"How's your head?"Ah, by Ignas, the land of the dead must be really noisy.This annoying voice followed her here too?It was a task to move but she couldn't stay still even if she tried. The uneven surface she found herself to be laid upon wasn't comfortable at all. "Careful." The voice seemed loud, in fact, every movement seemed too loud for banging ears and aching head. She sat up, holding her head, as she moved slowly. "Stop talking," she said between pressed lips, as she tried to prepare herself for whatever it was she would find when she would open her eyes. "That doesn't sound like a 'Thank you' to me " The voice said back to her, annoyed and frustrated.She would recognize that voice anywhere.So Alaris had died too?For how much he used to boast about his powers, she didn't expect that he would die by his own flames or if she were to go according to his story, flames from the dragon he was attached to.Different feelings crossed through her veins and the way she could fe
"And since you are lucky enough to have my interest, you must stay alive. A piece of advice from an experienced person, only help people when it benefits you."Phew!His cockiness was annoying, annoying enough to change whatever heart skip that had just happened.Or maybe it was the rage that clouded it.Whatever it was, at least she wasn't feeling it anymore. Thanks Ignas, that was a good thing. "Helping people is what got me into this situation. Stuck in this place for more than two hundred years."Belladonna gave into a burst of sarcastic laughter, the price a hefty one.The headache almost seized her breath, but the rage she felt towards Alaris' words kept her going. "Helping people? You gave a boy a curse in disguise of a gift.""So you believe me, you believe my story." He still sounded close, in fact, he sounded a little happy and that made Belladonna angrier. She looked up at the sky. The stars were gone now and the dark clouds seemed to be clearing out slowly."Believe y
Breakfast was quick, what happened afterwards though had a lasting effect. From the dining hall, Eli had led her up the flight of stairs, straight to the rooftop. The height made Belladonna feel a little dizzy and Eli chuckled as he pulled her close to keep her stable. It was windy, the air was clear and, the houses below looked tiny within the vast view."Everything is ours." Eli's voice rumbled in his chest, vibrating slightly against her ear, as she had her head resting against him.Belladonna sucked in a deep breath of fresh air. It was relaxing to be in Eli's arms and for that moment, her troubles seemed to have vanished into thin air.It was good to talk about a future with someone whom a future is desired with. It was good to know they wanted the same thing in that future. "and our two children, or maybe one."Belladonna blinked. No way. "Four." She peered up at him with a smile, looking straight into his brown eyes and ignoring the mask with the thought that soon it woul
A couple of stairs down and a guard ran up to Eli, delivering a message about a Witch's attack on Nakunriver."She set everywhere ablaze!" The guard had declared breathlessly. "Almost killed the Village Heads!" The message had put Eli on edge a little and Belladonna had expected to take an excuse to attend to the report, believing that he would assume it was the One with the White Aura as he always did. Belladonna was in for a surprise though. Eli had dismissed the guard with an errand instead, waving aside the report as if it was nothing. That was strange. It was also strange that the message had gotten to Eli so quickly, he must have gone ahead with his plan of putting his messengers in each village.An unsettling feeling ran through Belladonna's veins. As if she didn't have enough on her mind about the Blood Moon and how the timing might not be in her favour, this strange attitude just had to add to it. Where was Eli leading her to next?This didn't feel good. What was goi
His hand went slack around her neck, and she slipped to the ground, coughing as he took a couple of steps back, watching her gasp for air on the floor, trying to regain what she had been deprived of."E--li--" "Silence!"The words snapped something in her and she looked up at the man she loved. What happened?"I do not want to hear my name on your lips."Bewildered, she stood up slowly, his cold gaze weighing heavily on her. When he spoke again, his voice was like a deadly whisper. "I do not want to hear you repeat to me the poisonous dictates of the Bride Thief."Her heartbeat was slamming loudly in her ears now. "I don't understand," the words slipped through her lips, the shakiness of her voice failing the firmness she was trying to hold onto. Something told her she did understand what was going on, but she was hanging on to this denial. Maybe if she held on to this ignorance long enough, everything would fade away. She was losing him.She could feel him slipping from her f
Eli had been puzzled when he had found Belladonna this morning, sleeping in her study and her gown damp, slightly ripped at some parts, with the hem of her dress, burnt a little.Suspicion had hit him like a swinging brick, but he hung onto denial.She couldn't possibly be dreaming of the Bride Thief. That was impossible. He would have known way before now if she was. He had tried to convince himself that the dampness was from sweat. He had even deluded himself into thinking she was pregnant and excessive sweating was a sign of pregnancy.As for the burnt hem, maybe she had read overnight again and caused a fire, which she had already put out. It wouldn't be the first time his Donna was causing a fire from her nightly readings. As for the ripped parts of her dress, he had told himself that her dress had suffered that, while she had managed to put out the fire all on her own.With half his mind believing that she was sick and hiding it from him so he wouldn't have more to be worried
Eli wasn't supposed to be asking her. Her words were corrupted, her mind had already been swayed by the Bride Thief's manipulation for too long a time, yet he couldn't help but ask. She didn't say a word, Why speak anyways? It wasn't like he would believe her. Besides, the memory of what had happened earlier when she had tried to explain herself, was still fresh in her memory. If she were to speak, what would he do next? Kill her?By Ignas, the horror! She told herself it was because of Kestra's manipulation that had gotten to him, and when she would finally kill Kestra, this would finally all be over. Belladonna's focus was on how she would be able to get Thanatou's Sunflower tonight.The Blood Moon was still a problem but she would worry about that later.When Belladonna felt his finger slide underneath her chin, she froze, till she was looking right at him. The dim light of the room giving an illusion of his scales glowing, the sadness swindling in his brown eyes, along with t
Belladonna had prepared herself for anything but a boat ride on musky waters, the crickets of the night, the fog, the dark starless sky, and the eerie movement of the boat as Alaris paddled it quietly on the surface of the open dark river.The water rippled gently as the paddle move through it again and Belladonna rubbed her arms from the cold, looking in all directions, searching for something, anything.There was nothing, only darkness, and the fog. They were alone. Sometimes, it even felt like she was the only one. "Going to a realm is different from going to another village." Alaris had said when she had asked why they were taking a boat there, instead of just shifting there. "The rules here are different." He had concluded. When she had countered him with the "How do you know about that? Didn't you say you haven't gone out through anyone's dreams before?"He had replied that realms were different, and he knew the realm Thantou stayed in, because he had once been there. He di