Belladonna sprung awake, sweat running down her forehead, an unpleasant feeling spreading through her veins, tightening her stomach.Eli. Something bad had happened to him. It wasn't something she had seen or something she had heard, it was something she could just feel in the depths of her stomach. It was a knot that twisted unpleasantly there and made her hands tremble as she flung her quilt aside and pulled her robe around her. She quickly headed out of the room, forgetting to bring the gem with her.Panic coursed through her veins and she jumped in her skin when she came across a man in the darkness of the hallway. Raindrops hung to the strands of his silver, his black leather glistering with it. The storm outside raged on. Thunder clapped and lightning flashed, then she saw his face, dripping with raindrops, his wet hair tucked behind his ears, a few strands falling over his forehead.Relief eased the stiffness in her shoulders."Alaris, I think something---" she started to s
Ever since Anok had been brought into Granny's hovel, Nadia had been getting better. Tremendously, in fact. It had been five days and Nadia was already out of her bed, moving around the hovel and stealing glances at Anok at any given opportunity.Just like she was doing right now. Nadia had lost count of the water droplets that rolled down Anok's bronze skin, as he swam slowly around in the river. Instead, she had gotten lost in the way his muscles moved under the ray of the sun, and allowed herself to fantasize about how he would feel against her.Warm.Wet. It would be perfect. These days, all she could think about was him. It was as if she had gotten better just because they were made to be together, she hadn't died because she was meant to be his, and her death would have left his life so devastatingly imperfect. The rippling of the water floated to her ears, and she imagined what might happen if she would just become bold enough to take off her heavy gown and join him in th
Meeting with the witches that Seb had brought to the Capital had been unproductive for Belladonna. None of them could help her get rid of the magic. She had dabbled into the idea of them teaching her how to control it, but they couldn't do that either. Her powers were strange to them, and restless within her. The spirits of the ghost brides that came with this "curse", didn't make it easy at all. She could still hear their voices becoming louder and louder if there was too much distance between her and Alaris's gem or him. This curse kept her movement limited to the castle, and all her plans of visiting those villages with those stupid customs had to be delayed. She had submitted some scrolls regarding the matter to Alaris though, and although they weren't talking, she hoped he would look through them and do what was necessary to be done. While she was stuck in the castle, she had received a letter from Lytio telling her about her Father's death and Aniya's condition. He said she
"Did you cut this out of the gem?""It was nothing." He shrugged. He was lying.That must have been really painful, there were certainly consequences for that. It wasn't every day he was ripping out his soul and making bracelets for people out of it. "What do you want?" she whispered.The room fell into silence. "Is this about the Life Gem? You want me to find it for you, right? Stop confusing me.""Well," he stood up slowly. "I didn't want to bother you with this before, but the witches couldn't extract the link you share with the Bearer of the gem, for me to own."A chill ran down Belladonna's spine. No wonder he had been very interested in helping her find those witches.There was a time she had almost tricked herself into thinking he did that because he considered them as friends.How ridiculous."You told them about the gems?""I told them to extract every unnatural link you had."Belladonna frowned, taking a step forward. "So you were going to own Kestra's powers too, if it
That woman who had been crying for help in the forest was the King's Right-hand woman. Didn't they say she was dead? That her body was set ablaze with the dragon's flames?She had seen a ghost!"Are you alright, Nadia?" Her Granny had asked and she had lied. "Yes, Granny. I just got a little distracted in the woods. I'm sorry for coming back so late, it won't happen again."How was she supposed to tell her Granny that she had gone past the boundary, and straight into that part of the forest she had warned her never to go to? Not just that, she had also seen exactly what she had told her she would see if she crossed the boundary. A troubled spirit. The words the ghost had said still haunted her. It was almost as if she could still feel those cold fingertips, the dread, and the chill that ran down her spine at the unwanted touch. She had sprinted away from her, and the ghost had followed, claiming that she was her daughter. Nadia had barely been able to escape. Even now, she could
"Troubled spirits are very desperate and they will cook up any lie to get you to be on their side." Granny had said those years ago when she had told her to stay away from the boundary. "If you are not strong enough. You won't be able to resist them. It is safer to never cross paths with a Troubled Spirit, than to hope to escape their tactics. Do you hear me, sweet child?"Nadia sighed, looking into the mirror, and observing the dark circles around her eyes. This was the second time she was having the nightmare, the second night after her encounter with the ghost. Ever since then, she had no peace. The words of the ghost were haunting her. Even as she stood in the bathroom, wide awake and in front of a mirror. These words just kept finding her. Her fingers parted her red hair and she stared at the silver root through the mirror.*"My daughter has the most beautiful silver hair. You do too, you are her, I saw it."*As much as Nadia wanted to ignore those words though, she couldn't
