Baila had a strange dream about a man with eyes so blue they frightened and entranced her at the same time.
At first, he was a blue-eyed boy who got excited at the little things. His excitement and curiosity were infectious. Baila could hear his laughter as he ran through the meadow. Soon, he was a man with the same bright blue eyes. The only difference was that he had lost his excitement. His laughter was not as genuine and wild as it used to be.She felt it. The emotion that swallowed him whole was not sadness or trauma. It was loneliness. She could feel his pressing need to have someone and to belong somewhere. Baila wanted to hold him. She reached out for him but the world swirled into different colours around her.The dream changed and she was drowning under the moon. She smiled up at the stars as hands reached down and pulled her to the surface.Frost. She heard the wind whisper. Air filled her lungs and Baila gasped awake.The bed was warm and comfortable.Bed?!Baila sat up, looking around. Someone had saved her. She wasn't dead. She let out a loud squeal and bounced back in bed before jumping out of the bed. She was in the largest room she had ever seen. A wall and an open door separated the room from a long table covered in papers. It looked like a drawing room of sorts.The bed took up most of the space in the room. Bail spun around, a man was sitting in the chair in the corner of the room.A man in a chair!She yelped, pausing to look at him. Was he the one who saved her?She watched him cross his leg and lean back in the chair. His chest rose and fell heavily. Baila was sure he was asleep. How did he fall asleep in such an uncomfortable position? Baila took slow small steps towards him. He wore a white shirt and had an arm over his eyes.His brown hair was dark at the roots. Baila was curious about how he looked. When she was only one foot away from him, she contemplated lifting his hand to take a peek at his face. She frowned when she saw the slash of red on his tunic shirt.Was he hurt? Did she hurt him?Baila backed away, shaking her head. She needed to leave. She couldn't go back home. The witches would kill her for jeopardizing their future. She was sure even her mother hated her but Ayesha's mother must have hated her more.Tears welled up in Baila's eyes as she realised that she had nowhere to go. Perhaps, she could leave the realm like other witches had done. But realm travel was a dangerous affair and she did not know anyone who could take her through the golden sea and smuggle her through the portal.Goddess! Her life was ruined. What had she done?Where was she? She had climbed over the black wall and fallen in the stream. Obviously, the sleeping stranger had saved her but where was she?Baila looked out the broken window. There were wolves right outside the window.Wolves? Wolves weren't on this side of the realm.Baila gasped. How far had she travelled?She couldn't have. No. It wasn't possible but as Baila watched a wolf shift into a man, her heart stopped. Goddess! She had made everything worse.She was in Northwood. The city of wolves. No outsider had been to Northwood since the treaty was signed and she, a witch, had trespassed into the territory of the creatures who betrayed the witches. If she didn't die in the river, she was about to die anyways.But why would he save her if he wanted her dead? Maybe he wanted to know the witches' hideout.Baila scoffed, glaring at the man. He could forget about it. She had done enough harm. She was not about to send everything to hell by telling him the location of the last surviving witches. She needed to leave and she needed to do it soon.With sore feet, Baila hurried to the door. Her hands had barely grazed the handle when a gust of wind blew her hair into her face and the sleeping man stood between her and the door.Baila breathed, ready to rip off her necklace if necessary. She reached for it instinctively but the man simply shook his head. His tired blue eyes looked down at her."I only want answers to my question," he spoke softly, stepping away from her."I'll answer what I can," Baila ceded. He had saved her life. Werewolf or not, she owed it to him.He squeezed his eyes shut and staggered back. For a moment, Baila feared that he would collapse but he straightened his back and stood taller."I heard your voice last night. I saw through your eyes. I.......why?" he asked.Baila frowned. She had screamed for help in her head. He couldn't have possibly heard her. How did he see through her eyes? It was new to her and didn't know what to tell him. She wished she could help but unfortunately, she did not have answers to his questions."I don't know," Baila whispered."Did you cast a spell on me?" he asked, his eyes desperate for an answer.Was he hoping she would say yes? Or was he hoping she would say no?Baila was confused, she had never been in a situation like this before. She had been weak and dying. She didn't have the strength to wake her demon or cast a spell."I did not," she replied.The man's face fell and he took several steps away from her. He muttered under his breath, running a hand through his hair and tugging on it violently.Baila was worried. She hadn't said anything wrong."You're a witch," the man muttered, turning his back to face her. He walked into the room with the table and poured himself some wine.Had he gone mad? She watched in horror as he ripped open his shirt and flung the pieces away. He gulped down the wine and walked across the room to a shelf facing the long table. When he turned sideways to reach for a book on the shelf, Baila saw it. It was only a brief moment but she would recognise that tattoo anywhere.On the left pec of the man's chest, swirling ink formed a huge snowflake with a snarling wolf. She knew that picture. It was the sigil of house Caldore. She had seen it in books and read about it in stories. The older witches whispered it in the tales they told her village at night.Wolves with hearts as cold as ice and skin that