Enchanter

Chapter Thirty

"Alright, my dears," Bleeding Rosebud spoke. Spinning around from the table, she held up a small flask in front of Anton's face. "Take this, and your souls will unlatch, causing Azalea in there to come out, and then we will send her back to her dimension for good."

"So I just need to drink this?"

"Correct."

Facing Azalea in the mirror, she nodded. It was time to let go. Once they were unlatched, the two would finally hug one another for real and then be on their ways. She, too, would search for a way to find him, and he would not give up until he could as well.

He chugged the vial, throwing his head back as he drank every last bit. Aaric, Raven, and Robin all stared, anxiously waiting for Azalea to pop out beside him. Yet she never did. She remained trapped in his soul, and no matter how much he hated to admit it, a part of him was glad that she was still there.

Stalking up to the mirror, Bleeding Rosebud asked, "Would there be any reason as to why you couldn't unlatch from Anton's soul? At this point, you should already be back in your own home."

"Well, I've honestly forgotten all about my home. I've been locked up for the past decade."

Bleeding Rosebud snapped her fingers. "That's it," she exclaimed. "I hate to say it my dear, but the two of you cannot unlatch and be free from one another's souls until you are both completely free. That means you will have to find a way to be let out of your sentence early. When are you supposed to be let out?"

"In another three years," she grumbled. "Look, I don't even know if the council is still there."

"Council?"

"The people who run the sorceress community," she responded. "They were the ones to lock me away in the first place for causing too much mayhem with my powers as a way to stand up to them. Unfortunately, using my powers to its fullest extent wound killing a few people, so I've been locked away ever since."

"But why wouldn't they still be there?"

"I wound up burning my prison because it was destroyed. I knew we had a revenant problem before, it was why I was trying to convince the high council to allow sorceresses to use their magic to their fullest capabilities, but we have to make sure not to in order to keep the peace among everyone who can't unlock their fullest potenital," she mocked.

"I doubt there was any peace," Anton scoffed. "When I was in your dimension, all I heard were screams of pure agony."

"Who knows how long that's been going on for," she sighed. "I drowned them out because all I could hear was their freedom mocking me."

"Well, I do believe your council is still alive, even if a war against the revenants is taking place," Bleeding Rosebud stated. "You will need to go back to your dimension and seek them out. With your soul latched onto Anton, another prison in of itself, you have to free yourself from the first one in order to free yourself entirely.

"I shall send you a gift used to conceal yourself. In the meantime, do not use your powers unless it is absolutely necessary. Using powers could lead to the revenants finding your portal and entering into this dimension. And do not worry, I will be sure to conceal all windows between your dimensions while you are away to prevent anyone from spotting you. Be safe."

And with a snap of her fingers, Bleeding Rosebud sent Azalea back into her own dimension.

Azalea looked up, finding herself alone in her cell that had become mostly rubble. Yet there was a neat box wrapped up on a pile of debris. Lifting off the lid, she spotted a black cloak.

Putting it on, she exited her cell for the first time in ten years. The outside world was nothing like she expected it to be. With all the screams and such, she expected torn down buildings, fire pits in the middle of the streets, and graffiti and violence everywhere. Instead, everything stood like Chicago in the twenty-first century. It was normal, but anyone could easily feel the unsettling pulse of the city around them. There was danger lurking behind every street corner. Luckily for her, she still knew her world like the back of her hand, and she intended to make her way to the high council before too much time had passed in Anton's dimension.

^^^

"How long do you suspect it will be?" Anton questioned.

"An hour tops is all she should need. If that goes well, you're looking at about two weeks," Bleeding Rosebud explained. "Unfortunately, you won't be able to see your refection in anything. It'll almost be like you're a vampire of sorts," she cackled. "Summon me when she returns. Best of luck to you all. I'll be sure to keep a vial on me for the time being."

When Bleeding Rosebud vanished, Anton stormed out of the side room. It was true, there was no reflection of his. It was as though he didn't exist, but neither did Azalea. For the first time in a long time, she was completely gone. He was all alone. It had only been mere seconds, but he hated every moment of it.

"Anton," Aaric cooed as he stepped out of the side room.

"I'm going for a run," he stated, running away from his mate.

Before Aaric could chase after him, Raven grabbed his wrist and held him back. "Don't," she stated. "It's better if you leave him be. He needs a moment to himself right now."

"Then you need to go be with him."

"Did you not just hear me?"

"Look," he huffed, "I felt a weird energy in the forest. Please, just go check on him."

With a quick nod, she transformed and exited out of the window after Aaric opened it.

"I don't understand why you had to send her out after him instead of just going with him," Robin scoffed. "She's a bird."

"She's a reckless killing machine," he smirked. "She may show mercy to those she believes deserves it, but she is not afraid to murder someone if they cross her."

"Have you seen it?"

"No, but Anton has lived with it. She's quite wise and stealthy. Fate gave you quite an incredible mate," Aaric stated.

Violent cawing shouted outside. Both Robin and Aaric snapped their gaze outside, spotting Raven flying overhead before diving down. Jumping out the window, both the Alpha and Beta shifted and ran toward Raven's cawing. Rogues jumped out and began to attack them.

"They're distracted," a rogue snickered as it faced its leader in the back seat.

"Good," it purred, tapping the top of the cage an unconscious Anton resided in.