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
Trigger warning. (It will get a little violent.))Suddenly, it felt like the carriage had been lifted off the ground with a strong force, then it was flung to a side, Belladonna and the now crying baby tumbling in the carriage.It landed with a thud, the landing certainly hadn't been smooth. Belladonna pulled the baby closer to her, his cries filling her ears, assuring her that he was alive. She had to protect this baby. He was her responsibility now. The carriage got flung around a couple more times, each landing worse than the last. The baby's cries increasing as Belladonna tried to use her body to shield him no matter what side they were thrown to.Her entire body was aching and in some parts, it felt like she was bleeding. She could smell the blood but she couldn't really feel the pain, so she hoped with everything in her heart, that the blood was hers. This time when the carriage landed, her head slammed against something that sent her sight blurry. Her hold on the baby wa
Tick. Something exploded in Belladonna at that. Rage. Swoosh!She blindly sent her dagger that had been tucked away in her dress, flying behind her, making the witch stumble back a little, the dagger missing her as ice formed around the weapon and it squashed into broken pieces of ice in the air, then rained on the floor behind them like snow. "Foolish child." The Soul Witch gritted but before anything could be done, Belladonna staggered to her feet and swiped the wet twig she had grabbed from the mud puddle in front of her, across the Witch's face. What was a wet piece of twig going to do?But she was desperate to fight and was using just anything she could grab on.Her sight was blurry, her calculations might have been off, but something had happened at that moment.She felt the pull and finally, she was in her unconscious mind.The crashing waves.The calm breeze.The beach."You need to wake up." Alaris' voice slashed into her thoughts, the screams of the Witch from her attac
It was as if Belladonna could see Lady Kestra in a different light.Everything she would have ignored before, she observed. She observed how Lady Kestra walked, every uncertain step she took, observed her so much that she had once caught her absentmindedly almost freezing up a goblet when she drank from it. Her body must be fighting to accommodate all that power. Keres and the child's.Anger filled Belladonna up, not because of how Eli rushed around Kestra, his guilt making him want to do everything to please her, nor the fact that he had carried her in his arms and taken her to her room, settling her in bed as the poor witch held back her tears, but because she now knew who she really was and what she did. Belladonna's hands twitched with the need to strangle her, take her breath away from her forever. She must have killed that child. Belladonna just knew it. Many royal physicians had come to her room, checking her eyes and coming back with the same sad news."We will try our b
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