Alicia immediately started shooting off questions at Zeke as soon as she finished her meal. Her gaze towards him was severe and impatient.
"Well? Where is Zeres?" she demanded. "When I woke up, he's not there anymore…and not the kind that is temporary. I can feel that he is already gone away someplace… where that place is, that's what I would like to know. I knew what he did to me last night before he left…" she trailed off, tugging her lip hard between her teeth. The image of Zeres' body filled with horrendous wounds flashed in her head and a sickening feeling came over her once again. Alicia knew he had casted that horrible spell on her again despite her pleas before he left her, and it was obvious to her the severity of what he did this time. "He had cast the ultimate power of that spell on me so the energy I gained would be able to last me for a few days. As if… as if he's not coming back anymore…"
Zeke said nothing and just kept his eyes on her while listening to her as he casually leaned against the wall.
"He told me that the both of you have found the cavern we were searching for all these while and we are going to attack the cavern once you're back." She paused and swallowed. Her gaze now filled with doubts and questions. "Is that even true?"
"It's true." He confirmed her statement and Alicia was silent for a moment, still unsure if she should be glad for that one piece of good news or doubt his words. He is not saying those words just to lull her into a false sense of security, right? Her gaze searched him thoroughly, doing her hardest to find any sign of lies in his unfathomable face.
"Then why did he leave so suddenly? Could it be that he could no longer wait and attacked the cavern by himself? And why did you need to go and fetch the prophetess? What kind of enemies are we even up against in that cavern that there is a need for you to go and get back-ups?"
Zeke shifted his gaze from her to the window and answered. "He already attacked the cavern by himself that night before I left." He said and Alicia's eyes widened in shock. "As for your other three questions, I cannot answer them right now."
She clenched her fists tight, but somehow this piece of news did not come as much of a surprise to her. It was a given that it is impossible for this vampire prince to reveal everything. He always had somethings that was held back, or some kind of secret he needed to keep.
Shaking her head slightly, Alicia let out a deep breath before standing up from where she was seated. "Fine." she said, decisively. "Zeres must be in that cavern right now. We must go to his aid. Now, Ezekiel." Her tone was firm and booked no disagreements. It was now that Zeke saw how she would have been like, as the queen of the witches back when she was in her element in the Black Forest.
Without speaking anymore, she brushed past him and stepped out the room.
By the time she was outside the house, she saw Alexander and Kyle emerging from the forest. Kyle had an amazed look on his face while Alexander was smirking at him.
"You're good, brat." Alexander said as they approached the house. "I can tell you have sparred against Zeres."
"Yes. We sparred for the first time yesterday and I learned that technique I used on you from him." The boy said proudly.
"Just yesterday?" Alex raised a brow, seemingly surprised. He thought that Zeres and this boy had been fighting and training with each other since the beginning of their journey because this boy copied Zeres' fighting style almost perfectly when he came against him in their mock fight earlier. To think that he just fought with Zeres once. How interesting, Alex thought as his gaze flew to Zeke who had just emerged from the door. It seemed; the next future Zeke was finally here. And now that Alex thought about it, it was indeed about time.
"Yes. It was only once but we clashed for quite a long while and it was amazing! I wish we could have sparred for a little longer too –" Kyle abruptly stopped the moment he saw his brother.
"We're leaving now," Zeke announced, and everyone nodded except Alex who now wore a serious face. All trace of his earlier playfulness lost, as if it were never there in the first place.
Without wasting another moment, Lucas leapt into action and everyone followed instantly without a word, except Zeke who was left standing in his spot as Alicia also disappeared. He let out a sigh and leapt off at a slower pace.
A few minutes passed and he spotted Alicia in the forest, her hand against a tree trunk, leaning against it for support. His sharp eyes saw her heaving and trying to catch her breath and he slowed his approach to her, hoping to give her some sort of respect to her condition as he knew she was wary of him being privy to her waning strength.
He landed silently on the ground and approaching Alicia in audible measured steps, he extended his hand in a wordless offer of assistance.
Alicia stared at his hand as she panted, trying her best to steady and regulate her breathing. She gritted her teeth as she scowled very unladylike, under her hood before finally placing her thankfully, no longer trembling hand in his.
He gathered her in his arms and in no time, they were leaping into the air. Alicia did not know how to feel about this situation. She never would have thought she was going to be at the mercy of a vampire as well. But she had long surrendered her pride as a queen. Because right now, she was nothing but a helpless and powerless witch who cannot even move around by herself. She was currently someone even weaker than an average human.
