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"The morning steals upon the night, melting darkness,"- William Shakespeare

Premonition (n.): An unsettling feeling.

Ares' POV:

A sigh escaped me as I ran a hand through my hair, messing it up. Should I call up Archer to do the talking? He was better at handling people than I am.

The small phone weighed heavily on my hand, my jaw clenching as I tried to compose myself.

Adrianna was someone who was bigger than life, she was only at a blossoming age; yet she had seen more to life than she should have. She was introduced to the dark side of the spectrum at a young age.

She should have been cherished and loved. She should have enough money to support herself, she should have a parental figure.

Instead, she had to grow up fast. She had had a hard life.

Impatience gnawed inside me as I felt my heart stuttering. Adrianna was like a piece of life to my grey; a speck of joy amongst my sorrow.

A ray of light peeking through my darkness, a splash of bright yellow in a depressing blue canvas.

Her smell latched itself into my mind, the feel of her skin, her lips that worshipped me and made my scar feel like ornaments...

She deserved the truth.

"Hey Siri," I let out a shaky breath, "Dial 'Adrianna'."

"Calling 'Adrianna'." The robotic female voice replied and I heard it ring.

A knot formed in my throat, one I gulped down. My hand tightened on my stick as a quivering breath escaped me.

"Call declined. Do you want to redial?"

"Yes."

"Redialing 'Adrianna'."

I shifted in my seat, agitation crawling inside me like small insects.

"Call declined."

I let out an irritated grunt. Seriously, what was she doing?

I repeated the process thrice, every time the call was passed to the voicemail.

The agitation turned into irritation, irritation morphing into anger.

Letting out another grunt, I commanded the bot to make a call to Archer.

He picked up on the third ring.

"Hey bro-"

"Where is Adrianna? Is she with you?" I blurted out before he could finish his sentence.

"Uh-" He made a sound that sounded awfully like a snort, "Adrianna is not with me."

"Where is she? At the manor?"

"No she isn't at the manor," He let out a sigh, "Bro I need to tell you something. Promise you won't get mad at me?"

Silence pertained between us, my boiling anger calming to a numbing saturation. I felt cold, cold as a stone.

"I offered Adrianna a small help."

Considering how he muttered 'small help', it was either related to her condition or her financial situation.

A breath escaped me as my heart thudded frantically against my ribcage as I felt my muscles tense under my stuffy clothes.

"You did what?"

"Now-"

"Did you ask for my permission? On which ground did you help her Archer?"

The silence pricked my skin.

"Answer god damnit!" I barked into the phone, anger burning my veins, "Who asked you?!"

"Can I not help my friend?"

His voice was grave, a coldness that matched mine. I clenched my jaw, my grip tightening around the phone.

"What angers you Ares?" His voice was solemn as he queried, "The fact I helped Adrianna when she needed it the most? Or the fact it was I who helped her?"

I paused for a second, a cold shiver running down me.

Did he... know?

It couldn't be good.

"Whatever do you mean?" I answered, trying to keep my voice even.

"Don't pretend to be clueless, brother," He spat out, "You know exactly what I mean. Playing dumb doesn't suit you."

Both of our breathing heavy on the phone, the distance seemed to be of a hairbreadth as he exhaled.

"I don't like the fact that it is you who helped her."

"See it wasn't that difficult to admit now was it?" His voice was edgy, raucous, "Too bad, I did it anyway. She needed help and I provided it to her. What's the fucking problem?"

"I wanted to do it myself," My throat burned as the confession left my lips in a slow whisper.

A veil of silence fell between us, the distance growing greater.

"Why?"

"Because..." I gritted my teeth, my fists clenching, "Because she is assigned to me."

"It shouldn't bother you then," Archer sighed, "Adrianna will get back to you in an hour or so, I am sure of it. Don't worry about her."

A non-committal sound left me as he hung up, the only sound that braced me was the ever growing silence.

"Drive back home, I need things to discuss."

____________________

It wasn't long before I reached the manor, distressed if I say so myself. I had dialled Adrianna thrice more on the way, all of it going straight to voicemail.

"Bethany!" I barked as I entered the house, taking off my coat and throwing it somewhere.

"Yes Mr. Estevan," A sound of hurried footsteps echoed along the house as the elderly woman scurried to me.

"Did Adrianna say where she was going?"

"N-No sir-"

"Fuck!" I muttered.

I knew I had no reason to be worried when Archer himself promised her safety. I knew he must have sent some guards to guarantee her safety.

