I'm pretty sure my jaw stays open for a good number of minutes before I remember to close them back. There are four gammas making their way in, two on either sides of her. She's dressed in a simple white dress, soiled all the way down the front with what seems to be blood. Her braid has come undone and her hair falls around her face in big, thick volumes so that I can't even see her face. The shackles around her wrists and ankles are huge and choppy, slightly tinged blue purple, indicating that they are not the usual shackles that just about anyone can get out from, the harder you try to tug against such shackles, the more they dig into your skin and leave traces of their poison behind. What exactly the hell is Edna doing in this position? She looks so tiny and frail in between them as she's being dragged in like a doll who weighs nothing. When they throw her forward, sending her screeding across the floors, I can't take it anymore. I push to my feet and rush forward, lowering myself
Even when Edna hadn't denied committing the murders, a part of me had still been very desperate to believe otherwise. I thought to myself ‘But she couldn't possibly hurt a fly. She just simply doesn't have the means to’. I couldn't be more wrong. Being one of the top students of a top secret guild tells me all I need to know, and sadly, it also explains so much. “Was the young lady present with you at every single instance when the murders happened?”. The detective asks. My mind casts back to each time, the first time at the welfare centre with Euli….she had been there. The second time at the dinner with the ladies….she had been there. The meeting though…..when Rio had come for me, she wasn't present. Which begs the question, how the hell exactly did he end up dead? “Yes, yes she was”. I say shortly. A small murmur issues on the table and I see heads bent together as the elders discuss among themselves. This is not looking good at all. “The Luna has confirmed it. This young lady, by
I hold my emotions in perfectly well all through my bath. I try not to think of Edna as I run the water for my bath which is usually her job, as I choose pyjamas for the night which is usually her thing, as I ignore the silence of my quarters which would have been filled with her voice on a normal day. Even when I come back out of the bathroom and meet the clothes I had taken off still on the floor where I left them, I hold it in pretty well. It's when I sit in front of the mirror to comb through my hair for the night that I finally come undone. I sit down on the chair, staring into the mirror. Slowly, I reach for the comb and run it's teeth through the wet strands of my hair. After the first comb, I subconsciously stare at my back, expecting to see her pop and take the comb out of my hands, stand behind me and comb through my hair gently while we talk about all the nothings. But that never happens. After I run the comb through a second time, I finally lose it. It starts out as a sob
The day of the hearing finally comes and I make my way down to the board room, my heels clicking sharply on the tiles. Empty is an understatement for how life has been without Edna. At random times, it has felt like she's still around. A whiff of her scent here and there, her voice, her laughter…..I keep expecting to see her bent over the tub as she prepares my bathwater every morning. Sitting by the mirror to do my hair and makeup has become hell as I keep expecting to see her take the comb from me and help me with my hair. None of that ever happens. Once more I've lost a piece of my soul, and I'm not sure I'll be healing anytime soon. That's exactly the ideology I use in choosing my outfit today. I'm dressed in black from head to toe, a simple black dress, a black belt and shiny black stilettos. My hair is scraped back into a sleek, tight bun and my face is mostly bare. If it looks like I'm mourning, it's probably because I am. I walk into the board room to see that everyone is alr
My head whips so fast in Draaven's direction. Death? Deathhhh???? There's a murmur of approval from the council on the table and it seems like everyone but me agrees with this decision.“Death?”. I ask, my voice filled with disbelief. I glance down at Edna and she's just staring at the floor not one emotion on her face. “Isn't…isn't that a little too much?”.“The suspect has left three families bereaved”. Draaven says angrily. “Someone has lost a daughter, a son, a father, a protector. The children of one of her victims are now fatherless. They are going to live all their lives missing out on a father's love. And paying her back in her coin is too much?”. The air deflates out of my body and I fall back to my seat in defeat. My mind casts back to the image of Rio's children on the day of his death, those two sweet girls who hadn't even known what was going on, his wife who now has to shoulder the responsibilities of a mother and a father while trying to be strong for her kids. It's tru
I lay in bed for the rest of the day and cry my eyes out. Now that we are at this point, I suddenly realize that Edna and I never did take any pictures together. I wish I had thought ahead and kept memories of all the memories we had together. Sometime around 6pm, a gamma comes around to confirm if I will be honouring Edna's wish. It had taken me a minute as I had weighed my options. I've never really been in this position, a position where I've had to count down to someone's death with them. I don't know what to do, I don't know what to say to her. I'm mad she did what she did and put all of us in this situation, I'm sad that she never told me about what went on through her head, she never let me help her stop her actions, she never trusted me enough to. Even the basic things like her relationship with Adrian, she never told me. And now look where we are.After much contemplation, I had told the gamma that I'd be honouring the wish and he had told me that the feast would be by 8pm. I
