Battle Scars

Cryptic messages

Eve was back in Summer.

At the moment, she was staring at the desk in her small apartment which had a note on it with a Chrysanthemum on top. The message, in all honesty, terrified her. She gulped and quickly locked all doors and windows before taking the note in her hand and sitting on the bed, trembling.

It was a while before she calmed down enough that her body stopped shaking. Taking a deep breath, she dared another glance at the note as questions started popping in her head- how did this anonymous person know about what had happened yesterday? About her friends' whereabouts? How long had she been stalked? And why? Shaking her head, thinking this was just a mental perv, she threw the note out before heading downstairs after double locking her door.

Walking today, she was on high alert, her surroundings amplified. Her heart was beating fast which only increased when she saw the same male she had spotted five minutes ago. Gulping, she readied her magic as she entered a quiet street. No, she would not live in fear. She waited a few minutes but no one came. "I know you are there," she said out loud, her voice shaking a bit. "Show yourself!" she snarled, trying to sound a bit confident. A shadow passed on her right side making her turn immediately. She waited for another few minutes but couldn't find a single soul. Giving up, and a bit shaky, she left quickly, going to Ava's instead of her usual café for work. She would be damned if the stalker knew where she worked and spent most of her day- hell, they already knew about her house.

"I think- I think someone is following me," Eve told Maven when he came to the café that day. She was better now- with reinforced will which incidentally also blocked her bond with Az not that she knew. Maven was instantly on alert, "what happened?" "Someone broke into my house last night and today I swear this male keeps popping everywhere I go, if anything happens, I needed someone to know," Eve told him, handing him his favourite drink. He raised his brow, "you are coming with me tonight." Eve protested but he shushed her down, not taking it. Eventually, she relented.

The next day was more or less the same. Eve had gone back to her apartment in the wee hours of morning only to find another note. It hadn't much written on it this time but it shook her to the core nevertheless. But she was Eve, and she would not back down. Burning the paper up, she opened the window and saw a small shadow on the opposite side of the building. Swearing, and without giving it much of a thought, she jumped out of her apartment on the first floor and ran. The male was almost in her sights- a flash of jet-black hair, polished boots and a silver on his belt.

Panting, the chase lasted for a few minutes when Eve started wheezing- Gods she really was out of shape. Giving out a frustrated grunt, she allowed her power to take over and let ice form just where the male was about to take a turn. Cursing, the male slipped on the harsh, unforgiving ice. Panting, Eve readied her fire just as the male stood and faced her- stone cold look on his face. His hood was on unfortunately so she could not see much. She threw her fire at him, the aim a bit rusty. The male in question dodged it easily and ran once again. Tired, Eve could only curse the air.

*********

Az paced restlessly at the townhouse. Eve had blocked her side of the bond and it was killing him. After the Vixen' father incident, he had almost sent a spy to keep tabs on Eve to make sure she was safe but the rational part of him and Cassian had stopped him, whacking sense into him. Of course, that decision did not help him now when he wanted to know, desperately, if she was safe.

Just as he was about to go visit her, everything to hell, Elain came and smiled at him. "I made cookies this morning, do you want some?" He shook his head, "I actually need to go," he mumbled and left, leaving behind a disappointed Elain.

He was about to take off when Rhysand appeared, "Eris wants to meet."

********

The notes were short but frequent and scary. She tried catching them but they evaded her every single time. So, all she could do was burn the messages, standing in front of the window every day, signing to the stranger that she was not afraid.

*******

"Can I go now?" he asked Rhys. The meeting was over and Eris was not a threat nor did he bring news of any. Rhys sighed, "I will have to ask Tarquin for permission, you have to wait for at least a day," he said remorsefully. Az nodded even as the order killed him inside. He needed to see Eve now. Something was wrong, he could tell.

The next day didn't come soon enough. With the express permission of the High Lord of Summer, he was in Adriata. Bri had come with him, insisting she wanted to see Eve. And since Bri was not a political member, Summer had allowed her to come without a lot of security check-ups.

His shadows were all but chaotically buzzing around him as they turned to Eve's street. She was home, his shadows told him and he breathed a sigh of relief. Knocking on her door, Az heart started pounding, his shadows in a frenzy. Something was wrong, he knew it.

But when Eve opened the door, all he could deduct was that her face was a bit paler than usual and that a note burnt itself near the window.

"Azriel!" Eve exclaimed, surprised enough that she didn't know what to say or do. He let himself shift a bit so that another Fae came into her view. "Bri!" Eve gasped. Az' eyes narrowed as Eve stood there, not moving from her place, clutching the door.

******

Eve had another note on her bed that day. Maven only knew someone was stalking her, not the other details that terrified her to the core. She let it be so. Today, the note was short and directed towards one of her Summer friendships. She burnt it when she felt an unexpected tug at her chest. Shaking and blaming it on the nerves, she went and removed one note that she had not burnt and re-read it again and again. It was the one that had struck her the most. Someone knocked on the door, startling her. Readying her magic and putting a knife underneath her gown, she opened the door, her hand clutching the note as she held the door, hiding behind it.

She blinked once. Twice. "Azriel!" Someone shifted behind. "Bri!"

"Surprise," Bri nervously chuckled when Eve stood there dumbfounded as she became acutely aware of Az' gaze on her. Taking in a shallow breath, she opened the door wider, letting them in but not before she tucked the note inside her dress' backside.

"What are you both doing here?" Eve asked, chuckling. She did not miss how Az eyes darted towards the burning note and then to her, "wanted to see how you were." His shadows had darkened and Eve wondered- how long would she able to keep her secrets from him. 

Happy reading :)

XOXO,

the amazing author who saw Tick, tick... boom and damn if it wasn't the best!!!! 

P.S: Chrysanthemum symbolize grief or death in some places