It feels like a million stars are exploding in Evarius’s mind as he pulls Tasha closer to him and kisses her, savoring the feel of her soft lips. He moves his hands into her hair as their lips move in sync. He feels her hands on his back as her tongue slowly explores his mouth. They kiss as if their life depends on it, on this moment with each other.It feels like an eternity before Tasha moves away, and Evarius looks into her gray eyes as she smiles. He has no idea what to say. The number of times he had imagined what it would be like to kiss her was nothing compared to what it was actually like. He is speechless.“I... well... um... wow,” he stammers.Tasha laughs softly.“Maybe I shouldn’t have,” she says.“Maybe.”“But I did.”“You did.”“And I don’t regret it.”“Neither do I.”They stand there looking at each other. Tasha takes a deep breath, “Maybe a few more things that I won’t regret... if you’re okay with it, of course.”“You bet,” he says as he pulls her closer by her hand a
Lilia has spent the last two days in the same room. She has no idea what is happening outside or what will happen to her. Chiara comes in occasionally to give her food. At least the food is good. They have started giving her a healthier diet now. This is one of the things that has assured Lilia that she is pregnant. The other thing happened in the morning today when she felt nauseous. Her breasts also feel more tender than usual. Her period is still due next week. If she misses that, it would be a sure-shot sign, obviously.She feels so tired and is wondering if it’s because of the pregnancy or the stress that she has been put through the past few days. Maybe both. Chiara had said that they had stopped the ritual because they found out that Lilia was pregnant. Does this mean that they would not do it for the next nine months? The thought that she might have to stay here for nine months, probably alone and locked up is terrifying. She doesn't know what they are truly up to. She feels
As going outside has become dangerous, the occupants of 24B in Arrowall have been spending more and more time inside. But they have all taken to patrolling the nearby areas in groups of twos and threes. Since the attack on Sabina and Tyrus, they haven’t seen or felt anything that can be termed as problematic or dangerous. Tonight, Tyrus and Sabina are patrolling the edges of the jungle, hoping to find something that can help them out or hint at what they are possibly facing.“Does Tasha like Evarius?” Sabina asks out of nowhere.“What?... um... I don’t know,” says Tyrus, taken by surprise. “They are friends... I guess... If that’s what you mean.”“No, I mean more than friends. Is something there?”“If there is, I have no idea. Maybe you should ask Esther. She is good at this stuff and is also closer to Tasha than I am.”“Oh, I see. They really love each other, Brent and Esther. Don’t they?”“Yeah...”“It’s very sweet," Sabina muses.“Why did you ask about Tasha though? Does Evarius li
The news of what Sabina and Tyrus had overheard reaches Tasha and Evarius, and Tasha thinks that it’s finally time to go to Arrowall. The time she has spent with Evarius in the past few hours now seems like a dream as the reality of the situation they are in sets upon her.“Are we telling the others that we are a thing now?” Evarius asks as they sit in the car to leave early the next morning.“What thing are we?” Tasha asks playfully.“Whatever you want us to be...”“Umm... I think we should wait till we rescue Lilia. What do you think?”“I think that would be appropriate.”After five more hours of driving, they finally reach Arrowall. Tasha has brought Valkyrie’s book with her this time and a few other books. They have also brought a supply of vervain, wolfsbane, wooden bullets, guns, and pelters. The rest of the group had also gathered some stuff for themselves.Tasha had barely reached the door of the house when Damion opened it from the other side and started questioning her about
The group reaches the forest, and now they are so well adept to the path that it takes them about fifteen minutes to reach the clearing. Evarius carried Tasha, as usual, and when he did so, Esther winked at her.All of them take shelter behind trees and bushes as Tasha begins to cast her shield a few meters away from the target place. It takes her merely five minutes to do. She is getting very good at all this now, although she knows that it could have been done even faster. But she'll get there too. Then, she proceeds to work on the Junta’s shield. This takes a bit longer. The undoing usually takes slightly longer. But she manages it all right. About twenty minutes later, the group is standing on the periphery of the clearing full of small huts that are now clearly visible. But they can’t see Lilia or anyone else for that matter. This strikes as odd to them.“Maybe the junta sleeps early?” Sabina suggests in a whisper“The few times we met them, it didn’t look so,” Damion says.“I am
“Home?” Echoes Damion. “You mean Byfall?”“Yes!”This puts a damper on the mood in the house. If Carl is home, then most probably he is not working with the Junta anymore because why on earth would the Junta go there?“Maybe they got sick of his shit and didn’t want to associate with him anymore,” says Damion. “Not the first time for that to have happened.”“Maybe,” says Tasha sadly.There is no one else to track, and for the first time since Lilia was kidnapped, they literally have nothing to go on. They have no idea what to do or where to go. The most they can do is sit in the jungle and wait for the Junta to return with Lilia. But what if they do not plan to return until the new moon? That might be too late.“No,” says Nadia slowly, and everyone looks in her direction, “what if the Junta really is in Byfall County?”“Why would they be?” Tyrus asks.“For the same reason that Tasha stayed back there. She needed a place that was close to her. Maybe the Junta need a place that Lilia ha
Lilia wakes up in a dark room. As her eyes adjust to the darkness, she notices that she is not in the same room she had gone into after the Head had done the spell to ‘protect her baby.’ This room is more spacious, and it doesn’t look like it’s in a hut like the previous one. The bed is also comparatively bigger and comfier. If she had not known better, she would have thought that she is in a safe place. This room certainly did not look like a place you would keep someone who is being held hostage.Lilia gets off the bed and scrambles to the window. It is dark. It either means that she has only been unconscious for some time, or it means that she has been knocked out for almost an entire day. She does not know which is more terrifying. She pulls back the curtains and sees a vast stretch of darkness in which she can make out some trees but nothing else. There is no way of telling where she might be.She then hears a noise from behind her. Someone has entered the room. They switch on th
The morning comes, and now Lilia sees where she is. She still does not recognize the place, but she can tell that they have left their previous sanctuary because the vegetation here is quite different. The trees are taller and larger, and the undergrowth is sparser than it was in the last place. But she is still locked inside a room. The only ray of sunshine is that at least this one has enough space for her to roam around, and the window is large enough to enjoy a decent view outside. She feels that the house is at some height and wonders if she is up in the mountains. She also thinks that she is at the back of the house because there is only a small open space that she can see, the rest is just rows upon rows of trees. Also, she can spot no one. She wonders if it’s just her and Chiara in this place. That would be very odd though. But she can't spot or hear anyone else.Why did they bring her here is what she does not understand. Is it because of the baby? Do they think that it would