The Dark Warlock: The Nox Haven Series

Chapter 3: Two Hundred

CADDIE's POV:

We were swallowed by the black vortex. That was all I had registered before my mind short circuited. I didn't know what happened when the darkness closed around us, I didn't even know if we would survive.

When the amulet first touched my palm, I did know that there was something wrong with it. But never in my mind did I think a magical spell, so powerful it knocked me out- would be hidden within the ruby. Aunt Heidi never taught me that spell. It wasn't even mentioned in any of her scrolls or books- and the scrolls were dated back to the beginning of magic. There were so many questions circling around in my mind when black mist wrapped around our bodies. Many of them were centered around Aleksander. The power inside of the amulet was always there, but it only came to life when we were both touching the ruby.

Why?

What could that ruby possibly have to do with the two of us?

Pictures danced inside my mind. Portraits of beautiful women and men were hanging on a wall. The longer I stared at a portrait, I noticed, the more distorted the visual became. Glancing at every picture on the wall, I tried to see if all of them would fade out of focus. Every single picture did- except for one. I recognized her face right away. It was Aleksander's ancestor, Adeline.

Her face was completely emotionless, like every other ruler on the wall, but her eyes held enough sadness for the world. I wanted to reach out and hug her, but that was silly. She was a painting, after all.

"What made you feel such pain," I whispered.

My fingers ran across the floral engravings in her picture frame. She looked eerily similar to Aleksander, with her light brown curls, sparkling blue eyes. All Volkov's had an unearthly beauty. Gazing into the visceral eyes of Adeline Volkov, I was reminded of something Aleksander said to me one night when we found some time alone.

We were lying on the roof of his stable, our eyes were glued to the stars. He held my hand tightly in his, almost too tightly, but I didn't bother to mention that. Anxiety wrapping around his heart with a vice-like grip. Instead of pumping blood through his veins, it was pumping fear. I waited patiently, knowing soon enough he would tell me what was plaguing his mind.

"Do you ever worry that you'll end up like your mother?" He asked out of the blue.

I didn't get offended by his statement. If it were someone else asking, I would have turned them into a newt. But Aleksander was worrying about me, I could feel it, he was worrying about himself.

"All the time," I said.

He tore his gaze away from the stars and stared at him. I looked at him, knowing that in these rare occasions he needed my companionship- to remember that his times alone were over.

"I do too," he admitted, "I mean- I fear that I will become like my father."

I rested my head against his shoulder and kissed his jaw-line. "We are not our parents, Alek. I've told you this before, we are capable of creating our own destinies."

He placed a chaste kiss on my lips before turning back to the sky. I mentally rolled my eyes, knowing that he wasn't done worrying about that subject. The bond we shared, always kept us in sync. Being empaths we always knew how one felt but we never knew where the emotion stemmed from. But the bond, gave us an intuitive feeling with one another. I didn't just know how he felt, but I knew of his insecurities and strengths. I even knew how he felt when we were a million miles apart. He was a constant presence in the back of my mind.