23. TWENTY-TWO

TWENTY-TWO

D avina tightened her grip on the hood, stalking closer to the scene with her head low. Heavy drops of rain fell onto the crown of her head and over her shoulders as the figures over the dim field became clearer. With each step, her boots became heavier with mud.

As she approached the thorny shrubs, she ducked behind the bushes once Raven snapped her gaze in her direction. Davina cursed under her breath, not allowing herself to breathe until the voices began ringing again.

Davina lifted her gaze to the silhouettes that flanked Raven. Their clothes were inky black leathers with long capes flowing with the breeze. They were the new set of Predators that had appeared in Bellatorm since the first battle against Raven. People called them the Main Predators. The Bellatormans that would transform into the undead were considered the Lowly Predators.

The Main Predators were not brainless like the Lowly Predators. Main Predators had a mind of their own and self-control, they had chosen out of spontaneous free will to fight for Raven's cause, while the Lowly Predators were the Bellatormans that Raven would inhabit with her dark magic.

That night, as she was locking her front door, she glimpsed large bodies of shadows flying past the trees that were near her land.

Davina decided to trail after the shadows, in hopes of finding some kind of information that could bring an end to the war.

For the past couple of months, Raven had worked tirelessly and successfully to bring division among the Bellatormans and Castellum island. Many of the islanders have chosen to completely renounce the King and Castellum, choosing to rather live with inactive powers than believe in a King who supposedly allowed his people to suffer at the hands of the Dark Mistress.

Davina had visited the King enough times to know that it pained him that his people were choosing to follow Raven's ideals, again. In the Era of Silence, he was able to move on from Raven's betrayal, but she was more than certain that the betrayal of the people hurt him even more.

"Allaway," Raven called.

Davina heard footsteps on the grassy plane through the droplets of water falling from the sky.

"Yes, Dark Mistress?" he asked.

Davina gasped.

"I want a full report on the Dunbar girl," Raven said sharply.

Davina sighed, closing her eyes with remorse.

"She continues to be completely infatuated with me. I've been able to exploit her sentiments for me as an advantage to complete the task you've given me, my Mistress," Sadoc replied. Davina couldn't see his facial expression, but she could hear his arrogance.

He was part of the Main Predators clan.

She'd never be able to understand the minds of those who turned their backs on being good.

"Too much time has passed. I've been battling with the Bellatorman army for four months now and the progression has been minimal," Raven pondered.

She thinks that's minimal?

"Mistress, many Bellatormans have begun to agree with your perceptions of the King's absence and have begun a campaign for a new candidate for the throne," Sadoc replied.

"The support of Bellatorm does not matter to me if Davina continues to resist me. I need you to work harder. I fear Dunbar is the only way we can get through to my sister." Raven's tone softened.

Davina focused on the scene before her. Fog had begun to surround the garden in which Raven and her servants stood. Davina squinted as she stepped to her left to move closer to the shrubs.

A branch snapped under her feet. She froze.

Raven fixed her gaze on Davina's direction. It was as if Raven's glare had the power to push her onto her behind. Fractured bark scratched the palm of her hand as she fell and hard droplets of rain landed over her face as she groaned. The bushes shuffled as her boots brushed against them.

Her cloak was rammed harshly into the mud. Davina shoved herself up against the force of the sticky mud and swiftly ran away from the field.

Loud stomps were close behind her. Her hand gripped onto the hood to hide her face as she glanced back.

"Hey! The Dark Mistress will make you pay for this!"

Her heart quickened as she continued to move past the large logs and bushes. The landscape of the forest had been uneven, causing her to stomp brutally. Her calves burned as she rushed up the erratic slope.

One large Main Predator, wearing all black, slithered out a dagger and sent it slicing in her direction. Davina propelled herself forward, pushing harder to escape from the edge of the knife.

A sharp cold wrapped around her torso. Swiftly looking down at her waist, she found that her dark violet cloak had been ripped with the edge of the blade. Davina returned her gaze only to notice what had once been a beautiful grand tree mounted and shattered before her.

"Seriously?" she yelled. Davina jumped onto the large bark, splinters stinging her fingers. The Predators continued to yell after her.

Davina's breath became uneven as she leaped from one large log to another. Once she landed on the last tree trunk, harsh pain shot through her ankle. She yelped when she fell onto the wet floor.

