Hello Lovelies! What do you think is happening? Let me know in the comments and if you feel so inclined, leave a review! Love & Light Everyone!
Astasha’s head was splitting as if fire was searing through it. What was going on? She tried to open her eyes, but her lids were too heavy. Maybe if she slept more, the pain would stop. Yes, rest was what she needed. As she tried to roll over in her bed, she realized her arms were very heavy as well. In fact, they refused to move. Why couldn't she make them move? It was then that she became aware of something wrapped around her, holding her in place. Slowly, panic set in, and everything began to come back to her; the salve, the dizziness, the darkness. But she had made it to Bryn. She had seen his face before losing consciousness. Something was wrong. She mustered all her willpower and forced her eyes to open. Her vision was blurry and the world dark, but she could make out a shape moving in the distance. Astasha attempted to shift her position again, but realized she was restrained, tied to something, and a chill went down her spine. The demon's accomplice had her. She h
"NO!" Astasha didn't even notice the word escaping her lips, but it was too late. Blood poured from Bryn's throat as his lifeless body slumped to the ground. To her horror, Cordelia crouched down and reached out, the thick red running over her hands. She was chanting, her eyes closed. Just as Astasha had sacrificed her body, Cordelia had sacrificed a life, Bryn’s life… Tears were streaming down her face. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't real. Her head was spinning, everything closing in around her. Cordelia stood and turned toward Tasha. Her eyes were like a hurricane, a dark storm on the water raging forth. Astasha began to struggle against her bonds, fighting with everything in her to break free and escape what she knew was coming. She'd never felt so powerless, never realized how much her magic had defined her strength, and she hated it. Her entire life she had prided herself on being strong, on being capable of defending herself, protecting herself. She hadn't needed
Calder didn't know how long he had sat there crying, but he was glad no one had disturbed him. The Crown Prince weeping over his forbidden love in the War Room; oh the things people would say. So once there were no more tears to weep, he dried his face, straightened his tunic, and left to wander the halls. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried. Even when he left on his trials, his eyes had been dry, for he knew that someday he would return to his Tasha. In fact, the last time he could recall shedding tears was when his mother had died. After that, he had sworn to himself he would be strong no matter what. The King had also wept that day, but he had a kingdom to run, and had returned to his duty. Calder knew if his father had to be strong for the people, he had to be strong for his father. But tonight, that strength had failed. He had been wandering the halls of the palace aimlessly when he realized where his feet had been taking him; they were following the tether aroun
If nightmares were real, Calder would have traded everything to know that this was a dream. The scene before him was something he would have given anything to unsee. But it was very real, and his blood boiled and every fiber of his being became electrified with rage. The first thing he noticed was the Earth Sorcerer's body on the ground, his throat cut, eyes lifeless. Next to him stood the blonde Water Witch, Cordelia. Her eyes were wide, but with fear or excitement, he couldn't tell. All he knew was that they were locked on something that was happening at the edge of the clearing, and that something was what made him lose all rational thought. Against one of the trees, a naked figure loomed over the bound and limp body of a woman, a woman with deep red hair. Her dress was shredded and a large cut gaped over her right breast. There were slashes across her body and legs, as if claws had been raked across them, and blood, there was blood everywhere. Her face though. Calder knew tha
How could this have happened? How could he have let any of this happen? Errant was a man who prided himself on his knowledge, on his wisdom, and on his ability to solve any problem that came before him. But this... he had failed at every turn to stop the worst thing he could imagine from happening. He had failed his King, he had failed his kingdom, but more important than anything, he had failed in his oaths of magic to protect those under his care, all because he had been too stubborn and too blind to understand that the threat before him wasn't one he could just throw the writs of magic at to make it go away. Astasha could drive Errant to the end of his wits, but that was part of why he found her so valuable, so endearing. She questioned everything, saw answers in things none would even begin to look at. But everything that had happened since the Prince had returned had driven him far beyond his wit's end. She had broken so many magical laws and oaths, and it was his job to uph
Tasha. Her name was the last thing Calder had thought before slipping into an endless, dreamless, nothingness, and it was the first as his thoughts returned. It was like a thick blanket was being pulled from his mind. It had muffled everything, but now, he felt vulnerable and exposed. He tried to remember what had happened before the vast emptiness, but everything was fuzzy. Tasha. That was the one thing he knew. Her name brought an ache to his heart. But why? That word was the one thing that had brought him joy, had comforted him in times of despair. Why now did it feel as if despair and her name were synonymous with each other? He needed to open his eyes. Once he was awake it would all make more sense. He didn't remember falling asleep though. In fact, his memories all seemed jumbled and confused. What had happened? He knew he had spent the night making love to her, and then he had had to leave her. But that wasn't why he felt so hopeless. He had for a time, but Errant h
Calder thought back to the last night he had shared with Astasha before hell had literally been unleashed. She had held his hand over her scar and told him to feel the energy coming off of it, the energy around it, to pull it to him. She had shown him how to use it to create a magical tether around her wrist. He had seen the flames reaching out for each other as they made love. More than anything though, he could feel the connection they shared, the life force that beat inside one another. The reason he felt despair when he thought her name wasn't because of what he had seen, it wasn't because he hadn't been able to protect her; it was because part of him was dying, the part of him that was her. It was being slowly consumed by an evil only she could fight, and he knew he had to reach her, to reconnect the two halves back into a whole so that she knew she wasn’t alone, that it was safe to wake up, that he would never leave her side again. He didn't care that everyone was staring, wi
Recounting the events in the clearing was one of the most difficult things Astasha had ever done. But she fueled the rage and hate inside her to get through it, and when she came to the demon’s assault, Helia had stepped in, insisting there was no need for her to re-live such things. Tasha was grateful for her mercy, though there wouldn’t have been much that would have aided them had she continued. All that had happened once the demon had descended upon her seemed fragmented and blurred in her mind. She had expected her story to be difficult to tell, but what she hadn’t expected was how difficult it was to listen to Calder's. The pain in his eyes when he looked at her, remembering what he had had to witness, what he had endured to try to save her; he was a stronger man than most. His fingers had remained laced with hers the entire time. Even when they had laid him down to treat his wounds, his hand stayed firmly linked with her own. No one said anything about it, either because the