In the midst of an unknown place, where leafless trees stood and the ground bore no grass. A woman stood with long, dark brown locks cascading freely down her back, swaying gently in the wind.
Her blue eyes searched through the fog as she asked herself, 'Where is this place? Why am I here again?'
After thinking for a moment she blinked and muttered to herself, 'Wait a minute… wasn't I in the classroom with Ivan?'
'What happened? Did I fail to make the potion so he decided to end me?? Am I… dead already??'
She sighed dramatically and continued with her afterlife monologue, 'Ah, what a tragedy. I didn't even get to taste half the things life had to offer. No pastries from the royal kitchen, no forbidden romance, not even a scandal or two!'
'Had I known I'd be dead this young, I might as well have committed every sin I ever dreamed of, at least then I would have earned it!
Her thoughts began spiraling as she continued. 'But wait…how exactly did he kill me? Did he drain me dry or throw me off a cliff with a casual..Opps!'
Then she remembered Emily, 'Oh right.. That thirsty girl flailing around under Ivan's death grip. Did she die too? Probably. Honestly, she could've lived longer had she not tried to tango with the devil himself.'
Suddenly, an unfamiliar image flashed through her mind, where her hand briefly touched Ivan's shoulder, and the way he turned around to look at her with eyes burning like burning molten orange. He looked at her as if he was seeing someone else. Why?
As she stood there, lost in thought, a soft, ethereal voice echoed through the desolate forest, "You need to go back… go back to him." The wind rose around her like a whispering storm and in an instant, the barren world was filled with soft golden light.
Evelyn suddenly opened her eyes with a gasp "Who..?" Her heart beat picked up.
She felt warmth surrounding her before her eyes adjusted to the unfamiliar ceiling above.
Unconsciously, her fingers tighten around something warm, when she heard a deep, husky voice speak near her ear, "So much for keeping your distance. I must say, I didn't peg you for the type to throw yourself at a defenceless man in his sleep."
Evelyn's wide blue eyes snapped towards the voice, only to meet Ivan's molten red eyes that were staring back at her with amusement dancing in them. He was lying on his back one arm lazily sprawled, the other currently being held hostage by her hands in a tight grip. His face was dangerously close to her.
"What in the goddess's name!?" she shrieked, jumping upright on the bed and scrambled backwards. Just when she neared the edge of the bed, Ivan's hand shot out and grabbed her, pulling her back before her bottom could meet the floor.
She fell back onto him with a gasp, his annoyingly handsome face mere inches from his. Flustered, she blurted, "What do you think you are doing?! What am I doing here? And where even is here?! Am I dead?"
Ivan raised a brow, the corner of his lips twitched. "You aren't dead," he drawled in a smooth voice. "Though with the way you're clinging to me, I wonder if this is your idea of heaven."
"No!" She said it so fast that he narrowed his eyes at the speed of her denial, and in response, he tightened his hold around her waist and her heart skipped a beat.
"No?" he echoed, a glint of mockery in his voice. "Princess, your mouth is quick to deny, but your body seems to have other thoughts."
As he said that, his gaze drifted below to her hands that where clutching the fabric of his crisp white shirt.
Eve followed his gaze, her eyes widened and immediately scrambled off him. This time, he didn't stop her. He simply let her go.
She sat at the edge of the bed, breathing unevenly, and used her hands to smooth out her hair, while he finally sat up, leaning back lazily against the headboard.
He stared at her with the kind of lazy interest one might reserve for a curious kitten, amused and mildly entertained by how she fidgeted and fussed with her hair.
When she finally stilled, she turned to him, suspicion all over her face. "So why was I…why was I on the same bed as you?" As she asked, her face turned crimson.
Ivan arched a brow, clearly enjoying himself. "Well, I would've offered you the couch, but I didn't think you would enjoy waking up with a stiff neck. It was a rare moment of consideration."
Her mouth parted in disbelief at his shamelessness, but she needed answers, so she continued probing, "I was in the potion making class… then you grabbed that woman out of nowhere, and now I'm here, which is definitely not my room. So… what happened?" A frown began to form on her forehead as hazy memories slowly started to return.
She looked him straight in the eyes, determined to catch any signs that he might be lying.
He could see clearly just how agitated she was, as if she had no recollection of what had happened back there. So he asked, "Just how much do you remember from what happened?"
Her frown deepened as she said, "I remember when you suddenly went to strangle that girl..Emily,… and everything started to heat up and the ground shook."
She paused, trying to recall what else had happened. Then she hesitated and said in a low voice, "I remember you turning around to look at me briefly.. before everything went dark."
Unconsciously, her fingers reached out for the amber locket resting against her chest as she spoke. But as she touched it, she felt something was off. The usually smooth surface of the stone felt uneven.
She looked down and gasped in horror, "No! How did this happen?"
Ivan followed her gaze to the locket clutched between her fingers. The amber stone had cracked, not completely shattered, but visibly fractured.
As he looked at it, he knew it right away that it was no ordinary locket. He felt a pull towards it, not the threatening one, but something that stirred his powers ever so slightly.
He gazed back at the Lumen princess and asked, "Where did you get that from?"