NadineThe ghouls began to surround me and Drago in a hurry.They were all spewing a lot of black slime from their mouths and when I realized what the slime was doing to the floor, I knew I was in big trouble. That slime was capable of burning anything, possibly containing some kind of acid and I couldn't let them near Drago in his human form.I will die before they hurt my mate.One of them started spitting loudly, and the others took his example, so the shadows created a dome to surround Drago and me. That upset the ghouls because they started spitting at the same time and with the same force. It was obvious that they were trying to gain access to us, so I felt stressed.Wake Drago up, my she-wolf Becca ordered.I can't; it's not right. Do it, call him through the bond, Becca said.“I hope this works,” I said and placed my hands on Drago's chest.I pulled on the bond that held us, the golden thread that connected us, and then my mate opened his eyes. Drago was disoriented, but he c
NadineThe magical creatures continued to kneel before me, and I did not feel good.I didn't like how that action made me feel, so I told them to get up immediately.“There is no need to kneel,” I told the creatures. “I did this out of a sense of justice; you don't owe me anything; you don't need to do anything else. You already gave so much during the years you were cursed. You would make me happy if you would just live your lives, guard the wasteland, and protect the magic.”What appeared to be the leader of the elves and the leader of the fairies looked at me in surprise.“You do not seek the sacred magic of this place?” asked the leader of the elves, and I denied.“No, I seek this grimoire because it is necessary to complete a mission,” I said calmly. “The moment I can, I will return it to this place.”The fairy leader smiled, and suddenly her wings unfolded, and she flew close to me.That startled me, and Biel took my hand immediately.“I am Alis,” the fairy said. “And that grimo
BielThe moment we landed at the entrance to the magic trail, I knew that betrayal had overtaken us in a terrifying way.I thought that somehow Nadine had been tracked to the Fairy Wasteland, but seeing Taina's torn body a few meters away, hidden in some bushes, and seeing Samir wounded made me understand that someone from our group had been the traitor.We had fallen away from the entrance, so we had a clear view of the panorama, something Aris didn't seem to see, so Drago roared, and Aris turned to see us, so I nodded, and we crept up to Nadine, who seemed to be furious.I didn't want to imagine her reaction when she saw Taina's throat slit; that was when Aris approached me subtly, once we were close.“Is anyone dead?” the vampire asked in a whisper, and I nodded, “I smell blood very strongly, but I know Samir is fine, wounded, but unconscious.”“It's the elf,” I replied in a whisper. “Someone killed her.”Aris looked at me in surprise, then Drago roared again, and I knew he had sur
Part III. The siege of the shadowsNadineI was terrified to see the amount of blood that Biel was coughing up, but when I saw him fade away, terror gnawed at me. What he had just experienced with Drago did not compare to seeing death stalking the captain of the guard; it was a thousand times worse.We landed near the northern mountain range, right on the spot where I had first shifted.“This place is too cold for Biel!” I said quickly, and Drago placed him on the ground, then Aris and Connor carried him while Drago turned dragon.“Wait here; I'll come get you,” Connor said, and Lion denied."I apologize, but due to the captain's injuries, I—"“This isn't about the temple or the Equilibrium Order,” Aris said annoyed. “This is about saving Biel's life.”“Don't take him to shelter,” Samir said earnestly. “The captain doesn't have that much time; he needs medical attention immediately and for Nadine to activate the link to him; otherwise, he's going to die.”Hearing Samir drove me crazy,
Country VillageAthens Region “Remember when I told you that one day we would play hide-and-seek any time?” my mom asked, and I nodded excitedly. “That time is now. Do you remember the rules?”“I have to find the best hiding place; I have to be quiet, and, no matter what I hear, I don't come out until you tell me the code word,” I replied efficiently.My mom smiled proudly, but there was something sad in her look. “You're a very sweet and smart girl, Nadine,” Mom said before giving me a kiss and drawing a picture on my forehead. “What's the key word?”“Chocolate,” I said before biting into the little chocolate bar she had given me minutes before, and that made her laugh, making her gray eyes sparkle with joy.“What's the other rule?” mom asked calmly.“I must never reveal our secret,” I said very seriously.Hide it our secret my biggest mission, so my tongue would never reveal it.“Okay, go hide, and no matter what, don't come out,” Mom ordered, and I nodded. ”I love you, Nadine. Al
Part I. Meeting of SoulsNadine13 years later...I woke up in the middle of the night with erratic breathing and a racing heart.I had dreamed again of my mother's death, but this time I saw her killed in a much more grotesque way. The hunters had sat her down in front of me and ripped out her heart so that I would suffer.I shook the horrific image out of my head.I brought my hand to my chest and felt the rune of protection.I sighed in relief, knowing that at least I had an advantage over the hunters. After years of running away, I had found a way to disappear from the map more effectively, and that was by sealing my energy trail so that searching for me would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It was a trick I learned from my mother when I was old enough to know what she always drew on my forehead after kissing me.I moved all the time, didn't last long in one job, and used different aliases.It was all I could do to keep everyone alive, especially them.Don't think abou
