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,
She pushed herself lower, trying to push herself into his face, but he was on his feet again with her panties in his hand… that he shoved into her mouth. “Be quiet.” He whispered slightly against her ear. A rough intake of breath made him pause. “Remain quiet, please.”It almost sounded like he was begging because he was afraid that her pleas would be too powerful for him to resist. Like he was scared that giving in would build things that he didn't want for them to come to existence. Besides, he had learnt that Aniya considered things differently from his kind. Would she be alright with him doing this once the effect of the blood passes or would her reaction be otherwise. It was hard to tell. Her muffled pleas floated through his ears again and he balled his fists at either side, then he turned away from her and just like that, he was retreating to the door. Aniya’s breath quickened, feeling how much was left undone, unexplored! The need in her veins drove her to acquire anythin
Aniya frowned. “He looks too much like my intended murderer, I am not interested, I’m certain he wants to kill me too. Also…” her glare deepened, “what kind of daughter are you? Have you no mercy on your mother!”“Why are you talking about my mother?”“Because you are proposing for me to lay with your father.”“What? I didn't say that.”“You said I need to carry a child with Alpha’s blood, and your father is the Alpha.”Oana shook her head. “I meant your mate! Not my father. He is the heir and carries the blood of the Alpha in his veins. A child from him might save you.”“Oh.” Aniya chuckled. “Oh, mate.”“Lay with him, have his pup, it should be easy enough. You are his Mate.” Oana held her hand. “That should give us time and grant you life.”Aniya took a look at her, trying to see if she meant what she was saying. It was confusing to determine whether Oana was standing for her or against her. This wasn't the first time she had put her in harm’s way as a way to help her. This time ar
GAYA’S GARDEN ____Belladonna was stunned by Alaris' statement but it did make sense that the map was lying to them. Maybe it wasn't completely lying to them but everything they approached using the guidance of the map always had something else in it that the map didn't tell them about, something dangerous that they should have been warned about. Like the river by the Tree of life that contained sirens, and this. Mostly especially this!The map was obviously playing tricks on them. If that wasn't obvious before, then this Garden of Gem had proved it to be true. There were no gems here, only corpses of those who had done what they were doing, and had ran out of time while they searched the Garden for something it didn't have. They had probably not seen the bodies that laced the ground and provided nutrients for the soil. Why were they seeing it? Maybe because Gaya was showing it to them, allowing them to know that they had fallen into her trap and there was nothing they could do
“I am more than just a man.”“Even better.”It took him only about a second to respond. “No. I am not getting intimate with you.” He stepped away from her, allowing her hands to fall from his chest. “It is an unnecessary attachment, seeing as you are close to death.”His words always made rage boil in her. Once again, she had to force a smile on her face and looked around the study just so she wouldn't show how annoyed she was by his presence. She had to remember Arlo. She was doing this for her son. “You are very insensitive.” She ended with a light chuckle to downplay the gravity of her words, along with the seriousness behind it. “I only state the truth.”Her eyes followed him immediately, as he moved around the study with a scroll in his hands, his attention on it while the lowly glowing gem in his hand provided light.As fascinating as it was that they didn't really need lanterns but had stones like this, Aniya was more angry than fascinated and she was in no mood to be marve
“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