Chapter 66
POV: Prince Raven Pierce
“What the f*ck is going on?” He was walking back and forth as he felt like something terribly bad had happened.
Raven awoke from his sleep his forehead drenched with sweat. He let out a deep breath as he held his throbbing head.
He had just had a dream or most probably a nightmare. He didn’t even notice that he had fallen asleep, and in ‘that’ particular nightmare, a woman with a blurry face appeared and told him to go to the South Side. Her voice was so cold and lifeless that it sent shivers down his spine.
Raven heaved another deep sigh.
Who was she?
And why was she telling him to go there?
He knew how risky it was to go there-
But he suddenly stayed still when he remembered that his brother had gone to the South Side for the Maria Flora for Tamara.
His eyes widened as he immediately came up with a decision. He instantly got up to carry out his plan.
He commanded Arlan to keep an eye on Tamara and Elder Zeparu even threatened him that if something bad happened to Tamara, he would be held responsible and get the punishment that he deserved. He told him to be discreet about it and that he would go back immediately.
Arlan was just so confused about what was happening, but he didn’t have time to explain it to him anymore. He needed his help, and whoever the traitor was, he knew that it wasn’t him well, not a hundred percent sure, but he was truly hoping that it wasn’t.
Raven pursed his lips together as he filled her lungs with cold forest air before running off to the South Side.
Whatever that nightmare was, his gut feeling was totally agreeing with it to go after his brother.
His forehead creased the moment he almost reached the South Side border in no time.
“What the hell?!” He shockedly murmured under his breath before abruptly stopping.
There, he saw a lot of rogues guarding the entire place. He knew that this was something that the rogues always did, but the strange thing was, they seemed disoriented or something. And the main thing was that he saw something that had shaken his entire system.
A rogue in lycan form!
He gritted his teeth. He couldn’t believe that this had already happened.
‘So, this is what they have been doing all this time.’
A part of his mind had been maddeningly occupied. They had completely let down their guard, and now, the consequences were disastrous. He couldn’t believe that they could actually do this.
But he had no time for this now. He must find his brother. He didn’t know how far they had been experiments, but he needed to find his brother.
He concentrated on his brother’s scent. He could feel his heart beating so loud and fast, but he needed to focus. His mind might be going haywire at the moment, but he must get a grip on himself.
Raven closed his eyes firmly.
‘Where are you?’
He mentally asked himself as he thought of those words as a mantra that was repeatedly being chanted.
Then, a faint smell of his brother’s blood attacked his nose. He discreetly followed it that instant. It was so faint that it took him a long time to find him.
“F*ck!” He cursed under his breath as he saw his brother’s disposition.
He was covered with blood, but he didn’t know why he wasn’t still being killed by the rogues. He looked around and found some dama de noche which were in full bloom surrounding the huge tree where his brother was lying. A large portion of the Casa Blanca lily bloomed perfectly on the left side of the tree, while the gardenias on the right sparkled white under the moon’s small ray. Some evening primroses were also on the rocky part where half of his brother’s body was lying.
‘These had saved his life. He is certainly a lucky man, huh?’ He mentally thought as he slightly shook his head.
Raven held his pulse and let out a low curse as he discovered that it was too faint to even be detected if he didn’t have that enhanced sense. He looked around as he saw a particular vine it could slow down the effect of the poison at least to give him some time to save his brother’s *ss.
“This will do.” He whispered to himself as he got some of its leaves and rolled them into his palm until its natural sap came out and he instantly poured it into Hades’ mouth.
He faintly grunted as he tried to open his eyelids and look at him but he was just too weak that he closed them again.
“I have already applied some first aid to you, dear brother.” He lowly informed him.
“It was a good thing that I had read a lot of books and trained with Dreyson and Elder Zeparu.” He murmured to himself.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get by. I just need to do something before we get back to the palace.” He, then, suddenly turned serious and gritted his teeth.
“Are you feeling better now?” He worriedly asked.
“T-Tamara…”
But the King was asking for Tamara instead. Raven slightly shook his head. He was truly in love with her.
“If you want to kill me, kill me once you have already surpassed this. I need to go. Time is the essence of this, brother. And don’t worry, we will surely make them pay back double later.” He was trying to lighten up his mood, and he just heard him snore a little.
