"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
"What are you doing?"Eli couldn't help but ask. Although he would always be one to entertain her ambushes and enjoy them, this just didn't feel like the time. She moved on to the next button wordlessly and he held her wrist. Her actions had been somewhat off tonight, he believed that was because of the state she had seen Kestra arrive in.It was enough to put anyone in shock. He had never seen Kestra be badly attacked enough to lose her sight. She had always been capable to handle herself and to know that the threat against his Donna was that strong to put the most powerful witch he knew in such misery, made him worried sick, and agitated. He believed that had been the same state his Donna was in, but now that she was on her knees, unbuttoning his shirt, something just didn't feel right about her actions. What was she doing?She claimed that he needed a massage, he had told her this wasn't the time for anything touchy but she had gotten him to strip nevertheless and found out w
“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