Her hand stilled on her night robe, and she suppressed a smile that almost took over her face.A name.Eli had said anything would do and something about how the Bride Thief had said that, made her believe that he was telling the truth. Maybe this dream wasn't so useless after all."There must be some explanation behind this." His voice cut her out of train of thoughts, but he obviously wasn't talking to her, as the highest the tone of his voice went was something that she could barely hear. "It must be this realm. The human's mind is feeble. That must be the problem. Not me."She folded her arms across her before raising up a hand to her face and repeatedly clicking a finger against her lower lip."Can you describe how you look like." The clicking stopped, her finger resting there for a moment while she hummed, then folded her arms across her again. "I'm fighting the urge to imagine you as a broomstick.""A broomstick?!" He sounded horrified. "What nonsense. Look, human.""I would l
She felt a force over her, compelling her, with difficulty she fell to her knees, her eyes rolled up, leaving white in it's wake. The last thing she heard was a painful grunt, last thing she felt was the necklace burning against her chest, like it would melt away the flesh around it then carve itself into the bone beneath.When next she pried her eyes open, it wasn't to the darkness of the night by the beach neither was it to the Moon that had been glowing above her some moments ago. Instead, it was to the sunlight that peaked through the leaves of the trees above her and she had to shield her eyes to protect them from the penetrative rays of the yellow sun above.She couldn't possibly be in another illusion, he knew how that had ended last time. It hadn't been pretty, for him. So whatever she was seeing right now, she was sure she had just hit her head, that was all. Soon enough, she would wake up and it would be like this never happened.Belladonna took in a shaky breath, and subcon
A boy was now by the tree, on that she could actually see, and he was staring at the unnaturally hovering heart with horror in his eyes. "Have you lost your mind, Lex? You have killed Father's stallion.""Heart collection." Came a childlike excited voice. "I want a heart collection!""Look at that, the maddening pride in his eyes." The Bride Thief's voice floated to her ears. "Don't you think it's lovely?"Feigning interest, Belladonna stared ahead before she leaned backwards with a huff of defeat. "The child is invisible."Never had she felt so much like an hostage, not even when she had been brought to the Castle as a chosen Potential Bride. "Oh." He said with a slight sound of disappointment."I didn't know he would be affected too. Must be because of the bond, I'll give him a form."Around the heart that had been unnaturally moving in the air, a hand slowly formed, then the whole figure. Holding the heart was a white figure that almost look like a piece of incomplete art. It ha
Almost as soon as they were gone, the white figure was running back, heading straight for her. This time around, Belladonna wasn't concerned about been seen or trampled upon in a way that would bring her pain.The figure passed through her like she was air, picking up the heart that had fallen to the floor. After that, the sky only darkened even more and the figure stilled from what seemed like shock."Brave one. You've killed the Black Stallion. What do you wish for in return for your peculiar bravery?" The voice was like thunder and it made Belladonna shiver. It sounded farmilar too and the next question the Bride Thief asked her explained why."Can you see me?"She shook her head."Of course. Another form."He said and the empty space in front of the figure, just like it had happened before, became a humanoid figure. Only that this one was taller and black, with golden line tracing it out. It felt so weird to watch but she allowed her gaze to linger, trying to make the height of
"She gives me the attitide." Colin's curt voice cut through the heavy silence, as he handed Raquel another empty basket. She knew this was going to happen but she had been avoiding it for days. His eyes seem to be heavy with the unspoken words that visibly weighed down his heart. Her usually composed husband seem to lack a little bit of composure in his demeanour when he had taken lifted the basket off the ground and taken them downstairs yesterday. Old age? No. He wasn't that old yet. The action or perhaps, omission, as it would be more fitting here, had been something so slight.Too slight that anyone that had not been married to him for more than ten years would not notice."What?""The Bride." He said with the same sharpness and leveled tone that he had called her Mistress and the ones before her. Colin had, a long time ago, done what she couldn't. He had mastered the act of detachment. She knew she should too, that she should be strong for her husband, that she should mind he
Belladonna felt beyound stressed. Any slight movement and her headache worsened. She was tired of begging the Bride Thief that she had seen enough and understood what he was trying to get at, even if up till now, she didn't understand a thing about why he had brought her her.What worried her even more was that she believed that by now, she must have slept for too long, too long that people might already think she was dead. Different imaginations about what might be happening right now crossed her mind as she tried to push them away, none was pleasant.Her eyes were blurry as she watched the sight in front of her. Overtime, with the many illusions that the Bride Thief had shown her, the white figure had grown bigger and taller. He was now, in fact, the King of a Kingdom, and for some reasons that she couldn't remember, he wanted to take a Queen but couldn't. When the Bride Thief was talking about it, they had all sounded like absolute garbage to her compared to her need to get out
She stared at her quzically, almost like she could see her. Although Belladonna was sure she couldn't. She had been in this nightmare long enough to know that the Bride Thief was making a deliberare effort to make this illusion different in order to fool her into believing what she had just witnessed was some form of past.As if.He wouldn't let such a thing as an illusion seeing her, slip pass him. That would make his whole efforts go to waste. Besides, he was the one controlling them. "Who are you?"Belladonna looked behind her, the door was only a few steps away from where she was standing and she wondered who had come in.But where she had expected to see a figure, there was an empty space. The door didn't even seem like one that had been touched.When she turned back again, the fake Kestra was still staring at her, now with anger in her eyes.Like she could see-- oh goodness, she could see her!"Bride Thief?" She whispered. "What is going on?""I-- it's a minor issue.""What?""
Trigger warning - Physical violence.__Belladonna slipped into the room and ducked behind the nearest shelf. Regret had never filled her heart so much but now, she could even taste the bitterness at the back of her throat. The floor was cold against her butt, and even colder against the exposed part of it, the wood of the shelf she was hiding behind, digging lightly into her back that was mostly bare. Now that she was thinking about it, the Bride Thief could see her, which meant he was seeing her in this scantily dressed version of herself.If she wasn't in a life threatening situation, she would have cared. Her chest was raising and falling as she tried to catch her breath, then a thought of something being behind her, crossed her mind.What if it was something worse.Like a wild animal, a mad beast or something? She looked forward, finally observing her surroundings for the first time.There were gems in this room, different kinds of gems, possessing different shapes and glowi
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