Hades was already sleeping soundly on the ground. He placed more dried leaves around him to cover his scent before he went to the Mount Celeste a shortcut that he didn’t even tell his brother that he had already discovered.
He knew that it was selfish of him, but he wasn’t expecting this to happen. Now, he could finally prove that there was something in the South Side that they must eradicate well, with the impeccable timing, he knew that they surely will.
Raven let out a deep breath before he dived into the hidden lake at the peak of the mountain. It was a minute swim before he reached the bottom, it wasn’t that hard for him to do so. What was hard was to pull the huge rock that covered a secret passage towards a cave where the sacred plants for the royal blood were hidden.
He let out a loud gasp as he finally reached the hidden cave. It was enticing as the fireflies were freely flying amidst the darkness and had given their light to the various plants around the area. Raven walked towards the illuminated part of the cave, where the Maria Flora was located. There’s a small open hole above it where the light of the moon shines brightly in the night sky making it glow and shine remarkably more than the other plants around it.
Raven carefully cut two of the stems where the flower was connected before he placed it in his small bag. Now, he needed to go to where his brother was and immediately bring him home.
***
POV: Queen Tamara Pierce
She could see what was happening around her. She could see that Hades was worried about her. She tried to stop herself from attacking him, but she just couldn’t. She had the impression that she was being possessed or something. She couldn’t take control of herself.
“Tamara…”
There’s the sound that was calling her name again. It was so eerie and devious that she had to cover her ears.
“Tamara…”
She wanted to stop whoever was calling her, but nothing came out of her mouth.
“Tamara…”
There it was again. She was yelling at it in her mind, she was trying to shout, but no voice could ever escape from her mouth.
Then, a loud mocking sound resonated around her. She tried to look around, but she was in the midst of darkness.
“You are mad at your husband, right? Don’t you want to be stronger than him?”
Now, the voice turned so cold and menacing that she just couldn’t help but shiver down her spine. However, a part of her suddenly turned like it wanted to know more about what it was talking about more.
Then, someone scornfully laughed.
“You wanted that, right? Don’t try to deny it, Tamara. I know that you want to be stronger, so, he wouldn’t hurt you anymore. So, you can avenge your parents’ death. So, you can be powerful and unbeatable.”
Her words seemed so promising, and a part of her wanted to agree with what she was offering.
“Who are you?”
She felt surprised that she had finally found her voice echoing in the midst of darkness.
“I am you. You are me. Let’s be one and conquer everyone. With that, you can do everything you can.” The eerie voice replied.
But Tamara knew that it wasn’t the right thing to do. She pursed her lips together and grunted as frustration overtook her.
“No. I own my body and you are not part of me.” She stubbornly replied.
She could feel the darkened aura that suddenly surrounded her.
“Just stop trying to erase me from you, Tamara. Because you are just wasting your time. Whether you like it or not, I am already part of you.” She sardonically stated causing her to get more furious at whoever that was.
She was about to yell at whoever it was to leave her alone when a loud noise interrupted her blurry mind.
“Tamara, are you okay?” A soft voice suddenly called her as cold hands held her arms.
She shrieked in shock as she tried to get away from whoever it was. But the moment, she saw her face, she knew that the woman was familiar to her.
“W-Who are you?”
Her eyes widened as she had finally said the words again.
“Are you the one calling me a while ago?” Her voice was accusing and laced with fury, but the woman just shook her head.
“I don’t have a lot of time, Tamara. But that was your inner lycan. You must know how to control it and do not let it manipulate you.” She softly stated.
Whoever she was, she didn’t know why she had this kind of effect on her. She could easily trust her and that she wouldn’t harm her or anything.
“And please be careful. You will be facing a lot for the next few days, Tamara. Be strong and do not overdo yourself. Rest well and please be in mind to choose what this is telling you.” The familiar woman gently told her as she pointed to her heart.
“Your heart would never lead you to the wrong path because you are a kind-hearted woman, Tamara. And the Moon Goddess blessed you even from the very start. Always follow what your heart had been telling you to do, Tamara. Please be careful.”