The door slammed shut as Kestra stumped into her room. She yelled out her pain and Collin wasn't at her beck and call to receive the aftermath of her defeat. She had already been told about the state of his health and right now he was useless to her. What had he been doing in the woods, anyway? Looking for the Bride, she presumed. Coming to that conclusion due to her knowledge of the pretty little thing's stupid disappearance last night.That was so stupid of him. He had probably slipped and hit his head badly in the dark, the rain must have worsened things. She would have tried to pull up some magic tricks for his sake, but honestly, it looked like nature had kindly helped her get rid of Collin. After everything she had taken from him and all the secrets he knew, this was for the best. The Physicians had said he was most likely not going to survive and he had lost a lot of blood when he had been found. Soon enough, he would be dead. She wouldn't interfere to hasten it, she would
Life as a Tower woman had been hard on Taria. Night and day she was flogged for dishonoring her womanhood and bringing shame to her family. Her punishment was even worse than the others, because she attempted to escape on the night she was to be taken to the tower.She didn't even remember much of that night, all she could remember was that at a point she had found herself in the cave with a strange woman and skeletons running towards them, all around them. It had felt so real but the more she had thought about it, the more she convinced herself that her sadness had made her delusional, and she had imagined the whole thing. But the Cave of Badura had been breached that night and this made everything really confusing. Her mother came every day as she had promised. That was why when her mother came to see her yesterday, crying excessively, she had thought nothing of it.Her mother was always crying during her visits. But no. The Right-Hand woman of the King had come with her, and s
Taria's father wouldn't let her out of his sight after that, not even after they had gotten to the guest chambers in the Village Head's house. He showered her with so much care and attention that no one would be able to see through his actions and sense the evil motive that laid at the center of it. Her reception of her father's care was cold, and some of the physicians that had come to take care of her, silently judged her for being spoilt, ungrateful, and rude. Zeppus apologized profusely for the incident but she needed no apology from him, but from that nosy warrior that had saved her. Everyone left but her father. Why wasn't he going to his room yet?It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Her heart was racing and fear claimed her chest as its abode. He paced back and forth and she watched, her body tensed, praying with all her heart that he wouldn't turn to her with his usual demand, while at another corner of her heart, she pitied her mother for ending up with a snake
An hour after Kestra left the Castle, Eli found his dragon frozen in stone. His first suspect had been no other than Kestra, of course. He was foolish to think that she wouldn't put up a fight or try to make him take back his order of not wanting her in the Castle. But that wasn't all. He found black zig-zag lines on his Donna's hands, blood dripping from the lines as she groaned from pain, in her sleep. His rage collided with worry, he was a catastrophic combination of emotions. The physicians didn't know what to do, of course, this wasn't their specialty. With bitterness thick in his throat, he ordered for Kestra to be found and brought back to him urgently. This shouldn't have happened, the dragon ring should have been able to protect her, but the dragon herself had obviously been affected. By Ignas, he should have seen this coming!So stupid!Kestra hadn't gone far, so she was found quickly. That infuriated him. She had been so confident her evil magic would work. Eli di
((Trigger warning - violence, physical and sexual abuse))It had been two days since they arrived at Tikivah, and one night since Taria's suicide attempt.Last night, her father had been busy discussing a proposal with Head Zeppus, that he hadn't come to check on her. She hoped that tonight would be the same. She had spent the whole day alone in this guest room that had been allocated to her, and she wished to spend her night the same way. Except that she had never really been alone, not after that night with the nosy warrior. She had even forgotten what his name was, but she remembered his words clearly.In fact, they had been haunting her ever since she had heard them, and the more she thought about it, the more her mind entertained the possibility of her killing her father.Maybe it was because of how he had looked at her when he had said it, like he considered her capable of erasing her troubles if she wanted to. Like all she had to do was snap and it would all be gone. He loo
She had killed her father, and she was a witch. Two life-changing things happened to her at once! Taria didn't know how she was supposed to feel but what she knew was that she felt so excited and happy. A giggle slipped past her lips as she watched the blood run down her father's neck and soak into the bed. The splutter of his blood on her white night robe was something she was proud of. His lifeless eyes gave her so much joy that she almost forgot the consequences of what she had done. Even when she remembered, all she could think about was how there was magic at her fingertips, of how she was a woman that had saved herself. Her smile dropped at the corners and she stood up. They would be looking for her soon. She could already hear the gongs in the distance, and some distant screams about a witch being around. They were already looking for her?! Wow, they didn't even give her time to bask in her victory. Quickly, she slipped out through the window and started running. She
Belladonna pulled away from him to look up at his face, her gaze fixing upon his mask instead, the image of the expectant look that would be in his eyes, taking form in her head."That you will not take any more brides after me."He stared back at her, studying those eyes that held a sought of fire in them when she had said out her demand firmly.Was it selfish that she wanted to be his last bride so much, that she wanted him to give her his word on it? Maybe. But she certainly didn't want any other woman to have to suffer an unsure fate, also she had every intention to end this curse, as soon as possible, with whatever it was that it would cost her.Promising to do as she had requested right now, would mean that he had as much trust in her as she had in him. With no response still given, she shifted uncomfortably in her seat under his smoldering gaze.Her gaze was fixed on the floor of the carriage, the sound of the carriage's wheels on the rocky road filling her ears, while she w
The dungeon was never quiet. It was always filled with the voices of people in agony, the cry of people that were starving, or the relentless pleading of those who yelled out their proclaimed innocence. The dungeon was never bright too, it was always too dim to see anything. The darkness was torture and the noise wasn't helping. If they could all just be quiet!He needed silence to plot the death of his brother when he would finally make it out of here. Kenji sucked in a deep breath and the stench of the place, stuck to the roof of his nose.For how nosy he was, this wasn't the first time he would be trapped in a place like this, but this was the first time his brother would be the one tossing him in and locking the bars. He hadn't had a bath ever since he had been thrown here, he stank so much. His hair needed to be washed, and combed, the curls were starting to tangle and he was terrified of how much hair he would lose when this was finally over. Also, the food here was terr
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