Rakia's POV My chest was burning, but I couldn't stop running. In that short period of surprise, the creature had put a gap in between us; a gap I needed to fill if Marion was going to stay alive. My boots screeched to a halt when I caught sight of Marion in a tree, holding on for her dear life whilst the creature attack the bottom, trying to bring the plant down. "Somebody, please help!" She cried, "Rakiaaa!" Gripping the tree branch in my hand, I raised it and to tossed at the animal. I didn't exactly have a plan after that, but I needed to do something quick because Marion's tree had began to tilt to the side. The stick left my hand, soared through the air and finally smacked the creature right on its b

Adrian's POV My tenth glass of whiskey burned down my throat. Leaning on the terrace, I watched as the rain pelted down the kingdom I was supposed to rule, but had been stripped of it. My vision moved to the magical boundary. Veils of black and green magic, surrounding Hartland and soaring high into the gray clouds. It was impossible to not think about my half sister who still ran free on the otherside of the magical wall. Only the Creator knew what she was up to. Probably plotting to return and take her place on the throne, a tiny voice snarked in my head and my jaw clenched at the thought. If there was a way... just a way to break down that barrier or create a passage through it, I could go behind Father's back, scour all of the Midlands for Araknee and get rid of her once an

Rakia's POV "Marion?" Silence came as a response. I called louder, "Marion, c'mon, we're waiting for you." "Yeah, we're ready to leave!" Richard added whilst strapping the last bag on Hope's side. When we didn't hear a reply or the sound of boots thumping down the stairs, Clifford scoffed, mumbling something about Marion being a pain in the ass. I sighed, "I'll go get her." Turning on my heel, I moved back into the inn we'd spent the night in. It didn't escape my notice that Clifford chose to share a room with Richard instead of Marion. These past two days, things had gotten worse between them. They wouldn't even look at each other, yet alone talk. Another sigh left my lips as I climbed up the stairs, head

Clifford's POV The sound of a distant scream woke me up and I quickly lifted my head off the pile of hay I was on. My eyes darted around. Where the heck are we? I scrambled up. It was a old shack that looked a lot like an abandoned stable, and instead of the wooden doors, they'd swapped them for metal bars. An old rusted keyhole sat on the right and I frowned. Getting onto my feet, I grabbed the metal bars and gave it a hard shake. Even though the structure was old, it wouldn't even budge. Shit. The sound of unintelligible mumbling touched my ear drums and I turned to find Richard strewn across the floor. Looking at the red bump forming on his head, I could tell that he had woken up at some point, but the filthy old lady who brought us here must've knocked him

Rakia's POV "A few years back, Granark used to live and work in the village as a maize farmer," Hammond started. "But one day, a group of men discovered that he was an imposter; a powerful wizard who had escaped from Hartland during the Quietus war. Once the news got out, the King sent guards to arrest Granark, but he fled into the Forbidden Forest. He was never seen or heard from again." "That doesn't mean he's dead!" I snapped, inadvertently startling Hammond. I gave out a sigh, "I'm-I'm sorry, ok. It's just...he...he could still be alive." Hammond slowly shook her head. "I highly doubt that. The forest is literally a representation of death, nothing grows in there. Some people even say that the area is swarmed with demons." I pushed my fingers through my dark hair, trying not to thin