LUCIEN’S POV I could not let Emma’s little antiques get to me, I knew she needed clarification. But I couldn’t; how could I clarify things that I didn’t have answers to?That was why I avoided the house like a plague, downing my entire life in the town's bar; not even the underground battles that took place every night could douse this feeling. An emotion so raw it ate into me. Although I have always won all the underground battles, I have amassed a lot of wealth after each battle.And it didn’t help the fact that Emma waited on the couch every night, a cup of coffee in her hand.And I always had to do an unconscious spell, watching as her head hit the pillow every single time before I left her there. I could not necessarily carry her into the room, she would suspect that I was the one that who had carried her every single night.SO I just made myself comfortable on The floor next to her stared into her face as she lay there unconscious. Her face devoid of any emotion as she slep
EMMA’S POV I waited impatiently for Lucien, ensuring that I clogged my ears with my ear buds.I was sure Lucien used strings of curses that always made me fall asleep. But today, I was going to make sure that none of that happened, I was going to make sure that we talked things out like the adult that we were.I could not bring myself to be angry at him, even though he deserved it. I just couldn’t bring myself to.I was way more attached to Lucien than he could ever imagined, and I needed him to assure me that whatever this was, he was going to figure it out.I needed him now more than ever, and he needed to know this too. So I waited for him, drawing the curtains up so I could see when he walked in. I had started to loose hope because it was just a few minute into mid night fatigue eating into me and I slowly started feeling sleepy. I hastily stood up and did thirty jumping Jacks, I made my way hastily to the kitchen to make a hot cup of coffee. The rich compensating me. I deci
EMMA’S POV I felt myself withdrawing from Lucien ever since yesterday , not because I was angry at him or anything.But because I felt guilty, it hurt me to see Lucien hurt everyday, and I couldn’t even bring myself to write In Lucien’s story, the smell of burnt paper tickling my nose every damn time. Although there wasn’t much damage done to the book, only the edges were burnt.Heck, I couldn’t even bring myself to look at the damage that I had done.And it also hurt to see Lucien stay bed ridden, his fever not ceasing. So if I wanted him to back to normal, all I had to do was write it.So I had been staring at the blank page since morning, my hands vibrating as I stared intently into the page automatically willing the words to form of the blank pages magically. The inkwell was making strange disturbing noises, the sygils on the body changing, each symbol glowing in red lights. But I could hear Lucien groaning in pain, his cries biting into my skin. The pain made Lucien mad, so
“Leave me alone Josh!” I say in an alarmed tone as I'm pushed against the wall. My face contorts in pain as my elbows collide with the wall. “Shut the fuck up! We both know you want me, enough with all this sly acting.” Josh says with a sneer on his lips as he leans closer to me. The pungent smell of alcohol emanating from him is enough to make me puke if I wasn't already disgusted by him. Life in Willowbrook Town is slowly becoming unbearable for me. The people's cruel nature was slowly getting to me. Their wicked words and derogatory statements cut through the pieces of my fragile heart. What's worse is that, I'm in no way to be blamed for my predicament. I was abandoned by my parents and family just a few months after I was born. The townspeople gave me away to the orphanage where I was brought up. The townspeople got it into their heads that because I grew up without my family, I don't deserve any respect or love. Almost as if it was my fault that I was abandoned. It got bet
Thank you very much.” I say with a wide smile on my face as the shopkeeper packs up the inkwell. I've always been attracted to antiques — things dating as far back as my birth. There's just something so rich and beautiful about the history of these items that I can't help but take them for myself. All my novels are usually historical fiction. My characters' love for each other transcending through time. I step out of the antiques shop, and I can't help but wonder why I haven't taken note of this shop before. I'm not too shocked though, considering the fact that I rarely leave my house. I'm always holed up inside my house. I breathe easier when I get closer to my house and realize that Josh is no longer anywhere close by. I don't waste any more time outside though, for fear that an evil bigger than Josh will jump out of the shadows and attack me. I lock the door behind me, rushing towards my writing desk where I carefully place the inkwell on top. I stare at it for a few minutes,
The first thing I notice when I open my eyes are the bright lights, and the second thing I notice is the strange figure sitting on the chair beside my bed. “You are still here?!” I murmur in shock as I recognise the person sitting on the chair as Lucien Blackwell.“Where else would I be?” Lucien asks with a smirk on his lips, and if I didn't know better, I would say he's laughing at my predicament. “I don't know! Stuck in my imagination or something! How are you real?!” I ask in a frustrated and completely baffled tone as I stare at him the way one would stare at a lab rat. Lucien continues to watch me calmly as if he's already accepted this impossible reality. “The Inkwell.” He says simply, nodding to the object sitting on the desk, its surface gleaming in the light. I blink, still half-convinced that this is some bizarre dream. “The inkwell?” I echo, my voice wavering between disbelief and fear.Lucien nods again, his expression softening just a fraction. “Yes. The inkwell you f