My breath hitches in my chest at her words but I make sure not to show too many emotions or express how deeply her words have surprised me. She takes another swig of her wine and sighs heavily.“I loved that bastard”. She says with a chuckle but I hear the pain in her voice. “And he damn well took advantage of that”. She goes back to being quiet and I wait for her to continue. When she doesn't, I realize I can't wait forever. I need answers now. So I begin some questioning of my own.“What happened? Tell me everything that happened between the both of you….and how exactly we landed here”. She lets out another sigh before talking.“We met shortly after he arrived. He was an asshole but….”. She chuckles and turns to me. “... y'know….back in the guild, they always told me something. Based off my dating history, they told me that I was always attracted to the scums of the earth”. She chuckles deeper. “I've proven them right once again”. I don't share in the laugh and when it dies down, sh
Suddenly, it feels like a huge picture has been painted in front of me. And right now, everything seems to make sense a thousand times more.The deaths.Edna.Adrian.Me.It was all a big web woven by Adrian to trap all of us in. He manipulated and used Edna's feelings so he could in turn get to me. Everything is an interconnected web of plans….and right there at the end of it, supposedly the prize of the day is me. But to what end? During our few interactions, I personally don't think Adrian has ever shown more than the usual interest in me. This is all coming as one big surprise. How long has he been weaving this web? How long ago did all of this even start?“Oh….oh..my God…..”. That's all I can say as everything dawns on me. Edna looks at me with a small smile on her face. “You understand everything now, don't you?”. I do, I've never seen a clearer picture. I remember my mind going to Edna as Adrian had professed his so-called feelings. I had wondered to myself what exactly was ha
The war had been going on outside. Explosions were shaking the grounds of Shadowflame and I was in the armory issuing out more weapons when i had seen my mum rushing towards me. “Mumm!!!!”. I had screamed running towards her. “What are you doing here? You should be at the tower!!!!”. Her eyes had looked frenzied. “Come come”. She had grabbed my arm and pulled me towards a corner of the room. “Mum what's wrong?”. “You have to go to Silver Glow right now”. I had stared at her like she was crazy. Silver Glow? Why the hell would I ever go to Silver Glow, the territory of our long term enemies. “What are you talking about?”. “Valeria, listen to me”. She gripped my hands shakily, her eyes wide and panicked. “You need to listen to me. Go to Silver Glow and ask of the alpha, Draaven Ventura. Tell him I sent him to you”. “Mum those are the enemies. Why would they do anything to help you?”. “Just listen to me!!!!!”. She had yelled. “Just tell him I sent him to you, that the long time p
“Because you were my perfect revenge against your father”.I feel cold hearing the words from his mouth like this. “My father? What did my father do?”.“Valeria can we sit….”. “I'm not going to sit. I'm perfectly fine where I am”. He sighs again and runs his fingers through his thick hair.“I told you about Lilly….”. Adrian was right after all. It was about Lilly, it always has been. “....I didn't tell you the full truth. She left me…but she was taken first”. My knees really feel like jelly right now and I realize that maybe I do need to sit down after all. I hobble towards the nearest seat and settle into it. He reaches forward to aid me but I more or less swat his hand away. I don't need anything but the truth from his right now.“Tell me everything I need to know. From the beginning to the end”. He comes to settle down in the seat Adrian had been sitting on just earlier. And then he begins talking.“A couple of decades ago, Silver Glow was still ruled by the Fulstein clan”. Fulste
The first thing I think to myself as his words sink in me is ‘what the fuck is he talking about’. What pawn? What revenge game? I feel the dots are staring me right in the face and I can't just seem to connect them. The confusion must be evident on my face because right now, it's Adrian that's laughing and not me anymore.“She doesn't get it. She doesn't get it”. He doubles over and laughs like it's the funniest thing he has ever seen or heard. And I just look down at him, still unsure of what he's talking about. “You mentioned how I was a low dirt bag for using Edna, what you don't know if you were being used all along too. Not just by me. Ever wondered why Silver Glow and Shadowflame have never been friends despite not even being in the same territory? Ever wondered why Draaven didn't hesitate to marry you even though you were both of different worlds? I've heard tales of the time your father came here, ever wondered why he wasn't treated warmly by him? There have been so many clues
