Eli had gone to sleep with a heavy heart, and just as he had been doing for the past three nights, he didn't share the bed with his Donna. He had woken up with a heavy heart too, had his meetings with the same state of mind, so one could imagine how much joy it had brought him when Belladonna told him that she still wanted to see her surprise that evening. The same surprise that he had planned for her, before the coffin incident drove a wedge in-between them.Quickly, he had taken her to the fountain. The one he took her to a couple of months ago. That was her first surprise.For Belladonna, she had been disappointed in herself for not making any headways in her plan last night.How could she ever find out the truth on time, if she kept on allowing her emotions to get in the way?It was a tough life out here and she had to be stronger than that. Pushing her overwhelming feelings aside, she had picked the first way out of the mess she had found herself in. Asking him for her surpris
She slammed the book shut and pushed it away, turning to Eli who had already made his way into the room with the use of a key. Wasn't he supposed to be in his study? Working with all those scrolls he had piled up for him? They were so much that he had invited her to help.Ah, by Ignas, there was no running from this man."It's a design. I'll do it on my own." Her voice trailed into a whisper when he was barely a step away from her. Her heart drummed wildly in her chest because the book was still within reach. "You should get whatever you need from here. I will fix a study for you on my floor." His gaze fell on the book she had her hand pressed on. "Let us read it together.""No!"He blinked, trying to figure out what that meant exactly. Another distance in their relationship or just light banter?With a swift movement, he carried her, and made her sit on the dressing table, with her thighs inched apart to accommodate his intrusion.She let out a light gasp, puzzled by his choice of
Something flashed in his eyes, and he moved closer, his hands cupping her face, his thumb trailing the base of her bottom lip. After a moment of deep thought, his lips met hers in a hungry kiss, one she willingly submitted herself to.As he took her lips, her hands wandered down to his pants, grabbing his hardened length through the fabric and giving it a little squeeze. He moaned into their kiss, a groan resonating from his chest, and she took that as an encouragement to do it again. He pulled away this time, burying his face into the crook of her neck, pressing his next moan into her skin, the sound muffled to her ears. Her toes curled at the pleasure that brought her and once again she hated the fact that it had to be tonight."When does it end?"She didn't need to think too much. She knew what he was talking about."Tonight or tomorrow morning."He drew in a long breath and pulled away from her completely this time. She blinked in confusion.What was he doing?"You can come and
Clio was Colin's daughter and it wasn't just the Black Book that had confirmed that. Collin had done it too, unintentionally of course. He had confirmed it when he came to her to return all the coins her business had saved with him. His desperate denial when she had asked him about it was obvious, he didn't look as put together as he used to, but he kept calm and collected as much as he could.Why had he lied about their daughter? They told her two different versions of their daughter's story and for each, she had been deeply emotionally attached and affected. It just didn't make sense for them to have lied. Did they think she would be jealous?It made no sense!Belladonna tried to find out more about Clio but Collin insisted that she died on a ship during the storm. When she asked about the letter she had sent to him, he claimed his daughter wasn't Clio and that letter had contained gibberish. It was a lie. She could tell and that was all she needed, so she didn't stop him when h
"Someone of my kind? In this mortal realm?"Just as she had thought, Alaris was pissed.She didn't need to see his face to know it. His pride must have been so hurt it would have been satisfying to watch. She loved the feeling of having knocked his ego down a few notches."Yes, just like you." She said, looking around the market they had shifted to. "You are mistaken, Nightshade. In the Realm and in the other realms, known or yet to be discovered, you can never find someone just like me. Part of my breed, yes, but just like me?" his voice trailed off and the next time she heard it, it was a whisper by her ear. "Impossible.""Stop moving close to me unnecessarily.""Unnecessarily? Hmm. Then I'll create situations that demand it.""Desperate for my attention now, are you? Sorry to burst your bubble, but this bride is already taken.""Desperate?" He scoffed. "Oh please, get over yourself."It was her turn to scoff, while adjusting the scarf she used to cover a part of her face. She was
Rain poured down from the sky as Belladonna's shoes hit the muddy puddles on the road. Somewhere along the line, it had started raining. First, it began with a drizzle, then it turned into a downpour.Her pants were ragged and at this point, she was close to being drenched.The door the witch had slipped through slammed shut in her face and she tried to open the wooden frame, her hands running across it and pushing desperately. There was no knob and a force from the door seemed to be repealing her but it could just be her mind playing tricks on her, her thoughts scattering around in her head. Finally, her hands slipped on the smooth surface of the wooden door, causing her to fall and that was when it happened.Everything suddenly went quiet in her mind. Her thundering heart in fear seem to just blend into the background, the sound of the rain hitting against the ground becoming insignificant along with it, silence taking over as she, for the first time, observed the surroundings s
Nahiri?Who was that?Belladonna had been called by a couple of names.Product of r..ape.The Bride. Bell.My Donna. Nightshade.But never saviour.This witch must have gotten her mixed up with someone else. "Some of us are already dead." She said, raising slowly to her feet, her body trembling slightly. "Many of us are already dead.""I don't know who you are talking about."Despite her need to just play along, she couldn't resist the urge to state that."One day the saviour will come bearing the mark of the Alterer but not on her body." The witch said, moving closer to her, her steps bringing forth no feeling of attack as she recounted this like she was reading it from a book in front of her. "She shall remain hidden till the time is right and she comes forth herself."She finally stopped in front of her. "The time is right now." The tears finally rolled down her cheeks. "Why did it have to take so long? My family is already dead."Belladonna felt the grief in her words descend
Belladonna curled her hands into fists by her sides, the chill from the iced carriage seat, couldn't reach her anymore from the state of mind that piece of information had just forced her into. They seemed to have come across a bump on the road. The force threw her forward and the Witch held her back to steady her, but moving back and forth wasn't enough to snap her out of the shock her body had just succumbed to, from the mess of puzzlement, the abyss of confusion.This couldn't be happening.Maybe Alaris was messing with her mind again. She really wanted to believe that, but she had a reason to believe other we, one that was practically staring her right in the face and creating doubt. The Bride Thief was trapped in the body of a baby and rendered somewhat useless at the moment.The coldness from the carriage seat was once again starting to get to her, this time it was seepimg through the fabric of her gown and causing small pebbles of goosebumps to raise on the expose parts of he
“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