The next day,
Lily opened her beautiful blue eyes slowly and stretched. "What a long night," she mused, getting off the bed. She looked around but found no one.
"Angus! Liam! Malik!" she called out, but no one responded. "Where did they all go?" Panic started creeping onto her face, and she went outside, looking around but finding no traces of them. "Angus! Liam! Malik!" she shouted again, but there was no sign of any of them.
"Where could they have gone?" she pondered, walking barefoot to the river, but still finding none of them. "It can't be that they ran away, right?" she thought, looking around worriedly. As she observed her surroundings, she caught sight of her reflection in the river, and her eyes widened in shock. "What..." she murmured, paying closer attention to her reflection, her mouth opening wider in disbelief.
She was so beautiful that even she herself was frightened by her appearance. Her blue hair had a faint mixture of red, looking soft with fragments of wet flowers. Her skin was extremely fair and glowing, her beautiful blue eyes adorned with traces of red. Upon closer inspection, deep within her eyes was the symbol of the ice shroud, which served as her iris. Her eyes were teary, as if she was about to cry, yet despite blinking several times, tears did not escape her eyes. She had been delicate before, but now she looked even more fragile and soft—a perfect image of a goddess.
"What... what happened to me?" she almost screamed in shock. "How... how could I be this beautiful? If... if I go out like this... my death is sure!" she wept inwardly. "Who have I offended in my past life, huh?" Her watery eyes reflected her despair.
"Angus!" Lily shouted again, but it was as if no one was on Earth at all. Everything was abnormally silent. "Where are you guys?" she murmured in a choked voice.
"Found her! She's there!" Suddenly, a loud shout echoed, and before Lily could react, she was surrounded by beastmen.
"What... what do you want?" she asked nervously, her heart racing in fear.
All the beastmen stared at Lily with wide-open eyes, their gazes fixed on her, clearly shocked.
"Don't... don't come closer!" Lily warned.
All the beastmen came back to their senses and exchanged shocked expressions among themselves.
"Let's not waste time thinking about her; let's take her immediately!" one of the beastmen exclaimed as he approached Lily.
"Don't... don't come closer!" She wanted to flee, but it felt as though something had caged her in one spot; she couldn't move. Slowly, her eyes grew heavy, and she gradually lost consciousness. "Angus... Malik, Liam, are you all fine?" she murmured before slipping into darkness.
.....
"Son... I found you a very beautiful mate; she's even more attractive than the female you described," the dragon queen remarked with a caring smile on her face.
Art cast the dragon queen with a bored gaze "I want the person I described, not someone else. What have you done?" His brows knitted tightly.
"Art, listen... take a look at her. She looks similar to the female you've described; it's just that her hair isn't entirely blue and she's a female snake."
"Get lost!" Art's voice turned cold, his eyes glowing dangerously. He cast a glance at her and walked away.
"Art!" the dragon queen called out, feeling pain in her heart as two drops of tears escaped her eyes.
....
Art walked into his room, which was dark. What welcomed him was the sweet fragrance of a female that calmed his tumultuous mood. "Who's there?" His oppressive voice echoed, but there was no response. His brows knitted lightly, and with just a snap of his fingers, the room lit up.
His brows raised at the sight of the extremely beautiful woman who was sleeping peacefully on the leaf bed. Her hair scattered charmingly across it like a painting, and her closed eyes made her even more beautiful and captivating.
Art's eyes widened even more, and strangely, he vomited the coin he had once swallowed. "She's the one," he said happily as he walked closer to her, gently caressing her face. He clenched the coin tightly in his hand and gently pulled her hair back behind her neck, revealing the snake mark on her skin.
Seeing the snake mark, his brows knitted slightly, and then his gaze fell on her beautiful blue hair which was mixed with red. "He gave you all his power to make you a female snake," he murmured.
The beauty who was sleeping peacefully on the bed slowly opened her beautiful, watery eyes and met a pair of shimmering silver eyes. She blinked several times to adjust her sight. "Who are you?" she questioned, not moving from her position.
Art smiled warmly and lowered his head, capturing her lips in a kiss. The kiss deepened, and Art's hands started wandering around her body, feeling every softness.
Lily was just staring in a direction, not moving; blinking only occasionally.
"What's your name?" Art asked, burying his head into her neck and sucking softly.
"Name? I don't know," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
Art paused, looking at Lily, who was also staring at him with an emotionless gaze. "What happened to her?" he thought and touched her forehead, suddenly his eyes widening. "Why is everything in her head blank?" he wondered.
"Who are you?" Lily asked again, gazing at Art with lifeless eyes.
"Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?" Art inquired, ignoring her question.
Lily continued to stare at him blankly.
Art stood up and left the room. Soon, he returned with a basket filled with different types of fruits. "Here," he offered, holding out a wild apple for her.
Lily looked at the apple and then back at Art. "Why don't you let me go?" she questioned, a frown creasing her forehead. "I miss someone," she murmured softly.
Art's hand stiffened as he grasped her wrist firmly. "Will you allow me to be your mate?" he asked, his gaze locked onto hers.
"I can't move," Lily commented, looking away.
Art sighed, feeling a pang of rejection. "Eat something; I will be right back," he replied, tapping her chest twice before leaving again.
Lily sat up and surveyed her surroundings. "Why can't I recall anything? I feel so empty," she thought, anxiety creeping into her mind.
.....
"Son... I told you, you would definitely like her," the queen beamed brightly.
"What did you do to her?" Art asked coldly, his eyes narrowing.
"I..." The queen stammered, taken aback. "She was acting too stubborn, so I sealed off everything about her mates. This way, it will be easier for you to approach her; she won't remember anything about her past connections," she explained.