Adrianna directly went to her room. The servants had already prepared her bath.

Dmitri knew that she wanted to be alone, so he didn't accompany her to the bathroom.

​​

She bathed for a long time scrubbing every part of her body over and over again to remove the blood until her skin chaffed. Dmitri had to stop her. He picked her up from the bathtub, wrapped her in a towel and brought her out. He placed her on the bed. Adrianna curled in a fetal position and lay there until sleep hit her.

The man was absolutely quiet when it arose from deep within the snow. His face was void of emotions. He stared at her with heavy deep blue eyes and a slack mouth. His cheekbones were slighted pointed with cheeks having sunk inside. He looked like a skeleton with long pointy fingers. Adrianna's breathing became ragged when he drifted above her and touched her forehead with his cold metal fingers. Her body became frigid with fear. "Who are you?" she whispered.

"You just killed me Adrianna," he hissed. "And now the Queen must die." His mouth opened and a huge forked tongue came that attacked her face.

Adrianna screamed. In the darkness around her, she caught hold of anything that was within her reach and threw it at the ghost who haunted her dreams. "Go away Ziu!" She flung her arms in the air and shoved more things at the ghost.

"Adri! Adri!" Dmitri shouted trying to hold back his wife who had woken up from yet another nightmare that haunted her throughout the day. It was almost the middle of the night and she hadn't been able to control her nightmares. He held her strongly as she clawed at something in front of her. He was feeling so sorry for her that he didn't know what to do. He had called the healer who only advised him that she had to fight her own nightmares because they had cluttered her mind for a long time now. He felt helpless watching her suffer like this. The amount of bitterness Ziu had caused had filled her body and soul with cold malice. She was so bitter. Even though her anger was over, it was her bitterness that abused her body.

Adrianna opened her eyes and looked around in daze. The canopy that had surrounded the couple was still blooming with flowers. "He was here, Dmitri, he was right here throwing his forked tongue at me." She was panting and sweating profusely.

Dmitri held his wife close to him and kissed her crown. "Shuushh," he calmed her. He stroked her hair and caressed her cheeks for a long time till her breath settled. "He is gone and gone for good." He pulled her on his lap.

Adrianna settled her head on his shoulders. She remained curled on him and clutched him. She refused to get out of his lap for the fear that she might see the nightmare again. And for the rest of the night she stayed there, on her husband's lap, curled in him, refusing to leave him. Dmitri didn't move an inch. He held her close to his heart.

"Do you want to talk?" he asked her.

She shook her head, not wanting to even think about Ziu. "I just want to sleep," she answered. Her cheeks were flushed.

"Okay," he replied softly.

It was in the wee hours of the morning that Adrianna and Dmitri slept. She would shudder a little every now and then but later settled. When the royal couple woke up, it was almost afternoon. Adrianna decided not to go to the noble court. Instead she called Isidorus and Inyanga for a meeting.

After the meeting was over, in the next one hour a raid was conducted in the Wizard Kingdom. Everyone who was closely associated with Ziu was captured. His friends, family and close acquaintances—none was spared. They were taken hostage and prisoned. Those who resisted were killed. The entire Wizard Kingdom was in terror. And it was something that Adrianna wanted to instill in the minds of her subjects willingly. It was the time to show her power to them. She wanted to engraft so much fear in them that anyone would think multiple times before even thinking of killing her or messing up with her.

"What about Mihr?" Isidorus had asked her.

"One thing at a time," she had answered after an ominous silence.

Isidorus stopped himself from asking as to whether he should ask other Wizard Rulers to stay back or not.

Inyanga had a big task in front of her. Adrianna had asked her to visit each and every prisoner's cell and extract as much information as possible. This was because Inyanga had informed her about Dr. Tanaka's exposé that there were others who were after her. She had to know about all the schemes that were taking place against her. She had to create a safer world for her child.

Dmitri watched her commanding her people, giving harsh instructions but he didn't comment. When he noticed that she was better by the evening, he said, "I have to go back to the Werewolves Realm and get them all back in their territories."

"I will go with you," she replied.

"But your presence is important here," he reminded her.

"I want to see the lake," she said looking in the distance.

"Okay."

Haldir had come to the palace and was waiting for his Queen. When he saw her that afternoon, she looked as pale as a ghost. Her white skin was even more pallid. Her expressions had hardened and there was something sinister that seemed to crawl under her persona. He had heard all the orders she had given. He thought that it would be better for her to take a break from there. He was creating the portal for her to step into the Werewolf Realm, when she stopped him.

As if on an instinct, Adrianna went to the garden outside and stood near the fountain. She looked at the evening sky and watched the sun setting on the horizon. It has spread its generosity in the form of various hues of red, orange, blue and grey mingled together. Adrianna brought her hand forward. The colors from the evening sky got siphoned towards her. It looked as if she was stealing Nature's canvas. They congregated and formed a swirl, which was intermingled with drops of water from the fountain. A thin layer of gold dust also interjected into it and the portal now swirled in full speed. It all happened in no more than three seconds.

Adrianna realized at that moment that some of Mun's powers had somehow also transferred to her. It was such a blessing.

Dmitri was astonished when he saw the beautiful portal she had created. "B- but your portal was pure gold?" he asked, bewildered. His mouth fell open.

She looked at him and said, "Mun died."

"What? How?" he asked, shocked to the core.

Adrianna became silent. She stepped into the portal. Dmitri walked after her and so did Haldir. His Queen didn't need that part of his services anymore.

By the time they all came out and walked to the lake, Dmitri knew everything. He hadn't talked to her about what all happened when she was gone but now that she had opened her mental shields, he slid into her mind. He had held her hands firmly. He caressed her and stopped her. "I am sorry that you had to undergo so much."

She nodded. They walked hand in hand to the lake's shore when suddenly—