I had a premonition peeking through my pessimistic mind. The thought engulfed the small ray of light in darkness.

I shook my head. It was only a make up of my mind. She was safe, she had to be.

But after that incident, I couldn't put myself at ease knowing that she was somewhere out there in the streets where danger lurked in the shadows.

Her screams of terror, her cry for help would trouble me forever.

It was engraved in my mind, as if it was an instinct to protect her. To shield her. To fight for her. To kill for her.

She had become my primal instinct.

I let myself down on the sofa, trying to muster my jumbled thoughts.

"Pick up the phone..." I mumbled, dialing her again.

"The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later-"

"What the fuck?!" I panted heavily as the boulder in my chest grew heavier, fingers trembling from the nauseating thoughts that clouded my mind.

I dialed her again. Same message.

Then again. Then again. I dialed her number until I was a quivering mess, panicking like I had never before.

"Brother?" Archer's voice drifted from the doorway, "Are you okay? Did Adri tell you about every-"

His voice fell.

"Are you okay? Where is-"

"Where the fuck is she? She isn't picking up, her phone is switched off. Archer, where is she?" My voice was shaky, my throat dry like chalk.

"Switched off?" He mumbled, "It shouldn't be switched off, she should have been back by now."

"You sent the bodyguards with her, right? To keep an eye on her like I instructed?"

"I did," The sound of keypad dialling resonated in my ears, "Let me call Dr. Jones."

"Dr. Jones?" I rasped, "You sent her for her-"

"Yes," He mumbled, "Let me talk to her."

I gripped the end of my stick, my palm bruising.

"Silvia Hi! Do you happen to know when Adrianna left the chamber?"

Demons clawed in my heart as I tried to calm myself down.

"Oh? Okay. Thank you!" His voice was deflated.

"Adrianna.... Left an hour ago. The chamber is only ten minutes away."

The darkness I delved in, shrunk as if. It felt like I was confined in a small cluster of chaotic nothingness.

"Ares don't panic," His voice was shaking, "I will call the guards. Give me a moment. They are with her."

"Miller, where is Adrianna?"

"What do you mean?!"

"Didn't I ask ALL of you to keep a close eye on her?!"

The phone cut, leaving an eerie silence behind.

"There were two guards with her, one of them was drugged and another was beaten."

Coldness seeped inside my vein as I felt my fingers numbing.

Adrianna... Adrianna was in danger and I couldn't do anything.

It was all my fault.

I couldn't protect her.

I ran a hand down my face, my eyes stinging. Although they didn't have any light, they could cry.

I couldn't protect her.

"Contact Detective Jonas."

"On-" He paused mid sentence, "Your phone-"

His warm hand brushed mine as he took the daintily held object from me and tapped through it.

I was crumbling, crumbling to pieces like shattered glass.

Adrianna was suffering.

Fury pumped through my vein as I tried to hold onto my stick and stand up, my legs didn't permit me.

"There's a message," His voice was nothing but a whisper, "From an unknown number."

My heart jumped to my throat, "Read."

"I know you are good at playing games, Ares. I pride myself to be a somewhat better player than you. Trace this number and you will find her. She is all yours, but not before playing a small game with me. It remains long unfinished-" Archer's voice trembled as he paused.

So it was for me. Not her.

She was abducted because of me.

My head became heavier as I gripped the stick even tighter, the darkness I had come to rule suddenly protesting against me.

Raging blood danced in my veins as I felt my body throb from the sudden lust of vengeance awakened by this unknown stranger who claimed to be a player of fates.

Whoever this person was, had an unfinished business with me. Dragging Adrianna between us might have been their biggest mistake.

I smirked, the bloodthirsty demon inside me rearing its head.

I was going to bathe the city in their blood and relish in their screams.

"Th-there's this image attached to it..."

"Open it," I was calm. Suddenly, I could think clearer.

"It's a... calligraphy?"

I frowned, "What?"

"It says, 'Memento Mori.'"

The sound of my walking stick snapping in half resonated through the manor. I breathed heavily, pain blossomed in my palm.

Whoever this bastard was, I was going to rip their heart out and feed them to the wolves.

Adrianna was the small spark of light that came into my life like a blessing. There was no way in hell I was going to let her go.

Like I said, I was no sinner but would kill for her.

"Wh-What does it mean?"

My jaw clenched, "It's Latin."

The sound of our heavy breathing resonated through the mansion.

"It says, 'Remember you will die.'"

Sorry for the short chapter and also the late update. I had a serious fever due to the second dose of vaccine. My arm feels like it's about to fall off

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