Hellbound Heart

Lilith's gaze suddenly shifted behind Elle before she could answer Elle's question.

"Alicia." Lilith called out.

Turning to look behind her, Alicia was indeed standing right behind her. The beautiful woman was clad in a nightgown covered over with a thick and long grey colored robe.

"Queen Lilith," Alicia stared at Lilith before her gaze fell onto Elle, her eyes scanning her from head to toe. "Are you alright, Izabelle?"

Elle nodded. "I'm totally fine. Please don't worry about me at all, Alicia."

"I'm glad you're alright." The elegant lady looked relieved. "I realized that you weren't in your room and got worried when you did not appear after I waited some time for you to come back. When did you leave? None of us noticed you leaving the house."

"I was..." Elle was a bit embarrassed to answer Alicia but she knew she needed to explain. "I think I sleep-walked. I don't really know how I ended up all the way out here, but I believed I merely sleep-walked."

Alicia's serene expression changed for a moment. "I see..."

"She ended up coming across me on her way back and decided to watch me train." Lilith said to Alicia. The way the witch queen spoke and looked at Alicia was something that Elle could not ignore. It was so obvious how Lilith seemed to look up to Alicia. Respect and admiration were brimming in the witch queen's eyes, despite the fact that right now, Lilith was obviously far more powerful.

Seeing the way this witch queen behaved before Alicia, only made Elle realize how amazing and powerful Alicia was when she still had her full powers in her.

"Auntie â€" oh..." Alexis landed on the ground followed by Azy, pulling at everyone's attention, and most especially Elle. She was surprised to know that she had actually woken everyone in the house up and must have caused them so much worry for these kids to even be here, obviously searching for her.

"Princess Elle! Are you alright?" the boy asked, approaching her.

"I'm fine. Oh dear... why are you boys out here too? You both should be in bed." Elle said, feeling apologetic for all the fuss just because she was missing for a while. But Alexis grinned.

"Waking up in the middle of the night is not a problem at all to us, Princess. Right, Azy?" Alexis turned to Azy behind him and the boy nodded. "We are glad you're okay. Azy was worried because he said that â€""

"Alexis." Alicia called out and the boy immediately stopped mid-sentence and turned to face Alicia.

"Yes, auntie?"

"You and Azy should go back and let Abi and everyone know we've found Elle." Alicia reminded him and at the same time, effectively distracting him from continuing his sentence.

"Oh, right. Got it, Auntie." The boys then disappeared in blur, leaving the three ladies alone once again.

When Elle looked at Alicia, the lady smiled at her. "Please give me a moment to speak with Lilith, Elle."

Nodding, Elle smiled back and just stood there, watching as the two silver-haired beautiful women widened their distance to have their private talk. She did not bother to wonder what they were going to talk about anymore. Since she heard the first question Alicia asked Lilith as they walked away.

"I believe you already know that Zeres was looking for you." Alicia asked.

"Yes. But even I am not certain what he needed from me. I honestly find it strange that he's seeking me out as soon as he reappeared for the first time after such a long while keeping himself under the radar. Do you want me to try spying on him?"

"No. I don't think Zeres will show you anything even if you try. He'd hidden himself for years already so I don't think he'd be careless now and show you what he's hiding so easily. Just make sure to observe him carefully when he seeks you again. And do let me know once he returns."

"I understand."

"Also... about Izabelle." Alicia glanced towards Elle before she continued. "Refrain from saying anything about whatever peculiar thing that you had observed about her for now, Lilith." Her voice dipped even lower to ensure Elle would not overhear her words.

Lilith's brows creased, not hiding her curiosity from Alicia at all. "Why? I mean... I believe she needed to know. Izabelle is obviously so clueless... she should really know something more at least."

"I know where you're coming from, Lilith. But there's a reason why we are trying our best not to say anything to her as of yet." The slightly pinched look on Alicia's face told Lilith that there must be more complicated things involved for them to be behaving so cautiously like this.

The two ladies stared at each other until eventually, Lilith sighed and gave in. "Okay, I understand."

...

Meanwhile, on top of a certain tall building.

Elijah's foot was dangling from the edge of the building. His other foot was bent while he was lying parallel to the edge of it. A black kitten could be vaguely seen, rolled into a furry ball and sleeping peacefully on his chest.

His gaze was staring unseeingly at the starry sky.

The image of him and that kitten on his chest was something that screams serenity and peace, compared to the buzzing and brightly lit city down below.

Until the kitten suddenly awoke, arched its back and hissed with its claws on display. It's lovely black fur standing.

"Shh... it's okay..." Elijah purred, pulling himself up and hiding the kitten back inside a deep pocket on his coat.

"I'm listening. Go on." He then said, his voice back to the usual deep and darkly melodious.

And that female voice echoed again. "So, it seems that the divorce is indeed real. However... I believe Sebastian is just trying to take our attention away from that girl."

"How can you say so?" Elijah stroked the kitten's warm fur under his coat as he asked.

"Isn't it obvious? He allowed her to stay in the country and even let her hide in the Black Forest for safety. He's obviously still trying to protect her!"

Elijah looked up again, staring at the moonlight. The soft breeze blowing and lifting his hair in slow, lazy drifts.

"But well, let's let him think he'd managed to fool us. The game would be more fun that way, isn't it?" The woman's voice was filled with malice as she chuckled evilly.

"Of course." Elijah replied. The corner of his lips tugged up into a mysterious smile.