The guard was jittery when turning the key in her cuff, and that was when Belladonna knew something was wrong. The hood was overflowing and the guard looked...different.Wait, this wasn't a guard. This was one of the women who had dressed her up as a sacrifice the last time she had been here.If she remembered this correctly, this was Thanatou's sister, or maybe one of them. Belladonna remembered her saying that she pitied her, and getting chastised for it by her mother.What was she doing here?"Sorry," her meek voice had provided as she knelt before Belladonna, her wide and innocent gaze meeting Belladonna's suspicious one. The Thanis' gaze moved to her head then, and guilt crept into her eyes. "Sorry. You smell like betrayal again."That confirmed it. She was the one. The Thanis looked like she was probably 16 but she wasn't really sure how they aged here. Also, her floating hair made the hood look weird.The Thanis shook her head, mumbling something to herself and shooting Bel
Alaris was strong, but who could beat Thanatou in his own realm?The fight had been going on for about thirty seconds and there was already so much catastrophe, that the guards had broken their intense restraint on Eli and Belladonna, so they could protect themselves against the blast of flames that shot at every direction. Belladonna was behind the throne of bones, she couldn't even figure out how she had gotten there! The ache in her legs reminded her though. She had ran. Her hand was tight around her towel. Somehow, amidst the chaos, had stolen a fallen Thanis warrior's ragged mantle, and put it on. Seeing a Thanis warrior without his black cloak made her understand why they barely left anything in view, to begin with.What a torture for her eyes.The blue pair would never recover. Belladonna slipped back into her hiding spot, her heart racing. When her gaze met Eli's from across the hall - a good distance from her and taking shield behind a pillar, she grinned, the nerves of h
"You should have put guards at my door."The words slipped through her lips before she could even think twice about it. They had gotten to the castle and she was in her chambers, the one she used to share with Eli. She really needed to get out of here, every corner was filled with too many memories. Alaris was moving around, still in his blood-stained shirt, trying to ensure that the room was secure. Belladonna had been to the bathroom about thirty minutes ago and Collin's body was no longer there."I did. If you had stepped out of your room, you would have noticed."Belladonna bit her tongue and nodded. "Thank you but you really shouldn't have come. It destroyed your portal."Yet another sentence she had said without thinking. Alaris smirked, pulling out a box of healing bottles, and throwing it open on the dressing table. He should be able to heal fast but Thanatou's sword must be different from any other blade. He hissed when the spirit jammed into his cuts, and this only remin
Nadia's grandmother had not expected any guests that sunny afternoon, but here the dreaded ones were, at her door. She made a couple of slightly jerky movements which could be passed off as signs of old age - for anyone who didn't know better- as she led her visitors into the hovel. Alaris' peculiar presence made her weary, along with his reptilian eyes that seemed to calculate every movement she made, although she hid her fear greatly. "It is so nice to have you in my humble abode." She threw a smile at them. "Nadia is getting better. You are the Bride? Yes." Her gaze finally settled on Belladonna, her slightly hunched back from old age forcing her to crane her head upwards so she could see her. "And you are the King's brother. My utmost gratitude for all you have done for Ignas. How is the King? I hope the confinement is helping him.""Can I see her, Gr---?" Seb chipped in eagerly, before she quickly responded. "No.""Why?" His shoulders slumped. "Is she angry at me?"He had onl
The visit to Granny had been very unfulfilling.After many attempts, there was no success at finding anything to get rid of the powers or even, at least, contain them so she wouldn't need Alaris or his gem all the time. With disappointment and a silent threat to eliminate Nadia if Granny ever stepped out of line, they left. Belladonna had to meet the witches Seb had brought for her and when she had gone through all 13 of them, she was certain these powers were here to doom her forever.______The brush stroked the canvas, giving him no ease or escape from the guilt that tortured his mind, the images of the coffins, the numbers engraved on them, and what they signified. All those families, he had stolen someone from. All those families he had thrown into lose.His wrist moved mindlessly, his eyes aching with how much tears he had wept. He wished he could just turn back the hand of time, he wished he could have been wiser to see right through Kestra's plan. By Ignas, he hated hims
Belladonna sprung awake, sweat running down her forehead, an unpleasant feeling spreading through her veins, tightening her stomach.Eli. Something bad had happened to him. It wasn't something she had seen or something she had heard, it was something she could just feel in the depths of her stomach. It was a knot that twisted unpleasantly there and made her hands tremble as she flung her quilt aside and pulled her robe around her. She quickly headed out of the room, forgetting to bring the gem with her.Panic coursed through her veins and she jumped in her skin when she came across a man in the darkness of the hallway. Raindrops hung to the strands of his silver, his black leather glistering with it. The storm outside raged on. Thunder clapped and lightning flashed, then she saw his face, dripping with raindrops, his wet hair tucked behind his ears, a few strands falling over his forehead.Relief eased the stiffness in her shoulders."Alaris, I think something---" she started to s
Ever since Anok had been brought into Granny's hovel, Nadia had been getting better. Tremendously, in fact. It had been five days and Nadia was already out of her bed, moving around the hovel and stealing glances at Anok at any given opportunity.Just like she was doing right now. Nadia had lost count of the water droplets that rolled down Anok's bronze skin, as he swam slowly around in the river. Instead, she had gotten lost in the way his muscles moved under the ray of the sun, and allowed herself to fantasize about how he would feel against her.Warm.Wet. It would be perfect. These days, all she could think about was him. It was as if she had gotten better just because they were made to be together, she hadn't died because she was meant to be his, and her death would have left his life so devastatingly imperfect. The rippling of the water floated to her ears, and she imagined what might happen if she would just become bold enough to take off her heavy gown and join him in th
Meeting with the witches that Seb had brought to the Capital had been unproductive for Belladonna. None of them could help her get rid of the magic. She had dabbled into the idea of them teaching her how to control it, but they couldn't do that either. Her powers were strange to them, and restless within her. The spirits of the ghost brides that came with this "curse", didn't make it easy at all. She could still hear their voices becoming louder and louder if there was too much distance between her and Alaris's gem or him. This curse kept her movement limited to the castle, and all her plans of visiting those villages with those stupid customs had to be delayed. She had submitted some scrolls regarding the matter to Alaris though, and although they weren't talking, she hoped he would look through them and do what was necessary to be done. While she was stuck in the castle, she had received a letter from Lytio telling her about her Father's death and Aniya's condition. He said she