Mirage - Shall We Date Wizardess Heart' Fic

Chapter 66: In the waves of change, we find our true direction

Aurora finally was able to reach the bottom of the stairs. She tried to rush to the entrance of the Tower and just then, a male's voice echoed through the four walls of the Tower of Sorrow. The next moment, someone was pinning her arms behind her back.

His whisper was almost too quiet for her to hear. "Where are you going with my gem, Rory?"

She could only turn her head to see that the person standing behind her was Shadow. How did he get away from Luca so fast?! Just the thought of him hurting another one of her friends made her blood run cold.

"You think you have pulled a fast one on me,"  he said, then he took out his wand and held it to Aurora's neck."But I'm a patient man and I don't think you have much time left. It's just a matter of seconds and I'm taking what's mine."

She grunted as he tightened his grip on her wrist behind her back. "L-Let me go, Shadow! Or I swear I'll--"

He pressed the tip of his wand further into her jawline. "Or what! What will you do? What will you do?!" His anger surprised her with its intensity, her body shook and she didn't dare fight him. 

"I'll-- I'll... I'll break it! I-I swear I'll do it!" Aurora was half afraid to speak, fearful that a quake in her voice would expose her trepidation. At any rate, she knew that she stammered slightly.

The dark Lord's frigid laugh echoed in her ear, "You don't have the strength, Rory dear. You're barely standing so, stop fooling yourself."

"Try me." She narrowed her eyes at him, trying not to vacillate in front of him though her knees felt like succumbing to the numbness that has been making her body feel weak and heavy ever since the basilisk's fang pierced through her skin. Once in a while, her mind would shut down and she would acknowledge the dark spots in her vision, not even her name was she able to recall. 

"Are you trying to muscle me?" He asked, "Because, that's a fight you can't win." 

"I'm stronger than you think--!" She thought that perhaps blubbering it out would make her sound more credible but, that couldn't be far from the truth.

"How feisty we are,"  Circling her neck with one hand and nuzzling his nose on the crook of her neck, he breathed in her scent and said, his voice strained."I can't help to imagine my tendrils around your body, consuming your soul, becoming one with me..."

She stepped on his feet and elbowed his ribcage, thus finally freeing herself from him. "I... I know what you were imagining."

"Such a clever wizardess." The man in black started to chuckle and then frowned."It's so typical of you, woman, to cry 'wolf' and think you can get away with it. Well, no matter. I'm taking the gem no--" 

"No!" Aurora shouted loudly and angrily as soon as he took a step in her direction. Still, despite her current condition, she still tried to outrun a very strong and healthy man."You're having this over my dead body-- you hear me, Shadow?!"  With no regret whatsoever, she brought her hands together and crushed the gem in between them. She watched all the pieces slowly fall from her palm and be camouflaged by the turf of the land beneath her feet. An unbelievable amount of blood was pumping from a tiny cut on her hand; it slid from her palm and down her wrists, the warmth sank into her skin and the pain was almost imperceptible. There was more blood than from a razor cut but nowhere near enough to justify panic. Besides, that didn't even compare with the stabbing wound on her right flank.