Intruder

Gwen closed her eyes, darkness consuming her very being as she felt herself being transported past the borders of Eden, across the barren land, and then straight to the entrance of the Court.

Blinking open her eyes, she shuddered at the feeling she got whenever she stepped in here. The memories this place brought shook her soul from within but she persisted. Her main goal right now was finding Kai as soon as possible and then asking him for Sebastian's location.

Stepping down the hill she was currently standing on, her feet quickened in their pace as she reached the bottom and grabbed onto a tree to stable herself from falling face forward into the grass.

Her feet led her hurriedly to the gates which the guards automatically opened when they saw her. She came here rarely but the blond hair that she had failed to tie down into a braid was flowing freely behind her due to the high wind in the air. There was no mistaking that she was the very woman that even men trembled before when encountering her.

Rushing inside, her breath came out in small pants as her eyes darted around, scanning the place for a particular fellow blonde. The servants bowed when they passed by her and she stopped one of them by placing her hand on a girl's shoulder.

"Uh have you seen a muscular, quite good-looking but cocky guy wandering anywhere around here?" she questioned, and the startled maid was silent for a while, formulating an answer as to whether she had actually seen such a person around the Court these days.

Hastily she nodded and spoke, "He had gone into the King's study a while ago."

Thanking her with a small smile, Gwen flew past the several people who cast her weird glances but still continued to mind their business. The Court was infamous for having all types of people around and she knew how much work she had to go through when Eva arrived here. Theodore had told her to clear the whole area of all the beasts and creatures which would be harmful to a human who couldn't defend herself yet. It had taken days but she had managed to do it with only a few hours to spare.

Pushing down the handle, she threw open the door and walked forward, her eyes traveling around for the guy she needed to find at once.

What her eyes saw, however, was something that startled her down to the very core.

Brown hair cut short and somehow he still managed to make everyone's jaw drop.

Midnight dark eyes that still managed to make her tremble to the very tips of her fingers.

The very arms she had always dreamed of being in.

And his dimples that faded away as soon as he cast his eyes on her.

He was the only person who could still make her look at other girls and compare herself to them.

She hated him down to her very bones.

Decades later, she hadn't expected their next meeting to have been like this and in this situation.

Turning her head away hurriedly, she locked her eyes with Kai who seemed to have been busy talking with him before she burst in on them like an intruder. Gwen raised a brow as he passed her a questioning look and she internally huffed, pointing with her eyes toward the door that still stood open behind her.

"It's okay, I'll leave first. We're done talking here I think." Lysander spoke, glancing at Kai with a nod and receiving an assuring one in return.

Gwen looked down when he passed her, his scent entering her senses, and she felt intoxicated like all the previous times. She held her breath so as to not feel his warmth as he walked by and closed the door softly behind him without bothering to acknowledge her presence.

Gwen released her breath with a cough and resisted herself to not open the door back again and beat the living shit out of him for ignoring her.

'Jerk...' she muttered in her head and looked toward Kai who was grinning at her apologetically.

"We were discussing strategies on how to strengthen the capacity of the weapons. What's wrong?" he asked in a more serious tone, knowing that Gwen wouldn't rush to do anything unless it was urgent or a life-threatening crisis.

"It's Eva." she blurted out, not knowing a lighter way to expose the truth. "She's locked inside Theo's room and he's worried- no he's almost lost control since his powers aren't breaking the barrier. Where the fuck's Sebastian?!"

"Wait, what do you mean lost control?" he inquired, fear creeping in his veins and he knew this was worse than anything he could imagine.

Gwen licked her lips nervously. "Just like the old times."

Kai muttered out a curse, sprinting out the door as his wings flew out from his back and he got lifted into the air almost instantly.

"Seb's camping near Asher's kingdom, just outside the borders that are connecting his and the witch's lands!" he shouted out and sighed in relief when Gwen nodded in understanding and vanished from his sight in a whirl of fire and smoke.

He whirled around, plunging upward with the cold breeze cutting his skin as he flew past the small villages that had emerged when the land had been left abandoned for too long.

His thoughts were tangled up in a mess since even if Eva managed to get herself out, she would have to face the actual devil in his actual form. Theo would be worried for her sake but after he was assured that she was safe, he knew he would go on a rampage to find out who locked her in the first place. The only time it happened once before was when a young soldier had been foolish enough to comment about his mother while they were busy training.

Remembering that scene still brought him shivers since neither Alex nor Sephie had been there to take care of his condition back then. He was worried for his friend more than ever since he knew how guilt consumed him if he hurt anyone innocent by mistake as he had done decades ago.

If something happened to Eva because of him, Theo would never be able to forgive himself...