𝓦𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝓘𝙩 𝓑𝙪𝙧𝙣, 𝗔𝗡 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗬 𝗙𝗜𝗖

𝓒𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝓢𝙞𝙭𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣

Blaise Blanc's POV

Blaise cleaned the blood off his sword with a cloth, seated on a rock. The droplets of blood reminded him of red. Red. They were at Tristan's tribal village after a large feast for their welcome, they retired to Tristan's house. Blaise didn't want to go to bed just yet, he had a lot on his mind. The secret was eating him alive, devouring any sense of self-respect Blaise retained for himself. It was easier to lie in Wonderland, but EAH was a whole different story. Blaise felt guilty because he was. It gnawed at him, or more likely, jabbed at him like the tip of a sword.

"Oooh, shiny and sharp sword!"

"Holy shit—" Blaise spun around and nearly stabbed Ladeline in the stomach. "Good Godmothers... Don't sneak up on me again." He sheathed the sword and crossed his arms. Ladeline Laddin was strange—not just her name—but her entire persona. She was rather persistent with befriending him. Okay, fine, that was a lie. She was super persistent.

"I thought you slept with one eye open," she teased.

"Unfortunately, a knight can only do so much," he replied sarcastically. Ladeline itched a weird part of his brain, if that actually ever made sense, and it felt odd. "Okay, seriously, why are you here?"

"Why am I doing this? Isn't it obvious? I like you, duh."

Blaise's mind went blank. "What did you just say?"

"Wait, wait, were you expecting this to be a slowburn romance or something? I don't have the patience to wait for there to be some romantic kiss at the end, I like being straightforward. Nadine, back me up here." Unfortunately, Ladeline, I am not an expert in romance. Though, I appreciate the fact you're not wasting a billion chapters... "Damnit, Nadine."

Who the hex is Ladeline talking to...? Another mystery he'd have to solve. "Hold on, you like me?" Blaise blinked blankly, trying to process all of this (Blaise is a bit slow when it involves romantic feeling, give him a sec). "No, no, that's not how it works. Good night." He hopped off the rock and started to head towards the house.

"What? You're not going to follow up? You're not going to pepper me with more questions? I know I think you're kind of hot, but you're sort of being an asshole right now." Ladeline popped up next to him. How does she keep doing that...? "I'd like an answer, at least."

Blaise was losing his marbles. "An answer? Eline, this isn't freaking Faelock Holmes where you rat out answers! I physically can't like you because it goes against my rules even if I did! And I do! But it goes against everything I fought for, everything my dad and mom fought for—"

"Hold on, Melina said you never knew your mom," Ladeline said suspiciously.

Shit. A careless mistake. "Yeah, I just meant my dad."

She narrowed her eyes. "What's the truth, Blaise? Be honest, you've been on edge since the Lifairy fire, the disappearance of the Book, and since joining Neverland and not Wonderland." Then she looked horrified. "Hold on, are you behind this all?"

"Oh, hell no. I'm an asshole, but not that much of an asshole."

"Then what's going on?"

You can't tell anyone, Dad's voice entered Blaise's mind. It will only cause chaos, it will cause war. Yet, it felt as if Blaise wasn't living, he was just surviving. "I think I know who the thief is," he admitted.

"What?" Ladeline was shocked. "And you didn't tell us? Blaise, everyone's lives are at risk and you didn't speak up?" She punched his shoulder, which hurt more than he'd admit. "What the actual fuck?!"