/-Skylar-/I didn't know what to expect now.The artist being a woman was a whole game-changer. Now, I couldn't possibly guess who she was and I knew there was no way Declan would be reborn in a woman's body, right?But then again, I couldn't just jump to conclusions. “Can you take me to her?” I asked him. “I told you it was about a year ago. There is no guarantee that Sally will still be there,” he groaned.“Mario please…” I tried begging. “I have already told you who she is but I am not obligated to take you to her. You know her name, find her yourself,” he said. Wow! I guess we're doing this the hard way then. “Fine! Since you won't tell me, I better just head home and tell your boss that I went somewhere interesting today,” I shrugged and his expression immediately changed. “Are you threatening me?” He frowned. “Why should I? It's called accountability. I'm just going to go back home and tell Kai all about where I've been and who the tour guide was unless, of course, you ar
/-Skylar-/Ten seconds passed and I was still staring at the girl that used to be in utter shock. I looked at her in confusion and then at Mario, who didn't understand seem to understand what was going on. “How… how did you get this?” I asked her. A small smile played on her lips. “I'm guessing it finally found it's owner, huh? Selling close to a division house does have it's advantages. That would be $7.20 please.” I was even more confused. “I'm not talking about the price. How do you know her? Who are you?” I asked, taking a step closer to her. Her smile immediately vanished as she slowly stepped back. She seemed frightened like I was threatening her or something. “What are you doing, Skylar? You're scaring her,” Mario held me back but I shrugged his hand off. “I asked a question,” I said icily. “Fine! You're right. It's just my imagination. I have a very creative mind and…”“Bullshit!” I cut her short. “The details are way too accurate for it to be some imagination. Who th
/-Kai-/I wasn't one to start a fight.However, I didn't mind bringing down hell on anyone who dared to touch my property and in this case, that property was Skylar. There was simply no way I was just going to stand back and watch Taylor lay a hand on Skylar and get away with it. A rational part of me still insisted that I was going too far. I barely knew this woman and yet, I was here, ready to rage a war with Taylor for her sake. “Sir, are you sure about this?” Anders asked. “What happened? Are you getting cold feet already? You were the one who said you hated seeing her like that, right?” I shrugged. “So you're doing this because of what I said?” He raised a brow. I knew he was baiting me but I wasn't going to give in to his antics and actually confess that seeing her battered made my heart tug in ways I'd rather not experience. “What are you waiting for? Let's go in,” I said, opening the car door. “What are we really going in there to do? The last time he came, he said his
/-Skylar-/My first thought when I arrived at the mansion was to ask Kai about the painting but thinking about Mario's words again, I decided against it. Kai was nobody but my annoying boss, nothing more. He wasn't in when I checked so I headed to my room for a long shower. After showering, my head felt clearer now and I began thinking about the events of the day. Lisa said they were two women, one of them being Amelia so who was the other one and why on earth would they be working together?I tried to think of all my possible enemies back then and my enemies now to see if they atleast shared the same qualities. I started with myself and unfortunately, I was in no way similar to Skylar. From everything Ava told me, we didn't share a single thing in common. I thought about Lisa and Sally. The were almost the same. Cunny, mischievous and very obsessed with Declan. Then I thought about Kai and Declan. Declan used to be a womaniser before I met him. He had many mistresses, and Kai w
/-Taylor-/“What the hell happened here?” I demanded. I stopped by at the hospital to take a look at my sisters and all I met was chaos. They were still on life support, thankfully but there was something new. Both of them had inscriptions on their hands that read, STAY OFF MINE.A slow, burning rage ignited in my chest as I stared at the message carved into their skin. My jaw clenched, my fists curling so tightly that my nails bit into my palms.Kai.This had his name written all over it.I turned to the guard stationed outside the door, my voice dangerously quiet. “Who was here?”The man hesitated, sweat forming at his temples. “Sir, it was…”“Spit it out,” I snapped, stepping closer.“Kai Alloway,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.The room seemed to shrink around me. The walls, the beeping machines, the sterile scent of antiseptic, it all blurred as red-hot fury clouded my vision.Kai had walked into my space. Had gotten past my men. Had touched my sisters.I exhale
/-Skylar-/The file dropped in my lap, and I looked up. “What is this for?” I asked.“Your next target,” Kai simply answered. “Let me know once you get it done. Anders will go with you.” I couldn't help but notice how cold he was towards me. The haunting look in his eyes, like he was just there but his soul was somewhere else. A place full of pain. The Kai I was used to was an insufferable teasing bastard. He would look for every possible way to rile me up but for some reason, he has been moody today. “Are you okay?” I asked just before he reached my bedroom door. “Yes,” came a one-word answer, and he left. Another sign that something was seriously up with him. The Kai I knew would have smirked and probably asked who I was worried about. I convinced myself that I didn't care what he had going on and took a look at the file he gave me. Shortly after, another knock came and I assumed it was Anders.“Come in,” I answered and the door opened to reveal Anders. “I see you are already
