"There's no moonlight tonight...!"

The crystal ball almost slipped from Emily's hand but she succeeded in catching it before the fragile thing could land on the hard floor and shatter into thousands of pieces.

Her heart was ready to pop out as she realized exactly how frightened she was, not only because she almost dropped the crystal but also because of the voice that suddenly disturbed the silence of her room.

She turned around to glare at the man who was lazily sitting on her bed while playing with one of the many pillows that she had in her possession.

"Can you please stop popping up into my room all of a sudden? You almost scared me to death." She complained as she slipped the ball back into the pocket of her night suit.

They were already back in their mansion after enjoying a warm and friendly dinner at the Evans. It was already one o'clock in the morning, an hour after midnight when they all bid goodbye to the previous year and welcomed the new one.

Unfortunately, the sky was currently filled with a lot of dark clouds, and there was no hint of the moon.

She was so much curious to find the secret of the crystal ball. However, her wait had still to come to an end.

It's been more than half an hour since she was waiting to see just a single glimpse of the moon but all in vain.

Shadow noticed her sad expressions as she took a seat on the edge of her bed. He did not need to ask in order to find out exactly what was the reason behind her sadness.

"If you want, I can help you to open that magical box." He offered his helo as he tried to look like he had not just succeeded in pulling her entire attention towards himself.

"Really?" Emily asked with excitement but then the glow in her eyes diminished as she looked at him with suspicious eyes.

Shadow looked at her furrowed brows and pinched her cheeks as he commented, "You actually dared to question my words? I'm being serious."

Emily slapped his hand away as she rubbed her cheek to fight the pain that his pinch had caused.

"How?" She asked as she looked at him curiously.

"Show me the crystal," Shadow said as he stretched out his hand. His palm patiently waiting to receive the crystal ball.

The girl hesitated for a mere second before she took out the magical ball from her pocket and placed it on his palm. The ball immediately started glowing in bright silvery light, making her gasp in surprise.

"What's happening?" Emily asked as her eyes keenly observed the glowing crystal.

It was a good thing that Shadow used to enchant her bedroom nowadays to keep their voices hidden from the ears of her brothers. Otherwise, she would have to face a very angry Domenic for staying up till so late.

"Let me take you to a magical world. Place your hand above the crystal and close your eyes." Shadow replied to her question as he nodded towards his hand and the glowing crystal that he was holding. He could tell that Kaiden had really chosen a great gift for her.

Emily was taken by surprise after hearing his words. This time she hesitated as she had no idea exactly what Shadow meant by his words. Which magical world he was talking about? And how was he going to take her there?

"Trust me, Princess. I'm here with you. Trust me and do as I'm saying. I promise that you won't regret it." Shadow whispered those words as he looked at her with his alluring amber eyes, the promise of not letting her down was clear in them.

She nodded her head softly before she finally placed her hand above the crystal. The two of them were sitting on the bed, facing each other, while their hands were joined together as they held a glowing magical ball between their hands.

Emily closed her eyes as she tried to relax her body and mind. She felt something warm traveling through the tips of her fingers towards her arm, shoulder, neck, face, and then to the rest of her body.

It felt like cold sensations and tingles but at the same time, it felt warm and familiar. She did not fight it because her body found a sense of familiarity in it, she just let that odd sensation took over her entire body.

The darkness that was present behind her closed eyes suddenly started shifting. It started fading into something brighter. Little by little, the black color disappeared and a white light took its place.

Her eyes flew open but the scene in front of her was no longer familiar to her. She was standing in the middle of some sort of a forest that was covered with a thick layer of snow.

Fortunately, she was not in her nightdress. Rather, she was wearing warm clothes, boots, and a huge coat along with a cap that were kind of protecting her from the chilly weather.

"Let's move. It's waiting for us." Shadow's voice from behind her pulled Emily out of her shock.

She turned to look at the man who was walking towards her. As soon as he reached her, he took a hold of her hand and started walking in a particular direction.

"Shadow, what's going on?" She finally found her voice as she shouted the question towards her bodyguard.

While she was totally shaken by what just happened, the man looked just as calm and collected as usual.

"I'm taking you to see the secret of the crystal ball. It has been waiting for you for a long time. You should not waste any more time. You can always return here to check this beautiful forest. But for now, please focus on the main part." Shadow responded as he kept walking deeper into the forest.

Emily felt like her mind was about to freeze. She took in a deep breath before she asked, "Exactly where we are right now?"

She did not know what she was expecting to hear in reply but what Shadow told her was definitely not what she believed.

"We are inside the magical crystal ball."