~YULIA
“I never went to the garden.” I folded my arms at him while shaking my head slowly.
He stared straight into my eyes and my wolf danced aggressively within me as his forest green eyes seemed to glow.
He was definitely crazy- probably losing his mind.
“Can’t you see that you are hurt and there is blood all over your clothes? How do you suppose all that happened?” He demanded softly, his voice gentle like the breeze on a summer night.
I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. He was right. There were blood stains on my clothes and my head spun like it was in a wheel.
I suddenly felt unsafe and simply wanted to be left alone.
He stretched his hands to touch me but I flinched away; scared that he was playing tricks on my mind, scared that he was only looking for a way to ignite a dangerous fire between us, one that wouldn’t be quenched easily.
“Don’t touch me!” I yelled and rose to leave his side. But a piercing pain passed through my head and I fell again.
I closed my eyes and expected to feel the softness of the bed sheets but he was quick and caught me in his arms.
“You should rest Yulia, stop trying to be stubborn,” he scolded, raising his voice a little.
“Why should I listen to you? I asked, gritting my teeth. “What makes you think you can control-”
“Because I am your m-” he cut me off but suddenly hesitated. “Because I am your uncle and I am meant to protect you,” he sighed, taking away his hands from my back, staring at the floor and avoiding eye contact.
His expression betrayed his words and I knew there was something- something we both knew but didn’t want to admit.
The silence which followed could be likened to a wall. It stood between us and hung heavily around every other part of the room.
Just then, the door burst open and Miles came in, breaking the silence. “You are back!” He exclaimed, his eyes widened in surprise.
“Did I ever leave?” My tone was sarcastic as I rolled my eyes.
He moved his hands to his head and scratched it, obviously confused and surprised by my response.
“Uh… okay,” he stammered. “What is going on here?” His eyes darted from my face to Issa’s.
Not a word escaped our lips, arousing his suspicions the more.
“The earlier someone tells me what’s going on between you too, the easier it’ll be for us to settle it,” he said, his tone a pitch louder than before.
He walked towards the foot of the bed and stared into our faces while frowning.
“Ask your master,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes in disgust.
Miles’ gaze softened a little as he turned to Issa. “What have you done this time?”
“She thinks I’m a liar, making up stories just so that I can get close to her,” Issa replied, not taking his eyes off the floor.
“Stories about what?” Miles demanded.
“She does not remember going to the garden,” Issa replied.
Miles gasped as he heard Issa’s words before the look on his face morphed into one of terror, almost like he had seen a ghost.
“If she doesn’t remember what happened then what happened to her is beyond the ordinary. Only witches can do something like that,” he hinted.
His words rang in my ears and I was forced to ask about it. “Who are these witches you are referring to and why are they after me?”
“This has gotten more serious than we thought,” Issa replied, ignoring me totally. His head was raised now and he concentrated on Miles.
They probably didn’t hear me. But I was close enough, wasn’t I?
“What do you suggest we do, Miles? If we let things go on like this, no one will be safe.” The worry on Issa’s face was evident to all who gazed upon him.
“Mountain ash!” Miles exclaimed, his eyes brightening up. “Believed to keep witches away as it renders them powerless. If we can get just enough of it, we will use it to purify the house and rid it of all the evil around.
The name sounded familiar, like I had heard of it before. After thinking for a while, I suddenly remembered where I heard about it.
Mum always talked about a whitish mysterious substance that could evade evil. She once had a little quantity, sealed in a tiny jar-like pendant which she wore around her neck.
She gave me the necklace when I was about the age of nine, and warned me to never take it off. How it got lost, I could not remember but Mum scolded me in a way she had never done before the moment she knew about it.
“Yet getting mountain ash wouldn’t be easy,” Issa butted in, jolting me out of my thoughts. “I heard it is hard to find and can only be gotten around the tip of the mount Eris, in the western side of the country- a two days’ journey to and from here. What if something happens to you?”
“Nothing will happen to me, Issa, I’ll be fine. It’s just a two days’ journey. When did you start worrying about me?” There was a tiny amusement on his face and I wondered if he had someone waiting out there for him.
Or was it just his loyalty to his King?
I caught the look on Issa’s face and noticed the genuineness in it. He was truly concerned about Miles’ safety and didn’t want him to go on this dangerous journey.
“I’ll be back in two days, that’s a promise,” Miles declared confidently. “I had better leave now.” With that, he exited the room.
Alone with Issa again, I could feel heat building up in the atmosphere as we both sat, lost in our thoughts.
“It’s dangerous,” he began, staring into my eyes like his life depended on it. “Everywhere and everything is dangerous. I don’t know who to trust anymore- except Miles. So you would have to do as I say, always, at least for now.”
Again, how could I trust this self centered man? Why would he suddenly be concerned about me?
“What would you have me do? I said instead, keeping eye contact with him.
“Yulia…” He began after sighing heavily. “It’s simple. You’re moving into my room.”