Tarah was at a loss. Uncontrollably shivering, her body felt weak and helpless. She knew for a fact that this shouldn't be happening—dreaming about the tragedy that befell her family for the second time in a row. However, she was glad that she woke up before having a nightmare about the loathsome continuation of her life with Devon.
'You're my property, and I can do anything I want with you!' Devon's words rang in her head. 'Remember that your brother's life is in my hands… You know what will happen if you don't please me…'
She felt air leave her lungs as his malicious voice played on repeat inside her head. Her stomach turned upside down, and the feeling of nausea washed upon her so suddenly that she immediately pushed Ezekiel away and rushed out of the tent to throw up.
She knew about what she had just done, however, and she had to do what it took to calm herself to not show him her current state.
But as if things couldn't get worse, thunder roared above before rain started pouring down on them.
"This…" Tarah's body trembled. She hated the rain…
"Tarah!"
Ezekiel's voice called out to her, and Tarah immediately ran away like a mad woman being chased by an enemy. Tears continued to fall from her eyes while the memories she wanted gone of her head kept on coming to her. The haunting words that Devon would often tell her constantly rang inside her head, and she just wanted them to stop.
Devon didn't take her virginity, but she still had to endure his harassment. For years, she managed to act like a dead woman not having any emotions despite the horrible things she had gone through while being with Devon. So why was she having a breakdown like this now when he was no longer around to torment her? Why was he haunting her like this even when he wasn't around!?
While she was running, Tarah heard the sound of a flowing river, and she quickly decided to follow where it would take her.
"I need to clean myself…" she uttered several times as she walked on the shallow river.
Desperately, she cleaned herself with the water. Her body felt so dirty, and she cried as she continued rubbing her skin till it turned red.
"Tarah! What are you doing? Stop that! You're hurting yourself!"
Looking up, she stared at the prince who now firmly held her wrist, stopping her from her hysterical actions.
"What's wrong?" Ezekiel demanded an answer. "What happened?"
Tarah held her tongue. Their surroundings were dark, but the bright moonlight was just enough for her to see how his eyes were laced with intense concern.
"I feel so dirty…" she unknowingly sobbed. She struggled from Ezekiel's hold, but he quickly pulled her in and firmly held her in his embrace.
"Calm down, Tarah. Tell me what's going on," he soothed her. "Why are you acting like this…"
She didn't know how to respond. Deep in her heart, the desire to tell him everything about what was happening to her was flickering. However, no matter how much she hoped, the Topet Bloodchain Spell cast by Devon on her and her little brother restricted her.
It was a very powerful and complicated spell, chaining her to him and her little brother to her. He was the master, and she was the executioner. Once she messed up and failed, her brother, Levi, would be the one to receive the punishment.
It was a spell that only a pure blooded demon like Devon could cast. Likewise, only an angel like Queen Dana, Ezekiel's mother, could break such a thing.
The existence of angels banished from the heavens was a mystery since they didn't want their existence to be known. However, Tarah found out about them two years ago when Devon conquered the Kingdom of Bethel, where she got a glimpse of the magical Book of Angels banished from the heavens.
There were two categories of them living with them here on earth: repenters and demons. In one of her visions, she saw Queen Dana… and she found out that she was an angel, a repenter.
Back in reality, Tarah felt weak as she stared at the night sky. She didn't know how long they stayed like that under the rain, but she felt so secure in Ezekiel's embrace that she didn't want him to let go of her.
For him, she was a mere stranger whom he only knew of recently, but that wasn't the case for Tarah. Seeing him in her dreams and visions all these years made her feel like she truly knew a lot about him. Maybe that was the reason why she felt comfortable and secure around him like this in the first place.
"Your Highness…" she helplessly muttered.
"It's cold here, and you're drenched. You'll get sick if we stay outside like this for long," Ezekiel remarked. "Let's go back inside."
From there, Tarah felt her body float into the air. But then, it turned out that he was just carrying her in his arms. As such, she simply snuggled closer into his warmth. And right then, she felt so dizzy that everything suddenly turned black.
*****
Back at the camp, Ezekiel entered his tent and asked Cora to check on Tarah and get her changed off of her wet dress. While this was happening, he then went to the other side of the tent to quickly get changed. Once done, he sat on the nearest chair while staring at a particular area of the tent, mulling over Tarah's words in his head.
He could still picture how scared she was a while ago. The feeling of her cold and trembling body against him still lingered in his senses.
"It's not just a nightmare," he grunted while unknowingly balling up his fists.
"Your Highness…" Cora suddenly called, interrupting him from his stupor. "You should see this…"
Standing up, Ezekiel quickly walked towards Cora, and his eyes widened the moment he saw Tarah's bare back.
"That…" he gasped.
"I guess it's a scar from a deep wound, but this looks quite different," Cora stated. "It looks more like a mark to me."
"Copy this mark," Ezekiel quickly instructed. "And cover her up already once it's over."
Cora did what she was asked, and after she was done, Ezekiel dismissed her. Left alone, he pulled out a thick blanket to properly cover Tarah. He then sat on the side of the bed and stared at her.
Cora had already reported to him everything she found out about Tarah at that point, like how she was born in the Kingdom of Zion, and how her family all died during Devon's siege.
According to her, Tarah said that she was just lucky that she was away during those times wandering around… But Ezekiel could feel that there was more to it, and Tarah was probably not telling the truth to them.
"It looks like you're someone who harbors many secrets, Tarah. Just what are you hiding?"