Zhen quietly follows Bai Lei to his study and once they're alone, Zhen gets straight to the point. "Nova says she keeps feeling like someone is watching her. I've tried to find someone or something but I couldn't. I know you're busy but I feel like I should let you know what's going."
Bai Lei's eyes harden as he quickly looks past Zhen. Ren appears behind Zhen and says "I will look into immediately." Bai Lei looks back to Zhen as Ren quickly disappears and asks "When did this start?"
Zhen gently strokes his chin as he says "I noticed her behaving strangely around the time she got better... She wanted to speak to you about it herself but you've been mighty busy. That's why I came to see you myself." Bai Lei clenches his teeth as his guilt begins to creep into his heart.
With everything that's been happening... he's been neglecting Nova... He wants to spend all his time with her but the Under Realm's barrier is failing. Every day it grows weaker so they've been trying to think of solutions.
Suddenly, Ren appears in the room in a rush. Even out of breath he holds his hand out and says "Nova's missing! I found this powder in the courtyard next to a pair of male footprints." Bai Lei and Zhen both stiffen before Zhen quickly reaches out to the powder.
Zhen lifts his fingers to his nose before growling and saying "It's nightshade!" Bai Lei's power threatens to bring the whole office down before he suddenly disappears. Ren wipes the cold sweat on his forehead before quickly following.
Bai Lei appears in the courtyard and looks around with panic. Zhen shows up and begins sniffing the air as Ren shows up with fear. "Look for her! Any signs!! How the hell did someone get in and out of my palace without my knowledge!??" Bai Lei yells in anger.
Ren shudders and says "Forgive me, Master... most of the Shadow Guards are at the Under Realm border..." The ground under Ren's feet snaps and splits, nearly making him fall as Bai Lei's anger grows. "Find her!!!" He yells making the surrounding area shake, and all the birds in the area to take off in flight.
Ren feels death at his heels as he quickly jumps up and says "I will find her no matter what!" He then takes off searching for clues. No matter what, he has to find Nova or he won't bother returning! Bai Lei watches Ren take off and clunches his chest.
Who!? Who would have the nerve to take his woman!!! His mind races as he looks around the empty courtyard with panic. Not just the nerve... who was capable of snatching her from his own palace! Feeling a wave of power, Bai Lei turns to find Zhen back in his white fox form.
Zhen looks over to Bai Lei and says "I can track better in this form. I know you can't leave the palace so I will go look for her, look after MingMing for me." Bai Lei clenches his fists but he nods his head in a silent agreement as Zhen takes off out of the courtyard.
Suddenly an insufferable pressure pushes up his chest causing him to cough. He quickly covers his mouth but it doesn't stop the bright red blood from slipping past his long fingers. He looks down at his bloody hand with anger and resentment.
He flicks his hand and lowers it as he tries to suppress his growing anger. Hold on Nova... just hold on and please be okay, Love. The sight of him was enough to scare the masses. The bright blood dripping from his lips oddly matched his blood-red eyes.
~~~~~~~~
The sound of snapping and popping from a fire slowly pulls me out of a deep sleep. I pry my heavy eyelids open and look up at the unfamiliar... cave? I blink several times trying to clear the fog from my brain. Cave? I try to turn my head to the side and groan with the effort.
Why was it so hard to move?? When I start seeing the unfamiliar surroundings and furnishings, my brain slowly starts waking up. Where am I? My heart starts to race as I slowly push up from the soft bed.
I look down at the soft bed with a frown. What the hell? The man in black... the powder... damn it! I try to get up but my entire body feels as if it's in tar! It must be the damn powder that he used... who is he though and why did he kidnap me!?
I look around the unfamiliar cave and all the things in here but when I don't see a door or exit of any kind, my panic starts to grow. What kind of freaking cave is this!? I force myself to sit up with a tremendous amount of willpower but I couldn't get my legs to work.
I look around the room for something to help me walk when suddenly, someone appears in the cave. I grip the blanket in fear when I see the tall man turn to look at me. Shock and confusion hits me when I see the man's handsome face.
Wasn't he the man I helped in the woods? He's less bloody now but I would recognize those cold eyes anywhere! "You... what's going on?" I ask in confusion. He watches me with those cold eyes and says "You'll get the feeling back in your legs later tonight. How are you feeling?"
I blink several times trying to make sense of everything and ask "Are... are you the one who brought me here?" The man stays in the same spot watching me as he says "It was my Shadow Guard who brought you here, why?"
I frown at him and say "So you're the one who wanted me here?" The man nods his head once while watching me closely. I tilt my head to the side as I try to understand. "Why?" I ask in confusion. This time, he frowns at me as he says "I wanted to rescue you."