The slightly thick crimson liquid that coursed through my vein slowly filled the clear long tube and dripped into the tiny glass bottle. I watched as the blood swirled and filled the glass bottle. Andjela removed the needle from my arm and waited till the tube was emptied into the glass bottle. She sealed the bottle, and I sat up.“We need just another half bottle. Come by whenever you want tomorrow.” She smiled and I nodded. Andjela is the healer whom I have been visiting from the very beginning of my pregnancy. And she has been like a rock to me when I had the breakdown in her office last week.“I will,” I murmured, and she handed me a pill and a glass of water. The pill is supposed to help me gain blood really quickly.“I will see you tomorrow then.” I smiled back at her and nodded my head before walking out of her office.The house was just as I left it a few hours ago. Vacant, cold, and dark. Vesna wasn’t back yet. She had called though, informing me that she has to stay there fo
Even though they are quiet and unmoving like an old photograph, stars shone in the night sky like diamonds. I closed my eyes as I felt the wind tangle my hair into a mane. The stars would have appeared coordinated if I had been out there in space, travelling beyond the boundaries of the known cosmos. The stars would tremble, and galaxies would dart and fall. But for now, the stars continued to follow their usual pattern as I wrapped my arms tightly over my chest and softly rested my head on the pillar that supported the shade over the small deck overlooking the backyard. Anxo left about an hour ago after dinner and took a bowl of Šnenokle with him. I noticed a shadow stir in the darkness of the forest, but I wasn’t startled as I knew who it was. Proving me right, Cassian appeared from the shadows and silently walked to me before sitting down beside me with a modest gap. We sat in silence. While I watched the stars, he stared at me. I glanced at him and noticed the questions in his eye
“Nesta,” he murmured, and I rushed to the door. But he grabbed my hand and my head shot at him.I yanked my arms away from his hold. “Don’t touch me!” I spat the words. “I have given you the space you wanted. But this is going too far!” He clenched his jaw, and I scoffed in disbelief. This male and the audacity he has! I wanted to laugh at his face but leaving was far more important.“Nesta! We are not finished yet!” He grabbed my arm again as I turned around. “Don’t take my name.” I snarled and tried to yank my hand free again, but his hold didn’t budge this time.“I gave you the time and space! So, why are you behaving like this!”“Let my hand go or I will rip it out of your grip!” I growled and the door opened again. And walked in a man in a black suit. He glanced at Erdem’s hand that gripped mine then stared at Erdem.“Your father has asked for your presence.” He solemnly informed, a certain coldness in his voice bothered me.“I will be there in a moment,” Erdem grumbled, his ey
3rd person POV:The moment Krsto’s words reached his ears, he was afraid of how that would affect the situation he was in. Hence, Erdem’s eyes frantically searched for hers. And when he found her, the look of betrayal that had filled her browns, crushed him. Erdem took a step towards her as her feet trembled and she leaned back. But the distance between them was too big for him to close and that distance only grew when she started to run for the exit. He wanted to follow her, but his father already had his arms around his shoulders and the wolves started to congratulate him. Soon she disappeared from his field of view. Her scent got buried by the heavy smell of booze and perfumes as well. The moment he got a chance, he grabbed Sigrún’s arm and pulled her out of the ballroom.Erdem shoved her into the nearest vacant room and shut the door behind him. His fingers agitatedly ran through his hair as he paced around the room.He abruptly stopped to face Sigrún, “Let me ask you this.” He pa
Sigrún screamed out in agony and fell to the floor. Erdem tried to keep standing but the force pushed him down to his knees. It was as if something was being torn out of him forcefully. Even through the pain, he felt as though a heavy weight was being lifted from him. The pain went away as abruptly as it came. Erdem lifted his eyes to find his father staring at him with darkened eyes. There was a shadow cast over his face that scared Erdem. Suddenly his father's leeches started screaming agony, and the darkness in Krsto’s eyes changed into dread. One after another, the leeches fell to the floor.“Hmm. That was convenient.” Krsto turned around as Anxo’s voice rang. Anxo’s eyes fell on Sigrún first, and she looked as though all the air in her had been knocked out. Anxo’s eyes shifted to Erdem, and he walked towards him.“If I heard correctly, then you wanted answers. Right?” Anxo’s voice was cold as his indifferent eyes stared down at Erdem.“Let me enlighten you with a story I just dis
“Got anything yet?” Erdem asked as he folded up his shirt sleeve.“He continually refuses to speak,” Nikola answered solemnly.“Cut off his meals. Only water, once a day.”“Understood.”“Any trace of, Nesta?” He asked, hoping there will at least be some information that could lead him to her.“Nothing.” Nikola gave him the same answer. Nothing. He has been hearing that same word for the last two weeks. A word he came to despise the most in the whole entire world.Erdem walked down the spiral stone stairs of the dungeon, with Beta Nikola on his toe. Their heavy boots resounded in the darkness of the cells. The blazing torches on the stone walls cast a dancing light upon the tomb. He breathed the air that reeked of blood and fear. The cries of tortured souls assailed his ears. Yet, he paid no heed to them. For he had grown used to the cries and the begging. Erdem reached the lowest level of the pit. Where rows of cells are lined up along the wall. He scanned them with his keen and pierc
“First, I want a deal. And I want your words.” Erdem tilted his head and gave him a nod. “You help me put Krsto on trial, you testify against him in the royal court. The monarch strips him of his rank, title, and dignity. And I let you go.” Erdem laid down his offer and Jakov thinks for a while. “That works,” Jakov murmured and Erdem raised a brow. He gulped down the food in his mouth and sat the bowl down. “Where should I begin?” Erdem leaned forward, “From the beginning.” “I was thrown out of my house by my father when my mother died. I was seven, on the street, hungry and scared. Then Krsto came along, he found me and gave me food, bought me clothes, and then asked if I would-” “I didn’t ask for your fucking biography. Start from the planning of the attack.” Erdem leaned back into the chair and Jakov nodded shoving a spoonful in his mouth. “You might have understood by now-” He paused gulping down the food. “Krsto had me completely under his control. He had trained and cloth
He was chained to the wall, his face bruised and bloody. His healing abilities couldn’t keep up with the amount and severity of the wounds. Also, Erdem’s men didn’t allow him even a second to heal. Erdem entered the cell, he settled into a worn wooden chair, its groaning protest a symphony of the torturous history that permeated the chamber. The prisoner's gaze followed his every move, an unsettling blend of anticipation and sadistic delight. Erdem’s man stepped forward, their faces hardened as they forced the prisoner forward, his chains clinking ominously. His eyes glinted with a twisted satisfaction, relishing the agony he had inflicted upon him.The killer wore a sinister smirk, devoid of any remorse. “So, you've come to confront the monster within me? How thrilling.” His voice dripped with a chilling indifference as if revelling in the darkness he had created inside him.“A monster. That’s right. A fitting name for you.” His voice steady, carried an undertone of sombre determinat