“Maybe the King is right.” Veris’ gentle voice conveyed harsh meanings. It fired up something in Ikrus' heart that even the gentle winds of the night couldn't put out. They were sitting on this part of the roof of the Moon’s Temple, detached from what was below and into the serenity of what was above. Veris loved to sit on this part of the roof, he always said it made him see the moon without any obstruction. His obsession with the Moon could be understood, after all, he would be the next Elder Superior, the one chosen by the Moon Goddess herself ever since birth. He was marked by the image of a crescent moon on his forehead, it glowed softly all the time. Maybe there would be more marks to come when he would finally take his place as the Elder Superior.Right now, he was only in training. It was no news that the present Elder Superior wasn't fond of Veris. He wasn't chosen by the Moon goddess but chosen by the Alpha, which meant that he had no direct link with their goddess. Veri
“So much merriment while we rot in hiding just because of a self proclaimed saviour! A self proclaimed savior that has done nothing for us. The Heir of the Lost Throne!” She hissed, baring her teeth. “For how long will this foolish behavior continue? It irks me!” Nyka said the moment she stepped into the section of the Cave that belonged to the Channeller. “And good evening to you too, Nyka.” A smile bloomed on her face, and she hurried to the Channeller who was standing at one side of the cave. Standing!“Gamama!” She slipped her arms around her in an embrace, overjoyed to see her looking better than she had in years. “You look amazing. Like the sun kissed your skin. The herbs must finally be working. I will go and gather some more…”The Channeller laughed. “There will be no need for that.” Then she pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Instead, tell me why do you hate them so much? It is not like you to hate without reason.” She asked as she cupped her face and tucked a couple of stra
It was a masked ball.By Ignas, that was just perfect. It was as if luck was on their side.However, Belladonna and Alaris weren't attending as guests, that would make things too complicated. They snuck into the castle, disguised as servants. The Royals never really paid them attention. Glowing hair was a distinct feature for the Royal members of the Houses, that was something Belladonna came to realize. So Alaris had to tuck his hair away in a tightly wrapped scarf, hide his scars with a mixture that dulled them away and added black long beards. He looked completely different.Belladonna didn't have to do much. There wasn't really anything distinctive about her to begin with, which she found really surprising now that she was noticing it. Alaris led the way into the Castle and he reported that they were here for duty.“I don't think I have seen you around here before,” a guard at the door gate. “We are extra hands for the ball,” Alaris answered. Belladonna tried to look as conf
This wasn't the right time!But he continued walking, and no one was stopping him. At that side of the room, the servants were all too busy with one thing or the other. It would arouse curiosity or maybe even suspicion if she went to the other side to stop Alaris, but even the consequences of that would be so much better than what Alaris was about to do. Her feet moved quicker than she had anticipated for them to and soon enough she was stumbling into Alaris who seemed to snap quickly out of his daze for revenge at that. But the water is the bowl splashed on one of the men seated around the table; it wasn't the White King. So maybe that was good. She fell on her knees quickly, trying to beg her way out of this. Attention. The very thing they didn't want was now upon them. “How dare you, Filth?!” A hand swept swiftly across her face and this time it took biting down her tongue not to return the favour. Someone rushed right next to her, apologizing to the woman who had been seat
The goblet was dragged out of her hand and the next thing she knew, the wine was splashed on her face. The man’s grip around her chin vanished as his lady changed her sitting position to straddle him. “Don't look at her, look at me.” She whined and pressed a kiss to his lips, while the others laughed at her display of jealousy.Now that the attention was no longer on her, Belladonna staggered to her feet, slightly trembling as she raced out of the room hoping that no one would notice her.The laughter of the men and women in the room followed behind her like gongs of mockery; just as the gaze of the man that held her chin did the same with a spark of curiosity, confusion and something that shouldn't be there. He snapped his attention away from the valueless servant, and pulled the female away from him, instead he pushed her against the table, his hand around her neck. She squirmed in delight, as some of the goblets her presence on the table had disrupted, bounced off the table to t
Belladonna's breath caught in her throat and Alaris seemed to have gone still above her - he had definitely noticed too. By now, he must know that the woman had seen them.The steps of another person approaching into the room made the woman look away, and Alaris used that moment to move them deeper into their hiding place.If the meddling stranger should try to investigate the situation, he would have to kill her. The thought delighted his dragon but that was an unwise mess he didn't plan to leave. It would be better if his thirst for hearts and blood would reign free another worthy day. “It is time for the speech, mother.” A feminine voice said, it most likely belonged to the person who had just stepped in. “You are crying again.” The soft ruffling sound of dresses and chains filled the air for a moment.Belladonna frowned. What were they doing?She was crying again. “I’m alright, my dear. You go before me.”“Mother?”“I will be right behind you, I promise.”Belladonna's heart ski
