A loud whirring noise fell upon her ringing ears as slowly she felt herself become weightless. Her vision had gone black, turning all other senses of her tenfold as she, once again, found her soul soaring through the sea of time. Wind was hitting her like ruthless whiplashes as if the time itself was punishing her for breaking out of its inflexible clutches. The sensation of her soft skin being prickled and torn at was too strong, almost like a silk cloth stuck in a field of thorns getting ripped to shred in the quest of getting tugged back towards its rightful place. Her soul, too, had become tattered in this game of tug-of-war between past and present events initiated by the witch for whom Faith’s existence had been reduced to nothing but a mere marionette.

She had bitten her tongue in the process of clenching her teeth. The taste gingerly registered in her mind as after what felt like a lifetime, a silence graver than that of pre-dawn fell upon her.

“Ugh…”

A pained sound escaped past her lips as her clammy hands found their way to her throbbing temples.

“So you’re back, Faith… Or should I call you Credința?”

The haze she had been caught in seemed to have broken the moment she heard that familiar voice, making her crack her eyes open.

“You!”

Despite her deteriorated condition, she was successful in identifying the woman sitting in front of her own sprawled figure.

Ruth.

She was sitting in the same place Faith had left her months ago, in front of her messy desk, in her little gypsy haven. The wide-opened box, scattered papers, melting wax from candles, the faint smell of burning essence in the air, everything was just as she had left.

‘It’s almost like I never left.’

Her eyes brimmed with tears she realized what had happened. The spell had brought her back to the exact time she had left, rendering it as if she had never left in the first place.

‘But my connection to Ares... it’s lost. I can’t sense him in my head anymore.’

Digging her nails in the wooden floor, she was able to sit with her knees drawn to her chest. Originally she had wanted to crawl towards the woman perched before her but her limbs seemed unable to support her weight.

“The pain from the spell would soon disappear. You’ll be able to move freely then,”

Ruth’s complacent tone made Faith whip her head towards her voice, regretting it the moment she did it. She had unknowingly induced a headache with her sudden action.

Unaware of her condition, Ruth had continued speaking as her eyes stayed fixated on somewhere near Faith’s neck.

“But I can’t say anything about your wound. You should go to him as soon as you leave here. He must’ve felt the connection breaking. He’s unable to sense your presence now.”

That’s when her attention drew towards the stinging pain in the side of her neck.

‘Ares bit me. He released his venom into me.’

Her eyes widened with panic as her fingers gingerly slid towards her soft belly.

“Your child is unscathed. Your husband made sure of that,”

Her bloodshot eyes slowly lifted up to glare at the woman sitting before her as she uttered her next words with as much strength as she could muster,

“W-Why did you send me in that timeline?!”

She watched as the soft look from the witch’s eyes disappeared, a bitter expression taking its place.

“If I hadn’t sent you back in time and you hadn’t negotiated with me, Ares would’ve died mateless.”

Suddenly a cough broke out through Ruth’s chapped lips, spewing a red liquid from her lips. Her quivering hands covered her mouth hurriedly before the mess could spread any further.

“What’s happening?”

Faith had no idea whether it was the urgency of the situation or the effects of the spell were finally wearing off but she didn’t stammer once while letting her words out.

“Whatever happens to those who defy the rules of nature; they get lost in time.”

A little chuckle had followed Ruth’s statement. Her eyes didn’t look the least bit sad. It felt like she had already accepted her fate.

Suddenly a weird metallic smell tickled her nostrils, making Faith squint her eyes.

‘Blood…’

To her horror, she wanted to dip her finger in it and bring it to her mouth. The thought made her horrified as she hastily pressed herself back into the wall she was leaning against.

“Ruth…?”

A weak cough answered her in return before the witch tentatively tried getting up from the chair but eventually fell back into it.

“Using this type of magic requires a sacrifice— the life of the one casting it, reason why it’s not in practice anymore.”

‘Ruth is going to die?’

She had been livid with rage. The thought of the witch betraying her had made her want to punish her severely but now seeing her sprawled on that chair looking so frail, had evaporated her anger into nothing.

“You sacrificed yourself to send me back.”

“It was the only way to atone for my sins.”

Her heart clenched looking at the witch smiling down at her with her blood stained lips,

“You were the human resident of the castle, Faith and your vanishing figure had weakened the bond keeping Cyrus outside. He’s cunning. He sensed it and grabbed the opportunity. If I hadn’t turned Ares at that precise moment, Cyrus would’ve heard his heartbeat and it would’ve lured him to both of you resulting in him knowing the secret of your time travel. According to his knowledge, Ares and his beloved disappeared from the face of earth that night. But to his dismay, he could never prove it to the counsel… the reason being you.”

“Me?”

“You informed Ares of the upcoming situation and he made sure to prepare Henricus for it. With the letters Ares left him, Henry had been handling things from the shadows for a long time. He may not be physically strong but his intellect is almost unparalleled.”

‘Henry…’

It was all making sense now; why Henricus always had a soft corner for her which made him go as far as to rebel against his lord.

‘Henry must know the truth. Gabriel must’ve met Henry afterwards to awaken Ares, but they wouldn’t have been able to. Did Henry think Gabriel and I betrayed him?’

“I have one other thing to apologize for, Faith.”

Her furrowed eyebrows raised on their own accord as the witch once again parted her blood laced lips to speak,

“Cyrus killed Gabriel.”

“What?”