Granny continued her narration.A witch had been in labour and she had brought her to her cottage to help her birth her child, but her touch had killed the baby seconds after she had been born. So, the witch had left. That child was Nadia. After the witch had gone though, the child woke up, but instead of seeking out the witch, Granny had been consumed with love for the baby, she couldn't let her go. So, she took the child as her own. "You kept me from my mother." Nadia was angry now, and she didn't try to hide it from her voice.This woman wasn't the Granny she knew. This woman in front of her was a stranger."I kept you from a life of pain and suffering." She said, her eyes filled with desperation. "I gave you everything.""Except what I really wanted."She knew she had always wanted to meet her real parents, it wasn't a secret she hid from her."I did what I thought was best for you."The room suddenly felt so small. So suffocating."Why would you think keeping a child from her
Kenji had been outside the door when Nadia ran past him. He tried to stop her but she had held her hand up, signifying that she didn't want to be interfered with.It was unlike Nadia to be like that. She was usually shy and happy. Maybe she had finally realized that his brother didn't have eyes for her. Ah, those midnight thoughts could be ready disturbing and eye-opening at times. She would heal. He was worried though, that something might happen to her in the forest she had ran into, although she had a lantern with her. But no one knew this place more than Nadia, aside from Granny. She would be able to take care of herself. If she stayed too long though, he would go after her and check if she was alright.The door creaked open and Taria stepped out. Kenji laughed, looking at Taria's disheveled state. It looked like she had pulled at her hair in her sleep, her eyes were red with the lack of it though. "Are you going to run too?""What?" Her voice sounded hoarse, more like she
Her stomach rumbled, but it was quiet, and for the sake of her dignity, she hoped that he hadn't heard it. “You don't need the sun, you need food; I know a place.”“Get out of my sun.”“I’ll take you there.” Quickly she was on her feet, his arm along her waist to keep her stable. “Are you even listening or are you just deliberately ignoring me?”“Deliberately ignoring you.” “What? I expect the elderly to behave with more sense,” she jabbed, annoyed with his interference. “There are no elderly here.”In a flash, he is with Arlo. Then before she could tell, they were before a table that must have been prepared for them only moments ago. She was dizzy from the speed but the lovely aroma in the air could not be mistaken; there was food here. She felt Ikrus push her into a chair and she took her seat, blinking to regain her stability and clear vision. When she finally did, she looked around. They were in a kind of glass room with flowers on the ceiling. The table before her was smal
She cleared her throat, changing the topic. “Is my age a problem for you, Ikrus?”He sucked in a deep breath, looking away, still thinking about why he had brought her and Arlo here - still trying to figure out his thoughts. “No. I was merely surprised, that is all.” “I’m not bothered either.” She leaned closer to him, a hair’s breadth between them, catching him off guard with her action. “Don’t worry,” she skimmed her fingers over his hair and he stilled, forcing himself not to move as more of her fragrance consumed his air. “I have always fancied old men.”What?!Old men?!Old men where?!“I’m not old,” he said, clearly offended. “You are thirty-two,” she said as she lay down and closed her eyes. “Exactly. I am not old.”She felt his shadow over her and she sighed, wanting the warmth of the sun on her skin once again. “You are thirty-two… and blocking the sun.”“That is not old at all.” He sounded like he was losing his mind, but his voice was leveled. She shrugged nonchalantly
She turned to him sharply, wheels turning dangerously in her head already to come up with a lie, her lungs clogging with fear, only for her to discover that he wasn't looking at her but at someone else. “Look! Arlo is walking!” He declared in hushed excitement. Aniya rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath of relief, tucking away the poison bottle. He didn't catch her, she could still kill him. “Arlo can walk.”“For long distances like that?” He turned to her, surprised. “Yes.”“Oh.”“In fact, we must redesign the room to accommodate him. He keeps on trying to pull things down.”Ikrus frowned. In a flash, he was holding Arlo who was strongly protesting against being held. He certainly wanted to play on the ground. “How old is the little one?”“Arlo,” she said, emphasizing his name, subtly ensuring that he wouldn't call him “little one” again, “will be two soon.”Ikrus nodded, taking the information in as he easily moved Arlo from one hand to another in his struggle to get down. “H
