Hellbound With You

Zeke's black cloak was dancing in the wind, circling Alicia. His hood suddenly fell away, revealing the man's face. Just the sight of his face was enough for Alicia to stop her attack.

In a blink of an eye, Zeke appeared only inches away from her, taking advantage of Alicia's short pause caused by her surprise. He bent forward and he whispered in her ear. "Don't try to fight him seriously, Alicia." His voice was filled with a serious warning, causing Alicia's brows to crease.

"Don't fight back and just go with the flow," he added and before Alicia could react, Zeke took her sword from her. He then swiftly moved behind her and wrapped an arm around her, putting the blade of her sword near her throat.

Everything happened so fast. The green and silver glow of light slowly dispersed. Leaves began to fall slowly and the dancing trees stood still again.

The witches were shocked to see that their queen had been caught. What just happened? Their queen could have escaped easily. Why did she stop when she already had the upper hand?!

Confused with their queen's action, the witches could only circle around them on the perimeter. They couldn't attack anymore because their queen was held captive!

As their surroundings became calm again, Alicia didn't say a word and just glared at Zeres.

Zeres walked towards them, ignoring the witches. He tilted his head and looked at the man in the black cloak before he let out a helpless sigh. "How did you even find me, huh? Kiel?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at him. "Are you sure you're not a witch in disguise?"

The man in the cloak didn't respond, so Zeres just sighed again, averting his gaze to Alicia. "You are quite powerful, queen. Previous queens weren't as powerful as you, you know?" he told her. His voice was still gentle and melodic, very pleasant and soothing to the ears, almost hypnotic. His seemingly kind eyes and genuine smile were a little disturbing for Alicia. How could he still look at her and smile at her like this after she slashed him without hesitation and even tried to unleash her full power to destroy him? No, he must be absolutely faking it. Damn, how was he so good at this? He was the absolute perfect bait of cheese in a mousetrap! No one would be able to resist him if he kept acting like this!

Alicia's frustration made her glare at him again. She was usually calm but this Zeres was just frustrating her. And it was not just Zeres. She was equally frustrated with this damn vampire behind her. How the hell did he know to come here? And this Zeres even called him Kiel? It seemed that both men already knew each other which meant that Ezekiel still didn't tell them the truth when he had the chance last night!

The questions kept piling up along with Alicia's frustration, maybe because these two were kind of the same. They were the only ones she couldn't read at all. The difference between them was that even though Alicia couldn't sense the darkness in Zeres, she could at least feel a light coming from him, something she couldn't even sense in Ezekiel. In fact, Alicia couldn't feel anything in Exekiel as if there was nothing inside him but a void.

"Queen, I'm sorry, but I have to kidnap you," Zeres said, looking regretful. "I'll have to put a spell on you so you can't use your power, in case you try to escape."

"No need. I won't escape. I will follow you." Alicia's serious tone made Zeres pause in surprise.

Alicia had said those words out of frustration. She had decided to go with the flow as per this vampire's words. Alicia didn't know what Ezekiel was planning, but once again, she chose to believe in him. She was sure that this man was embroiled in another chess game and this time, she must be one of his sacrificial pawns again. Even though Alicia was a queen now, she couldn't protest because Alicia knew she wasn't the only one playing this game. She was certain that Abigail and Alexander were already a part of this and even this half-witch beside her. Alicia wasn't fond of Ezekiel's method, but if this was the only way to win the battle, she could only oblige because she was aware that their opponents were immortals. She knew power alone could not bring them down. Moreover, Alicia herself was curious about the kind of help this half-witch would ask of her. Will he ask her to become his ally and join that Dinah?

"Okay, let her go, Kiel." Just like that, Zeres ordered the man in the black cloak to let go. However, the man didn't move. It seemed that just like Alicia, he was speechless too. "Let her go. Don't worry, she will not escape," he added, and the man in black cloak finally let her go.

Zeres even took the sword from the cloaked man and gave it back to Alicia, causing Alicia to look at him in disbelief.

"You're even giving my weapon back?" she asked.

"You already said you wouldn't escape so why not?"

"And you actually believe me?"

Zeres didn't look bothered at all. "Of course. You're a queen and queens don't go back on their words."

Alicia's lips parted. She wanted to laugh but seeing how serious Zeres was as he said those words, she couldn't even react anymore. What the hell was wrong with this half-witch?

"Okay, let's go." He then turned his back from her and looked at the witches. "Don't worry. I will take care of her. I will bring her back after two days, safe and sound," he told them with a smile before he started to walk away.

The utterly speechless queen could only shake her head and signaled the witches to stay.

…

Shortly after stepping out of the Dark Forest, Zeres and Alicia arrived in front of an ancient castle made of rocks. It wasn't as large as other castles but it was a quaint little place. The rock walls of the three part building were faded, blackened around the edges and the walls were reddish in color. The old castle looked like it had seen better days but despite its weathered look, Alicia felt that there was something special about it. The air was filled with energy she couldn't quite fathom.

Ezekiel still hadn't caught up with them, so the two silver-haired witches walked alongside each other, stepping foot on an ancient stone bridge leading to the ancient castle.

Alicia remained quiet when all of a sudden, Zeres leaned in on her. "Queen, you and Kiel know each other, right?" he asked, whispering.

His question made Alicia halt but she didn't respond and just continued walking. But Zeres didn't take the hint and kept prodding. "You stopped your attack because you don't want to hurt him, right? Even if he's a blue-blooded vampire, your attack would have definitely harm him real bad with all those poisonous and powerful spells you're about to use. I'm guessing he's not just someone you know, right, queen?"

Once again, Alicia halted and let out a deep sigh. "Did you bring me here just to ask this?"

He shook his head.

"Then stop asking, or else your head might roll on the floor before I realize it."

Zeres simply chuckled. He stepped ahead of her, faced her as he walked backward. "It seemed I was right. Are you two friends?" he asked.

Alicia pressed her lips in a tight line and tried to ignore him. But Zeres was persistent.

"Not friends either, huh? Hmm… could it be that you like him?"