Belladonna was the most distressed when the soldiers returned without Eli, Aniya, or her son. Then her worth worsened when they told her what had happened in the forest. They had felt the quake in the village too but then, the ground had only trembled with no lasting damaging effect. Lytio assured her that everything would be alright. Zesika was no help however, she was a wreck herself. “Arlo would be so cold. My boy, my baby. Aniya, by Ignas, she must be so scared.” Zesika would say to herself over and over again as she wiped her tears from her face. It was dark and many of their warriors were exhausted. With the news the soldiers had reported, many were scared to go into the forest and look for Eli. Armed with a couple of ropes, Belladonna decided to go into the forest herself to find him. Hopefully, her powers would help her. After all, they had worked to protect him once, they probably would do the same again. By Ignas, he should have let her come with him!Lytio tried to di
Belladonna turned to the door, ready to leave. “Donna?” Something about the way he called her name made her stop and turn to him wordlessly until the silence forced her to speak. “What?”His lips parted, like he was about to say something but instead, he walked to her and pressed a kiss against her lips. “Eli.” She pulled away. “Goodnight.” She left the room but a moment later, Zesika was at the door. “Did you find her, Sir—”“Get out of my face.” Eli slammed the door shut. He rubbed his hand over his lips vigorously as if to rub away every evidence of the kiss. His fingers hovered over the necklace she had gifted him as if to yank it away but he stopped himself and groaned. His hand gripped either side of his head and the alterer on his chest reappeared, glowing softly. ______Lytio was surprised to see Belladonna at the door of his study. Ever since she had arrived in Inaymi, she rarely ever came to him. However, that wasn't what made him worried the most. It was the look
So, it was dawn. The smell of dew filled the air and darkness lingered in the sky. It was time for Eli to take Belladonna to Kestra's corpse. Time for him to do as his Mistress had commanded. They were alone, treading through the forest. A lantern was in Eli’s hand and his other hand held her wrist, ensuring not to let her go no matter what. Belladonna glanced up at him briefly. By Ignas, she would miss him. If she were to die from this, he would lose his mind remembering this moment as the time he led her to her death. This situation reminded her of Collin and she couldn't help but hear his voice of regret, pain, and anger once again in her head. The way he had burst into her bathroom, looking for someone to blame while blaming himself for the death of his wife and child. It felt like it was happening all over again, just that this time it was happening to them. Eli would be Colin. She blinked her tears away, trying to focus her thoughts on Alaris instead. She didn't want t
He pulled away and smiled. “The day does not wait. We must hurry.”“Of course. Lead the way.” With that, they continued their journey. Just as Belladonna had suspected, Eli didn't take her to Kestra’s corpse. He had taken her to Kestra, who was leaning by a tree waiting for them.Her ears perked the moment she heard them move closer and a smile crossed her lips. “We meet again,” she stood away from the tree and turned to them, “Little Girl.” Suddenly, a red globe made of ice trapped the three of them within it. Belladonna panicked slightly. She had been prepared for this, still, the fact that this was real was different from just suspecting it to be real. It didn't help that she was now trapped in the same space with her. Could Lytio and the witches break into this Ice globe?By Ignas, it was hard to breathe!All this did was remind her of the Red Moon. She pulled away instinctively but Eli’s grip around her wrist was too tight she couldn't escape. “You said she was dead!” K
The world stopped. Hers did. It was so silent and so loud at the same time, it felt deafening to the point that she was nothing but numb.She could feel the warm liquid that spilled down the dagger and dripped into her palm. Tears welled up in Eli’s eyes and he smiled, as he moved her hand away from the dagger to hold his necklace. The hardness of the wooden pendant made her feel something.Feel everything. Too fast, too much!Tears ran down her cheeks and a whisper slipped past her trembling lips. “No.” Her heart was racing too fast. She glanced at the dagger and up at him quickly. If she were to pull it, wouldn't that make things worse?!What was she supposed to do?!By Ignas, what?!“N—no! Eli, stay! Please, don't do this to me!” He tried to speak but he couldn't. Blood dripped from the corners of his lips and from his nose. Words poured out of her mouth, just as tears rolled down her cheeks. “NO! Live for me! Give me back my string! Why are you so greedy?! It was my death!
Trigger warning - Grief. (Please read with caution, this chapter contains a very sensitive subject.)__________There was a lady in a white flowing robe, with long silver hair, and a dagger dripping with blood etched into her stomach with her hand over it. She extended her other hand to Belladonna and whispered something in a language that she seemed to understand despite not having ever heard it before. Belladonna's hand held the lady’s outstretched own, something surged through her at their contact and she woke up. She was drenched with sweat, her heart was racing wildly and her breathing was fast and ragged. It was dark and the room she was in was lit with a lantern. There were people in the room too, standing at either side of her. “You are awake,” Zesika, the one she recognized in this room, said. “How are you feeling?” Belladonna parted her lips to speak but slowly she frowned, as she remembered everything. Tears welled up in her eyes. “Where is Eli?” She asked instead,
Trigger warning.______“Are they dead too?” She asked.He closed the door and he went to her, where she was seated on the floor. Sadness swindled in his eyes, as he knelt in front of her. “No. They are not in the Realm, he knew I would go there. But they are safe, I promise you. A shifter would never hurt his mate.” “And Arlo?” “Aniya loves Arlo, Ikrus will not hurt him.” Belladonna nodded, exhausted, pain sinking into her chest. “I hurried back.” He held her wrist where the bracelet he had given was still on. “I felt you needed me.”“Eli is dead. You must hate me. I know you loved him.”“I don't hate you. Nothing was your fault.”“Why are you offering your sympathy to your brother's killer? He died for me, he died in my place and my body couldn't even keep his child alive.”Child?“I killed both of them, they are dead because of me!” He pulled her into an embrace, holding her while her body shuddered with tears and grief. “I don’t deserve to live.” “You did nothing wrong.”
“Maybe things would have turned out differently, maybe Eli would still be alive, maybe our child would be alive—”“Eli made a sacrifice,” he held her head between his palms, commanding her attention, “knowing fully well what it would entail. He laid down his life for yours. He wanted you to live.”Belladonna blinked at those words. Eli wanted her to live. “You did not kill him.”“But— but my hand was on the dagger and I—”“You did not kill him, Nightshade.”“Let me speak, Alaris!” She yanked herself away from him. “Let me be mad at myself!”Silence fell between them and his hands fell to either side as he watched her scream and pull her hair, breaking the silence. “Ahhhhhhhh!” Her eyes were filled with tears, his eyes glistened with the same. A grieving person trying to console another. How would that even work?“Alright then. My Eli…” she wiped her tears away aggressively as if annoyed that it was even there. “He made such a great sacrifice, the least I could have done for him
“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