Isla Kalashnikov (P.O.V.)As promised, Alessandro helped me move out of his home. It was really emotional for him I could tell. Throughout the process, he would make suggestions about trying to make our living arrangements work. He came up with a lot of ideas so that I could be more comfortable at his house. He even suggested that we divided the house in half where it will be separated by a wall or a door so that there would be two apartments in the house itself. This way I would not have to move out, but we would still maintain a level of privacy.I thought it was a great idea, but I still wanted my own space. I did not want to stay in his house because I felt like he really just wanted to keep an eye on me. Although I was making my own money, I was not helping out financially within the household and it made me feel like a leech. We never run out of food because the refrigerator and the pantries are restocked before anything could ever finish. Bills

Isla Kalashnikov (P.O.V.)Alessandro and I had just finished cleaning the house from top to bottom. My room was not necessarily dirty, but it was not tidy either, so we had a bit of work to do in there as well. My parents’ room was the hardest of them all to tackle because I could not collect myself mentally to even think about them without breaking down. It got to a point where Alessandro volunteered to clean it by himself. We did not empty their room or anything of the sort because I did not want to make it seem as though they were gone forever. I wanted to feel as though there was a chance for them to come back to me one day. Due to this, I made Alessandro simply change the sheets on their bed and we packed all of the laundries into a garbage bag to be taken to be laundered.I may like my independence, but I still refuse to do my own laundry. When my parents were alive, I never wanted them to spoil me like that by doing basic chores I would no

Alveric Valentine (P.O.V.)“Yes, it is,” I answered and she swiftly turned around to face me with a grin on her face.I could only assume that that is the face of someone who is about to ask for something.“Let us make a deal.” She said to which did not surprise me at all.I looked at her in suspicion and crossed my arms.“What do you want?”“I want the guardians…in return, I help you bring them back to life. I am sure you know this by now, but they are in limbo. Limbo is not just a place that is between life and death. It is not just a place for souls to go to rest until judgment day or whatever you believe in. Limbo is a place souls go to and get lost for eternity. Eventually, upon being lost, they lose a sense of self and forget who they

Alveric Valentine (P.O.V.)I swear this b-witch was driving me insane. It is like she never shuts up. Since we made the deal to exchange the guardians’ freedom for their recovery, she has not stopped yapping about useless things. You would think that eventually, she would run out of things to talk about but no. She spoke about shoelaces for thirty minutes. I could not even recall what she was saying about shoelaces even if you tortured me. I had zoned out so many times during her one-sided conversation that I remembered the list of things I needed from the grocery.We could not go along with the ritual until my friend arrives. I did not trust this girl enough to not steal my soul, kill me and then run away with the guardians. I may be dumb, but I am not stupid. There is a huge difference there, trust me.“Ugh! When is your friend going to get here? I have places to be, people to see and alcohol to ingest.” The witch whined as s

Alveric Valentine (P.O.V.)My body felt heavy as if I was extremely tired and just needed to sleep. My eyes were closed, I could tell but I was not tired but at the same time, I was not full of life. I felt like I did not have the energy to move an inch but considering I did not know where I was, I figured I had to eventually. I opened my eyes slowly against the force that wanted to keep them closed and I looked around.I found myself in the middle of a forest. I could not see much because it was really dark. However, I could make out the tall trees that surrounded my body. There was definitely a force holding my body down because I felt like I could not move as I please. My body really did feel heavier to move on my own. Nonetheless, I gathered what little strength I had and tried to take a step forward.Where am I?As I took a step forward, I heard chains drag on the floor and it was then I looked down to see my feet in shackles.