They had a male Vampire's head on a stake, drips of black blood soaking the spiked wood and staining the ground. The head was being whirled around like a torch, setting fire to the tension and rage in the air. Every drop rang in my ears like a small explosion. I held my breath, trying to stop myself from gagging or subsequently throwing up.

"This is what they deserve! They've killed too many of our kind to go unpunished," an authoritative man yelled to the crowd of Witches and Warlocks. He held the stake in his hand and waved the head around as he empowered the crowd with his compelling speech. "This treatment has gone on for too long. There have been too many huntings and drainings for us to sit back!"

The crowd boomed back with agreements and like sentiments being shouted. The speaker's expression was animalistic, satisfied with the provocation and accord of the crowd surrounding him.

My head spun. Evander clung to me, his eyes only widened for a second, and his jaw set. He was doing a better job than me at keeping his composure.

We didn't stick around any longer. He grabbed my hand, dragging me out of the crowded room and through the natural walkway of the Hallowed Hall. Flowers, vines, roots, and trees growing freely in the building. It had looked so beautiful when he first took me here. Now it was dark and terrifying.

My flowing dress fluttered around me as we hurried. I lost my footing slightly as we went. Evander kept me upright and looked over his shoulder.

We burst out of the Wicked City and rushed through the forest. We ran further and further until, finally, we stopped.

"It's so much worse than I thought," he murmured.

I was shaking, thinking of the staked head of one of my kind. I retched, causing Evander to reach out and hold my long black locks back out of my face as I coughed up black blood and chunks of herbs.

When I had nothing left to spill, I straightened up and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Turning to Evander, my eyes brimmed with tears.

"We have to do something, Evander. We cannot let this go on any longer," I stammered.

"There's a war coming, Piper. There's nothing we can do," he warned me. His amber eyes were serious and haunted just like I assumed mine were. They shimmered as dusk set in.

"We can stop it-" I insisted, but he stopped me.

"No, we cannot," he spoke, shaking his head. His eyes were glassy as he held my shoulders. We stood there, staring at one another in angst. I choked at the dreadful thought of what was to come. He gripped me in an embrace I had gotten so used to. I was desperate for some kind of calm in the wake of this terrifying storm, and his hold on me gave me just that.

He pulled away and looked down at me. I felt sick. He flicked his gaze back to my eyes.

"Evander, we could tell them. Tell everyone-" I urged, wanting nothing more than for him to believe just as I did that we held the key to peace between his race and mine.

"No," he cut me off with a gruff tone, "you need to get as far from this place as possible. They cannot know what we have done. Neither your family nor my kind. No one can know..."

"No one."

♱

Secrets are said to weigh on the soul the heaviest. The lies, the deception, the hiding. It's enough to bring paranoia to the sanest person. It's a disease that no one knows about but the person with it. And just like a disease, the lies and deception spread.

Now, Piper's stumbled upon a secret that could ruin her. Hell, it could kill her and those she loves. It's a secret that consumes her, takes over every facet of her life.

There's no end in sight, and seemingly no way out.

Secrets have been held from her, and now she's holding her own.

Just in time for Piper's aging, she's expected to find a suitable Soulmate. Her brother, Alec, went through it five years ago, and now it's her turn. Except, she's fallen for Evander. Certainly, he is not suitable. Not since he's a Warlock.

Ever since the events of Alec's aging and DeMalo's plot to take the kingdom, tensions between the Vampires and Witches have grown. Meaning, no one can know.

No one can know the reason why Piper has grown fond of the looming, hidden parts of the forest. No one can know that she's sneaking out to visit her ineligible lover. No one can know anything...

But, there's something much bigger that is about to happen, and Piper and Evander's secret might be the only thing that could stop it.

Could.

Keyword.

♱