Soon enough, it was dawn, but Belladonna's escape from the castle didn't go as planned."How can I seduce you when you are far away?" Alaris had asked when she had stated her desire to leave with her already packed sack by her side."You can always fly to me," she shrugged.She would have just left quickly without coming to talk to Alaris but she knew that was stupid. He would think she had been kidnapped and he would conduct a search for her because the connection she shared with the Bearer was far too important to him to lose. The search would jeopardize her plans for creating distance between her and Eli. Her departure had to be done quietly and before his notice. She knew he was doing better now, she was also certain that as much as Alaris always said he wanted to kill him, he wouldn't. There was a reason he was still keeping him alive. Eli would be fine without and she would be better without him. She had to leave. Now, here she was in Alaris' study, the once-forbidden room

"There is no way I could ever ask that of you and you would give me. I do not have so much significance like that in your life yet. It is too much of a sacrifice. If only we had time..."Strong and lacking trust were the words of her ghost mother, it was so saddening that Nadia found herself making a Bloodoath to convince her of her significance, along with her dedication and absolute loyalty to sacrifice anything it would take to bring back her mother. Her yearning for a normal mother-and-daughter relationship between them was just so strong. It was something that tugged on the strings of her heart so much, that it couldn't be ignored. The chilling smile her mother gave her was her reward, it warmed Nadia's heart that she had done something special, and worth being happy about. "Tomorrow." Her ghost mother said. "Tomorrow? Why not tell me today? What if we are running out of time already? How long will your spirit linger, when your body has already been made extinct with dragon f

Belladonna had noticed the red glowing light first. It seeped in through every space into the carriage, and she had backed away slowly, her forehead wrinkling in confusion till the jarring feeling had hit the next second and the carriage swerved off course.The neighing of the horses filled the air, and chaos reigned like it was meant to be there. "What is going on?" She yelled to the coachman as the uncanny speed tossed her around the carriage without care, making her slam her body against the wooden walls, floor, and carriage seat, as she guarded her head with her arms to shield it from the damaging impact. "What are you doing?" She yanked the curtain aside and stuck her head out the window. The coachman had his back turned to her and all she could see was his black robe, that fitted against his broad back. Odd for a coachman."Be at ease." He said as he struggled with the reins of the horses that were clearly not obeying him.Belladonna's eyes went wide slightly.That voice. Sh

Her eyes followed him, till he was kneeling by her side. The doubt in his eyes made her shake her head. "I am not crazy, Eli. Don't look at me like I am.""You are not crazy.""Do you believe me?" She pulled away to look at him and he gave her a reassuring smile, while cupping her face in his hands."You are not crazy."They remained in the magic of the moment, until the sound of flapping leathery wings broke it and she was pulling away from him finally.Alaris looked tensed and his gaze first found the bracelet on Belladonna's wrist before looking around quickly for any sign of danger. Finding none, he asked, "What happened here?"______They had made it back to the castle that night, with Alaris in his dragon form and each of them securely in his talons. It was a very scary ride, especially for Belladonna who wasn't used to seeing things from this high."Don't drop me, please!" She had yelled when he started making some unnecessary scary moves."Stop scaring her!" Eli had demande

He staggered back, shielding his head and taking the hit.There were stones from every direction, even children who certainly didn't have full understanding of what was going on were throwing stones! How did people gather around them so fast?!The scene before Belladonna rose her anger through the roof. These stupid people!"Stop it! Stop stoning him!" She yelled stepping forward. "Do you think he willingly did this? Do you think if he hadn't been lied to, just like the rest of us, he would have done this?!" She was looking around sharply, her eyes desperately trying to command everyone's attention just like her words were. "He loses his mind with regret over this day and night, and now seeks to make amends, even though he is also a victim here too. Just like all of us!" There was silence in the street when she spoke. It felt like the whole world had stopped and now was listening to her. Eli's heart pounded in his chest with each word she spoke, his body was tensed and rigid in r