03| purple

T H R E E

Smoke tendrils curled up around the cozy cottage and wafted into Lukov’s nostrils. He startled awake, something was burning. He stood up like it was his own behind that was on fire. The thought that maybe his new wife is trying to burn him alive occurred to him.

He left his room, bursting through the other rooms until he came in front of Shivani’s. Her room was engulfed in bright orange flames. He pushed the door open and he saw Shivani sat at the corner of the room, her hands on her head as if to protect herself from the flames.

“Shivani, can you come out?” He yelled. He will never be able to live it down if she dies before even spending an entire night with him.

“Yes, but something is holding me.” A beam fell off and she screeched. Lukov squinted through the fire and saw nothing holding her and for a moment, one horrible thought occurred to him—she wanted to burn. She wanted to die.

“Liquidum! Extinguo ignis! Put out the fire!” For a solid minute, the flames soared higher and higher until they completely fanned out. Shivani’s eyes turned into a scary shade of cerulean blue before it went back to it murky shade of brown.

“What.did.you.do?” Lukov gritted out as she walked out of the fire. He gestured wildly towards the black hole that was now in the room.

“I did not do anything. It was the woman.”

“What woman?”

“I do not know her. She came to me.” Lukov decided that the traumatic experience must be making her lose her wits.

“There’s an intruder in my house?” Lukov asks in disbelief. There’s no way someone will be in here without his knowledge seeing as super senses is one of the many gifts that his paranormal nature gave him.

“I do not know. I want to talk to my mother.” Shivani says. She’s always had strange dreams but it’s never led to her almost ending up burnt alive. At least, not when she was in her mother’s house.

“You can not. In the treaty, you are not allowed to reach out to family.”

“What?” Maybe Achlys isn't exactly the best mother but just selling her off to a man was overboard.

“Yes, Shivani. Not that it's very hard to believe. You are not exactly a stellar daughter. You burn things in your sleep.” He thought he saw her eyes water but she blinked it back quickly before he could make sure of what he saw.

“This has never happened before!” Her voice cracked in the middle of her sentence.

“Do not yell. We are in the middle of the night.”

“What does it matter? This cottage is smack dab in the middle of a forest. Millions of miles away from civilization.”

“To keep us away from humans!”

“I am human.”

“Yeah, a human who burns something in her sleep.” Lukov retorted sharply.

“Please, I just want to talk to my mother. Is that really too much to ask?”

“I am sorry, Shivani. You cannot.” He didn’t sound at all sorry. He just looked exhausted like he couldn’t wait to be done with her, like he will be the one setting her on fire tomorrow.

“Fine.” She slid down to the polished wood floor and leaned against the walls. She was tired too. The nightmare made her feel like she hasn’t slept in ages. Her eyelids started drooping.

“Sleep in my room tonight.” Lukov saw Shivani inhale sharply, her eyes darting around in only what could be panic.

“I am fine here.”

“When I said I wanted to make you suffer, I didn’t mean sleeping on the floor. So, you will uquietly come into my room now because we both need to get some sleep.” He was right, she needed a bed.

She followed him sheepishly to his room. The room was just like him—dark and unwelcoming.

“You should have added a bit more color.” Shivani couldn’t help but blurt out. She’s always thought that dark colors were sort of ugly.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do, Shivani. Just sleep.” He went to one side of the ginormous bed most likely his favorite side and laid down. Shivani followed suit but before she even laid down she knew she won’t be getting any sleep. She doubt Lukov will either.

They turned their backs to each other but the room was quiet so they could hear the other breathing.

“Why’d you accept this? You don’t seem to like it.”

“I am not going to have an heart-to-heart conversation with you, witch.”

“I know you are bored. I can feel your emotions like they are mine.” Shivani lied. Maybe if she was a normal witch, she’d have felt it, because they can normally detect energy, auras and emotions but she was a broken witch with hair that was the most horrible shade of red. “Just give in.”

“Fine, it’s because I am the prince, it’s my responsibility.” Lukov wondered if she was expecting something else because her body went still—too still. “You?”

“I can’t exactly disobey my mother.” Her voice was soft, not at all conveying the pain Lukov was sure that Achlys must have put her through but he didn’t care. He was doing this so he could sleep.

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Have you met my mother?” She mused bitterly.

“I have.”

“That was a rhetorical question, your majesty.” Lukov didn't know why but that made him laugh.

“I know that.”

“No, you didn’t. Werewolves are not very good with the education and intelligence thing, I gathered.”

“Says the witch whose cranial content is at the verge of extinction.” Lukov expected Shivani to jump at her own defense—argue hotly. Anything that he knew the red haired witch to be but she was quiet and he saw that her breathing was now slow and rhythmic, she’d fallen asleep, her mouth was parted softly like a child’s and her hair was splayed unattractively on the pillow.

“Good night, Shivani.” Lukov mumbled.