𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐔𝐍 • 𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬

Prologue ✦

Nadia had always thought she had been born to oddly-paired but madly in love parents.

Her mother Celestia was a part of a clan of Irish travellers, all highly skilled in spiritual practices and what those today may call witchcraft. They lived in secluded groves in the mountains of Ireland, separated from the modern world that grew around them in nearby towns.

Her extended group, more like a large family, often travelled to new places in search of higher knowledge.

On her 1st experience of the USA, Celestia and her family ended up in New Orleans, the home of a type of magic darker and different to anything she had ever encountered.

The possibilities of her powers became endless and she managed to surround herself with new people that had a fresh new view of her world. Many of her clan returned home after a month of two. But a few of the younger witches, including Celestia, decided to stay, enchanted by the people and abilities they had discovered.But the love of this vibrant culture hadn't been the only thing to capture Celestias heart..

Alex Smith was a commander in the US military. Whilst on leave with a group of his comrades they decided to travel the US. New Orleans happened to be their first stop, and unexpectedly their last.

Alex met Celestia when his friends pressured him into having his fortune read. Their immediate chemistry took off like a firework, plummeting them both into a life of devoted companionship with each other.

Of coarse Celestia knew that his duty to his country would always come before her and that he would soon return to his post, so on the night before his deployment they said their vows in secret and promised themselves to each other for eternity.

Shortly after Alex's departure, Celestia found out that she was expecting a baby girl. She decided not to tell Alex via the letters they would send back and forth but to wait until he returned to her, when he could meet her for the first time.

Alex's side of the story was unfortunately very different. Hydra had been slowly infiltrating the army for centuries, scouting only the best and most loyal men to spy and do their dirty work from the inside. Alex held many things close, including his beautiful wife, but nothing more seriously than he took his loyalty to Hydra.

The organisation took a particular interest in the powers they knew Alex's wife possessed and knew that they could use them to their advantage, becoming a powerful weapon for them. But it would be to late to convert Celestia. She would never come willingly. It would take a new being with the same powers. If you are taught something from birth, you will never know any different.

That became the plan. Twisted and heartless. To bear a child with the strength of her father, now infused with the super soldier serum, and the witchcraft of her mother, and raise them to be Hydra's most powerful defence.

It just so happened that when Alex returned to Celestia, the child it was his duty to create had already been born. Swarthy skin and little black curls framed her peachy cheeks as Alex looked at her in disbelief.

But he couldn't...The fate of Hydra's success heavily depended on having a sorcerer on their team. He threw all of his attention into the baby, leaving Celestia with time to wonder why he was suddenly more and more distant, so unlike the version of him that she had fallen for.

When the pairs baby girl, Nadia, turned 4 years old her mother had become increasingly suspicious. Alex was not himself. Almost deranged and suffering with explosive episodes, bordering on insanity at times. Her intuition was telling her that something wasn't right. That he had a guilty conscience.

Her husband always took hushed phone calls, private meetings and kept many secrets. One night, enough was enough.

She confronted him, using a concoction of herbs to create a powerful spell that would manipulate him into telling the truth.