The Love of a Lycan

"Apricity river?" Raine said, she immediately recognized this place as she took note of how murky the sky looked right now. "Are we back to the past?" she looked around her, yet it didn't seem they were in the past now.

This was the village of angels, but in recent time. The last time Raine came here, was when Torak met the vampire.

"We are in Red River city?" Raine tilted her head to look at Serefina right in the latter's eyes.

"Yes," Serefina replied curtly before she talked to Hope. "Is this the place you've seen in your dream?"

"Yes, this is…" Hope stared at the frozen river. "This is the place in my dream."

"The river is frozen again," Raine murmured. She remembered that this was the second time she saw this river being frozen. The first time was when she went to the past for the first time and met Aeon.

Raine grimaced. His name still poked a big regret in her heart and a painful memory about what would happen if she was not capable enough to protect the people, who were dear to her.

"I don't even know that this place is real," Hope spoke in disbelief and then she looked at the witch. "Why are we here?"

That was the exact question Raine wanted to ask, even Lilac didn't know that Serefina would bring them to this place after what she told her about Hope's dream.

Lilac and Serefina couldn't be said that they were on good terms, there were far too many complications that mixed in their relationship, but at the very least, they had the same goal and it was very clear that they had to work on it together.

They had too many enemies, out there and from within, thus they didn't need to add more between themselves.

"The Apricity River was only frozen for once and that was too when the war broke out. However, that was all from what I have heard, but I can't prove the authenticity of the news, this river had been frozen for far too long before that time."

"You mean before the first war?" Lilac asked Serefina. She walked closer to the riverside.

"Yes." Serefina nodded.

"It meant there was another war before the great war between the lycanthropes and the devils?" Lilac crouched down and tried to take a better look at the frozen river.

"It seems so…" Serefina murmured. "Just like what I said, I can't prove the authenticity of the news."

"Where did you get this news?" Hope asked. She walked closer to Lilac and squatted down beside her.

"Old scripts from here and there…" Serefina said. This kind of information that she had been gathering since she left the realm centuries ago and this was also what Lana had been trying to find for her all along.

"Wait…" Raine frowned. "In that case… Is it also the lycanthropes, who have fought against the devils then?"

"No, based on what I have got, the war occurred before the lycanthropes or any other creatures came into existence in this world," Serefina said as she touched her chin thoughtfully.

"Then, who fought them?" Hope stood up and walked toward Serefina, while Lilac turned around and stared at the witch, waiting for her explanation.

That was right, if the war happened before the lycanthropes or any other creatures came into existence, then who actually fought with the devils then?

Serefina answered in a low but deep voice, as if she was not really certain with her reply. "The gods and goddesses."

"Wow…" Hope was surprised, yet her voice lacked enthusiasm. "Things would only become more complicated now."

Silence fell among them while the sky let out a deafening roar, indicating that rain was about to fall.

"Torak once told me that this city was called Red River City because the water from Apricity river was once red," Raine said. She looked up at the sky and frowned.

"That is true…" Serefina said. "After the war, the apricity river turned red, it remained so for a few years before the color of the water turned back into normal."

"It means something connects this river and the war that has occurred," Raine concluded.

"That's right, adding to the fact that Hope kept dreaming about this place," Lilac murmured. "What are you doing?" she asked when Hope inched closer toward the frozen river.

"I heard something…" she said absentmindedly. "Don't you hear that too?"

"Hear what?" Serefina strode hastily and pulled her back before Hope could touch the surface of it. "I don't hear anything."

Hope frowned. "A whisper."

"A whisper?" Lilac knitted her brows. "I don't hear anything." Lilac looked at Raine, but she shook her head, indicating she didn't hear whatever Hope was talking about.

"But, I am sure something is whispering from down there." Hope pointed toward the river. "Why is it only me who can hear it?"

"What does the whispering say?" Lilac walked closer toward Hope and stood next to her while staring at the glistening frozen river's surface. Above them, the sound of thunder resumed.

"I don't know… the voice is not coherent." Hope shook her head and tried to listen more carefully, but still she couldn't catch the words clearly.

Meanwhile, Raine, who was standing a little bit far from the three of them, caught something from the corner of her eyes.

She couldn't believe what her eyes caught sight of, thus without a second thought she walked away from Serefina and Lilac, whose focus was on Hope.

The silhouette of this person disappeared behind a pile of empty barrels not far away from where Raine was standing.

Raine approached it cautiously, her brows knitted tightly and her heart started beating very fast.

"Dorian?" Raine gasped. She couldn't believe that she would meet him again, that too here. "You are still alive?"

Dorian was leaning his back against the empty barrels, his eyes met Raine's and he scoffed. "Hello again Raine. Yes, I am still alive."

"But, how…" Actually, Raine did not see Dorian die during the attack on the village of angels, but still, seeing him alive like this was quite a shock to her. "Why are you here?"

Right at that time, Raine remembered what she had seen during the attack.