Missing

"Where the fuck did they go!?"

"Maybe they went out to explore or something! Dammit, what news did Jackson bring back?"

"The border has been broached!"

Sebastian's eyes dulled down when he heard that and then they met with Davina's emotionless ones.

How in reality's name could that happen?

"How!?" Kai's frustrated voice reached higher than Gwen's. How the hell could somebody have gotten through all the spells and barriers?

It was impossible after Davina strengthened them!

"Stop wondering how it happened." Sebastian managed to raise his voice enough for everyone to hear him. "What're we gonna do about it?"

A man suddenly burst in through the door and all eyes traveled toward him in a flash. Nervousness was obvious in his posture, yet he straightened his shoulders and looked Kai in the eye.

"There is no trace of the King and the Lady in Eden."

That cleared the rest of their doubts.

"Sebastian and Kaius will check outside the borders while we both will stay here in case they end up coming back," Davina ordered and they all nodded their heads, finding no better solution to this abrupt problem.

Gwen's hands traveled to her lips and in her nervousness, she started biting her nails, unaware of her friend's eyes on her.

Deep down, they all didn't know what to do about the current situation.

It was all mostly confusion and... hope.

Even that was scarce these days.

"What do you think could've happened? Hell, we don't even know what happened when Eva got locked in Theo's room! How're we gonna end up solving this!?" Gwen would've yanked at her hair if Davina's calm, tranquil voice hadn't entered her ears.

"You don't trust him."

Gwen's hands fell limply to her sides and she slowly turned her head toward the witch.

"Take your words back."

"I won't."

"I said take them back!"

A massive blast flew her way but Davina raised her hand instead and twisted her fingers. In an instant, a portal opened and the attack vanished in a second, leaving nothing but wisps behind.

Gwen's chest heaved up and down.

Davina raised a brow. "So you're doing this now? He comes back into your life and you lose control?"

Nails dug deep into her palms but the pain felt nothing like what was going on in her chest.

"I'm going to go and search for them too—"

"Running away again?"

"You. Know. Nothing." she spitted out syllable by syllable but Davina continued standing in her position, unfazed.

"When will you learn to let go—"

Her words were cut off midway when she grabbed her head and shut her eyes. The lines on her forehead deepened and Gwen's eyes flashed in a flicker of worry which didn't fade.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice expressing her doubt clearly enough.

"Something or 'someone' broached the borders." she gritted out, and fury was almost dripping out of her voice. "Again."

They both wasted no time rushing out of the tall tower and onto the path which led to the main markets. Just as they were about to increase their pace, a shadow passed over them and the pair instantly halted.

Gwen was the first one to glance up.

"Jackson!"

The man named Jack instantly rotated his head to look down as his mahogany wings continued to flap behind his back.

Nodding his head toward them, he turned in the air and shifted his sight to the ground below. With his wings slowing down their speed he felt himself being lowered onto the ground automatically.

"What's wrong?" she asked while Davina's focus instantly shifted to the arrow which he was holding onto as if his life depended on it.

Without uttering a single word, the witch stepped forward in a flash and snatched the arrow out of his hand. It took a complete second for Jackson to notice that it had left his hand.

"Hey—"

Throwing the arrow to a side, she pulled the piece of parchment away and rolled it open in a moment. Her hands trembled as she started reading the contents of the paper and the aura around her only darkened further.

Jackson had to turn his head away to be able to breathe while Gwen pursed her lips and waited for Davina to narrate the words.

After what seemed like a while, Davina rolled the parchment back with a sigh and the next second, the paper started burning in large, consuming dark flames.

It didn't take Gwen too long to understand that whatever was written on that piece had hit something deep.

"What does it say?" Jackson questioned, oblivious to the tense atmosphere that had suddenly taken place.

Clenching her fists, the dark-haired witch smirked, still not bothering to raise her head.

"Apparently our silence seemed to have made our enemies too over-confident. Isabella sent a token of appreciation," she commented and Gwen's eyes slowly widened as she realized what her words meant.

"That's why Theo and Eva are missing!? That whore's doing?"

Jackson's eyes darted between the two females who looked both glum and enraged beyond measure. He considered flying away before one of them ended up exploding but then considered against it.

No matter how cruel everyone thought demons were, in the end, they were the ones who worked hardest to protect their kind.

Women like Isabella cared about themselves only.

Citizens? Fuck them.

Family? What did that word even mean?

All that mattered was power.

The greater good.

And no matter how much a person cleansed the world, people like them would continue to taint it every chance they get.

"Let's hope the boys find them in time." Davina breathed out, centuries of exhaustion and fatigue showing when she massaged her temple and closed her eyes.

"What if..." Gwen's voice trailed off yet both of them understood what she was trying to imply.

"That depends entirely on both of them."

"But Eva only knows how to enact her powers, controlling them is something completely different. How the fuck is she supposed to do that—"

"We don't know that." was the calm response she received. "All we can do is wait, no matter how frustrating that sounds."

Gwen ran a hand through her blond locks, releasing a sigh, and then turned around to face Jack who looked like a deer trapped between two dragons.

"Scan the perimeter again. Maybe this time, you'll spot a trace or a clue."