NadineIf someone had told me what was going to happen, I would never have believed them.It was impossible to think that the most beautiful vision I had ever had in my life, one different from the images of terror that always flooded my brain, could turn into some kind of nightmare.Biel looked at me angrily, and I did not respond.The priest took the drawing and looked at it with interest, then frowned.“Who are the other men?” The old man asked, and I said nothing.I had sworn the sight of my gourds to secrecy, so I kept my mouth shut tight and stood up straight. That brought Biel and the priest into each other's eyes, then Biel nodded and walked toward the exit, but not before looking at me as if I were a serious problem. And yes, I was a problem he shouldn't be dealing with. When Biel left, I let go of my hands and tried to regulate my breathing.“Aren't you going to say anything about this drawing?” The priest asked curiously, and I shook my head. “Then I'm going to tell you who
BielHunting the woman of the prophecy had almost turned out to be an impossible mission.We didn't know who she was or what magical powers she had, so I couldn't find her trail. So when the temple gave us clues on how to catch a stripper who was related to her, I didn't hesitate to come up with a plan.I set up an intelligence operation with elite guards in the small city of Valkir. The capital of Valter, one of the 3 common areas of Kagolen, the continent where we lived. Once we found the club where the stripper worked, it was a matter of investigating her movements until she finally met the woman of the prophecy.It was a good move on my part, and when the woman was apprehended, I declared the operation a success. The woman was already hours into her processing, and all was going well until one of the operation's guards approached me with a serious expression.“What's going on, Jackson?” I immediately asked the vampire.“When the unknown female attempted to flee, I entered her apar
Part III. The siege of the shadowsNadineI was terrified to see the amount of blood that Biel was coughing up, but when I saw him fade away, terror gnawed at me. What he had just experienced with Drago did not compare to seeing death stalking the captain of the guard; it was a thousand times worse.We landed near the northern mountain range, right on the spot where I had first shifted.“This place is too cold for Biel!” I said quickly, and Drago placed him on the ground, then Aris and Connor carried him while Drago turned dragon.“Wait here; I'll come get you,” Connor said, and Lion denied."I apologize, but due to the captain's injuries, I—"“This isn't about the temple or the Equilibrium Order,” Aris said annoyed. “This is about saving Biel's life.”“Don't take him to shelter,” Samir said earnestly. “The captain doesn't have that much time; he needs medical attention immediately and for Nadine to activate the link to him; otherwise, he's going to die.”Hearing Samir drove me crazy,
BielThe moment we landed at the entrance to the magic trail, I knew that betrayal had overtaken us in a terrifying way.I thought that somehow Nadine had been tracked to the Fairy Wasteland, but seeing Taina's torn body a few meters away, hidden in some bushes, and seeing Samir wounded made me understand that someone from our group had been the traitor.We had fallen away from the entrance, so we had a clear view of the panorama, something Aris didn't seem to see, so Drago roared, and Aris turned to see us, so I nodded, and we crept up to Nadine, who seemed to be furious.I didn't want to imagine her reaction when she saw Taina's throat slit; that was when Aris approached me subtly, once we were close.“Is anyone dead?” the vampire asked in a whisper, and I nodded, “I smell blood very strongly, but I know Samir is fine, wounded, but unconscious.”“It's the elf,” I replied in a whisper. “Someone killed her.”Aris looked at me in surprise, then Drago roared again, and I knew he had sur
NadineThe magical creatures continued to kneel before me, and I did not feel good.I didn't like how that action made me feel, so I told them to get up immediately.“There is no need to kneel,” I told the creatures. “I did this out of a sense of justice; you don't owe me anything; you don't need to do anything else. You already gave so much during the years you were cursed. You would make me happy if you would just live your lives, guard the wasteland, and protect the magic.”What appeared to be the leader of the elves and the leader of the fairies looked at me in surprise.“You do not seek the sacred magic of this place?” asked the leader of the elves, and I denied.“No, I seek this grimoire because it is necessary to complete a mission,” I said calmly. “The moment I can, I will return it to this place.”The fairy leader smiled, and suddenly her wings unfolded, and she flew close to me.That startled me, and Biel took my hand immediately.“I am Alis,” the fairy said. “And that grimo