She'd landed on her shoulder, a sensation of needles poked at her arm, rushing to her shoulder. It had been from the stab wound from Raven's dagger heels. The moment she broke up with Ron and conjured her fire, the injury had scarred. But it continued to pain her occasionally. It was like a constant reminder of her failure.

The rain had turned into a slight drizzle, and she could feel her coils already beginning to frizz.

"Where are you, girl?" A Main Predator croaked.

"I always loved to play hide and seek as a child," another Predator sang.

"Davina," a voice whispered.

The young Aurisan quickly looked up at the nearing silhouette. His shaggy chestnut brown hair and his frames shone under the foggy night. Chief Leader Isaiah.

He briskly kneeled beside her. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Predators. They're coming after me but I hurt my ankle, can you help me up?" she asked, holding herself up with her elbows.

"Of course." Isaiah nodded. Without much effort, he softly gripped onto her hand before snaking his arm around her waist. Davina's eyes widened and her heartbeat quickened. "I think you twisted your ankle. I can make a mixture of balms for you to rub against it."

"No, no, it's okay. Don't worry," she replied with a nervous laugh.

"We found you!" the last Predator sang.

Three Main Predators stood above the logs, their teeth set on display with clear malice in their eyes. Isaiah began to unravel his arm from Davina's waist, slowly. The Predators jumped high in the air, daggers gripped tightly in their hands.

Isaiah pulled her to stand behind him, she held onto his shoulders, jumping on one leg to remain upright.

As they were mid-air, Isaiah raised his hand before him and made a fist. The Main Predators' hands reached for their necks as they splashed onto the steep puddles of mud below them.

"What did you do to them?" she asked.

"Deoxygenation," Isaiah chirped.

"You mean, you sucked the air out of their lungs?" Davina asked dumbfounded.

"Kind of." He smiled.

She'd never seen anything like that before. Mistrans had been the most discreet Bellatormans when it came to the diversity of their abilities, making it almost impossible for Davina to learn more about their powers. Whenever she'd ask the King, the King would speak in proverbs and metaphors, which were often difficult to decipher. Probably to respect their desire for privacy.

"Let's go. We need to get some balm on that injury," he stated. "Can you walk?"

"Let me try," Davina said. She took a few abrupt strides, and the pain in her ankle throbbed violently into her calf and shin. Isaiah was quick to catch her before she tripped.

Her cheeks heated as he wrapped an arm around her back. "Thank you."

"It's nothing. I need a few things from my tent back at Castellum, I can help you walk to your house and then come back with the remedy."

"No!" Davina said. "No, I don't want to worry Leilani. Let's just head straight to Castellum."

She had to think about how she would tell Leilani about Sadoc.

"Are you sure?" Isaiah asked, looking deeply into her brown eyes.

"Yes," Davina said, quickly glancing away from his gaze.

Davina flinched as the balm over Isaiah's fingers brushed against her bruised ankle which had become swollen as they made their way to the castle, making it almost impossible for her to walk. Isaiah had offered to carry her, but she felt too uncomfortable with being carried around as if she were a defenseless damsel.

She wondered whether the injury would heal rapidly if she brought forth her fire. Her abilities seemed to not heal her flesh wounds completely, but they would certainly take away most of the discomfort.

How she wished that her powers could remove the emotional turmoil she carried in her heart after distancing herself from Ron, who was a different person from the moment they parted ways the day they fought in the woods. He no longer smiled. His brows were usually scrunched as he held his jaw clenched. At least that's how he was whenever she was around. She missed him more by the day.

"Does it feel better?" Isaiah's voice interrupted her thoughts. Davina looked up at him, he was cleaning his hands with a white cloth.

The fire from the hearth showered him with a golden light.

Truthfully, she had not felt any better from within, but as she focused on the dislocation of her ankle, she was able to notice the pain had subdued. "Actually, yes, it does. Thank you, Isaiah."

"No problem. I would do anything to help the Captain of the great Island Protectors," he said as he set the cloth over the table and took a seat beside her. Her leg remained stretched over a small brown leather stool.

"Thank you for your kind words, but I'm not much of a Captain," Davina sighed.

"Why do you say that?" he asked with a raised brow, pushing his frames up with his index finger.

Davina shook her head. "It's silly."

"If something is bothering you then I'm sure it's not silly," Isaiah said.

