Chereads / BITTERSWEET HELL / Chapter 18 - At the nick of time

Chapter 18 - At the nick of time

'I don't think I can!' With those words, at the blink of an eye, Mikael launched himself in my direction, ramming me aggressively against the wall, 'I won't let you go!'

'Have you lost it?' I struggled, using both hands to push him away, 'LET.. ME..GO!' I yelled, pushed him and landed a hard slap across his cheek, 'I know you and Arya were lovers but you don't have any fucking right to tell me what to do with my life. If you touch me again, I will fucking kill you!'

'Kill me? Like you attempted to kill the king?' He exposed.

My heart started racing, 'How the hell do you know that?'

He started laughing, 'I know everything, everything about you.' He shined his big eyes on me, tone softening, 'I know everything about you!'

For the first time, I noticed a different glow in Mikael's eyes. He normally looks at me with so much warmth but today, there is a sense of creepiness lurking within his gaze.

'Who exactly are you Mikael?' I questioned.

He quickly blinked, returning back to his old calm self, 'Forgive me for getting carried away. Whatever you decide, I accept.' He gave me a nod and hurriedly turned to leave. I was feeling confused until I noticed something on the back of his neck.

Nail marks? What is going on? Is Mikael …Could he really be the …

The idea of Mikael being the tattooed man scared the life out of me. Now that I think of it, Arya never hid anything from me so how comes I didn't know about her pregnancy and marriage to Mikael Gras? Something doesn't feel right.

Instead of going to Silas, I snuck out and headed to Camelia's pleasure house. When I got there, the place is a mess. All the girls must have ran off after stealing all the valuable items Camelia had collected over the years.

I headed to her office, her body was no longer on the floor but her dried blood still remained.

Someone mercilessly murdered Camelia in my stead. There has got to be a proof that Mikael Gras is the man I am looking for.

I began rummaging through her stuff and then it hit me, the secret room!

I pushed the door and stepped into the tiny space with light barely visible in the room. I felt a sudden feeling of claustrophobia rising within me like a high tide.

At the top of the old shelf, I noticed a golden box. That could be it.

I grabbed the box, it is locked, the key must be somewhere around here.

I searched all over and still couldn't find the key. Keeping the box on the desk, I settled down on the chair, 'Ugh, Lady Camelia, even after your death you are still just as cunning!'

I looked up with a sigh, noticing a small hole in the ceiling, something was glinting inside.

The key!

I climbed the desk, stood on my toes and managed to grab the key but lost my balance and flopped onto the floor, I couldn't breathe for a moment before recollecting myself, got back on my feet, unlocked the box and there it was, a black book made from the hardest wood.

I open the first page 'light meets darkness' the title read.

Under it, a note was scribbled, Since the beginning of time, the first of creation was dragons and in a world where dragons exist, there are dragonkeepers but also, dragon hunters! Beware the dragon hunter is a trickster and a trickster is always full of tricks.

The trickster? That old woman spoke of the trickster and all along I thought she was referring to Silas but the trickster is the other name for a dragon hunter? I need to meet her.

I closed my eyes, concentrating all my energy on that day, and slowly, I feel my legs lifting off the floor as if I was floating in the air, and then I fall back heavily, sharply opening my eyes. I had returned to that day but this time around, the match is still happening while I am still in the hall.

The old woman appeared from the corner, approaching me with a smile, 'Hm, you have found your way back, the answers are finally make themselves visible to you.'

'The trickster, if Silas is not who you were referring to, who was it?' I interrogated.

She cackled hysterically, 'I think you already know the answer to your question. When Silas disappeared, who benefitted the most from it? The trickster is always around playing his tricks, unlike other hunters, dragon hunters do not wish to kill a dragon because when a dragon is no longer in existence, the dragon hunter assumes their place. And when Silas disappeared, the man who took his place was …'

'Mikael.' His name rushed out of me, 'Is Mikael really a dragon hunter? Why did he lie about his relationship with Arya? Why did he harm her?'

'You have always knew there was something different about you, return to that time and then the question you have asked, you will get the answer from the person you have been trying to avoid for so long.' With those words, she disappeared from my sight and I blinked, teleporting back to Camelia's office.

The person I have been trying to avoid for so long?

A DECADE AGO…

Arya and Aria grew up together in the flourishing kingdom of Heiya. Her father and mother loved them dearly.

The two looked like they were living normal lives but one of them was hiding a bitter truth.

Aria had started seeing things at a very young age; things that weren't visible to other people. She could also do things that were not possible for anyone else. Their mother, Sarah, noticed this uniqueness in her daughter and did everything in her powers to suppress Aria's special abilities.

'If anyone finds about your abilities, your sister will suffer the most so you must keep it hidden for the rest of your life' Those were Sarah's words, warning Aria and Aria did everything she possibly could to portray a normal life while struggling to fight the demons in her head.

The twins were at the age of ten and on an exceptionally bright day, Aria had went into the woods to hunt for rabbits and get some apples. Little Aria was a troublemaker, she climbed the tallest pine tree to watch the ocean and on her way down, she missed a branch and went falling hundred feet to the ground but right before she crashed and broke her bones, an invisible force suspended her in the air.

Shocked, she panicked, losing focus and ended up crashing on the ground but luckily, it wasn't that high.

Groaning, she stirred on the ground, opening her eyes only to meet a pair of enigmatic grey eyes staring down at her.

Aria had never seen such a handsome man before in her life. His hair was as white as snow, big eyes hooded by long curly lashes.

His soft lips were as rosy as a garden of roses and he smelled like flowers. He extended his hand, speaking in the most alluring of tone, 'Need help?'

'I am seeing things again.' Aria sighed, 'Are you a ghost? What do you want? You know that I can't touch ghosts right? But the effort is appreciated.'

She risen to her feet, dusting off her clothes, 'Are you unable to pass peacefully? Do you perhaps hold some sort of grudge in your heart when you died? And how the hell is your hair so white?'

The man smiled warmly, sharply leaning down, his face an inch away from Aria's, locking eyes with her. 'You look so little.'

'You know me?' Aria questioned.

He chuckled briefly, 'I am your husband, I mean I will be your husband in the future and your king.'

'You are from the future?' Her brows knit, 'I never knew ghosts were capable of lying.'

'I am not lying.' He affected a seriousness, 'I am here to tell you to prepare yourself because you are a dragonkeeper, my dragonkeeper, and it will be very challenging so I am here to give you a cheat so that you don't have to suffer in the future again.'

'Again? Does that mean the older me is suffering now?' She asked nervously.

The strange man nods, 'You will lose the people you care about but I want you to remain strong. And please, don't fall in love with me this time around.'

'This time around?' Hesitantly, Aria slowly reached out and when her skin touched his, she gasped, sharply pulling away her hand, 'You are not a ghost? Who the hell are you?'

He chuckle warmly, 'I am Silas.'

When Aria informed her mother about what happened, Sarah found a witch who performed a spell on Aria's mind erasing all memories of that night and the fact that she was the dragon keeper from her head.

Despite Sarah's efforts to protect her daughter from the dark version of the world, destiny is a foe not easily defeated.

Fate brought Aria back to kingdom Rheiss where her prophecy was fulfilled.