The Priest paced back and forth through the passage, looking out for their return. Midnight was only a couple of minutes away. Where could they be? They should be returning by now? Where were they?An almost silent chuckle was heard from behind him. It was Nyka, she was leaning against the rocky wall of the passage, victory and mockery dancing in her black eyeballs under the light of the moon that managed to seep into the tunnel. “Where is your Heir now,” she paused and held his gaze, “Uza?”The Priest frowned, knowing that she had intentionally not called him his title.This was an insult to his vision, his ability and the fact that he had brought in the Heir— a prophecy that she obviously didn't believe in. “Soon.” The Priest said, tucking his trembling hands into his black robes. “Very soon. They will be here very soon.”“Will they?” She asked, her voice laced with laughter. “They have been gone for such a long time. Maybe there is something holding them back.” Her voice became
As Nyka approached the center of their hideout, her smile broadened. She couldn't wait to tell her father that the “Heir” didn't return — his Heir and the strange thing he had brought here with him. That mortal. Useless. It was good riddance!They were both gone, now sanity would return. Nyka couldn't wait to tell the people about this, to watch their faces lose hope and finally realize that the only ones they had were indeed themselves. She couldn't wait until their silly form of happiness would finally evaporate and be replaced with something real, just like it had happened to her many years ago.They must see it without any fog of doubt or hope in another entity, they must see things as they truly were. But as Nyka approached the center of the cave, she realized… something was wrong. There were many people lined up outside the curtain that led to Gamama’s cave room. Slowly, the smile on her face vanished and her heart began to race. The noises were beginning to face away an
“What is this?” Ny'ka asked, racing up to her feet.“The Stones of Prophecy. I already told you,” Ka'el replied, rising to his feet too. He groaned a little, his ribs hurting from the force that had tossed him aside.The stones had suddenly fallen to the ground, scattered; they were still glowing though. “I mean, what do they do?“I don't know!” There was a bit of panic in his voice, then he started to mumble to himself as he fell on his knees and started trying to collect the stones. “The King believes his daughter is in the Rebellion, and there are rumors of the Heir; he thinks they are working together.” He stopped and stared up at Ny'ka who watched him with a frown on her face. “That is why the Moon and the Sun came up in the sky because she is really here? But you said it didn't happen here, that it was from another Realm. It is from another realm, right? It isn’t true, Is it?”Ny'ka tried to grab one of the stones from Ka'el but it held it away from her. “Is his daughter truly
Then she felt like she was drowning and her words vanished from her lips. It felt like she was right in the lake and above it at the same time, hovering over the water and looking at the drowning child, while the drowning child looked back at her, struggling. Then she was finally in the baby and she could see Xinora floating over her as she felt herself dying in the baby — felt the baby dying. She saw Xinora stare right at her mother, who froze immediately like she had seen a ghost - it was what she looked like anyway, what she seemed to be. Then Belladonna felt the presence slam right into her immediately. Xinora had vanished and was now inside her as one being, the moment of her almost death creating the perfect space for Xinora to fit in. But just as Xinora had merged into her, she dissolved into the back of her mind like a mere pest fighting against a strong host. Her mother pulled her out of the water, her gaze blank and cold. Without a word, she wrapped her in a piece of clo
Trigger warning: Dealing with rape aftermath (from victim’s perspective) on page, and baby drowning on page. _________Belladonna paced the room. Two nights have passed since Alaris and her had discussed about Xinora. The Rebellion was healing, and she had sought out Ny'ka to help her with creating portals; although she knew that it might not work, just as it hadn't been working, but that was just how unpromising Channeling had been, and it had worked eventually. That wasn't the problem though. The thing was that Ny'ka was nowhere to be found. It didn't take long for her to figure out where she was.She was with Ka'el, most likely inquiring about their recent failure.Alaris had confirmed her suspicion, and here she was, in the room, trying not to drive herself mad with every single possibility that was crossing her mind.The Priest had drawn a tattoo on the top part of her chest, a little distance from her neck. He had smeared it with the blood of an animal, chanted some things th
