Isidorus left them after talking to Adrianna for a brief time. What he said shook both Adrianna and Dmitri. Some of Lile's family members were Vikra's followers from a long time. Over the centuries they have kind of built a cult that is dedicated to praying Vikra. It is a small one but it exists and no one can do much about it because they don't come out with it. Very few people had that knowledge and it is kept as a secret because if it is out, others may join the cult. Adrianna was horrified at this knowledge.

The wizard kingdom had so many secrets that it was horrifying. On the façade everything looked beautiful and harmonious but on the inside there were forces that were eating its very foundation.

​​

"You have to win against Lile, because if you lose, her cult will use that to grow and she would emerge as the cult-queen. It is possible that she will stake a claim to the throne. While I am not worried that the crown will reject her, I am worried that she would reject the crown saying that this tradition should be done away with." Isidorus had said that sounded like a very serious matter.

"She will do everything in her power to kill you and if that is not possible, to defeat you. She tried to get close to you for a reason, which now is apparent to you."

"If you feel that things are too much for you, you may quit Adrianna. Lile and her family are very powerful people. They know many dark spells and they can cast them in a way that you wouldn't even come to know. So if you want to leave now, leave."

Isidorus sounded as if he wanted to keep Adrianna safe. Adrianna smiled and wondered if he had developed emotions for her. She could see the desperation in his eyes and she could read his affection for her in his mind. "I won't quit Isidorus and not now, at this juncture of events. You don't have to worry about me."

Isidorus took a deep breath and nodded. He got up from his chair, patted Adrianna's head and left.

Dmitri looked at her and said, "Adri, I am getting nervous."

"Don't Dmitri because I draw my strength from you," she answered as she placed her hand on her cheek. He leaned in then pulled her in his lap. "Don't leave me alone in this life. I am only twenty-three, well soon to become twenty-four, but that is very young. Can you imagine what happens to a werewolf whose soul mate dies?" He pressed his head in her neck.

Adrianna laughed and said, "When I come back from that competition, we are celebrating your pre-birthday dinner here in the royal palace amongst all the loyal and the royal."

Dmitri laughed. Inside he was anxious.

Next day Adrianna got dressed for the academy. Dmitri also got dressed, as he had decided to go with her. Ed and Cora were planning to buy something from the shopping places on the Wizard Street and so they said they would come later. They were not aware of the dangers lurking around Adrianna and she didn't bother them with those. The couple smiled and left.

When Dmitri went and sat down, he saw that the crowd around the field had grown multifold. He spotted Howard who was sitting with his family and asked, "I never saw so many people in the entire days of the third stage!"

"Yup! Some of them are coming only today. They had betted throughout as to who would win!" replied Howard munching on his chips.

"What? Betting?"

"Yup!"

Suddenly Dmitri spotted Fleur who was giggling at some joke cracked by the man beside her. Dmitri was wearing shades. He slid his shades down, tilted his head and to his surprise saw that the man beside her was making his way into her shorts. He clenched his fist to punch him when his glance went to see who he was. Liam was sitting there is all glory, laughing and enjoying his love. Dmitri's eyes went wide! He mentally communicated with Liam, "When the hell did you come?"

"Stop disturbing me Dmitri. I came yesterday evening."

Howard looked at Dmitri's shocked expressions and said, "Yes, I was also shocked. I hate Liam. I hate the werewolf kingdom. The only person I ever liked there was Ed and his granddaughter."

Dmitri pursed his lips.

Adrianna had reached the authorities from where she had to first take the necessary things inside the field. She had to meet Lile over there and they had to go in together. She saw that Lile had already collected her things and was waiting for her. Her expressions became cold when she saw Adrianna. Adrianna didn't bother to greet her. She collected her potions from Professor Lane, who wished her all the best. Everyone out there looked nervous and anxious except Lile.

The two of them started walking towards the center of the field as the crowd cheered for them. The entire field was one segment that day. As soon as they reached the center, they could see the crowd but couldn't hear it. They went to their respective tables to keep the potions and came to the center waiting for the voice to say "Start."

But instead of "Start" an announcement was made. "In order to make the final competition tougher, the authorities have decided to put the two participants through a variety of difficult tasks."

Suddenly about thirty feet away from the center a wall appeared which was almost ten feet high.

"The participants have to compete through different terrains. Right now they are surrounded by a wall and behind those walls, there is a desert, a sea, a forest and snow-capped mountains in each quarter of the segment. Lile and Adrianna will have to face each other in these segments only and they can come to the center if they are sick or defeated. If any one of them comes to the center even by chance, it would be considered as their defeat."

The crowd outside gasped in silence. Suddenly they saw the quarters getting filled by snow-covered mountains in one quadrant, a very hot desert in the second segment, a thick forest devoid of sunlight in the third segment and a turbulent sea in the fourth segment.

The two girls didn't know which terrain filled the segments around them. They did not know the order. They had to take chances and see for themselves to fight it out.

Dmitri's heart sank.

Adrianna looked at Lile with narrowed eyes and before another announcement, she ran to collect her potions. She stuffed them in her pockets of the skirt she was wearing. Lile did the same and the voice announced, "Start".

The finale of the third stage of the competition began.

They didn't know how to get into the quadrant because there were white walls all around them. Suddenly Lile jumped towards the wall and disappeared behind it. It was as though the wall sucked her in. Adrianna smiled and followed her. She really was not as experienced as Lile was in wizardry. But her smile froze when she found herself in a desert. Lile was nowhere to be seen.

It was a sandy desert and a dust storm had started. The cruel sun was up in the sky beating down the creatures. It was shining hard without blinking an eye. There was not a wisp of cloud to soften those harsh glares of the sun. It was as if the sky had conspired with the sun to be so harsh. Adrianna saw a few rocks dotting the terrain. The stiff, dry breeze was blowing sand into her eyes and making her hair stiff. Each step that she took sunk into the hot sand. Her breath was like burning hot. She glanced at a few desert lizards that took shelter under those rocks where the sand wasn't hot enough to fry them. She looked around in that haze of sand storm to find refuge. She had to soon find a rock large enough for her to go under it or stand against it.

Where the hell was Lile? Did she think that leaving her alone in this desert would bring death to her? Did she think that could not survive that dust storm? The particles of dust that were now more than thirty feet high were approaching towards her at a high speed. Adrianna ran to hide beneath a rock. As she ran, she pointed her wand towards several rocks to make a sort of enclosure for her.

The audience could see the rocks flying and making a sort of small room for Adrianna. Adrianna ran inside the enclosure. The last rock hit its entrance to plug it just before the dust storm hit.

Dmitri became pale.