NadineThe ghouls began to surround me and Drago in a hurry.They were all spewing a lot of black slime from their mouths and when I realized what the slime was doing to the floor, I knew I was in big trouble. That slime was capable of burning anything, possibly containing some kind of acid and I couldn't let them near Drago in his human form.I will die before they hurt my mate.One of them started spitting loudly, and the others took his example, so the shadows created a dome to surround Drago and me. That upset the ghouls because they started spitting at the same time and with the same force. It was obvious that they were trying to gain access to us, so I felt stressed.Wake Drago up, my she-wolf Becca ordered.I can't; it's not right. Do it, call him through the bond, Becca said.“I hope this works,” I said and placed my hands on Drago's chest.I pulled on the bond that held us, the golden thread that connected us, and then my mate opened his eyes. Drago was disoriented, but he c
Nadine“What's wrong with Nadine?” asked Biel.He had walked quietly into the cave, and I looked at him sadly.There was no right or concrete way I could express what I was feeling; the dismay of knowing what had happened on the moor had me sick.The event was appalling.“The curse... The ghouls are creatures of the forest, innocent creatures that were cursed,” I said painfully. “How are we going to kill them? How can I kill those creatures that were once holy?”Aris and Biel met each other's eyes in surprise.I wasn't usually this emotional and empathetic; I used to be explosive, but the scenes I had seen had overtaken me. Maybe it was the water that was causing me to feel outrage over creatures that couldn't free themselves.“What did you see?” asked Aris after gently taking me by the chin in a vain attempt to calm me down.Biel denied it, and as he was about to move towards the water, both Aris and I shouted, “No!”“Why can't I drink from this water?” asked Biel with a frown. “It l
Nadine“What's wrong, Nadine?” asked Aris after approaching me right away.I tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out; the pain in my head was so limiting that I felt completely useless.“What did you touch?” asked Aris, and I pointed to the water. “I'm trying to get into your mind, but there's something blocking everything.”Aris went over to the water to sniff it, and when he was about to taste it, I pushed him as far away from it as I could. That made him look surprised, so I shook my head emphatically.I didn't want him to get hurt.I was trying to figure out if what I had taken was going to kill me or was just a physical debilitator, so I had to wait.“This water is bewitched,” the vampire said after sniffing it again and cursed between his teeth at seeing me like this. “We can't use this water, and you can't conjure elemental magic. So we must find a water source; that's why I'll tell Connor to do it. You must rest because we don't know what this water does.”I nodded, an
NadineI had seen a way out of the hostile wasteland; what I did not imagine was that the ghouls I had dreamed of were real. Fear encapsulated me, despite the realization that the ghouls were not as large as in my dreams, and that caused me to be quickly caught.My first genuine reaction was to scream in fear.That upset my mates, who didn't hesitate to approach, but the ghouls began to surround them.Stay calm!My she-wolf Becca's scream made me react, so I tried to summon magic, but I couldn't and realized that the curse that nullified magic in the wasteland must be too strong to nullify the raw power I possessed. I went physical and started kicking the damn spiders, but that wasn't a good option, because the damn things glared at me angrily, and their cobra-shaped heads snapped back to reveal their damn fangs.I didn't have to be smart to assume that the moment the ghoul bit me, some kind of poison would hurt me, so I took a deep breath and reached for the pen Biel had given me. As
DragoWe walked to the sacred grotto that connected our entire world.I realized that no one was able to see it as Taina and I saw it until I saw Biel frowning, Connor looking on slyly, and Aris and Nadine looking on in surprise. The others didn't seem to be aware of where they were, so it was an excellent idea not to say anything to them.I didn't trust anyone who wasn't within my bonded group.I didn't even trust Lion, although I respected the high priest because he had been the mediator of some of my people's and the elves' problems. Since I had decided not to leave Dragis, I had limited myself to many things.Nadine quickly walked up to me.“Where are we, and why don't the others seem to be aware of the place?” my mate asked, and Taina looked at her in surprise.“How is it that she can see this place?” asked the elf. “Only those who have been blessed by the gods can see such a place.”“I am not blessed by the gods, and you can swear my mates aren't either,” Nadine said with a frow
NadineI woke up with pain in my body and with the desire to hit all my mates.Only bloodthirsty ones made me train the day before leaving, so I cursed through my teeth as we gathered the necessary things, we would take with us. Worst of all, I had my period and the pains were becoming a pain in my ass.“What do you have?” asked Drago and I denied.“Nothing I haven't survived with before,” I said and he frowned.“You look uncomfortable; is it because of yesterday's exercises?” he asked very carefully.“It's partly that, but it's really a female problem,” I said without elaborating.Drago came down after that and I sighed.I grabbed everything I needed and then went downstairs with a backpack, I met my mates in the kitchen and they all looked at me with a frown, especially Connor, who looked pale.“What's wrong?” I asked them and Aris got straight to the point.“It just so happens that your beasts didn't think about birth control before getting involved,” the vampire said and I gritted