Its vertical slits blinked twice as the voice echoed in my head again.
"You have arrived at last."
It was a feminine voice, like the voice that calmed everything.
It sounded old and eternal.
’Focus, damn it...’
Without taking my eyes away from those yellow eyes, I gently took a step back blocking Grace behind me.
’What should I do now?’ I thought, trying to figure out how to get away.
Direct confrontation was not an option.
The way it arrived in front of me without me realizing was enough to deter me from doing something stupid.
"What are you?" I asked, feeling its gaze on me with curiosity. Explore more stories at novelhall.Côm
"Ah, how people forget about my existence, or is it only you who doesn’t know?" the voice responded.
"That doesn’t answer my question."
It blinked again and and without answering my question, asked again.
"I am just curious, child. How did you arrive in this place? How did you manage to come here?"
"We arrived from the portal," I replied, fully covering Grace’s figure behind me.
The eyes slowly came down, matching my eye level, and because of this, I was able to faintly discern its head.
It was... a snake head.
No, calling it a snake would be an understatement. It had a head like a Chinese dragon.
The snake’s head is adorned with intricate scales that shimmer in hues of vibrant colors, reflecting the light with mesmerizing brilliance.
Its eyes, now clearly visible, are typically large and almond-shaped, gleaming with an otherworldly intensity, exuding wisdom and ancient knowledge.
"The energy you have in your body, do you know what its use is?" It asked again, and this time I felt goosebumps all over my body.
’How the fuck did she notice! Damn!’
I thought I heard her words wrongly when I first heard her but she did not it.
Star energy wasn’t something that could be noticed by just anyone, not even the gods. It wasn’t something that a snake could notice.
"Who are you?" I asked, my lips trembling as I tried to hide my shock.
Don’t be alarmed, child. I don’t mean any harm."
Like I would believe in a literal snake.
"Can you harness that energy at will?" She asked again, this time her eyes filled with curiosity and greed.
Damn, I knew it, damn snake.
I covered Grace’s body as I replied.
"It activates automatically when I am in danger. I have no control over it."
"What?"
She replied as if she had heard something absurd and amusing.
"You have no control over it?"
"Yes."
"I see... You can’t handle that energy, huh?"
Then, it shifted its focus towards Grace, and then tilting her head a little, it looked at the tent in which Aeloria was sleeping.
’Is it thinking of attacking us?’ I thought as I looked at its giant head.
If only I knew if I could beat it or not.
But that’s the problem. I don’t know how strong this monster is; there is no way to tell.
"Are you going deeper inside the labyrinth, child?" She asked as she moved her focus back towards me.
I was momentarily taken aback by her question. Why is she asking that?
...
...
...
[First person POV: Grace.]
*Chrip...chrip..*
As the sound of birds filled my ears, I gently opened my eyes, a frown appearing on my face as I felt my body ache in pain.
Within a few seconds, the light registered in my eyes, and the scene in front of me became clear as I looked up.
"....."
The first thing that came into view was the sleeping face of a boy.
’yeah right I fall asleep beside him last night.’
I immediately tried to move as I noticed I was sleeping on his lap, but his hand on my face didn’t let me.
I attempted to move it, but it only made him frown as he gently patted me, even in his deep sleep.
"Eden..."
"Eden..." I called again, but he didn’t reply.
"...."
"I hate you..." I let out a bitter voice as I gently slapped his face not strong enough to wake him up.
I hate him, but at the same time, I couldn’t hate him.
I hated the boy who was obsessed with the girl who took away my mother’s life.
But I didn’t hate the boy who was my first friend.
I didn’t hate the boy who helped me when my mother wasn’t there.
But I hated the boy who brutally rejected my marriage proposal in front of everyone, the boy who humiliated me.
But...
"I am glad..."
I am glad he isn’t fixated on Angelina now.
It makes things easier for me.
At least I will not feel guilty for hurting him when I kill her.
That is enough for me, atleast for now.
There was nothing that hurt more than regretting something after it’s too late.
Like I regret falling for a boy like him.
"Hahh..." letting out a sigh, I poked his face with my finger, smiling a little.
At least in his sleep, he looks cute, like the cute little boy who always tried to climb up the tree only to fall down daily, just so he could sit beside me.
"Why did you change, Eden..." I mumbled as I ran my finger on his face.
He changed thrice in just a few years.
Once when his mother fell into a coma.
Once when my mother and Angelina’s sister died, and he went missing for a whole month, only to come out as a person obsessed only with Angelina.
And the last is the boy in front of me now.
"And why did you become so handsome..." pinching his nose a little, I mumbled.
Whenever all those girls gawked at him, I felt irked for some reason.
"It’s hard, you know?"
It’s hard to control myself from not pluck out their eyes.
"Sigh..."
"What are you doing?"