Alicia looked at Alex. His face was full of concern and worry.
“Alex, take her back to her room. Let me check on her there, okay?” Alicia tried to persuade Alex.
The man gave her a hard stare but gladly, he followed her instruction. Alex headed towards Abigail’s room and Alicia followed, leaving the other men behind.
Kai looked at Raven and Zeke with a frown on his face. He had no idea what was going on anymore so he couldn’t help but ask.
“Zeke, what just happened?”
Zeke just shrugged as he stood up and left the room. Truth be told, he had no idea as well. For the first time in what seemed like a long time, he was actually just as in the dark as those two men he left behind.
—
Back in Abi’s room, Alex gently placed Abigail on her bed.
The necklace in her hand was still glowing and Alex still looked extremely worried.
“Don’t worry, Alex. She’ll be alright. I trust the late queen and I know you do as well. She wouldn’t have given that necklace to Abigail if it was dangerous,” Alicia assured him after she checked on Abigail.
Alex was silent as he held Abi’s hand, looking at her face. His face was dark, his unease evident in his expression and body language. It was obvious that he didn’t like this thing that was happening to Abigail. His reaction showed how much he disliked that Abigail was becoming more deeply involved in his dangerous world, in this hell that he had inadvertently drawn her into.
“I thought I needed to wait for the full moon to come out but it seems I don’t need to do that anymore. This is the sign for me to perform the ritual now,” Alicia explained.
Alex glanced at her, still hesitant despite her reassuring words earlier. He straightened up and still, he said nothing.
“Please trust me, Alexander. We need to know why the late queen gave this necklace to her. We need to know everything. We can’t be stumbling around in the dark again not knowing what’s waiting ahead of us. And I truly believe that Abigail herself would want to know everything as well. We all need answers or we will never be able to live peacefully, knowing there is an unknown threat looming over all of us. You know how badly she wants to help us so trust her this time, Alexander. This will not harm her. She will be alright.”
Alex’s grip on Abigail’s hand tightened. His golden eyes blazing calmly like molten lava. Alex had been feeling this unease since that night he found Abigail in the forest with all those dead bodies around her. If he had a choice, he would have gladly whisked Abigail away to a faraway land where they both could live that peaceful and mundane, married life. But, she wouldn’t be safe until this threat was eradicated.
So, as much as he wanted to just spend the rest of his days with Abigail on an island of their own, Alicia was right. As much as he wanted to keep Abigail from being more involved, what if keeping her out of it ended up hurting her instead?
That thought made Alex clenched his jaws and he could only give in. He stood up and let go of Abigail’s hand. He stepped away from the bed and gave way to Alicia.
Alicia stood next to the bed with her hands over Abigail. She started to chant a spell and a silver light slowly enveloped Abigail. As Alicia kept chanting, the silver light became brighter and brighter and the necklace glowed brighter as well. Then, the yellow potion inside the small bottle wove its way out of the container as if it turned into yellow smoke, and was now enveloping her along with the silver light.
Abigail’s face looked peaceful as Alicia continued with the ritual.
After a while, Abigail’s fingers twitched slightly and her eyes moved from under her eyelids as well.
…
Abigail opened her eyes and the first thing she saw were yellow lights dancing before her eyes.
She creased her brows in confusion, trying to figure out what these lights were and where they were coming from.
She felt like she was floating. Was she dreaming? Where was she?
Abigail looked around her when suddenly, her feet landed on the ground and the yellow lights were replaced by darkness. She blinked and she saw a light appear in the darkness a hundred meters in front of her, getting closer and closer to by each passing second.
With creased brows, Abi narrowed her eyes towards the light before her. She could see that the light was coming from a lamp in someone’s hand.
She realized she was in a forest. Was this another dream like the one she had when she met Alicia or that veiled woman?
She waited for someone to call her name but it didn’t come so she focused her eyes on that person holding the lamp. She could tell that the person was a woman. She was wearing a golden-colored cloak as she walked in the forest alone.
Abigail observed the woman, waiting for her to approach or speak with her, but the girl in the golden cloak didn’t even look at her and just continued to walk past Abigail.
Curious, Abi went after her. At first, she was careful but when the girl seemed to not notice her, she began to move without hiding her presence.
When the girl still seemed oblivious, Abi ran after her and stopped right before her to show herself. She didn’t know why she was doing this but she was curious to see who the girl was and why she was seeing her in this dream.
However, the moment the girl lifted her face, Abigail was stunned in shocked surprise.
Her eyes stretched out and her lips opened and then closed in utter astonishment.
How? Why? Why was she looking at herself?
