A loud shout woke Ava up. She jolted and looked around. The smell of blood was thick around her.
Another man shouted. This time, she could clearly hear it. And it wasn’t English or any language that she could understand or speak.
Another shout.
Then there was the smell of something burning. Smoke and fire surrounded her.
She started coughing. She struggled to stand up as she realized there was a large cut on her left stomach. Soon, she realized that she wasn’t wearing something modern. What the hell is this?
Where the hell is she?
Just as she started to crawl away from the smoke, two strong arms held her up. She immediately looked towards the person who helped her and was surprised to see someone really... really familiar.
It was Matthew.
He was talking to her, his beautiful brows furrowed as he started carrying her somewhere.
Sadly, she couldn’t understand what he was saying.
She tried to look back and examined her current surrounding. Soon, she quickly realized that she was in the middle of a battlefield. And it wasn’t a pleasant one.
Again, she heard Matthew say something. He doesn’t look concerned or anything. In fact, he looked pissed.
Without saying another word, Matthew dropped her next to other wounded soldiers. Then he left.
Just as Ava was about to get up, her gaze turned blurry until she felt her body hit the ground.
The next thing she knew she was somewhere... red?
Huh?
Ava looked around and realized that she was inside a prison with a reddish tint. It was as if the air itself was red. A stinky smell filled the prison. She looked around, confused.
What the hell is happening now?
**GRRRR**
Ava almost jumped when she saw a face in front of her. Yes. It was just a head, without a body.
It moved closer and closer to her face and just stopped a few inches away.
Ava’s heart jumped when she could finally see the head’s features. It had hollow eyes, a nose that looked like it was taken away and was attached again by some bloodied wires, and... a smiling mouth. The head had no teeth, his gums were rotting and she could clearly see some...
"What the fuck!" Ava cursed as she closed her eyes. Worms! There were living words in the man’s gums!
She stilled when the smell of decay, blood, and rust filled her senses. At this point, she didn’t know if it was from the head or from her surroundings.
A peal of squeaky laughter echoed inside the prison cells and before she knew it, her body hit something soft. Again, she jolted up and looked around.
She’s currently inside a bedroom that she had never seen before.
She walked out of the bed and then out of the room. After walking inside the house for a few minutes, she found an exit and found a garden.
Then she finally saw her.
Amore.
Ava smiled and didn’t hesitate to approach the woman.
............
Matthew paced in front of the bed. Aside from his silent footsteps, the sound of the fire from the fireplace was the only thing that one could hear inside Matthew’s bedroom.
The light from the outside was seeping through the window blinds. A shadow-like figure hovered on top of Ava’s body.
"Tell me," he said.
"My lord, she’s currently fighting back. This spell shouldn’t have existed on this plane. It was from the Shadows. I have seen it before. It was designed to kill someone and make them suffer until the day they die. Their body would rot from the inside and— "
"That is not what I wanted to hear."
"She will survive," the Shadow that hovered into Ava’s body spoke. "She’s — "
"She’s what?" he asked.
"She’s a dream walker. Though, a little weak, she could survive the spell and come back alive."
"When?"
"She’s currently controlling the illusion and is trying to do something. Though I am not sure what it was."
Matthew frowned. Ava never directly told him that she could now walk on dreams. She had mentioned this before but she never said anything about training herself. And that was for the best.
The Matthew at that time was unaware of how dangerous it was for her to learn how to walk in between dimensions. Once people knew of this gift, they would do everything to own her.
He thought she never trained this ability.
Was he wrong?
Was it in the Pits?
Realization hit him.
"Do everything... keep her safe."
"Yes, my lord."
"And guard her. Aside from me, no one else was allowed inside this room. Do what you must to keep her safe."
"Yes, my lord."
His eyes darted towards Amore who was lying not that far away from Ava. "Once she wakes up... make her suffer so much so that she would wish for her own death."
"Yes, my lord."
Matthew turned around and walked out of the door. He had felt their presence since he brought Ava inside.
"You cannot see her," he said as he looked at the five people in front of him. There was the Werelion Jude, the Human Samuel, the Witch Erenes, Francheska the Lycan, and Mara a servant witch.
"Is she going to wake up?" Francheska walked in front and tried to approach him but stopped midway when he met her eyes. A thick suffocating pressure descended on her.
Francheska’s face lost all its color. She staggered.
"What are you doing? Stop it!" Jude immediately helped Francheska. "Are you out of your damn mind? She fought to keep Ava alive! How could you treat your own sister like that?"
Slowly Matthew looked at Jude and slowly, the same suffocating pressure reached him. It felt like a huge heavy boulder was trying to crush him. Jude coughed then blood started sipping from his lips.
"Your highness... please calm down." Erenes quickly stepped in. She kneeled in front of Matthew. "It was my fault. I could have protected Miss Woods and I— This lowly one made a mistake. Please punish me."
"Erenes stop that..." Francheska said. "Someone schemed against Ava. It was no one’s fault. We did our best. Stop— "
"Let’s calm down. There is no point in fighting each other. Ava will soon wake up." Samuel said.
Almost immediately the pressure disappeared. Jude, Francheska, and Erenes were able to breathe freely. They couldn’t help but glare at Matthew.
They wondered why Matthew acted that way without even saying a word. Then they start to wonder what part of Samuel’s words seemed to appease his anger.
"You shall not wish for her not to wake up again," Matthew said. "If you do... I won’t be that merciful."
Huh? Francheska and Jude met each other’s eyes. They never wished for something like that!?
They never said or even thought of that!
What the hell is wrong with this man?
Francheska wanted to argue but she felt Samuel’s gaze on her. She closed her mouth and silently thank the older man.
"Where are they?" Matthew asked.
"The Alphas are currently in the hall, discussing the event that just transpired with the King and the high Priestess Ulva. The Queen and Prince Drigo were with them as well," Samuel calmly answered.
"Take the lead," Matthew said and without asking any question, Samuel took the lead.
2/5
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