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TYSON’S POV
My heart pounded against my ribs as we neared the Pearl Palace. I felt a kind of restlessness… as if something bad was going to happen. My pace quickened at this thought.
Aurora couldn’t contain herself and all but ran inside the palace. After a few moments, I broke out into a sprint and was about to beat her but then… she teleported.
She chuckled seeing my beaten face. “How does it feel to lose, your highness?”
I tried hard to restrain the smile that was forming on my lips but failed. Grinning like an idiot I said, “It is a pleasure to lose to you, my love.”
Her face flushed and she looked away. Now, it was my turn to chuckle. I wondered if she would accept my love… She did seem to care for me, even attracted to me. But… I didn’t know if she loved me or she still had feelings for Caleb.
“Zarina! Aslan! Where is my Little Angel… I am dying to see her.” Aurora called out at the top of her lungs.
Zarina walked down the stairs followed by Aslan. Something was different about her but I couldn’t place my finger on it. She rubbed her hands and said, “Finally the time has come…”
“Where is Teetee?” Aurora said craning her neck.
“Did you lose your magical powers after the quest Aurora? Why don’t you seek her out yourself?”
Irritation flowed through my veins at her statement. “This is not the time to play your little games, Zarina. We had a long journey and would like to meet our daughter before we rest.”
“You are right, brother. This is the time for me to play my masterstroke.”
Before I could ask what she meant Aurora’s panic voice interrupted us. “Where is Tiara? I can’t sense her…”
My heart skipped a beat. I turned to look at Aslan but his face was masked and I couldn’t figure out what was going on.
Aurora grasped Zarina by her shoulders and said in an anxious voice, “Where is she? Where is my daughter, Zarina?”
I watched in horror as Aurora was flung towards the wall. Thud! She crashed against it before falling to the ground. I rushed to her and helped her get up.
Zarina laughed and said, “I thought the Heart of Magic would have made you strong! Like they say power can’t be handled by all…”
“How dare you attack my mate in my own palace. I will punish….”
My words got stuck in my throat as I saw her eyes glow, Some kind of white light enveloped her body.
“How will you punish me, brother, once you are dead?”
She sent a huge burst of energy in my direction but before it could hit me, Aurora jumped in front of me and created a shield of water.
The ball of fire sizzled and then disappeared…
Zarina’s eyes widened in surprise as she said, “How did you do that? I had told you that you can’t wield the power of water…”
Aurora raised her hand and closed her eyes. Her lips moved rapidly as she chanted some spell and soon Zarina was trapped in a cage of water.
Aurora crossed her arms and said, “The only thing I learned from Tyson is to never trust anybody. I practiced extra hard on the spells you said I couldn’t perform… Now, tell me where Tiara is!”
My heart swelled with pride on seeing Aurora handle the situation so well…
AURORA’S POV
My lips stretched in a smile as Zarina failed to use her magic again and again.
“Aurora, leave me now… else you will never see your daughter again…”
I was taken aback by her threat. All this while I thought she was just playing some stupid prank.
“This is very real Aurora. I have Tiara in my custody. You can’t see her unless you hand ‘The Heart of Magic’ to me.”
“You are kidding right?” I asked with a horrified expression.
“No, she is not. Tiara is in our custody. The only way to get her is to hand over ‘The Heart of Magic’ to us.”
It was like someone had punched me in the gut. I could understand that Zarina could betray us but Aslan. “Brother….”
“There is no brother here, Aurora. I am just a son who wants to avenge his mother’s death!”
“What does this have to do with Tiara? She is just a baby for God’s sake…”
“But it has everything to do with Tyson, hun… and he cares for Tiara… or do you not, brother… would you rather have her killed.”
My eyes snapped in his direction. He did say that he loved Tiara but he then he also wanted us dead a few months ago. So, I had no idea how Tyson would react.
“Zarina, this between you and me. There is no need to get an innocent baby involved!”
“Of course there is, brother. I will use her as leverage to kill you! I will use her to take revenge for killing our mother.”
I felt like a bolt of lightning had struck me. “He did what?”
“Oh! My ignorant little sister…. He didn’t tell you that he killed our mother a hundred years ago?” Zarina said in a sweet, sickly voice.
My heart pounded against my ribs as I asked in a shaking voice, “What is she saying, Tyson? Is this true?”
Tyson exhaled deeply and lowered his eyes. I didn’t need words to understand that he had indeed murdered his mother.
Gosh! No! Why did it have to be like this?
“Each time I think there is something good in you, you have to prove me wrong, Tyson. You keep telling me that the biggest mistake of your life is the night we
slept together. You know what the biggest mistake of my life is; meeting you. I wish I had never met you; never found out about my powers; never been a part of all this craziness.” My voice kept getting louder with each word I spoke. In the end, my voice broke and I started sobbing.
“Zarina, you are like a sister to me… Please let Tiara go with me… I will go away from here and never show you my face again…” I said in a pleading voice.
“That… I will consider if you give me ‘The Heart of Magic’” Zarina said with an evil grin.
“You are just tiring yourself, Zarina. We don’t have the stone. It fell off the cliff and Caleb jumped right after it. Even if he gets the stone, the chances that he will give it to you are NIL. Your dream of killing me will remain just that a dream. So, it is in your best interest to release Tiara right away.” Tyson said with a smirk.
“You are telling the truth. You really don’t have the stone.” Zarina said with a stunned expression.
She recovered from the shock pretty soon and said, “Aurora, I will give you one more chance to get back your daughter. Kill Tyson and I will give you, Tiara.”
“You b****! Tyson roared holding the bars of the cage. The next moment, he flinched and withdrew his hands. My power flowed through the water cage and it wasn’t easy for anyone to touch it; not even a dragon.
Closing my eyes, I concentrated on Zarina’s energy field. Zarina didn’t plan to give back Tiara… or did she not have her at all? I could sense it in her magical field. Where was Tiara then?
Zarina screamed in pain as I attacked her with a ball of fire. “Where is Tiara?” I asked, glaring at her.
“I won’t tell you unless you kill Tyson!”
“First, you have to show me where she is.”
“You don’t mean that…” Tyson started saying but I raised my hands, indicating that he stays quiet.
She shook her head defiantly and said, “I won’t!”
“You won’t or can’t. Do you even know where she is?”
“Of course!”
“Will you give her to me once I have killed Tyson?”
“I will surely give her to you…”
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She was telling the truth now… but when she was taking it earlier...
I held my breath as I asked, “Will you return the baby…alive…”
Her voice shook slightly as she said, “Of course… what kind of a question is that?” She lowered her eyes and looked away.
I felt like someone had ripped off my heart. “You killed the baby, didn’t you?”
“Why would I do that?”
She continued to defy but I knew that she was lying. She had killed my angel. Everything… all of this was so pointless now… Tiara was gone… There was nothing left for me here…
.