The light in the bathroom was really dim but it was enough for her to see everything that she needed to see.Eli was in the bathtub, his head downcast as the glow of the candlelight glowed on the visible upper part of his naked body.She took a couple of steps closer and heaved a sigh of relief when she realized that he was alone. Why would she think that of him? She needed to work more on trusting him. By Ignas, why had that thought even cross her mind?That he would cheat on her?Never. The sound of water trickling as he moved slightly in the water made it to her ears, and she felt the need to suddenly turn around and leave. They've never had a bath together, he was either helping her clean after sex or something else, even that had been for quite a while, so even though they had been intimate a number of times, this felt like she was invading something private. "I wanted to see if you were okay."She wished. She wished that had been it and not some other thoughts she shouldn'
Repulsed?Where was that even coming from?"I don't understand." She said as she turned around. He had that look he had in the bathroom again, broken and overwhelmed. What was this?"What can I do, so that you can stop being repulsed by me.""I'm not---" she dropped to her knees, cleaning the bloodstains around his nose, the meaning they held dragging a dagger through her heart and making her hatred for Kestra grow stronger and stronger. A frown pulled over her face, the hatred bitter on her tongue. "I'm not repulsed by you. I love you, Eli."The frown on her face wasn't really convincing to him, the fact that her focus was on his nose that had bled a while ago, made him feel even worse."I want you to want me again, want me as you used to before I told you all about," he closed his eyes, gritting his teeth as if his next words were too heavy to be spoken. "My curse with Kestra. I haven't been her ever since I met you, I swear on Ignas."Belladonna was stunned. So, that was it?Tha
Belladonna's gown slipped off her body with ease, her gaze fixed on Eli who was leaning on an elbow so he could look at her. Eli was the one always initiating their intimate moment, he always took the lead too, so right now, she was just doing whatever her lust-driven brain was telling her to do. She moved to him, climbing up the bed and over him, her face hovering above his. She could still see the doubt somewhere in his eyes, she wanted it to become non-existent. Right now the thoughts of Alaris and her mission were far away. So far away. The body pressed against hers with warmth was all she could think about, the person under her was all her mind could think of. "Donn---" she didn't let him finish that, her lips sealed against his, consumed his in the best way she knew how to. She moved against him, the curves of her body melting against his own, his length pressed against her in a way that caused her to wriggle. She pulled away from him, pressing her hands against his che
Belladonna couldn't remember how many rounds they went, they had both been greedy and now she was sore and tired, but the Blood Moon was approaching, her life was on the line and so were the lives of many others. The faster she could kill Kestra, the safer it would be for her. It would be bad if that so-called Nahiri got to her before she could take out the obstacle the Nahiri wanted to defeat. She would give anything to just lay here in bed with Eli, but even as she was looking at him like this, she was reminded of his dying state. His scales looked drained of color, black circles around his eyes, and he looked lean.Eli was sick. Her eyes welled up with tears. He didn't tell her but she knew being with her had not helped his health. He most likely thought it was because their aura didn't match but Belladonna was certain it was that wicked Kestra of a witch. She wanted to tell him, but if he was carrying a whole Alterer without his knowledge of the effect it had on his people, B
"Have you found anything on him yet?""I'm working on that too. Just ensure you keep staying away from him. What about the bottle, did you give him any of that?"Belladonna suppressed a scoff. "He hasn't given me any need to do that yet.""Great." Kestra leaned back. "Just ensure to do as I say. Exactly as I say." She emphasized. "I will not lead you astray."Astray. That word.Astray.That was exactly what she wanted to do though. All this while that she had been preparing her for the sacrifice. The 200th bride. "Of course, I know I can trust you, Lady Kestra."She could see a flash behind her own eyes, her reality clashing together, her gaze became fixed on Lady Kestra's neck, watching every movement, blood running hot in her veins and her heart pounding more in her chest the harder she focused. The needle in her hand would sink straight into that skin, puncture something and that would be it. All their problems, gone just because of one needle. She should do it. "Yes, you
Collin rushed around the room, a goblet in his hands as he approached Kestra who was pacing around barefooted, bumping against some things as she did.The sound of the muttering from her lips clashed against her farts that ruptured through the room. "Stupid child." She muttered, her hand resting on her belly."This should help," Collin said, handing a glass over to her, and she swallowed all the content of the goblet in one gulp, yet her stomach was still a rumbling mess.It might take some time for the medicine to work. The foul smell had completely taken over the room, if Collin didn't feel a deep sense of duty towards Lady Kestra, he would not be here enduring all this."She put something in the tea, I'm sure." She stood up from the edge of the bed she was sitting on. "I should have her executed for this."When Lady Kestra had disrupted the meeting with the rumbling sound that had come along with that life-threatening smell, Collin who had been at the door, rushed away from the m
Nadia bit her lips, nodding to herself vigorously."I thought so too. That wouldn't have been good."This felt unreal. It was like watching a different person that had features of Nadia, but it was Nadia that was standing in front of her alright, just a different version of her that Belladonna had me seen. "My grandmother said I have I fight to fight back against bullies and Lady Kestra is a bully." She moved her shaky hands through her hair, her gaze moving from Belladonna to the trees some distance behind her. "I was so brave then, while I was putting something in her tea," a corner of her lips lifted in a smile, before it quickly disappeared, "but now, I'm so scared. Lady Bell, what if the King feeds me to his mad dragon for this?"Belladonna moved closer to her and held her shaky hands, giving her assurance that wouldn't happen, before quickly shifting to the topic that she was interested in knowing more about."That is a great lesson from your grandmother. She must be so fun."
The room Alaris had teleported them to could as well have been made out of gold. Belladonna couldn't figure out whose room this was, but she was sure of the village they were in. Never could she have believed that tales were true. They were in Aniktaki, the first village of Ignas, one that was well known for its wealth and a large expanse of land that nothing could grow on but had treasures buried beneath. Gold, diamonds, silver, many treasures, one could only dream of. This was the land of mines and overflowing wealth. The room seemed to glitter, almost everything was covered with a golden surface.Belladonna took in a deep breath, hopefully, this room would be empty, although the lit candles hung on the wall didn't promise that."Alar--""Who are you?" The voice of a young woman standing at one side of the room, with a white towel wrapped around her startled Belladonna. "How did you get in? What do you want?"Belladonna took a quick at the woman. She was tall, her hair was dy
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