Rostella I stole a glance at Preston, the man I’d soon be walking down the aisle to– and his fear etched on his face like an engraving on a rock. On my part, tears burned my eyes and my heart sank into my stomach with a heavy thud. My fingers curled up beside me, sweat dripping from my palm like a waterfall and my knees trembled. But I expected Preston to stand up tall and look Damian in the eye. But the only thing he could do was show how weak he was before this stray Reynold dog. Damian had calculated his movements before showing up here and that explains why he’s here on the very day that all the skilled fighters of both families were absent. His men were formidable and clearly outnumbered ours, if this were a good day, I would have had him brought to his knees where I can stomp on that arrogant head of his. “I still remember the days you visited the Reynolds household…” Damian growled coldly and I batted my eye lids, snapping back into the present. Everyone watched in silenc

DamianFaint cries and audible murmurs echoed behind me as Serena and I stormed out of the hall. Their fears were like a soothing balm on my skin. I reveled in their terror. “Shouldn’t we clear the bodies of her men?” Serena asked and I wanted to object, but then a much better idea crossed my mind immediately. “Instead, stack the bodies out here” I responded sharply and without wasting any more time her subordinates stormed back into the hall. My men cleared the bodies under my command, stacking them like a pile of freshly cut trees outside the hall while I stood and watched. “Walk with me” I said to Serena and we headed towards the car. My driver opened the door and I waited for Serena to go in before I did. I sat inside the car, my head tilted back and my eyes shut, calming my troubled mind for a while. Serena sat beside me, quiet as usual, but I knew she had so many questions to ask. I sat still and watched as the guests rushed out of the hall in a hurry and drove off like th

RostellaI glanced at Preston and my pity act quickly dropped. My arms moved away from my mother’s bosom and rested firmly on my hips. “If this Reynold you speak of happened to just stomp Donovan to death, then he isn’t as common as you might think he is..” Preston’s father continued and my suspicions grew deeper. “He did throw him off balance by slamming him against the wall with an empty coffin before he stomped him to death..” Preston argued but his father was clearly not having it. “How long till the War God visits?” He asked and I cleared my throat. “Barely a month. We wrote to him already” I responded. “Preston already made that clear. If we have a month till the War god comes, then we have more than enough time to get rid of this threat for good before he does something outrageous in our family..” Preston’s father probed further. Silence settled in the room and everyone drowned in their own various thoughts. I, for one, couldn’t just ward off the fact that Damian’s right

Damian I stood still. The warmth of what we once were trying to crawl its way back into my head, but then I remembered this was Rostella. Her tears soaked my shirt. Her sobs grew intense and her arms tightened around me, but I stood there, unmoved by whatever emotions she poured out. “Let go..” I muttered grimly. Her sobs stopped as quickly as they started and her arms loosened a bit. “What..?” She sniffled, her bloodshot eyes hovering around my face and then I lifted my hands, cupping her tear-soaked face in my palm and she smiled softly. “I said… we both know the only reason you came all the way to this place today is to finish off what you started years ago” I growled but her smile vanished quickly. “Damian no I –” “Keep your explanations and your charade to yourself. You have a wedding to plan and you have one more Reynold to wipe off of the face of the earth. So it’s best if you take this drama home and do something else with your free time.” I warned, letting go of her fac

Rostella. Preston and I lay in each other’s arms, silence sitting between us like a dam but my mind refused to welcome the silence. My different thoughts created chaos in my head and I was even scared to shut my eyes. But then everywhere stood still, as if the world itself was catching its breath as well. Outside, the skies rumbled softly and soft showers drizzled. I rolled over on the bed, my back facing Preston and his arms tightly wrapped around my waist like he was scared I’d run off while he slept. My mind was blank, but my heart knew exactly why. “Is everything okay?” Preston asked. The sound of his voice scratched something in my head. Low and rough, like the kind of growl a lion gives before it remembers how powerful it is. I shook my head and sighed softly. “Everything isn’t okay Preston” I replied. “Everything can’t be okay when there’s a huge problem out there and we clearly don’t know where to start solving it from..” He sighed lazily, turned to face the ceiling whi