/-Taylor-/“Who did Sally say she found?” My mother asked. It was the first time I was seeing any sort of emotion on her face.“Raven Ampleton. The woman you have been searching for,” I answered and she got off the stool. I watched her walk past the countless candles to get to me. This had become a part of her for years now. She barely did anything other than set up this semi-shrine of hers and practice different things.“Who is she and where is she now?” My mother demanded. “I tried to get her to tell me mother but she refused. She insisted on meeting you instead,” I answered. She cursed under her breath. “That sneaky little snake! Always doing everything to plant herself where she is not needed.”I didn't understand what that meant but I didn't care enough to ask. “She had only one job. To locate everybody on my list and send that information across and the first person she finds, she suddenly demands a meeting with me?” She huffed.“I made it very clear that you would be pissed
/-Skylar-/I needed to talk to him but Anders wouldn't stop insisting we completed the mission first. For some reason, he believed that Kai would be very pissed. Personally, I knew that if Kai was indeed Declan, he would be more excited to see me than focus on a stupid mission. But Anders wouldn't listen to me. “I know how much you love to piss Kai off but I promise you that is a very wrong time for that. We should focus on getting the mission complete then you can go whatever you want,” he said. “And for the umpteenth time, what I have to tell him is very important. This mission is nothing compared to what I have to say,” I groaned. “And you cannot tell me what it is you wish to say to him?” Anders asked and I shook my head. “Fine, let's complete this then. It's a very simple hit. The target is expected to be boarding a plane by seven. All we need to do is hit before he does and we can move on.” I couldn't argue any further. “Fine. Let's do it.” The airport was crowded, full
/-Raven-/On getting outside, I met Amelia. Unlike before, she had gotten here earlier than I expected.“Let's get this over with. I have more important things to deal with,” she said. “If the more important thing you're talking about is Diane, then I think we should take her down first instead of wasting our energy on each other,” I told her. “Why should I…” she cast me a condescending look. “...collaborate with you to do anything?” “Because you can't take her for me on your own,” I said plainly. “If we work together, we might actually have a chance to defeat her then we can face each other.” “Really? You must be bold to think that I would actually need help from you!” She huffed and I rolled my eyes. “I don't have time for your boost your little ego. When I'm done taking Diane, you can come fight me,” I said, shifting into dragon form. “Like I would wait for you to do that!” She muttered and leapt into the air, too. A smirk played on my lips. One down, one more person to go.
/-Raven-/I woke up with a splitting headache. My eyes fluttered open and I scanned the place. The ceiling design was very familiar. It was confusing. Wasn't I supposed to wake up at the battlefield?“It's good to see you awake, child,” I heard suddenly and turned. I flinched hard, shocked. This was the healer. The very woman that warned about going into a fight with Amelia. I took a look at my body and the flawless skin was gone. The scars were and I immediately flew out of bed and ran to the bathroom. My red hair. It was back. My eyes watered. It was really back. I've never felt so happy to be in my own skin in my entire life. I touched my face over and over again. “Oh goddess, it's really back,” I exclaimed. “I'm really back.” That meant my dragon was back as well, right? I clenched my fist and it went up in flames. Yesss!! Oh goddess, yes! The real Raven is back!My mind was flooding with too many thoughts at the same time. The battle. It was happening today, right?I need
/-Skylar-/I almost didn't recognise her by the time Kai let her out. Her body was covered in bruises, she was lean and pale and looked like she didn't have any blood left in her. “Where the hell do you think you're going?” Kai snapped at her and from the way she flinched, I was afraid she would crash and her bones would shatter. That was just how bad it was. “Apologise to her, right now!” Kai ordered. There was nothing like the beautiful arrogant Gwen now. She was hanging on a thread of life now, so definitely, she wouldn't want to jeopardize that. She even looked remoseful.“S..s… sorry…” she rasped. “Properly!” Kai hissed. If she hadn't been so bitchy towards me and tried to kill me, I might have asked Kai to spare her. “I… I'm sorry, Skylar…” she croaked, clapping her hands together in plea. The way her hands trembled like they were about to fall off made me instantly accept the apology. Kai ordered his men to take her away and approached me with a frown.“This is a very b