She sighed. "As much I've tried to convince the people to believe in the King's return, more and more Bellatormans are renouncing their abilities. I've tried so hard to make them see that this campaign of theirs is only going to divide the kingdom even more, but because of my surname and my birthplace they refuse to listen to me."

He remained silent as he pondered. She didn't think there was much to do after all the ambushes Raven and her Predators had initiated.

"Have you thought of any way that could remove their attention from your supposed incredibility and make them believe you to be credible?" he asked.

"I've tried everything. I chose to buy a house with Leilani in Basalt so they could see I'm not attached to my fiery roots, and that I'm not like my ancestors. I've given them food that I don't have. I've saved their children, their homes, and their workshops, and they continue to discredit me." Davina rubbed her eyes.

And she truly had.

She had even paid special visits to the King to converse and talk in strategy, but no one knew about that. Only Master Abigail.

The confidence that she worked so heavily for, diminished the moment they discredited her publicly with pride.

As much as many of them rejected her, she continued to fight for those who remained loyal, which were few. Raven was right, for the most part, there was no reason to fight. But there had been a few who supported her as Captain and who continued to be loyal to the King's reign.

"Not everything."

Davina turned to him, raising her brows. "What do you mean?"

"You could begin an alliance with someone important to Bellatorm," he suggested. "The people won't discredit you so much if you have someone powerful by your side."

"Someone important? Like who?"

A small grin crept onto his lips. Isaiah scratched the back of his neck. "Someone like me, the Chief Leader of Mistral."

Her heart stopped. No, she couldn't. She'd never thought of Isaiah like that before.

"Oh… Isaiah, I'm flattered. I just—I don't think I'm ready to start another courtship just yet. I just got out of one a few months ago, besides, I don't think I'll be viewed as a better Soldier if I begin to—"

"It would only be of name. We can put on a show for them. Davina Almenara decides to ally herself with Chief Leader Isaiah, one of the best-known Chief Leaders of Castellum and a citizen of Bellatorm. You won't be allying yourself to some lowly unstable man from Mistral."

Davina tried not to flinch as she felt like he was referring to Ron.

"I would protect you, your name, and your family. The Soldiers and Apprentices listen to me, I could send them over to guard over your family. I would be able to abolish all those nasty rumors once and for all. The people should not treat you this way because of something your ancestors did ages ago."

"My parents wouldn't allow for the Soldiers or Apprentices to be so close to them," Davina said. "They'll most likely force their fire to burn everyone away from their house."

"I'll assign Neptulans and Mistrans to suffocate their fire," Isaiah countered.

Davina lowered her gaze to her fingers. Here before her was this man, offering himself over to help her, willing to use his authority as Chief Leader to help her win this war and protect her family.

"I know you haven't lived the most pleasant life and you've had many sour moments recently. You're an amazing woman and a fierce warrior, that is why I believe I must do whatever I can to facilitate your troubles. You deserve it."

It made sense. It was a good solution to her problems. The public would no longer reject her. They would accept her because a Chief Leader accepted her for courtship and while she was off fighting, her siblings would be guarded by Soldiers.

His words faded into echoes as she asked herself whether she would be forever tied to him. Of course she would.

Courtship was all about envisioning a future with an indicated person. She would eventually have to marry him, especially if he was to do what he was promising.

She would marry him and have to forget about her sentiments for Ron. Any hope for sharing a life with the youngest Levina would have to be destroyed. Her heart felt crushed just to think about a future without Ron in it.

Maybe she would be able to detach herself from him for the rest of her life. Her mind battled with her heart as it fought to unravel all the threads that bound her to Ron.

"I'll never force you to do anything. I will take care of you as the jewel that you are," he said.

Davina turned to look into his brown eyes, finding herself longing for Ron's perfect, gray-flecked eyes. Whenever she used to look into Ron's gaze, she could feel the connection they shared. Looking into Isaiah's felt foreign, but he seemed to be sincere enough.

"Our lips shall never touch, our hands shall never brush, and our souls shall never intertwine if it is not in your desire."

That sounded like something Ron would say.

"You Mistran men always know what to say," Davina said bitterly despite the small smile that appeared on her lips.

"What do you mean by that?" Pure confusion in his voice.

"Nothing," she chuckled. Quickly, she wiped off the sorrow from her expression.

His eyes were tender as he awaited her answer. How could she ever reject his offer?

So she said, "I'll do it."