109. Ciara had gone to sit in a far corner of the cell with her back against the cold wall. She pulled her knees close to her chest, breathing painfully. Her body hurt, to say the least. She couldn't even blink normally because it came with pain to her eyes, cheek, and shooting pain in her head. But none of the pain she was feeling could compare to the way her chest felt. It felt so heavy and tight, like something inside her was breaking apart piece by piece. Her chest hurt, her ribs were broken, and Ciara kept asking herself if her heart was even beating at this point. Breathing was difficult. She tried taking in a deep breath but started to cough instead. Suddenly, she started to cry. Her voice was so quiet, and she sounded so broken as she wept. "I'm so fucking stupid..." She whispered, shaking her head. "So damn stupid, how could I have believed him?" Her fingers dug into her arms as if she wanted to tear her own skin. "I should have listened to Adrian." She coughed. "

111. Maverick looked more like a child excited to play with his games than a whole lord of darkness, large as he was. He looked at the group hungrily, especially at Adrian. "Let's not waste any time." He said as he raised his hand. Suddenly, fire came out of nowhere, heating the place up as the flames licked closer to them. The flames were darker than regular fire, and when they came in contact with skin, they burnt hotter than anything Ciara had ever seen. "MOVE!" Adrian shouted. He shielding Macy with his body as the flames rushed towards them. Ciara screamed, D bending down and holding her head like that was going to do anything. "I've got him!" Orion said. Running towards the dark lord, heating raised his hands to create a counter-attack, but nothing formed. All he got was a pathetic flicker of light that went out almost immediately. Maverick looked at him with clear distaste. "I can’t believe I thought you were once useful. Trying to work against me?” “Yo

113. Adrian walked straight through the gates like he owned the place, holding Macy tight. "Adrian?" She looked around in an unsure manner. Tbe palace guards didn't pay any attention to him. In fact, what found strange was the fact that the guards didn't even stop him. "Adrian, if anything happens, don't leave me alone, okay?" Macy said. "The last time you did that, I almost went mad with worry." He whispered. "I won't do that ever again, I promise. I just wanted you to be physically safe no matter what. I failed at that too." He clenched his fist in regret. Macy nodded. "That man, Maverick, he still has Ciara." "I know. The one time you want her to be quick with her actions and she's not fast enough. Tch." Macy didn't say anything. She knew that Ciara was his ex-wife so she decided to keep quiet. Servants moved out of the way for them, and a few in-house guards looked somewhat confused but didn't act. Adrian wasn't a criminal, not necessarily. He just tempor

115. A few days had passed since Zalaria stole that artefact for Lady G. Now she stood by the window of the cottage with her arms folded, staring out at the trees and land. The place was calm and peaceful but unlike usual, her head was all over the place, so the calmness was pissing her off. "This place is starting to feel like a cage.” She muttered. Behind her, Lady G sat comfortably, sipping tea like nothing in the world could touch her. "A cage?" Lady G repeated, raising a brow. "Zalaria, you know that free to leave whenever you want." Zalaria scoffed and turned around. "Oh yeah? And walk into what? The same people I robbed blind? Or to the palace where they’d try to kill me?” She gestured wildly. "Don't play smart with me." Lady G didn't even look up at her. "You were paid." "Yes, but that’s not the point." Zalaria snapped. “How do you even live in this quiet? You never struck me as the type to enjoy this.” “Well, I enjoy the quiet and the noise. Everything

117. Zalaria woke up screaming. Her hands flew out wildly, knocking into something hard. She sat up, looking around wildly, breathing fast. "Hey! Calm down!" "Look at me, you're safe." She froze up and turned. Her vision started to clear and the spinning had stopped, just a little. She could smell herbs and smoke and the earth. The cottage always smelled sweet, like flowers or milk tea. It was then that Zalaria realised that she was not in the cottage with Lady G burning that light over her. "Are you calm now?" She turned and saw Vlad crouched beside her, one hand half-raised like he wasn't sure if he should touch her or not. "Vlad?" "Yes. You're alright. You're safe here." Zalaria stared at him and then she looked around. They were in a tent. The dull light in it was from an oil lamp hung. There were a few bags in the corner, and a side with weapons. On the edge, there was a table with herbs and bandages. "This is my tent." Vlad said simply. "Your tent?