On Sally's refusal, Amelia headed to see Diane herself. She knew that this rescue mission was simply pointless for Taylor. Even if Diane let him go by some miracle, he would never be the same again. In clearer terms, he would be nothing but a vegetable. Amelia didn't care for any of that. She had spent the last few years harnessing asuch power as she could, yet coming face to face with Diane, it felt she had not even started. How the hell was she supposed to defeat her when they went back then? Her goal has always been one and the same. Kill Raven and protect Declan.Which is why she needed this test fight right now. She wanted to know if she could beat Diane and if there were any weaknesses.“It's foolish and reckless for you to come with the intention of fighting me, Amelia,” Diane's voice sang at the entrance. “You can't.”The confidence irked Amelia but she knew Diane was right. She couldn't beat her but she was going to look for openings and weaknesses and then in the real mat
/-Sally-/Just when I thought I could have an uneventful day, her call came in. Amelia. What could she possibly want from me now? I wasn't in the mood to grant favours. “Have you seen Taylor?” She asked as soon as I answered the phone. Taylor?Now that was unexpected. He was always the one looking for her but now, it was the other way to round?“What about him?” I asked.“Stop throwing back my questions and answer the damn question! It's been two days since he left home and he hadn't been back since then. His sisters are very worried about him,” she said. “Since when do you care about the brats?” I asked in surprise and I could almost fell her glaring at me through the phone. She knew I was telling the truth. There were only a few people she cared about and those children were not part of it. “Well I don't know where he is,” I told her. “Coudo you ask the mystic to help me find him?” She asked. .“At this point, you are just overreacting. He is an adult, a freaking CEO. Maybe a
/-Taylor-/I knew something was fishy when my men didn't get back to me. Then a few days later, their bodies turn up, found in the alley. It couldn't have been anyone else. They were spying on her and supposed to take her down. That was the last time I heard from them. It didn't make sense that she was able to kill them but somehow she did. I have been in and out of the station for questioning as I was the last contact either of them spoke to.It was annoying that my mother wouldn't even help. All she could offer me was that she told me so. To make it worse, my sisters affirmed that they had seen her with Kai at the park and she looked very healthy. Who exactly was this woman? Why did everything seem to be evolving around her? The more I asked these questions, the deeper I found myself falling into obsession. Like now… I was trying to find her on social media. I had only recently been informed of Ava's death and it didn't make sense that Skylar would kill her best friend, but ac
/-Skylar-/After what seemed like forever, the boys were finally asleep. I was set to be discharged in the evening.Kai sat opposite me, silently, thinking of something I suspected that I already knew. I tried not to rush him but watching him was becoming painful and bothersome. I had to break the silence, no matter how much I wanted him to think. “Well, can you tell me what you're thinking now? It's about the children, right?” I finally spoke. “Who are we going to leave them with? They can't lose both parents, Raven,” he said. “They haven't. You can just let Gwen go,” I said and he looked at me like I just blasphemed.“What?” “You heard me, Declan. There is no need to hold her captive. I'm very certain that your boys have dealt with her enough. There is no need to make this more complicated than it should be,” I shrugged and he stood up, backing me instantly.“I can't believe you're making this suggestion. Let's take aside the fact that she tried to kill you. Gwendolyn is a horri
/-Skylar-/I woke up feeling unusually drained and weak. The lights were almost blinding and I couldn't open my eyes properly.“Daddy… she's awake!” I heard a child's voice. Who the hell was that? My eyes fluttered open and I had to blink repeatedly to keep the light off my eyes. “Raven!” Kai's voice followed and his cologne hit my nostrils as he sat beside me. My vision cleared and I realized his sons were also in the room. A hospital room to be exact. I could smell the drugs and antiseptic. What happened to me?Did that mean that Gwen was here? It was a little weird for her because the woman didn't even like me. She has no reason to be here. “How are you feeling baby?” He asked me.“I… why am I here?” I asked him. My mind was completely blank so I didn't remember anything.“You were poisoned,” he told me. My heart skipped a beat. But it seemed like that was the trigger word because everything came flooding back and so did my suspect.“Did you find how did it?” I asked and his ey
Days later/-Sally-/We were all gathered. Me, Amelia, Diane and about two other people I had no idea about. Diane had explained that the reason we were sucked in by the magic was because we all had strong ties to Declan and her. “What's taking them so long? We've been here for over an hour,” Amelia was the first to complain. I said nothing. I already knew he was having fun with that Raven girl. It wouldn't surprise me if they suddenly decided to stay here. “Let's wait a little longer,” Diane said. She was unbelievably calm for someone that desperately wanted Declan dead. I looked at Amelia who simply looked away.I hope whatever plan she made doesn't immediately backfire. If Diane could still be dangerous in the human world, that means she was going to be terrifying in our timeline. I really wish I could sit this one out. I was caught in the crossfire last time. I would rather not involve myself with fights that had almost nothing to do with me. What I experienced the last ti