Aniya told her about the strange lily she found in her coin bag while telling her how she had come by it, although leaving out part of the poison, while watching to see if the witch had told Oana about what she was searching for. It didn't seem like the witch told her anything. “I have seen something like that in my room before,” Aniya said. “I’m scared of what it means and I am afraid—” she looked over to Arlo for the umpteenth time, “of harm coming to Arlo or me.” Oana was very concerned and she said she would tell the Alpha and Luna about it so that they could give orders for the Pack House to be thoroughly searched. Then Aniya asked, “What about last night? Why did the sun suddenly come up and merge with the moon?” She rushed to the window. “Everything seems normal now.”“Elder Superior said it was a result of something that happened in another realm. It is none of our concern; our Realm stays unaffected, and all the portals remain sealed.” Aniya panicked.Another realm? Wha
That night, after they had both eaten, Alaris took Belladonna to a nearby river, where a burning incense was placed on a leaf pad to float away. “It is to let go of the past and begin anew,” he has explained. It was something that helped Belladonna even though she hadn't known she needed it. Her heart felt lighter and with a more positive perspective, she left the river bank.The Belarion Rebellion and the rest of the Cave had fully returned now. Shortly after, Belladonna and Alaris started trying to create the army. They were once again under an open sky. Nyka watched from a distance, just like every one of the dragon people had been advised to do. Her father was right next to her, he wasn't supposed to be here. He was still injured from the torture he had received from the White King’s warriors that had captured him but he was terrified that if he as much took a step from her, the Heir would seize her and kill her. “What do I do?” Belladonna asked, trying to shake off the press
[LYCANS’ REALM]The coins vibrated on the floor, clanking as they added to the slight trembling she could feel around her. Aniya’s heart jumped. Quickly, she dashed to her bed and grabbed Arlo, taking him swiftly into her arms. She could hear a bell ringing from a distance. Voices of terrified people seeping into the air, even with her ordinary human hearing, the building chaos felt loud to her.What was going on? Before she could make it out of the room, though, she felt someone sweep her away, and in a flash, she was in an enclosed space, an arm around her, so that she held Arlo between them. She knew it was Ikrus; with such speed and the feeling of momentarily ease that went through her, it could be no one else. She hated the Matebond for many things but for this little ease that she could feel right now, she appreciated it a little. Even if this relief was a lie that everything was alright, it was better than the sheer terror she had been experiencing.The rumbling continued,
Finally, they were under an open sky.The Moon was full in its glory above them. “It is a perfect night,” Ny'ka said before intertwining her with Belladonna's.“Close your eyes.”She obeyed. “Think of the Bearer, of her grave, of her presence, and connect with her.”The Bearer. Belladonna allowed her mind to roam, remembering the silver-haired woman she would always dream about. She had never seen her face so there was no way she could see that. The image was blurry and soon it was nothing but darkness. “Open the windows, open the door,” she could hear Alaris' voice. Then she remembered her way of sealing the windows and the doors of her mind. So many things were happening in her mind. She could see the path to the castle, down to that room, to that sarcophagus, Then she was back in that room again - with the windows sealed and the doors locked.There was a white beam outside the window and a woman with long silver hair that shadowed her face.“Open the doors and the windows!”
“Don't kill me please, I believe now. You are the Heir, you are the savior. I see it.” Ny'ka begged. They were in one of the underground rooms, away from the people of the Belarion Rebellion and those of the Cave. This was something Alaris didn't want many to know about.“Please, take my life instead and spare my daughter,” Leader Tyrek begged. He knew what crimes Nyka had committed, the Priest told him everything.“You tried to kill me,” Alaris said to Ny'ka who was still on her knees, begging, tears running down her cheeks.“It was a mistake. It won't happen again.”Alaris smiled. “It won't.”He held her wrist and pulled her up, but while he did that, he crushed her bones, and pressing his flames into her skin, he healed her, just like he had seen it happen with Nightshade and that stranger in the Castle during their escape.It was an excruciating moment for Ny'ka and it didn't help that he did it again and again and again…By the time he was done, she was back on her knees, breat
The moment the ambush came upon them, some guards had taken Ny'ka and discreetly escaped from the scene. They were headed to the White King’s Castle to be highly rewarded for bringing to him the daughter of the leader of the revolution against him. They were supposed to take Leader Tyrek along too, but it seemed the guards who had him in captivity had been attacked. There would be much to tell the King upon getting to the castle. While they silently snuck away, Ny'ka found a way to free herself from the bondage and attacked them. She would rather die than have them take her alive; it was looking like that was the only option for her until she felt she had until Alaris' showed up. He descended from the sky with his massive leathery wings and he saved her; he killed the guards and swept her up into the air in his arms. In that moment, she saw what the others saw in him. A saviour.In that moment, something changed. “You saved me,” she said, the wind almost stealing her words away