides were boiling, yet all I could do was to stare at him like I entered some non-cognitive state.“You seemed upset,” Samil chuckled, “But you didn't like the office work anyway, did you? Now, you will get back on doing something creative, just like you wanted to.”My mimic muscles formed a f
Samil had never left my side on our way home, whether it was while we were on the ship or flying in the Bordas private jet. He kept asking me if I was ok. He did it so often that I started to find his concern over my health annoying. He wasn't the one that had been bothersome during our trip. Chris, Elijah and all the other men from Samil's army were coming one by one to apologize for trying to burn me at the stake. Although, I kept repeating that it wasn't their fault since they were controlled by magic, but recalling everything they had done while being compelled wasn't exactly helpful in recovery from their moral hangover… Despite the fact that I knew that it was all over and that I and everyone was safe, those horrifying moments were coming back each time I closed my eyes. Once I tried to get some sleep, I woke up screaming, but then Samil would hold me in his arms and tell me that there was nothing that could ever threaten us anymore. The warmth of his body was soothing
Suddenly, I heard nothing but crackling fire from the light of the torch. I hesitantly opened my eyes. Samil threw his torch at the bottom of the pile, yet it barely touched the wooden branches. The pile didn't start to burn. All it caused was a bit of smoke that was coming from one side of the pile. My heart was pounding frantically while my tears kept falling down my cheeks."Samil…" I mumbled, looking into his eyes.He raised his head and gazed at me. His expression was slightly different from before. It wasn't as blank as if his consciousness started to resurface again…"I love you…" I called softly, praying that it would be different this time, that my calling would finally reach him.He stared at me in silence, then slowly turned his head to look around. At that moment, he stopped resembling a mere puppet. It was like one of his strings had been cut. I could see him clenching his teeth. I gasped, desperately hoping that his reac
Ezzura had cast a spell that filled the entire island, including the irresilient to her magic Samil. She compelled everyone. Now, they were all her own army that obeyed her unconditionally…I guessed, she clearly wanted to torture my heart before she would burn my body, doing everything she could to break me. She picked a beach as a place where I should be burned at the stake, and she told Samil to take me there. I didn't have any strength left to resist. He tossed me over one shoulder like a bag of sand, and then he carried me out of the witches' castle. I tried calling his name, but he didn't react at all, as if he had become an empty shell that once had been someone who loved me…"I have to admit that your magic is extraordinary," Ezzura chuckled while walking to the beach. "Can you see how easily I had changed everyone into my puppets? Your magic in this life is even stronger than the one you had as Immara."She kept glancing cheerfully, admiri
For a few seconds, I was unable to open my eyes. I heard a continuous, high-pitched sound in my ears. It covered all the other sounds I could hear, and disturbed my focus. Finally, I forced my eyelids to open. My vision was slowly coming back… I was lying on the floor in the middle of the witches' courtroom, trying to comprehend what had just happened. I nervously lifted my upped body to sit and look around. When I did, I gulped. All the witches from the group of the eldest were dead. Their bodies were lying motionless on the ground. Some were covered in blood, some looked like they were electrocuted. It was a massacre, and I was sitting in the middle of it… Suddenly, I saw Ezzura nonchalantly walking around the hall, gloating over the victory. I flinched, then I clenched my teeth. My previous visions, Immara's memories, the feeling of betrayal, they all came back and filled every inch of my body. I instantly raised my hands in order to attack her, but… nothi
"W-what?" I murmured nervously, gazing at Sister.She avoided my stare. She must have known from the beginning that I was the incarnation of her younger sister, the one she told me about. Now, the fact that she claimed that she didn't remember her name and told me to call her "Sister" made me grit my teeth. Why couldn't she tell me?! Even if she wasn't certain if I remember my past life, couldn't she tell me that I look exactly like her late sister?! I felt confused and betrayed, and the most disturbing fact was that I had never recalled having an older sister in the memories of my past life…"Oh… I can see that she didn't tell you, did she?" Shelta chuckled coldly. "She had been told to gain your trust and kill you, but once she had learnt that you were sisters, she disobeyed the orders. She even decided to trick us to save your life, but you had to die even after you had lost your powers…"My head started to spin. I glanced at Sister. I co
There was a road outside the forest. It led straight to the witches' castle. It looked like a fortress. It had high stone walls around it, and an enormous iron gate at the front. Samil walked at the front. Sister and I were right behind him, and the rest of the soldiers marched in formation, moving towards the gate while constantly fighting off the witches. Finally, we forced the witches to run back to their castle. They ran to the gates, banging on them and desperately crying to those in charge to open the entrance. Yet Mahala and the rest of the witches in charge were deaf to their pleading voices. They would rather let them die at those gates than open them. I gave Sister a signal, nodding my head, and we hit those witches with our magic, making them fall into a coma."Chris, get the explosive to blast those gates," Samil ordered."Understood," Chris replied, then abruptly turned around to get the bombs ready."Wait!" I called out, "There's no need for that.
It was dawning when Sister finished her story. We managed to drink three bottles of wine, but certainly we didn't have to worry about getting drunk or having a hangover. Lack of sleep couldn't bother us either. That was the upper side of being a witch.After the whole night of talking, we used a few spells to improve our looks. Then I made us breakfast, and we were ready to work on making the cor inane for Samil's men. Chris showed up after 10 AM and brought the clothes and other things for Sister. Then his men delivered thousands of crystals, some for the amulets and some to make a powder that can be used on bullets. There was a lot of work ahead of me and Sister.For the first time, I was glad that Samil wasn't around. I felt more at ease then. I didn't have to worry about my boyfriend's peculiar behavior. I wasn't sure if he'd act the same way the next time he and Sister met, but I'd rather not think about it at the time...Sister was friendly towards everyon
I was exhausted from too much thinking. I was anxious, but I had to pretend that everything was all right in front of Sister. I didn't want her to jeopardize our alliance right before that big fight. It was something I couldn't afford. I wished Sister goodnight while wearing a perfect smile. I saw her casually lying in bed and closing her eyes. I wished I could fall asleep as peaceful as she did.I tossed and turned in bed, hearing my pounding heart. I was terrified. If Sister's magic wasn't effected by the power of the seal, it could mean that her abilities were far beyond mine. It could mean that Sister's magic was great enough to defeat the demonic power within the seal, and as far as I was concerned, no witch had ever done it. How could I consider myself as a witch from the prophecy then?I wasn't that arrogant to think of myself as the most powerful witch in the world. I had never craved for power. I just wanted to feel confident about winning, and now I was becom
Samil took Sister and me to my apartment. While driving, he turned out to be surprisingly considerate towards Sister and even sent someone to get clothes, shoes, and other basic stuff for her to accommodate comfortably in her new environment. Perhaps I should be glad that he was helpful, but I couldn't help it. It just bothered me more and more. I tried not to show it, yet keeping a smile on my face was no longer possible. Unlike me, Samil was… smiling. He was smiling towards Sister. I had noticed it a few times, and it instantly brought chills to my spine. He'd never been so submissive to me, and now, Sister said a single word, and he immediately made a phone call to get her what she wanted!I felt completely left out in a conversation while we were in the car. If I had been an outsider, I would have thought that she was Samil's girlfriend, not me. I didn't like it in the slightest. I kept telling myself that there were more important things to handle, things concerni