"DID YOU SUCCEED?"
Liliane looked at the shadow. She could not see him, but she knew he was there. "I," her grip on the crystal ball tightened, "I did it."
The man in the shadow sighed in relief. "I know you can do it. Your powers are enough to get the soul of the bloodling."
Liliane pursed her lips as her gaze turned to the crystal ball. She could see the souls she took from the deaths the Moroi caused, along with Tatia's sleeping soul. "Yet, I can not even perform the spell without the other elements." Which part of her was powerful? She could not even control the powers swirling inside her body.
"Do not haste," the voice of the man softened. Finally, the man in the shadow emerged. A guy with a handsome feature stood in front of Liliane. "I will protect you until you learn how to do the spell."
Liliane's eyes fluttered. "They will hate me," she whispered. "Uncle Magnus will hate me. He might even kill me."
The man stepped forward and took the girl in his arms. Then, he kissed her on the forehead. "You have nothing to worry about. I am here, am I not?"
Liliane sank further into the embrace and replied in sadness, "I want my mother to live." So, she could only wrong Magnus. "Aseyana should understand my feelings. We are born of the same mother. She should be on our side." Her voice contained disappointment as she uttered those words.
The man tightened his hold. "She would be. If not, I will fight her for you."
"You will?" Liliane asked in astonishment. She looked at the man's eyes and saw his sincerity. "But," she hesitated, "Father will surely kill you. She is still my sister. If you hurt her, Father will never let you go." Not to mention their relationship. Once her sister was hurt, her father would not allow this man to be her mate.
The man smiled. "Nothing is more important than you."
Liliane smiled in satisfaction. She buried her head on his chest. The man's smile, on the other hand, fell. His gaze turned chilly.
"How sweet!"
Both of them turned to the person who just spoke.
"You guys are so sweet. So sweet you are giving me toothaches!" he clapped mockingly.
"What are you doing here?" Liliane left the man's embrace as she gritted her teeth, glaring at the new arrival.
The man's sinister black eyes stared playfully at her. "Visiting you, of course. I heard you successfully captured the poor lil bloodling." His gaze shifted to the crystal ball. "Is she in there?"
Liliane gripped the crystal ball tightly.
"You dare come here after failing to do your bidding." It was the other man who replied. "What are you planning?"
The man with sinister black eyes shrugged, sitting on the dusty sofa. "Nothing. I am only interested to see whether you succeed or fail. Looking at you now, it seems you are successful." He smiled eerily. "I wonder what will pretty little Ase do now, seeing not only her sister kidnapped her friend behind her back but also her so-called kind uncle. As we all know," he snapped her fingers, "betrayal from family stings a lot." He showed a painful reaction.
Liliane pursed her lips. The other man, on the other hand, remained calm. "What does it have to do with you?" he asked. "Your only task is to get the bloodling, which you obviously failed to do. You have no affair getting involved with our family matters."
The sinister man raised a brow. He looked at this guy acting mighty and suddenly found him annoying. "Silas, my brother," he teased. "Once upon a time, I was also part of your ridiculous brotherhood. It hurts my heart seeing the way you treat me."
Two thousand years ago, the five of them made a pact. The sinister man, Silas, and Poseidon were orphans. It was the great war then. The Vates Family kindly adopted them, treating them as their own. But the sinister man left not long after the great war. Then, Poseidon made his way to the sea, ruling the ocean. Only Silas remained in the family until now.
"Anyway," the sinister man stood up, "Ase is my self-proclaimed person. Hurt her, and you will know what darkness means." A swirling fog occupied his whole being before vanishing out of sight.
"Uncl—-" Liliane paused. She was used to calling the man uncle. But their relationship was far from that. So, she changed the way he addressed him. "Silas, what shall we do?" That sinister man had an aura with him that even she felt terrified.
Silas gave the girl a reassuring smile. "I have known him since we were children. I know his capability. He does not amount that much like what he is showing." His gaze turned chilly. "Compared to us, he is nothing."
Liliane could only nod.
—
[Tatia's POV]
Where am I?
I was still a bit dizzy. So I could not open my eyes fully. Instead, I waved my hands to look for anything to hold onto.
"Tatia!"
My hand paused. And my eyes almost gauged out from their sockets. The hell?! Was that my mother? And she was even angry! Why was she angry? Since I got the money to contribute to the family, my mother was never angry at me!
"I am just writing!"
I slowly put down my hand. And regardless of dizziness (that turned to drowsiness), I opened my eyes to see what was happening before me.
Hah!
This might be a dream—- or a nightmare.
"Write! Write! Write!" my mother angrily admonished. "You only know how to write! Look at your grades! Instead of wasting your time with writing, use it on studying!"
"I passed! I did not fail any of my subjects." I could hear the frustration in that tone.
The two continued to bicker. But eventually, the other heavily closed the notebook and stopped writing.
I remembered that feeling.
I was young and depressed. I had no one to turn to nor someone to speak with, and sometimes, I thought of ending this worthless life. But writing made me feel good. So was reading. Yet, that very salvation of mine, my mother never supported.
She was a tough woman. She was fierce with her words and had never shown me softness since I was a kid. And I was the exact opposite.
I was soft.
I was kind.
I was gentle.
It took me a hard time accepting her way of discipline.
She never took no for an answer. She never listened. The one time I opened up with her, I got reprimanded. When I got accused, I was slapped. I had a hard time sharing my feelings with her since then. I do not actually share anything with my mom now except gossip.
However, my father was the exact opposite. Maybe without him, I would have ended up having a rigid heart.
But then again, if not for my mother, I would have remained soft my entire life. Her fierce love made me tough, after all. And my father's love balanced it.
Hmmm…
I slowly walked until I reached my younger self. She was crying. Silently. She muffled her voice to avoid being heard by others.
Why? Why was I dramatic at this time again?
I could not seem to remember. This usually happened in my life. It was so common that I could no longer remember the cause of it.
Memories faded. But the emotions of those days would always remain.
The surroundings suddenly blur, and my college days struck my mind brashly. Memories of my old friends complaining about their love lives, about men—- I smiled bitterly. Why was I having a glimpse of these?
Then, I saw myself reading books, crying and mentally admonishing the characters. I slapped my forehead, embarrassed at myself. Frankly, those books were the reason I was elusive of love. Some novels set my standards high, while some made me lose hope in romantic love. In any way, fictional books made me this way.
I blinked, and the surroundings changed a hundred eighty degrees.
Where am I this time?