Ny'ka went to Ka'el that night as the Heir had ordered, only to find out that he was with someone. Tsiri?What?What was she doing here? Why was she here? How long has she known about Ka'el? How did she get here?Why was she here?By Ina, what had she told him?!The White glow of the crescent moon above glimmered down on them through the shadows of the scanty leaves of the tall trees around them. The smile on Tsiri’s face was plain for Ny'ka to see, just as obvious as the doubt that dotted Ka’el’s eyes. What had she told him?!“Is it true?” Ka'el asked, his fist tightening around the small bag he had in his hand. She wondered what was in that bag but his next words made her aware of the greater problem she had before her. “Are you just fooling me?” He asked as his free hand anchored around Tsiri’s waist, making her smile widen. Disappointment flashed in Ny'ka's eyes and she frowned, blatantly ignoring Tsiri. “Fooling you? What nonsense are you talking about? And why are you with o
“Nightshade, do you have any memories of Jyris?”He was crouching in front of her. This room suddenly felt too small. Where was the air of ease?“No, except that he healed my ankle, gave me that gold ring that you tossed away and he was at the table with the King. Nothing else. I’m trying to but I don't remember anything else.” She wouldn't tell him about the strange feeling of familiarity she had when she had first seen him. That would be too dangerous. “You were in her dreams even when you weren't in captivity. So can you just go into people's dreams? Can you still do that?”“No. Her dream was the only one I could get into without being in captivity. But My freedom does come at a price. It was hard to lure the brides with my soul, and certainly, I prefer this freedom to that.”“Did killing her hurt you? Since the gems are supposed to be a pair.”“I struck her stomach.”“Why didn't you strike her in the heart or behead?”“I wanted to behead her and take her heart as my own; a litt
He heaved a sigh and sat next to her. “Well, it was after being King. I think the wars I had fought strengthened the connection with my gem; the lives I had taken fed it, and I dreamt of Xinora — well, she dreamt of me. It was the first time I would be in anyone's dreams.”Belladonna nodded, taking a mental note of that. “She was crying and lonely, and because the Gem perceived its master to be distressed, it sought a connection and found me. Xinora was terrified when we met; I was confused, too; it was strange. But then, I realized who she was and why I was there. At that time, I really wanted to come back here, to Vestros, but I knew it wasn’t time, I wasn't powerful enough back then.” He paused, before he continued. “The White King would kill me easily, but being in her dreams was like fate being on my side. She was the only weapon that could be used to kill me—”The only weapon?“Wait. Only a Bearer can kill a Bearer?”“Yes.” “So,” she turned to him squarely so she wouldn't mi
“And you didn't tell me? Why?”“It was over two centuries ago.” He stood up. “She stayed dead during those times, why would I think anything would come out of her now?”Belladonna said nothing and Alaris continued. “With you, I believed she had already been replaced. A new Master, her time was over, gone. The gems will always have their masters, I have discovered. At first, I was worried, but then you proved to be more than one with a mere link.”“I had visions of her. I told you everything.”He shrugged. “I thought it was just her lingering presence since she was the one who was connected to the gem before you. They are just mere visions, they don't suggest a powerful presence to get bothered about.”“You must be joking,” she stated, flabbergasted. “I had dreams of her every time and nothing ever really happened as a result,” he replied with a dismissive tone.“You know that is not true.”“Nothing “real” ever really happened.”With a realization, she stood up. “You are doing it aga
It felt compelling to desire more, it felt right… yet it didn't.Alaris pulled away being the first one to snap back from the spark pulling them together. “I’m sorry, I shouldn't have done that.” He was gone in a flash, leaving her flustered. She couldn't think; the foreign and overpowering feeling was a driving force that sent her out of the room to go after him. She did, reaching the surface, however, and feeling the warm glow of the moon on her skin. Something else seemed to have possessed her, and she went towards the lake instead, strangely seeking the comforting feeling of the water and the floating relief. The reflection of the full moon was cast over the still water and the trees seemed to create a path for her. She walked into the water as a shadow warrior emerged from behind her; the only one of Alaris' shadow warriors that wasn't killed. It swiftly moved into the water, reaching out to pull her back but she turned sharply to it. “Go Back!” She ordered, her voice a gr
Breathing heavily, he turned back to her. “I’m sorry— I just— I was afraid that you’ll shift—”“I have been terrified that this day would come but I thought I was stronger, as strong as I was in your Realm. I knew I would be lacking the moment I saw that annoying thing healing your ankle with his flames,” he laughed, the sound dry of humour as he swept his hand over his hair, pushing it back. “At that moment, I knew there were many things that I lacked, many skills, so many things. I might have been a King there but here, I am like a child. I’m not better than any of those dragon shifters. I’m useless.” “You are not.”With a huff, he sat down next to her, feeling exhausted. “My pretense to know what I am doing can no longer save me. I’m fighting a lost war, Nightshade and you can see it.”He turned to her, to find her shaking her head. “Don't lie to me.”“I’m not.”“Alaris—”“Don't try to inspire me, it won't work.” “I wasn't trying to inspire you, I just want to tell you how disap