Vivian

The candles and the incense created a calming atmosphere as I sat cross-legged on the floor. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and felt the energy flowing around me. It was strong. When my eyes opened, the flames of the candles danced in the air, creating a mesmerizing pattern.

With a wave of my hand, the flames disappeared and then reappeared almost as if I had complete control of the fire.

The flames spread across the walls and covered every inch of the room without burning anything in their wake.

I rose up from the ground and whispered, "Aurea Ignis."

The flames dissipated into thin air just at the same time I heard a car reaching the house, its engine loud. Quickly, I closed the lids of the candles and burned out the incense before rushing downstairs.

Elijah had been gone for a while now. I hoped he had gotten the blood of the fourth one, the blood we needed for to break the curse.

It was a few minutes later before I heard him entering the house. Wind cut through in as the doors opened. I saw his face, brimming with worry and fear. He held up a vial, the contents a deep crimson color and I knew that he had succeeded.

"You did it." I said, a smile hovering over my face.

"It was not easy," He stepped away and walked into the living room to grab a drink. "But you have it. Do whatever you must do."

"Tomorrow." I reminded him of the day—it wasn't here yet, but it was close.

The masquerade ball was going to be held tomorrow evening at Alexandria's castle and everyone was invited but not me.

Turning around, Elijah held a glass of whiskey in his hand before his eyes met with mine. There was something within them that he hid from me. His pupils suddenly widened as I stared longer.

Was there something?

"Are you sure you can do it, Vivian?"

"Do what?" My brows furrowed.

"Whatever you're going to do tomorrow. Are you sure you even know what's going to happen, or what you're going to find in the throne room that's going to break this curse?" Not a word this whole day and now he was questioning me, my abilities to make this right.

I scratched the back of my head and nodded, "I think I can."

"Do you know my mother will kill you if she does finds you there? She has already been hunting you. Can you even begin to image what would happen if she found you?"

"I know that..." I trailed off, feeling a bit uneasy now. "I thought we were on the same page. Weren't we?"

He stepped forward, closing the distance between us. "We are, but I greatly doubt your skills specially in the part which makes you a witch. It can be more trouble for you if this goes the wrong way—"

"It won't." I cut him off and said, staying stern on my words and my plan.

It was meant to work out. It was meant to bring us closer to breaking the curse, or breaking it all the way. I was sure about it. But there was clear doubt in Elijah's eyes, as if he didn't trust me, or believe in me.

He looked at me with concern before emptying the content of the glass and placing it back on the table. "Just me sure about it. Don't try to control something you can't. You're the only one who's going to get fucked here," His eyes darkened. "She's my mother, she can't kill me. On the other hand, Callan and Dion will flee. You'll be the one left behind, trying to stay alive."

My lips lined straight into a frown. He had been agreeing to the plan last night and even early in the morning. Did something change?

"I know what I'm doing." I said, my teeth clenched.

"Good," He turned away from and headed near to the door. "Don't try to leave. It will be a while before I come back."

Surprised by his sudden departure, I questioned him, "Where are you going?"

"To destroy something in court."

The lock of the door opened with a click. At the same time, my brows furrowed in confusion. It had just been a minute since he returned and he was leaving again. I watched him closely, his unhinged demeanor, as he stepped out of the house and slammed the door on his way leaving nothing inside but silence.

My chest rose and dropped as I tried to make sense of what happened.

I already knew Elijah had been acting different since coming back from the Midnight Garden. Could it just be me?

The sun began setting soon after, and the sky turned into a beautiful shade of pink and orange. The tall grass outside the house swayed along with the breeze. Leaves rustled in the wind. And just before it began to grow dark, Elijah was back from wherever he went to.

The court.

He came back with something, something I recognized from my bedroom at court. It was a small brown box that I had buried underneath the shelves before leaving from there the last time. It was when I wanted to stop practicing dark magic and wanted to right myself, just a few hours before I found Elijah at the mating ball.

"What is that?"

"What do you think it is?"

I hurried down the stairs, confused as ever. "Why did you bring this here? Were you in my bedroom?"

I watched him as he placed the box over the table. My hands quickly went around it, almost guarding it as if there was something special inside. There was. It contained a few things that I had carried from back home.

As I opened the box, a rush of memories flooded back. The first thing I saw was a small carved wooden box, containing a handful of dried herbs and crystals. There was a book of spells, mostly scribbled spells that I had stolen from my mother's bookshelf when I was merely ten years ago. To the side, there were small bottles, which I had used as a part of a few dark spells.

"Looking for something?" Elijah asked.

I glanced over my shoulders and my brows furrowed tighter. "What—"

The bottle which I had used to cast a dark spell caught my eye as he rose his hand. It was filled with a thick black liquid that seemed to pulse with a life of its own—my blood.

The hair over my back rose. "Callan threw it away," I quickly said as my eyes widened. "It shattered into pieces out of the balcony. The spell must've broken then, or something. I saw it. It was gone."

"It isn't," He placed the bottle on the table, near to the box. "This kind of magic just doesn't goes away. It will appear over and over again, if not in reality then in your dreams. It will remind you day and night what you've done till you reverse it, which you've to."

"I—I don't know how to." I shook my head and said, my throat tightening as I stared at the black liquid inside the bottle.

Blood wasn't meant to turn black unless the spell was corrupted. I thought the spell had broken when Callan threw the bottle from the window and whatever remained was just the affects that were meant to fade away.

I pulled three of the four cursed men to myself, but I was sure the spell had broken by the time I had met Elijah. The fact that the potion was still pulsing with life made me shudder.

"You meddled with such magic that you didn't understand and one you weren't capable to control. You've to do a reversible spell, the same one, but the words reversed. It will create a counterbalance, negating the effects of the original spell." His voice was stern, but there was a hint of sympathy in his eyes.

"I'll do it." I nodded hesitantly, knowing that he was right.

Read ahead of Inkitt or Patreon and get access to other books and steamy one-shots.

Inkitt: www.inkitt.com/miakerr

Patreon: www.patreon.com/miakerr