BOOK TWO - promised series
Catherine's search for answers take a new turn as she fights her way through unknown territory. On the run, new hurdles are thrown her way that she needs to face.
When her unique gift to manipulate emotions goes haywire...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Iliria pulled her hair into a tight bun, the auburn shade shining orange as the sun hit it. The bathroom window was the only source of light in the small, tiled room she stood in. She stared at her reflection in the mirror that hung above the basin where she'd just washed her hands. There were still water droplets on her face, her eyelashes wet and a few hairs stuck onto her temples. Iliria noticed how tired she looked.
The house felt empty, now that her children were gone. The thought of them made her shudder and she left the bathroom.
"I won't let this bother me. It doesn't matter," she whispered to herself.
Though talking to herself had done little over the years, she still hoped that one day her brain would just believe the words coming out of her mouth.
Iliria did not stay long—she'd just gone home to freshen up. Her next engagement was due in twenty minutes and she still needed to walk quite a distance.
She shut the bathroom door behind her and soon thereafter left through the front door. Even when the fresh air greeted her, the cooling scent of autumn filling her senses, there was no sense of relief that overcame her.
Iliria felt just as exhausted as she usually did.
With her posture growing more determined by each step she took, she increased her pace. Soon, she was out of the shifter-section and crossed over to the human neighborhood.
The assault of smells barely fazed her—she'd gotten used to them. Without paying much attention to those passing her by as she walked down human-made gravel sidewalks, Iliria reached the border of the human section soon thereafter. There was a lake that stretched out right beyond the border, surrounded by the eastern mountains of Everett Valley.
She took a deep breath as she continued her pace and kept her head held high as she crossed and felt the magic of the borders pass through her. Out here, her natural instincts were not dormant anymore. Here, if she'd meet an immortal, she would tear him apart, limb from limb.
With darkening thoughts of who she was about to meet, she shoved both her hands into the pockets of her jacket. She was not looking forward to this meet-up, and she had certainly not agreed to it had she not been threatened.
Madame Esmara could be a venomous snake if she had to be, and Iliria could have used her own words against her multiple times had the blade not been curved. Any damage she intended to do on Madame Esmara would only hurt herself, eventually, in one way or another.
Iliria had a lot of anger inside of her and even more disdain for the people around her. She despised everyone and anyone.
Where her mood had been fairly neutral before, it was dark and sour now with malicious thoughts.
She hated these kinds of negotiations. "Finally. I thought you wouldn't show," a shrill voice spoke as Iliria reached the other end of the section-less lake, the eastern mountains towering over her.
At the base of those mountains stood a lady with strawberry-blonde hair and an ugly scar stretched across the half of her face. It reached from her eyebrow down to her throat and looked fresh. Iliria hoped the scar would remain—at least her appearance would mirror her personality.
Iliria did not dignify the blonde with an answer and instead stared at her with a cold look in her eyes. Iliria had no patience for any kind of small-talk.
Thankfully, the blonde caught on quickly and addressed the matter at hand. "We need the bone-powder. If you can not provide again, your barriers will be powered down. We have more urgent matters to attend outside of Everett Valley", she said, annoyance evident in the way she spoke.
It annoyed Iliria herself just listening to her. "We still haven't found a way to grind the powder without those touching it going crazy. If you would at least tell us what it—"
The lady cut off Iliria and said, "It does not matter what it is. Your only job is to give me the fragments of the bones in the form of powder. I have told you what our conditions are. There is nothing further to discuss."
Iliria bit down on her teeth and wanted to shoot back a snarky remark, but she refrained from answering in the way she would have wished. It would get back to Madame Esmara and then she'd have more problems than she already had.
"At least tell us what is going on outside of Everett Valley", Iliria tried and quickly added, "So we can provide aid."
The lady seemed to think for a moment, for she did not answer right away. Iliria had come to know her to be quick on her feet, especially when she was cryptic with anything she said. Now, however, it was like the blonde was walking on ice, not quite sure which step would cause her to slip.
Iliria wondered if her leaders were just as terrible as hers were.
"War is brewing. And we must be prepared for it. That is all I can tell you."
