A shudder of fear went through her. She ensured to keep her gaze on the floor but his hand forcefully held her chin with his hand and made her look up at him through the tiny nets of her black veil, while his claws dug lightly into her skin. From the corner of her eyes, she could see him set down his goblet to pull off her veil. Her big brown eyes widened with fear, and she tried to pull away but his tight grip. The giggling of the women sitting at his feet, filled her ears along with Oana’s whisper for her to just obey and submit to the Alpha’s actions. He yanked the veil from her face and tossed the small piece of cloth to the floor. Their gaze met, and immediately a ringing sound filled her ears.A kind of rage rushed through her veins and suddenly, she wasn't on her knees anymore, instead she was on her feet, unstable though as it felt like the dining room was spinning around her. She blinked, just at the moment to catch a glimpse of Ikrus’s glare as he took Arlo from Oana.
The kiss was short-lived. He pulled away from her immediately. Aniya could not speak after that, her tongue felt too heavy to be moved for a speech. Her heart was racing and that feeling was spreading through her veins once again. Her hand slipped to a part of her neck that suddenly felt too sensitive for anything. There was something strange about this bite. It had healed quickly, yet the scars weren't showing signs of ever fading away, but that wasn't just it, a strange feeling seemed to be attached with the mark too. That strange feeling was connected to Ikrus. He gave her this mark. He had done something to her. She would have to find out how she could get rid of it. It was starting to make her lose her mind and she was afraid that if she lingered, she would completely lose it by the time this “thing” would take over her. He probably injected a love potion into her skin using his teeth, even that was more logical than this stupid mate concept he was always telling her about
Darkness. It was all they could see.There was nothing before them, nothing behind, nothin above and nothing below. It was like they were in a void, not falling any longer, just hovering in mid air. Flames emerged from the fingertips of Alaris’s hand but they disappeared as quickly as they appeared, like a great wind that easily snuffed off a candle. Only that the wind didn't exist here. Here, there was nothing… but them. Alaris tried again but the same thing happened.The third time also led to failure but this time around, there was something else. He could sense it. A presence. He pulled Belladonna closer, ensuring that his hold around her was secured. “I hate invisible things.”“At least now you know how I felt,” she whispered back. “That was for your benefit, Nightshade. If not, my beauty would have captured your heart, there would be none left for your poor Eli.”Swoosh!Something she passed. Belladonna trembled lightly in his hands. “We are not alone,” she whispered,
“My sincerest apologies for the necessary pain.” Gaya’s voice echoed in their ears. Belladonna straightened up, the pain now little tingles on her veins. Her attention was drawn to the part of her arm that still hurt the most. Carved into her skin was a Sandglass, illuminating with different colors. The upper part was filled with sand, stagnant, while the lower part was absolutely empty. Alaris pulled her to him immediately, standing in front of her once again, before he could speak his words of rage fully, Gaya spoke. “HOW DARE—”“The map will show you the way and the Sandglass is there to reveal how much time you have left. Only the one connected with the Gem can take it, but you both can see the map.”From behind, Belladonna could see the golden, almost-transparent scroll hanging in the air. The map had different detailed images on it, along with the names of these places. “If the bracelet is lost, then only he will be able to tell the way.”From where Belladonna was standing,
Trigger warning - Slight violence, blood. ______Aniya backed away, her eyes searching the room quickly for anything that could save her and her child from this beast that was determined to kill them. The wolf matched her pace and with each step she took, it got closer. Her hand grabbed something and she tossed it far away from them, urging the wolf to go after it, hoping to distract it. That didn't work. Instead, it seemed to have only gotten the wolf angrier. In a flash, it lurched at them.She screamed, racing towards the door but she never made it. The weight of the beast knocked her to the ground, and she turned to look death in the face as the wolf revealed its canines to rip her apart.But a rope, glowing with white light, latched around the wolf’s neck and yanked it backwards, pulling it off her enough for her to escape.Now faced with a new enemy, the beast turned to the intruder and she bolted away, stumbling slightly as rushed into the adjoining room and slammed the d
He stood in the doorway, with a sack in one hand, blood dripping from it. “Ikrus—” The man in front of her started to say but Ikrus turned away, he ripped the door out of its hinges and left. Stupid man. He could have just used the key.Before the man in front of her would decide to go after Ikrus, considering that it looked like they knew each other, Aniya stopped him with her words. “He was the beast, he attacked me! Please, you have to help me out of here. He would kill us next time. Have mercy on my child.”“It was a mistake. Please, forgive him. It will not happen again.”By Ignas, what stupid— she would have to try something else!“Who were those? The ones that attacked us.” There was a woman among the attackers. She needed to know if the woman was alive or if the earring she had with her was useless. “Some of the Alpha’s men.”Well, that was a general term. “They were all dead.” She patted Arlo shakily. “Male, female, their faces—” “Female? Ikrus said they were all male.
His wings were in a terrible state. Ripped apart at the edges and bleeding. They seemed to slack, droop further to the ground than they should— they looked nothing like she had ever seen them look before. “They are there,” she managed to say, her breath sharp and loud. “All we need is some healing herbs.”His laughter dragged, rage boiling in his voice. “I will never be able to fly again.” Then abruptly, he shouted. “WHAT KIND OF KING—”Horror washed over his face and the rage in his eyes disappeared. “Nightshade, You idiot!” He stood up abruptly, pulling her by her wrist. “How dare you let yourself get hurt like this? Are you stupid?”She frowned and yanked her wrist away from him. “I’m alright!”He grabbed her wrist once again. “You are bleeding too much to be alright.”He said it like she was a ghastly sight but that wasn't how she felt at all. In fact, she felt like she had hardly sustained any injury, she felt very alright.But when she looked down at her wrist that he w
With Belladonna's absolute trust in Alaris, he led the way.At the point where the road splitted into two, there was a metal rod with a board of the names of the two pathways, carved into it. Where the road was buried into the ground, laid a beast. It had taken Alaris sometime to kill it but he did and it instantly turned into ashes after. They both agreed that for the next turning point, Alaris would go first just in case there was a beast lying in wait for them. Belladonna was useless in combat and she would only slow things down than help out. As they journeyed deeper in their search, things got worse. Every fruit they came across turned into ashes once they touched it, giving off a rotten smell as they vanished. The land was dry and any hopes of running into any body of water was lost. Water, food and healing herbs. The Tree of Life promised all that and in Alaris’ mind, he could see the dire ruins that would lead them there. However, the tree was too far and in the state th