"Does this mean, you are sitting exactly where I am right now?" Zeres asked.

"Yes. It seems my body has to be overlapped through yours so you would be able to hear me even without chanting the spell." She replied and an ironic weak laugh escaped Zeres’ lips before he shook his head slightly.

"Why? You don’t like it?" Alicia asked. He could imagine her raising her elegant brow.

"I’d rather utter the spell than having you do that, Alicia." He said and then he suddenly uttered the spell. "Now, get off me." Zeres said dryly and sighed heavily.

Alicia rose and looked down at him. She was about to say something, but after looking at him, she seemed to change her mind and she closed her mouth instead.

"You should rest now." She told him after a moment and Zeres closed his eyes again, not to sleep but so he could stop staring at her. He wanted to keep seeing her but seeing her like that cause him pain. Somehow, he found it easier to cut off all visuals for now. At least until he feel a little stronger emotionally.

"How about you?" he asked weakly without opening his eyes.

"I’ll speak with Lilith. I have lots of things to teach her after this. It’s kind of nice, since I felt like I have all the time in the world right now. I don’t even need any rest and other mundane things like eating or sleeping anymore." Alicia gave a little laugh that sounded like multiple bells tinkling merrily.

Though Zeres thought the sound was extremely beautiful to his ears, his facial muscles worked a little. He did not like the way she sounded as though she was truly glad that she was a spirit now. As if she was truly alright now and had accepted what she was now. As if her, being a spirit now was a good thing.

He did not know what to say... and his chest hurts so bad. So, he could only keep his eyes and mouth shut close. Knowing that he would not know what to do either and would still feel the same if she was crying now or regretting everything.

After a short while, Zeres suddenly broke the spell before he opened his eyes. He rose and was about to leave when he halted.

"Don’t follow me... I’m going to take a breather and wash up." He said tiredly before disappearing from the area and materialized at the Moon Lake in the northern part of the Black Forest. It was his favourite hangout spot. And it was the place he where he usually bathed since he came here.

He called his attendant named Lior, the young male witch Alicia had assigned to serve him since she first brought him to the forest. "Go get me a change of clothes..." he ordered. Lior nodded obediently then disappeared as Zeres began to strip off his filthy clothes and dropping them to the ground.

He was still covered with blood and dirt. But to his surprise, his wounds were all gone. He had initially thought he just gotten numb when he did not feel any more pain caused by his large wounds because that had been the case when he was fighting. But it seems he was wrong. He had completely healed. There was not even a hint of a scar left on his perfect skin now.

Dipping himself slowly in the clear water, Zeres stayed underwater for a long time. His heart was aching again, knowing that the reason he healed was because of Alicia’s sacrifice. Why did that annoying woman had to give so much of herself without allowing him to give back some to her? Why did she had to be so strong and capable? However, he knew that was part of the reason why he fell in love with her.

When he emerged from the water, he stared up the sky and wondered if his invisible wounds would ever heal one day. What price must he pay to stop all this pain?

Zeres thought that the only way to make him feel better again was when he could finally bring her back to life. So, until then, all he could do now was to endure. This was his forte after all. To live in pain.

...

Meanwhile, the vampires had finally reached the Reigns castle. The group slowed down the moment they reached the forest right at the back of the castle when Lucas spoke.

"Is this really alright?" he asked as they walked under the trees. "I mean... is Zeres really not going to cause any trouble anymore? After what I’ve seen... and all the things he could do... I honestly found it too good to be true that he had truly given up now. It seems a little suspicious..."

"Do not worry, I can assure you Zeres won’t be doing anything for now." Alex was the one who responded before his gaze shifted to Zeke. "Right, Zeke?"

Zeke simply nodded and that was all it took for Lucas to close that topic. However, just as the men was about to leap to enter the castle from the back walls, Kyle’s voice echoed out softly but still crystal clear.

"Brother," he said, his voice filled with hesitation.

Everyone halted and looked at Kyle who was behind them all, except Zeke. The man did not turn to look at his youngest brother, but Kyle was more than determined. He looked as though he was not going to delay or swallow whatever it was that he wanted to say anymore, no matter how scary it was.

He stared fixedly at his brother’s back with an intense look in his eyes. He took in a fortifying breath before opening his mouth.

"Who..." he paused for a while, and then he took the plunge. With his voice filling with courage, he asked, "what are you exactly?"

____

A/N: follow me on instgram @kazzenlx.x

Check out my other book ’Spellbound’ while waiting for updates here. It’s a story inspired by the long lost tale arc so i’m sure you guys might like it as well. Thank you. <3