"Shut up and come with me!" Rain suddenly felt her body stiffen. "Jace?" she thought. Jace removed his embrace from Rain's body and turned the girl to face him. "Did you forget where you belonged?" Jace Dauntess stood tall before Rain with his skin covered in black runes. Rain felt something was different. She thought the runes were showing more and more than usual. Even half of Jace's face, which was previously clean, was now covered in runes. "Is this just my feeling?" "Yes, the runes on my body are increasing—resulting in me leaving the Darkwood forest and using excessive force. I should have used makeup as you taught me, not covered it with charms. Just so you know, if this rune fills every inch of the surface of my body, then I will forever manifest as a beast." Rain gaped, and subconsciously she had her hand over her mouth. "Why do you do all that when you know the risks are so great?" "I hunt with time. My choices are only two points: time is running out, and I die, or t
"What happened to your room?" Rain looked around the room that had previously been Jace's private room. She couldn't believe that the room was now filled with lots of vines, twisted tree branches, fallen leaves, and even bits of wet soil that had been carried away. "Careful, watch the steps--" Before Jace finished speaking, Rain's head hit one of the tree branches wrapped around Jace's bedpost. Rain backed away in a panic, but instead, she tripped over a plant root. Jace grabbed Rain's waist quickly and held her back so she wouldn't fall over. Rain paled. She was confused and felt stupid. "Thank you. Can you explain what this is?" "These plants are angry because I left the palace for a few days. They swell and twist everywhere every time I use the power of the runes on my body. They are like a curse bound to my body. These plants represent the black energy that resides within my soul." "Does that mean the black energy in your body is getting bigger?" "They will get bigger with
Rain fell silent in surprise. Then she began to speak in a passionate voice. "So basically, you're saying that my dad was a warlock? And he got involved in the rebellion to eliminate humans and rule the world?" No answer from anyone. Ralph, the old tree, only moved his branches faintly and Jace remained hidden in the black rose thorns. "Then my dad ran away with something crucial for the peace of this world?" Rain laughed. "It was as if I had just heard a fairy tale about American superheroes. It is bizarre. I'm sure you're talking about someone else. That's not my father." Rain almost screamed to express her anxiety and anger. There was the sound of Ralph the tree sighing. Then Rain turned in the direction where Jace was shrouded in vines of thorny roses. She walked stiffly, stomping and avoiding the tangled roots and vines on the floor of Jace's bedroom. "Jace..." "Please don't come to any closer, Rain. I don't want you to see me in this state." "Then why did you bring me her
"You guys still joke about silly things like that?" Ben smirked and replaced his spoon with a new one. After breakfast, they didn't know what to do. Rain was supposed to be working. She felt uncomfortable if she had to perform in front of Benjamin and serve Jace like a king. "Yeah, he's the king here, and I'm his servant. I feel awkward if I have to do all that in front of Ben," Rain complained in front of Erica. Erica just stared at Rain coldly with no expression at all like usual. Then the women said something that made Rain really couldn't believe it was coming out of Erica's mouth. "Miss Orwell, you technically still have your day off for the next few days. It's just that you really can't leave Darkwood no matter what." Rain stared. "Does that mean I'm free to do anything as long as I don't leave this palace?" "Yes, that's right. Randall can drive you if you want to go into town and take a walk. But I don't recommend it if you want to go to the forest. Do you remember the la
"Who knows? I suddenly felt uncomfortable. Maybe I caught a bit of a cold or something. Do you mind if we go home now?" "Yes, of course. Maybe we've gone too far, and you're exhausted. Your face is ashen. You're sweating quite a lot. I thought you were sick." Ben reached over to Rain's forehead and felt the girl have a slight fever. Ben suddenly knelt in the middle of the cabin with his back to Rain. "What are you doing, Ben?" "Get on my back. I will carry you back to the old palace." "No, Ben. I can walk. I'm fine." Rain is still forced to walk. Rain's footsteps suddenly faltered as they passed through the cabin door, and her vision darkened. Benjamin caught the girl's body just right before she wholly collapsed to the floor. "You're always stubborn. I told you you had a slight fever. Let me carry you until we get back." "No, Ben. Do not! My body is too heavy." Rain blushed. "I don't want to keep bothering you." "There's nothing heavier than my own life," whispered Ben. Wit
"More than anyone, your father knows best what will happen if the Flynns get the key." Rain couldn't hide her doubts. All looked very strange. She tried to imagine her father escaping in the dark with a key in his hand and failed, and now everyone is after him. "Your father used to be a confidant of the Flynn family. But in his last moments, he fought the Flynn family and fled to save himself and the future of humanity. He even mingled with mortals." West returned to the words inside Rain's head. "If you want the truth from me, you will get it, but I must ask the same of you in return." "You think I'm keeping the truth? You think I'm hiding my father on purpose?" Rain said with great emotion. "Rain," it was Erica. Her tone was unusually soft. "West means that memories may be hidden or buried in your subconscious. West says he can't dig into your memories. We all believe something is deliberately covering or sealing it." Rain remembered the witch's words at her father's house. Ra
He didn't look at Rain but looked around the block, which was so empty that afternoon. Snow seems to be still piling up in some parts. Rain shivered even though she was wearing a thick coat. Jace suddenly reached out to check Rain's forehead. "What is it?" asked Rain. "Your fever's gone. The healing power of the army of darkness cannot be doubted." "Oh… And Jace, why do I feel like the winters here are much longer and colder? Even though we are only a few miles from the city where I live. We're not separated by the equator or anything like that." "Perhaps you forgot that this city has been shrouded in so many kinds of magic. Outsiders see Westlake the way we see it from the inside. Don't complain too much; we better hurry to get to the City of Darkness before it gets dark." "How did West get to the City of Darkness? Does he use a car? Or fly like you?" Jace smirked. His golden brown hair looked like bronze in the slightly dim midday sun. That day he covered his runes using make
The scenery changed to thick fog that shrouded the entire street, and she could only see the tops of towering buildings in the shrouding fog. "I'm fifteen," Jace said. "When the rebellion took place." "Wait, Jace, if there was such an important and very historical event of that magnitude a few years ago, I might have been around ten years old. How could the news never spread to the city where we live? Aren't Westlake and my town not too far away?" "You forgot the veil, Rain? I told you before that this city is filled with a veil of magic. Once upon a time, humans and shadow creatures lived alongside each other. We are separated by a veil so that there is no interplay between shadow beings and mortals until the rebellion breaks out. The number of humans in this city is increasing. At the same time, the shadow creatures are increasingly being driven into the forests and remote places." Jace sighed. "Unfortunately, I have always been in the palace since my birth. I never left it. My