The statement made her heart drop into her stomach.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Guilt had started seeping into the witch’s grave tone making Faith know that there was more to this statement.

“W-What happened to little Eve?”

“Cyrus took her with him.”

‘Gabriel… died. I promised him nothing would happen to Eve as long as he helped us and...’

“Then that grandfather you were talking about…?”

“It was Cyrus.”

Her windpipe felt like it was being crushed by some invisible force.

“Why did he agree on taking in Gabriel’s kid? Why didn’t he just kill her?”

She could see Ruth’s complexion had become unbelievably pale. It didn’t look like she had much time left.

“Because of her eyes. Cyrus’ initial plan involved waiting for Eve to grow up and then turning her into a vampire. He was going to present her to the court as a vampire huntress who had killed Ares’ mother years ago. But,”

“But?”

“Eve begged me to save her. She wanted to live, vampire or human. She was kept hidden, caged like a prisoner all her life. She wanted to see the world outside those walls. The poor girl only wanted to live. I had refused those doe-like blue eyes once, I couldn’t do it again,”

Ruth had paused for a moment to stare directly into Faith’s stormy irises. It seemed to be a subtle hint towards the night they burnt the castle; the witch had refused to help Faith back then.

“After Cyrus bit her to initiate her transformation, I secretly fed her Ares’ venom from the pendant you gave me. The venom was decades old but still potent enough to leave some of its traces behind. From the surface, it appeared as if Cyrus’ venom had unlocked Ares’ seal on Eve. I… I told Cyrus that Eve was Ares’ original beloved and the lady of the castle was just a farce to keep the original beloved safe,”

Ruth’s labored breathing was rattling the air inside the small shop. It had become impossible for her to continue talking without taking small breaks every other minute,

“I told him that if he killed Eve, he’d lose his last chance at finding Ares and killing him to succeed the throne. The vampire king’s days had already become numbered since his beloved, the queen, died. He eventually died due to the gape the loss had left in him and my lie was further strengthened when Henry, through shadows, continued carrying out the duties of a king as per the letters Ares had left him.”

She felt like pulling her hair out of their roots. It was all too much to take in.

“Then how did Eve get married and have children? What about her lineage?”

“She ran away.”

Faith’s own breaths were turning into short pants by now.

“Centuries later, she got a chance when Cyrus got busy with the council. She ran away to a far, far land. It was far enough to weaken Cyrus’ hold on her vampire side.”

Ruth’s words were like a series of dagger getting thrown her way. The need to wretch was getting too strong for her.

“Cyrus was furious, agitated like a fish out of water. He continued searching for Eve, like he had continued searching for Ares and after some years he finally stumbled upon Eve. He found her married to a man. She had changed her name to Elizabeth.”

The pain from the markings had almost faded but an all-new gut-wrenching feeling had taken its place. The throbbing from the wound on her neck wasn’t helping either.

“A turned vampire is bound to obey direct commands from their master. Eve was forced to leave her home behind. Cyrus didn’t kill your father because he didn’t want to complicate Eve’s taking.”

“Mom….”

The dam she had forced on her tears had been broken to pieces. With one last push through Ruth’s words, they had come lose, flooding down her cheeks.

“You had left a trace amount of blood on the pendant you had given me and I used it to cast a spell on you— a spell that drew you like a moth to Ares’ burnt castle, the same spell that forced you to set him free by any means necessary. It amplified your need to be with him which is why, despite your fear of the supernatural, you were unable to stay without him.”

“Henry, I’m Faith. I’m here to see your Lord. He must’ve told you about me. He hasn’t visited me in a month. I.. I need to see him. The bond is making it more and more difficult for me to stay away from him. I’m in a terrible condition. I need him. Please.”

Faith’s hold on her knees tightened as unbeknownst to her, she started rocking herself back and forth gently,

“My.. love for him?”

“It was all natural. The spell didn’t have a role in that and it’s already broken. It broke the moment you time travelled.”

It seemed like Faith’s pain was getting transferred into Ruth’s fragile body because the more Faith felt the traces of spell disappearing from her own self, the heavier Ruth’s lids got.

“Wilt thou forgive me?”

She had come back to this time thinking she’d never forgive Ruth for putting her through that hell against her will but after hearing everything that was said, she felt terrible for raising her voice to someone who had given life to her mother and herself.

If it hadn’t been for Ruth, she wouldn’t have been born in the first place.

“Yes.”

“Come here.”

Ruth’s small voice was followed by a set of quivering arms, inviting Faith into an embrace.

She had no idea whether it was the stress of everything that had been disclosed to her or the time travel had just messed up her mind altogether as she found herself crawling gingerly towards the elderly woman. She was still sitting on the floor as she carefully reached out her arm to touch Ruth’s legs. Receiving a gentle smile in return from the witch seemed to have undone something inside her. Before she knew it, she had lowered her head in the woman’s lap.

“Thank you, Ruth.”

The tears streaming down her face were leaving a dark stain on Ruth’s pink dress.

“My lovely Faith.”

She was scarcely able to register a light touch stroking her head before the lap she had been leaning on was reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye. There were no traces of her left behind except for a small rose-cross nestled inside a boundary made by a thin platinum chain resting on the brown surface of the seat.

‘Ares.’

Gulping inaudibly, she grasped the pendant in her fingers.

The effects of the spell had worn off and Ruth had paid the price for betraying the rules of time. Now it was time for her to return home.