snow melts upon. She was in Northwood and what was worse was that Baila knew the man who was rummaging angrily through the books in his room. She should have realised it the moment she saw his glowing blue eyes.This was him. The lycan king.It was tradition for the lycan kings to have the sigil of house Caldore imprinted on their chest.Frost.The name slammed into Baila's chest so hard, she staggered back. She decided to take her chances. She didn't know why but she called out to him."Frost," her voice was so soft, she thought he didn't hear her but he paused and looked up from the books scattered on the table.Baila walked through the door and into the room with the long table."Frost," her voice shook. She was scared out of her mind. What was she doing calling a man by a name she heard in a dream?"I'm Nolan" he shook his head, "Nolan Caldore,"Goddess. Baila really did know how to find trouble."I'm sorry for calling you that," she said. "I thought you were someone else""It's fine," Nolan replied, going back to his books.Now Baila did not know what to do. She had nowhere to go and no idea of how to fix the mistake she had made."You're certain you don't have answers to my questions? You didn't cast a spell by mistake?" Nolan asked, breaking Baila's train of thought.Oh yes. He had heard her voice and seen through her eyes. Perhaps it was an accident that happened every thousand years and it had happened to them because Baila had never heard of such a thing.A lycan seeing through a witch's eyes."I was too weak to cast a spell but perhaps, it is possible," Baila responded. It seemed as if Nolan wanted to hear that she had cast a spell on him, forcing him to save her life.Baila sighed, she had more important matters to deal with. Should she head back home?No. She was an outcast by now. Yet, home was the safest place for her at the moment. If she went back home, the high guards would hunt her down and if they found her, they would kill anyone she was with.The room went quiet. When Baila looked at Nolan, she noticed he had stopped flipping through books.What was he looking for?He pinched the bridge of his nose and walked up to her."I need to figure something out. I need to know the truth about something very important. Can you help me?" he asked in a pleading tone.Baila lost herself in his bright blue eyes. "You saved my life. I will do whatever I can to help,""Can I kiss you?"That was certainly not the kind of payment Baila had in mind. She furrowed her brows, searching his eyes to know if he was serious."Not the way you think," Nolan chuckled. "It is only a kiss,"Twelve blasted hells!A kiss in exchange for her life was a tiny price to pay.Baila stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. Before she could change her mind, she pressed her lips to his. He growled, pulling her closer to him. Nolan wrapped his arms around her back and waist.Baila felt a hum in her gut. Slowly, it became a tingling sensation that wrapped itself around her heart and squeezed it tight. Her demon stirred and Baila shoved Nolan away. She turned her back to him as she felt her eyes glow their usual red colour.What the hell was that? Her demon had not woken up but it almost had. Baila took in deep breaths, thinking of a time when this happened to her but she found none. It had never happened to her before.She turned to face Nolan who was still breathing heavily. His blue eyes were glowing brigher."You can't leave," he murmured, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.Baila didn't know why but that small gesture of him wiping his mouth had hurt her."Why not?" she frowned, focusing on the situation at hand instead of how his lips had tasted.He tasted like rain and wine."I don't know," Nolan replied. He looked genuinely confused.Baila thought things through. Until she figured out a plan, she needed a place to stay. It would only be for a few days.But as Nolan's eyes returned to normal and he still looked at her with that broken and tired expression, Baila felt a strange sense of foreboding.Nolan had backed away from Baila and chosen to stand in a corner far away from her. His heart thudded dangerously fast whenever he was near her. Twelve blasted hells! He had hoped with all his heart that he was wrong and yet when he kissed her, every sleeping part of him had awoken. She was the one. She was his to protect. Nolan watched her brown eyes gaze outside the window. He was certain that she wanted to be free, to leave but for some reason, she stood still with a lost look on her face. He could not let anyone know about her. Not yet. Goddess! The council. What would they say if he told them that his mate was a witch? Nolan squeezed his eyes shut, wondering if he should let her know or watch her walk away forever. The latter was a better option but somehow, Nolan knew it would be impossible to let her go. "Can I stay for a few nights?" she asked. Nolan looked at her. There were a lot of questions he should have asked her. Questions that were very important and necessary
Baila felt quite uncomfortable as she walked alongside Aaron, the captain of the guard. He kept his distance from her like she was a kind of virus that had no cure but his right hand was always on the hilt of his sword. Baila was scared to even sneeze. The slightest movement from her could cause Aaron to cut her down. She was sure the captain would not hesitate to kill her. As they walked further and further away from Nolan's room, Baila wondered why Nolan had asked her about the spell. She had been dying. Surely, she couldn't have cast a spell. She couldn't rule out the possibility though. But her necklace had been around her neck the entire time she was drowning. Besides, she didn't know any spells to call out to a werewolf or any other creature. Mother! No. It couldn't be. Her demon had been dormant but the other part of her wasn't. She had also been underwater. That was where the siren part of her thrived. Could that side of her have called out to Nolan? She had never used her