His eyes widen at my words and it's literally the funniest thing I've seen for a very long time. My laughter rings through the garden and I can tell that it's only pissing him off more. He lunges up from his seat and towards me, wrapping his fingers around my neck as he drags me up and slams me against the wall. I'm knocked out of air for just the slightest moment before I resume laughing. His face contours in anger as his grip tightens around my neck."The faster your....heart beats....". I choke out. ".....the faster the poison....works". His breath is still coming out fast but grudgingly, he releases my neck and focus on the task of regulating his breathing. I cough as the burning sensation fills my throat. "That wasn't a nice thing to do". I say breathlessly as I run my fingers over the sensitive skin on my neck he had been gripping. He doesn't say anything as he focuses on his breathing exercises. "Especially to someone who has your antidote". I stumble to my seat and reach for m
When I wake up the next morning, I meet Draaven already dressing up for work. With a small serene smile on my face, I stay back on the bed and watch him as he obliviously goes around dressing up, totally unaware that I'm now awake. When he goes back into his closet to retrieve a piece of clothing, I get up fully naked and go to stand by the door for him. On his way back out, he's quite surprised to see me but I immediately see the reaction I have on him. His eyes rake over my entire body frame and I see the sly, naughty smile begin to settle on his face, indicating that he already has thoughts going through his head.“You are awake”. He says, his eyes lingering on my boobs. I do what I do intentionally and take several steps towards him till I'm standing directly in front of him. I lean in on my tiptoes and plants the most delicate kiss on his earlobe and just like an engine, he seems to have been turned on.“You can't drive me crazy like this when you are just waking up, my love”. A
I sit on the floor like that and cry my eyes out for the next thirty minutes at least. I only push up to my feet when my stomach growls noisily. I've not had anything to eat since morning. Washing the tear tracks on my face, I reach for my purse and make my way upstairs. I don't feel truly safe till the door to my room closes behind me. With a big sigh, I throw my bag onto the nearest furniture and make my way straight towards the bathroom, shedding off my clothes on the way. By the time I get there, I'm totally naked and I don't even wait for the bath to fill up before I lower myself into it. I run the tap onto my body and into the tub simultaneously, the sound of the water zoning me out.I take the coldest bath I can manage and throw on a comfortable pair of pants and a tank top. And then I settle down on my dining table and eat the meal that must have been brought into my room earlier. As I sit there alone, and as I eat, I realize that I feel even more alone than usual. I ignore th
The days go by in various shades of grey. Nothing seems to please me anymore and I'm not interested in doing a lot of things. In the days, I just try to occupy my time by immersing myself in work and in the nights, I go to bed early and cry myself to sleep. Draaven has come around a few times but if there's anywhere below a zero, that's exactly where my energy was. He seems to be worried about me but I just want to be left alone.It's only now that she's gone that I realize that there isn't much that I do without her. She's always present in my days and my activities, from the simplest tasks like getting my bath water ready to more complex things like sorting out my schedules and planning my days. I had thought I'd be able to do it on my own at first but each time I did it, I only realized how hard it was actually organizing a schedule. And I had gotten so frustrated that I had cried my eyes out again and damned Edna for leaving me all alone in this place. On most days, my dinners are
Suddenly, it feels like a huge picture has been painted in front of me. And right now, everything seems to make sense a thousand times more.The deaths.Edna.Adrian.Me.It was all a big web woven by Adrian to trap all of us in. He manipulated and used Edna's feelings so he could in turn get to me. Everything is an interconnected web of plans….and right there at the end of it, supposedly the prize of the day is me. But to what end? During our few interactions, I personally don't think Adrian has ever shown more than the usual interest in me. This is all coming as one big surprise. How long has he been weaving this web? How long ago did all of this even start?“Oh….oh..my God…..”. That's all I can say as everything dawns on me. Edna looks at me with a small smile on her face. “You understand everything now, don't you?”. I do, I've never seen a clearer picture. I remember my mind going to Edna as Adrian had professed his so-called feelings. I had wondered to myself what exactly was ha
My breath hitches in my chest at her words but I make sure not to show too many emotions or express how deeply her words have surprised me. She takes another swig of her wine and sighs heavily.“I loved that bastard”. She says with a chuckle but I hear the pain in her voice. “And he damn well took advantage of that”. She goes back to being quiet and I wait for her to continue. When she doesn't, I realize I can't wait forever. I need answers now. So I begin some questioning of my own.“What happened? Tell me everything that happened between the both of you….and how exactly we landed here”. She lets out another sigh before talking.“We met shortly after he arrived. He was an asshole but….”. She chuckles and turns to me. “... y'know….back in the guild, they always told me something. Based off my dating history, they told me that I was always attracted to the scums of the earth”. She chuckles deeper. “I've proven them right once again”. I don't share in the laugh and when it dies down, sh