Madeline’s POV

He gulped intensely. “When you died, it affected the magic of the magic crystal. It obliterated all of the abilities of the creatures and made them sensitive to illnesses and especially death. The vampires were burned down by the heat of the sun; the werewolves starved themselves because they could not eat fresh flesh from animals; and the witches performed a ritual that made them kill in the end,” he elucidated. “You might not realize it, but you are the only one who can save us, my countess. So help us. Please.”

I flinched at the ponderous weight of the information, but I refused to show it. I slowly lowered the dagger and stood up straight.

“I can’t sleep at night because of the dreams I am having, especially the visions,” I said.

“The visions you are referring to are Marissa’s memory when she was still alive,” he explained. “The dreams you are having are not gonna be gone unless you go back in time and make amends for all the wrong events.”

Suddenly, he stepped forward slowly. I did not get intimidated by it and just stared at him.

“Can I just ask who killed you?” he whispered with a wistful gaze. “It was your mate… right? Uriel killed you?”

I wanted to say yes because Uriel showed up in my dreams while killing me against my will. But there is a part of me that I don’t want to answer the question. I think if I were Marissa, I would also not tell his brother.

“No,” I said. “I don’t remember anything."

I saw him nod. “Of course. You don’t even recognize me, so your memories are not complete in your mind,” he contemplated.

I crossed my arms and lifted my forehead. “Here is the deal, Count Darius,” I said. “If I go back to the time you are talking about and would be able to save your kind, will you grant me wishes?”

“I’ll do anything you want as long as you can preserve my kind. I just want my family back.”

I smiled. “Okay,” I said. “What should I do?”

His red eyes lit up as if he did not expect me to say yes. He composed himself and acted like a superior between us by clearing his throat and furrowing his eyebrows.

“You have to find the magic crystal. Only you can control its power and go back to the time,” he said. “You might be a different person here, but if you go to our world, you will be Countess Marissa.”

“Wait, the magic crystal?” I widened my eyes in amusement. “I know where that is! I even saw that last night during my mission!”

“Then you have to go there,” he said with a firm tone, “so you can manipulate its power to go back in time.”

“But I never touched the magic crystal. I never had any idea that Countess Marissa was the last guardian of it!”

“Do not worry. Countess Marissa is in your soul. She will be the one to guide you there. Just trust your subconsciousness and instinct, because it is her.”

Oh, goodness. This is giving me more headaches than my stepmother and my sister.

“Fine, fine,” I said, my impatience is on the verge of losing. “Tonight, we’ll go to that kingdom together.”

He shook his head sadly. “I can’t,” he whispered and sighed. “When I went to the underworld, I begged the gods to save our kind. They told me to find you and the magic crystal. Things have to come with prices. If you successfully saved our kind, they would give me a second life and would be able to see our family. Otherwise, I would be trapped in here… forever until I get killed.”

Consciousness scattered through my heart and mind. I understand him since all he wants is for his kind and his family to be revived. He even put his life at stake to see me and beg me to save them. I became an organization’s assassin to save the lives of mankind. Why can’t I do that to other kinds?

“I’ll do it,” I said with a final intent. “I’ll go to the palace tonight and get the magic crystal.”

Suddenly, he lurched forward and catapulted himself to hug me. I heard subtle sobs from him, and I felt it through my heart.

“Thank you very much,” he whispered, his voice breaking. “I know you are in there, my sister. I wanna tell you that I’m sorry that I was not able to save you. I missed you and I love you. Forgive me if I was an imp towards you, but I swear, I would move heaven and earth to protect you.”

It would be rude not to comfort him, so I lifted my arms and caressed his back. What a poor thing.

“Where are you going?”

I abruptly hid my sword and its sheath under the bed when my stepmother went inside my room. I stood up straight and refused to jump out of surprise.

“Mother!”I exclaimed, and I could feel my heart racing.

“What…What are you doing here?”

Her eyebrows raised, and she placed her hands on her hips.

“I just want to know when you are gonna prepare dinner. Ariana just came from town, and one of the duke’s sons will marry her next week,” she announced. “Sowe need to celebrate tonight!”

Duh…as if I care!

“Yes, mother. After I organize my things here in my room, I will go outside to start preparing for our dinner,” I said and sported the set of my teeth.

“You better be,” she said strictly and then closed my room.

When she was gone, I merely rolled my eyes and continued getting my travel bag. I stashed all of my belongings, especially ropes and other weapons that I would need. Sorry, bitches. I would rather save the world from history than pick to celebrate a stupid engagement party. I mounted my horse after I ran through the forest near our house. The moon was up, and the crickets were dominating the night. The village was lit up with torches, and everyone was having fun under the moon and stars. I will be stealing the magic crystal to come back to a time when vampires, werewolves, and witches existed.

I can’t believe I am going to save them! And what happens next? If I go back in my real-time again, will they exist again? Will they kill us? Even though I still had many questions in my mind, I shook my head and started my journey. I kicked my horse, urged it to move, and fixed the reins of my animal. The wind blew my hair, and it sent shivers down my spine. Prince Arthur does not even know that I am gone. He would find me and would be confused as to why I did not attend the organization tonight.

After one hour of traveling and talking to myself, I could now see the palace from afar. I was careful when I was near the gates because there were royal guards around. I lifted the hood of my cloak, tied the horse to a hidden tree on the wall, and took a small hole where I could go inside. It was loud from the inside. There must be a celebration going on. Without further ado, like a spy, I went to the numerous hallways to find the room where the prince and I went in last night. I opened a door, and there, the glowing magic crystal was in front of my eyes, waiting for its guardian, which was me.