"The queen was a fireball," Sara started. "She was so fierce but kind and warm at the same time. She treated me like I was her daughter. When she died, I felt like I lost my mother. Anyways, she and the king had an arranged marriage. She wasn't too happy about it initially but in time, they fell in love. King Arlen was a kind man and Queen Ariadne was his world even after they had Nolan, he doted on her like she was everything. Ariadne used to scold him all the time. It was fun to watch them be together. I miss them but Nolan must miss them more especially since he was crowned king three days after their deaths. He was only ten." Baila found Sara's hand in the dark and held unto it, squeezing it comfortingly. Unlike Nolan, Sara still had family but it did not mean that she was less affected by the deaths of the king and queen. "Does Nolan have a mate?" Baila asked. She was scared Sara would snap at her as Aaron did but so far, the royal physician had been nothing but nice to her. "N
"What?" Aaron spluttered. His eyes were wide like saucers as he stared at the redhead. Baila glared at him. Now, he chose to pay attention. "You want to say that I'm your whore?" Baila frowned, confused. She did not understand what Sara was trying to do. Either way, Baila would still end up with the brand of a whore. "No. A dancer. I had many dancer friends before I became.....well....this. All of them have travelled far away from the city. I could say that you're having money troubles and came to me for help. You can stay here for as long as you want with that excuse," Sara explained. "Like hell, she can!" Aaron swore, approaching Sara. "You can not possibly think of vouching for her. If anyone ever finds out the truth, you'll be punished or worse," "You chose Aaron, why can't I?" Sara shrugged, straightening up and squaring her shoulders to face him. Baila had never seen Sara behave this way before but she hadn't known her long enough to come to that conclusion. Aaron grabbed
Baila stumbled back, struggling to breathe as her breath escaped her mouth in strangled hiccups. The creature before her was once human, she was sure of it. It was a woman with hair badly ripped out that Baila could see the soft pink flesh of her scalp. Her teeth were a long line of small sharp triangles like a fish's teeth. The woman wore a tattered black dress and black veins littered her pale sickly skin which had a sticky transparent liquid on it. But what scared Baila the most was her eyes. They were endless pools of darkness like a bear's. Footsteps drew closer and Baila glanced backwards to see Sara approaching with a sword. The creature looked highly amused with what was going on. Baila made a decision. She wasn't sure Sara's sword could even nick the creature. With a trembling hand, she reached for her necklace. "Baila. Don't!" Sara snapped but Baila wasn't listening. She ripped the necklace off with all the strength she could muster and it fell to the ground with a clink.
Baila groaned into consciousness. The ruffled bed space beside her told her all she needed to know. Sara had spent the night in her room. With a frightfully loud yawn, Baila jumped out of bed and stretched. Her muscles felt sore from releasing her demon the previous night. Memories came flowing back in and she pieced them together as her back popped and her pain was relieved. She had rejected Nolan's help the previous night. Baila felt horrible about it. Her rejection must have stung him and hurt his pride. Lycans had a lot of pride. The sun wasn't shining and Baila had a feeling that last night's occurence could be the cause. She wanted to bathe in the river and she wondered if Nolan would allow her to go. With a slight shake of her head, Baila headed out to find Nolan. She was determined to apologize even if he shut her down. She found Nolan behind a stack of books piled on the table in his bedroom. He looked up from the books when she stepped in before gulping down the goblet of
Baila ran through the forest, her barefoot crunching on dead leaves and branches. From a distance, she could hear the barking dogs assisting the guards in the hunt.The hunt for her.She ducked behind a tree when she found nowhere to hide. Baila tried to slow her breathing as she wrapped her hand around her necklace and prayed. With tears in her eyes, she lifted her head to the skies.The moon was covered by thick dark clouds. It would rain soon and the dogs would not be able to catch her scent but she was afraid that the rain would make it difficult for her to escape. What had she done?She had been sent here to change things, to be a difference. Every last witch in the world was counting on her and she had let them all down. She had done worse than disappoint them, Baila had repeated the same crime that started the witch hunt-a tradition she could have easily put an end to by winning the bride trials and marrying the high prince.When she closed her eyes, she could still see the ho
In the castle walls of house Caldore, Nolan sat behind his table, looking at the list. A blinding headache was hindering him from fulfilling the list of duties he held in his hand. If the pain persisted, he would have to see a healer and postpone everything he planned to finish before morning.It was the day of his parents' death anniversary. He had made sure no one was at the river. The night guards included. He didn't want to think of the number of lives the river claimed every year on the day of his parents' death anniversary. If he figured it out sooner, a lot of people would have been saved.At least, the past six years had gone by without a single person drowning in the river. He wondered if the witch's curse had continued even after his parents were dead.A million lives for one. A million by the river.Nolan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. All those people had died for the sake of one girl. Witches were vindictive. He knew that now but he wished his parents had known