Discomfort.

What is discomfort?

It's the terrible feeling I had as I sat down in front of a large bonfire while nearly a hundred different creatures stared back at me with unrecognizable expressions. It reminded me of the competition I had witnessed just a few days ago, where I accidentally exposed my identity in the middle of a battle.

This time, no one was here to protect me.

Sure Valedria instructed them to not lay a single hand or claw on me... But that never did stop the hungry gazes I received from the vampires of the group or the demons that were probably thinking of many ways to torture me and jerk off while they watched.

It didn't help that these were the best fighters of the island either. Why else would they be here with the vampire leader himself?

"Enough gawking! Get back to securing the area!" The green-skinned woman screamed, making all of the males stop staring and get back to work. I sighed in relief and gave her a look of gratitude. She handed me a tin can that had water inside and I thanked her before gulping the whole thing down. "I'll get you some fish when it's finished cooking on the fire. For now, these should do." She mumbled, putting a bunch of fruit on the floor next to me.

"Thank you so much," I said to her. She nodded and looked around the camp. It was surrounded by a bunch of large brown tents for the men to rest in. "Martinez!" She shouted. I looked to see a massive werewolf lurking in the shadows. It slowly stalked towards us, its ears perked up and its golden eyes resting on me as it waited for instructions. "Make sure that if you find Sei or Alexander you bring them here at camp!" With a bark, the black werewolf jumped back into the shadows.

"Valedria is still feeding. He will call you into his tent shortly. In the meantime, eat and shout if any of these men harass you." With a glare, she stepped away. I picked up an apple and ate it, staring into the fire that warmed my body.

"Human! Come inside!" Valedria shouted. I drank the rest of my water and tossed the tin aside, walking to the biggest tent in the camp. I entered and closed it behind me, slightly hoping that he wouldn't use this opportunity to hurt me. He really needed to listen to what I had to say.

"Sit down." He instructed me, seated on a large cushion. He was wearing a black turtleneck and black pants, his long black hair tied up into a neat bun. He dressed just like Alexander and he was just as attractive as he was, only appearing much older.

Still, he was nothing compared to Goliath.

"Please use my name, Akielia. Calling me human is offensive." I asked him respectfully. I doubted that he would listen but it was worth a try. He adjusted the paraffin lamp beside him, making it slightly darker before answering, "what makes you so special that I must respect you?"

"I am your son's love interest," I answered him. Surely that meant something to him.

Valedria scoffed, "Please, he's just infatuated with you. He'll realize you're nothing special in just a few weeks."

I kept my mouth shut, not telling him that I was destined to be with him.

"Tell me about this sorceress you encountered. What has she said and what has she done?" He asked me, his red eyes glowing with curiosity. I explained everything that had happened since I met Precious and the vampire listened without bothering me.

When I was finished, he quickly called in the green woman that I found out was his right hand.

"Make sure you send word to the island that they must close all entrances before it's too late. We can't let the sorceress inside." He said. The woman nodded and quickly ran out, not as fast as the vampires were. I looked at Valedria in confusion.

"Did you not hear me? She's trying to help us. Why are you shutting her out of the island?" I asked. Valedria stood up and grabbed a knife, making my heart pick up it's speed.

Was he going to use that on me?

"I've lived for longer than five thousand years. Way before sorceresses and sorcerers existed. I watched them come into our land and thrive, and I also witnessed their downfall."

"Downfall?" I asked, still eyeing the knife. He flawlessly twirled it around and between his long fingers.

"Downfall," he repeated. "They were helpful with their remedies and spells. Then they grew cocky, thinking they were the most important things to ever exist. They wanted to be worshipped."

"So they started resisting, killing us with poisons and as the short-tempered creatures we are, we killed them all, one by one. I never thought that one fled and survived for this whole time."

I looked down with furrowed brows, "but then... That would mean that Silas didn't kill them."

"He was only a newborn when all of this happened. He knew nothing but that his mother's breast held a magic liquid that kept him full."

I smacked my hand over my mouth, tears forming in my eyes. "What have I done?" I mumbled. Most importantly, what did I feed Sei?

I'm so stupid

"B-but... Silas has been acting weird... Talking about taking over the world. And Sei, he snapped out of that potion that Silas fed him and he's okay now... And—"

"It was all a lie to trick you into helping her. Sorceresses are cunning creatures. Sei must have been fed something else, which is probably why he's acting strange." Valedria said. "I'm glad you came forth with this. Now we know what we are dealing with."

But this doesn't explain anything that has been going on with the twins!

Tears ran down my cheeks at the thought that Silas has been honest this entire time. How is he right now? Is he hurt? Scared even? Will he ever be able to fix his relationship with Sei?

"Is there anything else I should know of before we deal with this?" Valedria asked me.

"I don't know if this matters but Precious had a fairy with her that helps her with everything. She's nice but... Maybe she was lying as well. And she gave me a baby fairy—"

"Kill it. It could be eavesdropping for all we know, planning to send the information to them. Fairies can listen to instructions while still inside the egg."

"That's the thing. I haven't even seen it yet. It's a green fairy that was born today."

Valedria nodded and handed me the knife he was holding. "I'll deal with it. You better get some sleep because this time tomorrow, we'll be in Lunaria hunting for this witch."

"What about Sei and Silas? We need them." I said sadly. I need them.

"I'll see what can be done about it. If we can't find them, we'll have to fight without them, including you. You are in too deep to get left behind."

I nodded in understanding and watched him walk out of the tent. I took a deep breath and laid my head on one of the many red cushions in the tent. As soon as my eyes closed, the tears started falling on the soft material. Silently I cried, feeling deep regret for turning against Silas. I shouldn't have listened to a woman that I didn't know.

"I'm so sorry, Silas." I said through mind link. "Please find your way back to me. I promise I will fix this."

Even if it takes my own life...