As I open my eyes once more, a sense of déjà vu overwhelms me. I’ve been in this position before—the disorientation, the dim light filtering through the blinds, the lingering scent of something metallic in the air. But this time, it’s different. The force that led to my losing consciousness feels like a distant memory, and all I can focus on is the sharp, cold clarity that now grips my mind.“How are you feeling?” Lucien’s voice cuts through the haze, a steady anchor in the storm of my thoughts. His tone is calm, but there’s an undercurrent of tension that makes me uneasy.“I—I don’t know,” I stammer, my voice small, fragile. It’s the first time I’ve felt truly unsure of my well-being since this whole ordeal started.Lucien moves closer, his presence comforting in the way a storm is both terrifying and awe-inspiring. His hands rest on my shoulders, the warmth of his touch grounding me as he gently pulls me into a sitting position. He hands me a glass of water, poured from the pitcher
“What the hell is that?!” I ask in an alarmed tone as I take a shaky step backwards out of fear. Lucien doesn't respond as his eyes peruse the symbol on my door. His expression is unreadable as he crouches low, his fingers tracing the carvings on the door. The marks seem to come alive beneath his finger, as I'd they have a will of their own. My stomach churns with a mixture of fear and nausea, the awful scent from the expired paint growing stronger until I can practically taste it at the back of my throat. “What does it mean?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I can stop them. “There are tracking sigils.” Lucien responds in a clipped tone. “Ancient magic used to find objects of power. They've marked the inkwell and by extension, you.” “Who marked it?” I ask in a worried tone as my eyes flit back to the symbols on my door. “I have no idea. It could be the Obsidian Order, or it could be the inkwell creating a connection with you, I'm
EMMA’S POV I felt myself withdrawing from Lucien ever since yesterday , not because I was angry at him or anything.But because I felt guilty, it hurt me to see Lucien hurt everyday, and I couldn’t even bring myself to write In Lucien’s story, the smell of burnt paper tickling my nose every damn time. Although there wasn’t much damage done to the book, only the edges were burnt.Heck, I couldn’t even bring myself to look at the damage that I had done.And it also hurt to see Lucien stay bed ridden, his fever not ceasing. So if I wanted him to back to normal, all I had to do was write it.So I had been staring at the blank page since morning, my hands vibrating as I stared intently into the page automatically willing the words to form of the blank pages magically. The inkwell was making strange disturbing noises, the sygils on the body changing, each symbol glowing in red lights. But I could hear Lucien groaning in pain, his cries biting into my skin. The pain made Lucien mad, so
EMMA’S POV I waited impatiently for Lucien, ensuring that I clogged my ears with my ear buds.I was sure Lucien used strings of curses that always made me fall asleep. But today, I was going to make sure that none of that happened, I was going to make sure that we talked things out like the adult that we were.I could not bring myself to be angry at him, even though he deserved it. I just couldn’t bring myself to.I was way more attached to Lucien than he could ever imagined, and I needed him to assure me that whatever this was, he was going to figure it out.I needed him now more than ever, and he needed to know this too. So I waited for him, drawing the curtains up so I could see when he walked in. I had started to loose hope because it was just a few minute into mid night fatigue eating into me and I slowly started feeling sleepy. I hastily stood up and did thirty jumping Jacks, I made my way hastily to the kitchen to make a hot cup of coffee. The rich compensating me. I deci
LUCIEN’S POV I could not let Emma’s little antiques get to me, I knew she needed clarification. But I couldn’t; how could I clarify things that I didn’t have answers to?That was why I avoided the house like a plague, downing my entire life in the town's bar; not even the underground battles that took place every night could douse this feeling. An emotion so raw it ate into me. Although I have always won all the underground battles, I have amassed a lot of wealth after each battle.And it didn’t help the fact that Emma waited on the couch every night, a cup of coffee in her hand.And I always had to do an unconscious spell, watching as her head hit the pillow every single time before I left her there. I could not necessarily carry her into the room, she would suspect that I was the one that who had carried her every single night.SO I just made myself comfortable on The floor next to her stared into her face as she lay there unconscious. Her face devoid of any emotion as she slep
