Fuck.He didn't have time for this!Alaris covered the distance between them as swiftly as possible. He wasn’t as fast as he used to be and she had managed to take a couple of steps back before he finally grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder as he looked around in preparation to confront any beast that might come out to attack them. “You lied to me. You betrayed me.” Her voice was broken now. She wasn't even fighting him. “Why?” She asked as he continued their journey with her on his shoulder. He just couldn't wait to get out of here already. The thought of ending up with that ugly looking star-shaped creature made him recoil.“We had time.”“Yes and at the cost of a small part of my soul. I think I get to decide on how we use that time.”“They asked for it. I didn't want to give it to them, I told you every–”“I’m losing my dragon. I don't think I can live without him. The quicker we get to the gem, the better for me.” There was silence before he added like an afterthought.
There was no beast to be fought at the turning point to the Resurrection Ground, which Belladonna was most grateful for. Then finally, she was here. The place that promised to bring back everything to perfection in her life, only that it looked nothing like she had expected. She didn't even know what she had expected but certainly it wasn't a wooden bridge that had everything starting from the middle of it, concealed in a fog. The air was strange, it made her nostrils dry and it felt like the wind was whispering. Heart pounding, she took a step on the bridge and immediately a voice spoke from the fog, making her come to a halt. “Another Wanderer.” From the fog a lantern appeared mid air and a flame sparked to life in it, providing light. Still that light was too dim for her to see into the mist. “Tell me, who is it that you seek?”No one appeared to her yet, it felt like the mist itself was the one speaking to her. The voice was ghostly and cold.Words rushed out of her mouth. “
Aniya blinked, confused until she realized that the covers had slipped away from her body and her breasts had managed to find their way out of her blouse while she slept. She quickly tucked them away, adjusting her dress. After the guard had helped her to her room, she had started preparing to express her milk but strangely, she had fallen asleep. Ula must be gone by now.Aniya got out of bed to help the man on the floor. When she extended her hand to him, he took it but ensured that he kept his gaze to the floor.“Who are you?”“An omega, a servant. I saw nothing—”“It is safe to look up.”He did. Blood was running down the side of his face, the black curls that fell over his forehead hiding the cut away. He was just a little taller than she was, and he looked like he was around the same age as she was. His clothes were enough to tell of his status, he also had the leanness of a servant.“I ran here because I heard you screaming but now that you are alright—” he pulled his hand awa
The lantern slipped out of her grip and hit the ground. For a second it felt like everything had gone still, so still she couldn't even breathe. For that second, her world crashed down and built itself back up again. Eli. Her mind whispered but her lips were too still with shock to speak. Tears raised to the brim of her lower eyelids.“Donna.”Her body moved on its accord and she broke into a race, afraid that if she didn't get to him fast enough, he would disappear with the fog. Scared that he might even be actually there.She collided into his embrace as his warm arms slided around her, tears streamed down her cheeks and her lips met his that readily moved against hers in a gentle rhythm.Slow and filled with so many unspoken words.Her heart tightened with how overwhelming this felt but to pull away and feel his breath warm upon her face made it feel like everything had finally fallen into place.A bittersweet feeling.Her hands were around his neck, her fingers slipping into hi
She stumbled backwards as she pressed her hands against either side of her head. Her heel hit a rock and she sat on it, her legs feeling too feeble to hold her up. Afraid. Vulnerable. Overwhelmed. The words kept echoing in her head.A Life For A Life. Her hands trembled as she tried to force herself not to cry but think. Think, Belladonna!Think!At that moment, she felt his hands over hers, warm. For a second, the war that raged on her mind died down and when the tears that fogged her sight steamed down her cheeks, she saw that he was on a knee. His eyes looked like they understood what she was going through, even with his recent absence in her life, but that wasn't the only thing in his eyes. She cupped his face in her hands and he took in a deep breath. “Your eyes are a shade that I do not know.”They were black, completely black. It was surprising that she was just noticing it. “Death does make its changes, but I am still me, Donna.” His hands slipped down her waist. “I am
Aniya woke up to Oana shouting at her mother to do something about Ikrus still being in the dungeon.Their voices were so loud in the hallway, she could hear them right from her room. To put it more accurately, Oana’s voice was the loud one; she was the one shouting.“Why do you always just agree with him, Mother?!”“He is the Alpha,” The Luna answered calmly. Still foggy from sleep, Aniya missed a couple of lines of conversation. “Do something about it already! Please, Mother. Please!” “There is nothing I can—”“Ah, by the Moon!” That was followed by a yell at a guard to go to her room and take away all the presents that her father had given her that morning, most likely to appease her. Hurried footsteps, angry mumblings. And just when Aniya was ready to eavesdrop, her door went open and Oana was standing in the doorway with a smile on her face. “It's time for breakfast. I know you are worried about your mate and you miss him, but be at ease, my mother will do something about i
A hit to the face, a splatter of blood.Aniya hit the floor with a thud, her head ringing. Stupid Princess! How was she to be blamed for something like this that was out of her control?! Foolish— ah, pain. Pain everywhere.Goldie kept beating her up while the rest of the ladies snickered, giggled and laughed. With every hit, Aniya doubted her survival. Her hopes of Ikrus rescuing her was also dwindling. This mark was so useless, if it couldn't alert him whenever she got into danger. Or maybe it was but the dungeon was too powerful for him to escape from. This reputation was based on lies. Soon enough though, Aniya couldn't even think.All she remembered was the first crack, her bones breaking and the agony that unleashed in her veins after that. Goldie picked her up once again and Aniya looked at her with bloodshot unfocused eyes, the metallic taste taking over her mouth as her face twitched in pain that sprung from deep within her marrows. She was in too much pain, she couldn'
Curse Ikrus for bringing this misfortune upon her!It was probably the creature that had left the lily behind. She has forgotten about the lily? Has Syon seen him? Maybe this was good, maybe it was perfect if she died like this. The pain was too much, she was sorry to Arlo. She had failed her son. The creature came lowered and now she could hear the sound of dangling chains, heat pulled over her like someone had wrapped her in flames and just like how unfortunate events had decided that she was a worthy lover, unconsciousness was starting to take her away.Oh, wait. She was dying!Oh well.At least, it wasn't Ikrus or the Alpha that was killing her. Whatever this strange creature was, she would go pretending that she had chosen her own fate. She was ready. She hoped that Arlo would be well taken care of. However, when she felt the creature touch her, her heart raced and one thought slashed through her mind. By Ignas was she crazy?! She didn't want to die!But it was too late,
“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