Hellbound Heart



Alex thought though that he might actually have fun with this creature if only their situation was different. 

"I'll have someone explain it to you later," Alex said. "Let's get out of here first before you do something else funny."

"Now let's go, get us back to the cavern before Zeke disappears on us." he said, his voice firm and that was all it took for the guy to make a move in an instant. 

And with that, the two of them were swallowed by that same dark smoke that seemed to have a life of its own. 

As soon as they emerged back in the now empty underground cemetery, Alex asked him to follow after him as he rushed out of the cavern.

Soon, the duo was sprinting through the dense forest, their forms a blur as their vampiric speed propelled them forward with ease. The rustling of leaves and the sound of twigs snapping under their feet echoed through the woods, as they weaved through the trees with practiced agility.

"I'm sensing dragon blood in you," Gav broke the silence, his words carrying a note of curiosity. "You're obviously the troublesome dragon Zeke had mentioned before, so why not just shapeshift? That would bring us to our destination so much faster."

Alex feigned a scoff. "Troublesome dragon? I do believe you're far more troublesome than I am."

"I never heard Zeke call anyone 'troublesome' apart from a certain dragon." Gav retorted, giving back as good as he got.

"Don't worry, I'm certain Zeke's calling you that behind your back." Alex grinned.

"I don't think so. Since Zeke likes to say whatever he wants to say right in front of your face."

Alex could not respond to that because Gav was actually right about that. If he never heard Zeke call him that, then it means he truly never called him 'troublesome'. For real? How come? He better catch the guy to have a heart-to-heart talk with Zeke about this. Hopefully, he still had time to speak with him. 

"Did Zeke not mention to you that this world of ours is a place where magical things are not meant to be real?" Alex finally answered Gav's initial question. 

"Zeke never really talked about his world," Gav replied. "He didn't like being asked about it as well." 

Alex fell silent, understanding what exactly Zeke must have been going through that he did not want to talk about their world. 

"How about yours? I mean your world?" Alex glanced at him. "I could guess it's a place where magic is everywhere based on your behavior."

"I don't know," Gav's simple and emotionless response had Alex furrowing his brow and he turned to look at the man. He thought that the guy was trying to be evasive.

However, when he looked at Gav's eyes, Alex saw something in them. It was like he was suddenly seeing a different person. And for a moment, Alex felt as though he was looking into a mirror. Alex was seeing someone who reminded him of his past self, before he regained his memories of the woman he had lost and before he had met her once again.

"You don't know...you don't remember?" Alex asked in a low voice.

Gav did not answer, but Alex did not need his verbal reply. The words hung in the air between them, heavy with unspoken meaning. Then they continued running on in silence, the only sound was the crunching of leaves and twigs beneath their feet. 

…

In the Black Forest. 

Sebastian and everyone except Alicia and Zeke were outside the house, facing the newcomers. Raven and two other royal guards – they were messengers sent by Lucas to deliver news to Alex.

"We need Alexander at the castle this instant," he said, his voice laced with urgency. "Elijah's already started his coup to take over the throne and lead the kingdom to start a war against the humans."

Elle's eyes widened with shock. What?! The news of a coup was already shocking enough in itself, but the mention of war against the human race made Elle's heart shake even more. What was Elijah aiming for?

She looked at Sebastian with panic and fear in her eyes but when she saw that he was remarkably calm, Elle felt her panic subside and calmed down a little. As she observed Sebastian, she noticed that he looked as though he had been expecting this already. What had happened? What did he know that he had not told her?

"The officials are mad and resentful towards you, Your Highness. So it's better for Alexander to be the one to go," Raven continued. "The humans might be preparing an even more extreme measure to infiltrate our country at this moment, and war could really break out any time soon. So Your Highness, would you please ask Alexander to head over to Queza right this instant?"

"Alexander isn't here yet," Sebastian said calmly, as though he was replying to any ordinary request instead of a national emergency.

"May I know where he is at the moment? I'll go to him myself right this instant," Raven said, his voice urgent.

"You don't need to go anywhere. He'll be here very soon," Sebastian replied, and then his gaze drifted towards Azy, who stood by the door.

Sebastian approached the boy slowly. "Why are you here? Go back to your parents, Azy," he told him gently, wanting the boy to spend as much time with his parents as possible.

But Azy shook his head. "I'm...I'm fine now, Uncle," Azy replied in a quiet voice. He looked as though he understood what his uncle wanted, but he had already made a solemn decision to give his parents time to be with each other. As much as he would love to be with both his parents, he knew that his dad would need that personal time to spend with his mom even more.

Sebastian did not say anything more, and that was when Alex and Gav finally arrived.