ONYX'S POV: In less than twenty minutes, the vehicle that will be taking them to the temple is ready. I followed after the priest, wanting to get more information from him. "For how long will they be with you?" "For as long as they recover. When the culprit has been found, we can have that conversation." I sighed. Why was the priest acting in this manner? The man used to be nice to him as a little boy but now, he had become stricter for no reason. "Make sure you find the culprit. And they must be executed. We can't have people concocting dangerous poisons and giving it to innocent people," When we got outside the gates, the vehicle was ready and my parents were placed into the limousine I had ordered for them to be carried in. It was spacious enough for them both to lay on the chairs and as the Priest alighted into the car, I watched them drive out of the palace. "What the hell is happening? When does this ever end?" I say to myself. This is the most c
HAZEL'S POV: I am still standing in the garden in shock. What the hell just happened? Onyx kissed me? I shake my head immediately. It must be a dream or a trance or whatever! I turn and sit back on the stone chair. I am meant to have gone inside now but I can't bring myself to go in. I might encounter Onyx on the way and I do not want the awkward tension that comes with it. I am breathing heavily now and my senses are heightened. I feel my skin tingle with what? Desire? No way. I do not desire Onyx in any way. I never have. And not just a kiss will make me forget all the evil he has done to me. Never! It was getting darker and night animals had begun their nocturnal duties. I needed to go in now. But when I look up, I find Theresa standing there, looking at me with a smug smile on her face. "You look like you saw a ghost. But you're blushing now. Did you do something you shouldn't have?" She asks as she stalks towards me. When I see that s
STELLA'S POV: I have been thrown into the dungeon. No, it's not the normal prisons where offenders are sent to. This one looks more creepy. It's like a tunnel and as I am pushed towards the entrance, the guard keeps telling me I'd be scathed alive. He tells me that one of the anatomists will be brought to tear off my whole skin till all of my nerve endings respond and I feel nothin but eternal pain. I am scared. What's the worst word to use? Terror. Angst. I closed my eyes because I know that seeing this place would mar me for life. I should tell them who asked me to do it but I'd still be killed. I might not have been the mastermind of the act but I was the perpetrator. Selah had used me to do her dirty work with ten grand. Ten grand. A huge amount of money. She had used it to keep me shut, to make me fantasize over the things I would do to the money. I had always thought about running away from here and living an honest life with
SELAH'S POV: The next morning, I woke up with a yawn. It was the dawn of a new day and for a few minutes, I totally forgot about the whole thing that happened yesterday. Everything seems different. The whole atmosphere, the dawn of a new day. Birds chirped in the trees and saturated sunlight leaked through my open window panes. A smile flooded my face and I turned and walked towards the door. I'm so hyped up for today. Opening the door, I leave my room. I find my father in the kitchen and this time, he's brooding. I hope he's not thinking about my mother this time? I'd be really mad at him. "Hey, Dad. Good morning." He jolts like he's just getting out of a trance. When he sees me, he smiles weakly. "Hey, honey. How are you?" I take a seat on the stool beside him. "I'm okay, Dad. But I'm worried about you," "Worried about me?" He asks and chuckles. "Yes. You've been really silent and I don't even know. Is it because of mum?" He smiles and
HAZEL'S POV; I woke up with a start this morning. Last night, the palace bells had been ringing loudly but I had been too sleepy to actually know what was wrong. But now I was wide awake and able to think properly, I knew the mastermind had been caught. So I immediately climbed out of my bed and rushed to take off my robe from my dresser. Tying it around my waist, I rushed out of my room, my destination, Onyx's office. I'm sure he'd be there this morning. Once I got to his door, I knocked and I was asked to come in. Onyx was seated behind his desk and his head was in the palm of his hand, a line he was thinking about a lot. "What are you doing there?" The harshness of his tone made me move back a bit. I thought he had kissed me yesterday? I mean, he had looked at me like he had grown a soft spot for me. Why was he acting harsh? I stood my ground anyway. "Uhm, I came to ask what the outcome of last night was. I was asleep when I heard the bell and I was too
CHERRY'S POV: Something about Onyx's demeanor didn't feel right. The way his eyes darted from side to side when I asked him about our parents' whereabouts. I knew he was lying about something and I was going to find out. Last night was when I opened my eyes after eight weeks. Luckily for me, one of the maids had just come in that night to change my sheets. She screamed at the top of her voice before running out of my room to get Onyx. When he came back, he was so happy. I was engulfed in a long hug until the doctor arrived and told him I shouldn't be exerting so much energy. But I was so happy to see my brother after a long time. I was about to ask for my parents when the doctor injected some weird liquid into my skin. Before I could complete my statement, I was fast asleep. Waking up this morning, the first thing on my mind was to find my parents. Before the maids came in, I had sneaked out of my room to go to them. I was getting prepared to yell at them for not
HAZEL'S POV: I don't know if this is a trance but how did she move from pushing me to the ground to apologizing to me? I didn't believe her at first. I mean, she can't just come to me for an apology and expect me to accept it immediately. But I'm scared of her. Her presence makes me nervous and after everything that happened, all I wanted to do was please her no matter what. I didn't want to offend her and I felt like not accepting her apology and forgiving her would make her angry. She even had a dizzy spell that made me so worried and in my head, I could hear her blaming me for making her this way. I was indebted to her no matter how mean she was to me. "I forgive you." The smile across her face was so wide that I thought her lip would crack. But it didn't. She pulled me into a hug and I froze. I must be in a dream, right? I must have a dream. Because Cherry can't be hugging me. She used to hate touching me. She used to push me away from her.
ONYX'S POV: I just knew that there was something wrong. Right from when I found them both at the garden talking to each other like they were long lost friends to the dining room. I watched Cherry as she spoke to Hazel. Hazel seemed uncomfortable but she was unrelenting. I knew my sister. She would suddenly become your friend just so she could get something out of you. But what was it? What exactly was it? I had asked everyone to keep the news of the happenings of yesterday from her. I had also asked them to keep shut and not answer her even if she threatened to report them to me. I knew Hazel wasn't going to tell her such a thing. She was a wise woman. I watched Hazel leave the dining room and when Cherry stood to her feet moments after, I gave her a look. "Why have you suddenly become close with Hazel? When did you suddenly stop hating her?" Cherry shrugged and quickly wiped her mouth. I knew there was something she wanted to talk about. There r