EMMA’S POV Ever since that incidence, I hardly ever saw Lucien, and I hardly got any sleep. This was way worse than heartbreak, and I still remembered the crazed look in his eyes like yesterday. The way he broke down and bawled his eyes or the way he was pit of his element, me crouching in a corner tossing objects at him while he carried out utter destruction in the house.Speaking of which, the house has been arranged like that cursed day never happened, like Lucien hadn’t murdered me with the words he chaffed out .He looking so dejected that he clued not even look me in the eye.And this one was different, and do you know how I knew. Anytime we had a fall out, Lucien was always the first person who would try to patch things up. He was always pining for a conversation, now I felt all alone, I was even too lazy to hide the huge eye bags that had formed on my face. Every single night I had been waiting for Lucien to either say those words that he had spewed to me, or rather take
LUCIEN’S POVEver since the incident with Mrs Clara, there has been a dark cloud hovering above us, with Emma wallowing inside guilt.What_ifs swirling through every statement she made regarding Mrs Clara.No matter how hard I had explained to her that the deed has been done, Emma didn’t want to hear of it.Which is why every morning Emma made it her duty to prune the little garden in front of her house, as well as taking freshly baked croissant, and freshly squeezed orange juice To Mrs Clara.And that drew me nearly to the edge every single time because she forced me to accompany her every single time she wanted to run these little errands.That was why by 4 am this morning, Emma had roughly woken me up from bed, saying that she needed to try a new recipe and how she felt like Mrs Clara was bored of all the dry croissants she was shoving down her throat. So we had spent hours in the kitchen cooking varieties of goods that she felt would awaken Mrs Clara’s taste buds.Bile rises in
EMMA’S POV I remember passing out on the chair, fatigue encasing my small body. I didn’t exactly know what I did that had me that worn out.It was well past evening I eventually woke up, with Lucien sprawled on the space next to me, his hand trapping me between him and the centre table. I just laid beside him, taking in all his facial features, he looked breath-taking with all his facial features relaxed. I traced my finger across his face slowly, trying to memorise the dips and every path of his face.The rise of chest bringing out different emotions in me, emotions that has me in a choke hold.“Take a picture Emma, they last longer” Curses! I hissed under my breath making me flush with embarrassment, the pink in my cheeks turning a deep shade of redHis laughter causing a small smile to form on my face.“I think we need to pay Mrs Clara a visit Lucien, it’s been ages Lucien “ I sighed, sucking air through my teeth, and I kind of felt bad .“It’s been what? Four days Emma: Luci
EMMA’S POV I couldn’t express how happy I have been since this morning, Lucien and I had already made out on the kitchen counter this morning, and it felt good every single time.I was happy with the way things were, I didn’t even have to think too hard. Whatever this thing was with Lucien, I was going to make sure I saw it till the end.“What are you thinking of Emma? Lucien asked, his breath fanning the crook of my neck.We were currently cuddling on the living room couch, watching a rerun of Harry Potter the pop corn lay half eaten on the centre table.Lucien seemed to be enjoying this movie, because he had been paying attention to the movie, his hands rubbing me In a soothing manner.“Nothing” I said trying to hide the blush that had started creeping up my cheeks. “Are you sure it is nothing Emma? Lucien asked sarcasm dripping through his voice “Ugh I hate you Lucien “ I said trying to hide my face with one of the throw pillows, Lucien laughter inciting me more, but in a go
BRIAN’S POV I was spent at this point, I had tried going to pay a little visit to the shopkeeper, but he had placed a damn curse that smacked me right off my feet anytime I came close to the door. The door handle zapping me senseless. So I had planted trails that would lead me to the inkwell itself, although I had no lead, and I needed to discuss it with Lilith, I needed her permission. I placed a call to Lilith, the line only beeping twice before she picked up, her voice ringing through the room“It is about damn time you called Brian” she yelled, my ear ringing loudly.“You know very well why I haven’t reached out to you Lilith, “ I said exhaustion rolling into my voice“Are you sure that is the only thing keeping you busy Brian? She asked candidly, there was a long pause after The question.Which caused her to cackle, her devilish laughter reverberating through the phone, and I hated the way she always made me feel small.“I thought as much Brian, so when you are done philand
LILITH'S POVI could not explain the anger that rolled off my body after I found out the inkwell had been sold, I had been in an offensive mood ever since Brian brought the news to me, a smirk evident on his face as if mocking me. If not that I needed him, I would have dealt with him, made him beg for his life till I decided on what to do with him.At least, that would put him in his rightful position, and he wouldn't dare mess with me, for I was Lilith, the holder of lives and the one who could rule over fickle-minded men to the right path; I was their only path to salvation.I had made necessary plans in place, the pines field being one of my priorities. I needed to visit the antique shopkeeper and needed him to tell me who or whom he sold the inkwell to.As it was, my patience was running thin; I needed that inkwell like yesterday. to finally get all that I had ever wanted.I wanted power in large doses, I wanted to rule the world.I yearned for the satisfaction of seeing my own r