The rituals had made Alaris' dragon grow faster than he did, and that had made him more violent than he should be, because he was too young to be able to control his beast, too young to control his beastly desires for blood and death. Instead, his beast controlled him. Made him wild. Then his parents got tired of how useless Eli was, and they were driven by the pollution of dark magic to get Alaris' power for themselves, and whatever it was that had been given to Eli. The night they planned to sacrifice both of them was the first time Alaris shifted into his dragon and he killed them both, sending the castle down into a pile of ash, while ripping out the hearts of Eli's parents as a gift to him. In shock and fear, Eli had pushed him off the cliff, and for years he bore the guilt of having killed him. Then he met Kestra. He lived low with Kestra. He didn't even know that the witch had been so obsessed with him, that she had cast on him a curse and made herself the cure. Eli risk

The feeling of touching the gem was something familiar, it felt like she had been thrown across different realms and yanked right out of them, before she could even actually be there to see anything.The only thing she didn't feel this time was the pain. The one that made it feel like her head was about to crack open and rip apart along the lines of the Thanis tattoo on her scalp.It didn't feel like that at all, instead, it felt almost soothing. She saw Thanatou's soldiers marching into Me'k, the wall gone. She heard the voice of the woman whose face she had never been able to see, but whose presence brought her dread always, her voice echoing, sounding like a sad song. Then she was yanked out of it again, breathless. Alaris was standing away from her, his reptilian eyes were gone, now replaced with one blue and the other red."I knew it," excitement laced his voice and he smiled from ear to ear. Belladonna couldn't participate in his happiness, it was impossible to without know

Collin emerged from the darkness behind her, a sword smeared with blood in his hand and grief buried in his eyes. Unexplainable rage. "I buried them yesterday. Their cold bodies beneath the cold, wet sand," his lips trembled and his teeth clattered. "They were supposed to be breathing. They were supposed to be alive when the Blood Moon came, but no..."He looked like a shadow of himself, and lifted the sword like it was too heavy for the strength he commanded. His breathing was loud, and fatigue laced every movement he made. His eyes were deep in their sockets, and his uniform looked like it had been hazardously put on, the blue color fading and stained with blood that was probably his and someone else's.It had been a very long time since she had seen that on him. Also, who had he attacked before getting in here?"...you killed her." He said in an empty voice, tears streaming down his face. "She was supposed to bring my family back and you killed her."Belladonna pulled her towel

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

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