Abi couldn't believe her eyes. Even though she knew that she would see Zeres again soon, his presence still shocked her.
Zeres was the same as the silver-haired young man in her past self's memories. His ancient fashion, long silver hair, and that ethereal face remained precisely the same, except for his now golden-colored eyes.
"Zeres," she uttered his name. Abigail had seen how Zeres cared for and loved her past self. She had watched how he sacrificed himself to save Alex and how he remained in her side until his last breath. She had also heard his last words, begging her never to forgive him, and that made her heart ached for him. He was always such a selfless friend who had loved her past self unconditionally.
The thought of Zeres' last moments had broken Abi's heart into pieces again, and all she wanted that moment was to hug him.
Abi stepped forward. Alex remained rooted on the ground, his jaw clenching, but he didn't stop Abigail from approaching him. However,
"M-my wife?" Zeres' said, and the hellfire in Alex's eyes blazed mercilessly. He grabbed Abigail and pulled her back towards him, wrapping her with his mighty arm.
Abi was as shocked as Alex. But Zeres reacted the same the moment he watched Alex pulled Abi in his embrace. His burning gaze also intensified as both men glared at each other with unbearable intensity.
Alicia and Abi could now feel the extreme danger in the air. The already heavy atmosphere turned even heavier. The intense tension was making it hard to move.
"Alex, calm down. Please." Abi said, and gladly, she could immediately pull Alex's attention to her.
"I can't calm down when he's not, Abigail. What if he attacks?" Alex replied, and he returned his alert and dangerous gaze back to Zeres.
"Alex, he's your friend."
Her words made Alex's jaws clenched again. "I know," he replied, not tearing his eyes off him. His eyes momentarily softened, but too soon, they returned to its fierce and dangerous state. "But if he's here intending to take you away from me…" his voice hardened, "then, I'm sorry, but that's my bottom line."
Abi could only bite her lips. She heard what Zeres just said, so she understood why Alex was now acting like this. Why on earth did Zeres call her that?
Alicia, on the other hand, was having a hard time dealing with Zeres. She's been calling out his name, but the man wasn't responding at all. She could feel that his situation was getting more and more dangerous. A little bit more and something terrible might happen!
"Zeres!" she called out again. When the man began to move forward, Alicia gritted her teeth, and she cupped his face with both of her hands. His skin was hot. So hot, Alicia felt like she was touching a ball of fire. But she didn't let go. She can't let this happen. She brought him here so the three of them could sort things out and reconcile, not to worsen the situation. If these two immortals fight here, no one might be able to stop them. Even if Abi was here, would Zeres listen to her?
"Zeres!! You promised me that you'd calm down!!" Alicia yelled at him, but the man continued stepping forward. "Listen to your queen, damn it!!"
Alicia had used the curse that would force any witch to submit to her, the queen. This was one of the witch's queen's most potent abilities. As long as she could touch the witch directly, she could make them listen to her command. And rogue witches weren't an exception. This was why rogue witches always try to run away from the witch queen as far as they could.
Even though Zeres was someone ancient and also a half-human, he was still a witch. Her power could at least affect him.
To her relief, the man halted, and his lashes dropped to meet her gaze. "Stop! This is an order. Don't attack them and calm down." She commanded in a firm yet careful voice.
Zeres closed his eyes, and he gritted his teeth. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I can't. I'm burning. I can't stop myself. I need to…" he held her wrists. "Move, Alicia. I might hurt you."
"No! If you move one more step, the spell you cast on yourself will activate! You're supposed to be fulfilling your promise to me now that I've brought you to her!"
His grip on her tightened. She felt like her wrist was burning.
"Zeres! Please calm down!" Abi called out, causing Zeres to look at her the moment he heard Abi's voice. A deep groan escaped from his lips, and suddenly, he looked like he was in pain.
Alicia's eyes widened because his nails began to turn black. She remembered when Alexander went through a change like this back in that Ziggurat. Oh no, this was terrible!
Left without a choice, Alicia stepped back and pulled him, causing the man to take another step. Zeres eyes dilated, and he swayed. He fell on his one knee as if every fiber of strength had left his body. The curse was working!
The next moment, he became utterly still, as if he had turned into a statue. Looking at him, Alicia let out a deep breath of relief. She was afraid that the spell wouldn't work on him.
Without wasting a moment, Alicia turned to Alexander and Abi. "Alexander, Abigail. Please listen. Zeres don't remember a thing. Just like you, he remembers nothing about the times you three had spent together." She immediately explained.
Alexander creased his brows. "Then why the hell did he call Abigail his wife?" he asked, his eyes still golden.
"Just like you, someone also planted false memories in Zeres. I saw his false memories myself. They made him believed that Abigail is his wife."
Anger and frustration painted Alexander's face. "That's why please try not to fight him. I brought him here for a reason, not for you guys to fight."
"But he looked like he couldn't even control himself, Alicia. It's impossible not to fight him if he attacks." Alexander argued, and Alicia could only fall silent. Alexander seemed in control of his body, but Zeres definitely wasn't. Zeres was acting like the old Alexander who always loses control of himself and goes berserk.
Alicia turned to the immobilized man and clenched her fists. She fully understood what Alexander was saying. She didn't expect that Zeres would react like that just by the sight of Alexander and Abigail. Or did his body voluntarily respond like that because of Alexander? But why? Was it because of the dragon blood in their veins? Could it be that the creatures who had drunk the dragon blood were not meant to ever get along?
Questions kept piling up again. As Alicia stared at Zeres, she finally remembered a way to find some answer. Maybe the answers to her questions lie in Zeres' memories!
With a willful eye, Alicia glanced at Abi and Alexander. "I am going to look into Zeres' memories now while he's still under a spell." She told them, and she stood behind Zeres.
The silver glow from her hand then appeared, and she placed them above his head. She closed her eyes, and in a matter of minutes, she saw Zeres wandering alone in the desert.
.
(One more chapter later ^^)