"Do you still know how to tame descendants?" Carter asked as he eyed the mark on my wrist.
"I think?" I shrugged and pulled my sleeve to cover it up.
"What a terrible answer..." Carter sighed, searching for the right word to cheer me. "But I know you can do it tho."
"I have to." I tossed my hair back off my face. "I really have to go back as soon as possible. You know how weak mother has become."
"I know how upset you must be, but you can't stop death. It's part of life."
"Easy for you to say because you're immortal."
"If you only know."
Carter's voice dropped and rested his back against the wall behind him. He remained quiet that I couldn't stop from measuring him with my stare.
If my memories serve me right, I remember being as tall as him but why the heck am I looking up to him right now?!
My jaws unclenched when an opening door drew mine and Carter's attention and I smiled when I saw Yuki's adorable face, peering gleefully around the edge.
"Holy crickets! It's really you!" She exclaimed, ran towards me and pulled me into a tight hug. "I knew you'd come back!"
My lips thinned and restrained a sigh.
"I never thought I'd come back."
Yuki stepped back, hands on my shoulders. She stared at me with those bluish-white, empty eyes as if she's seeing through me.
"Didn't you even miss your best friend?" Her perfectly-shaped lips pouted.
"Of course, I did."
Yuki is indeed my best friend; the ice princess.
For a moment, I could not speak.
Lelith is the goddess of beauty but I couldn't remember seeing someone as beautiful as Yuki. Her skin is as white as snow; her large almond-shaped eyes, framed in bluish-white long lashes that almost touches her perfectly-arched brows are so magical.
Her nose is thin and straight, lips perfectly full but as pale as her skin. Her white hair is already hanging to her knees and her body temperature is even colder than before.
"Hmm..." she took a step back. "I wanna ask you lots of things but first things first... did you really agree to tame the last descendant?!"
I turned to Carter, who's just standing beside us and back to her.
"This will be my way to finally cut all my connections I have here so, I have to."
Yuki bent her head to hide her anger.
"You might get killed; you know that?! And did you seriously believe that they'd let you go even after you tamed Aquarius?!"
"W-what?" I released a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.
Despite being pale, Yuki's face crimsoned.
"That descendant is no ordinary creature! He's--" I cut her off by brushing her hair with my fingers.
"I really missed you and I wanna go to our secret place!" I acted cute but it looks like she's not buying it.
"No! He's--"
"C'mon now!" I immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulders and dragged her outside the room.
"Hey! I wanna come, too!" Carter whined like a child and was about to follow us when I blocked him with my hand.
"I just mentioned it's our secret place, brother! I'll hang out with you later, okay? Just please be with Kurama and the rest for the mean time. They were just summoned in their realms but they will be back shortly."
Carter rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, whatever! But you should treat me dinner."
"Of course!" I winked at him and continued dragging Yuki out.
"Can we please stop here for a moment?!" She hissed when we reached the veranda, leading towards the very wide garden.
She stepped away and threw me a glare. "Your brother doesn't know about the last descendant, I supposed?"
I made an exasperated grimace. "Yeah. If he does, he will stop me for sure."
"What were you even thinking?! I heard from Spencer that you've already been warned, but still, you agreed."
"It wasn't a warning, but a reminder. They were only acting as if I have a way out, but the truth is, they've been planning to sacrifice me in this one. You know what I am to this place."
Yuki's lips parted in disbelief. "How could she!"
"That's what she is. What's new?" I snorted and we continued walking towards our secret place located behind the Center, in the darkest part of the Enchanted Forest to where the Weeping Willow is.
Yuki and I planted it when we were kids.
I eyed every tree we passed in through and they seem to notice my presence as they were swaying their branches to shower me their blossoms.
"They still recognize you," Yuki giggled.
"I supposed," I smiled as we continued walking until we finally reached our destination.
We stopped in front of the Weeping Willow and I was amaze to see how massive it has become.
It was dark and only pixie dusts and the full moon, hanging low the night sky are giving us light which turned everything into a mysterious landscape of silver lights and shadows.
I didn't even notice the fireball is already gone.
"Oh! Sorry..." Yuki snapped her fingers and numbers of white and yellow wisp appeared, surrounding us with their warm lights.
"Wow! B-but how did you--" I cut myself and looked at her.
"Hmp! I trained them. Easy!" She bragged, grimacing, which made me chuckle.
She never changed at all.
I couldn't stop measuring her with my stares as she slowly walked towards the tree, leaving thin frosts to where she stepped into. She's wearing a long and white lolita-like off-shoulder dress that reaches through the ground which makes her really looks like a goddess--which she really is.
Her white and curly hair is styled just like most of the goddesses, but with crystal leaves pinned across her hair from left ear to her right.
"Come here," she signaled me to follow her at the foot of the tree which I did and watched her picked something on the ground.
She then turned to show me a weeping willow catkin.
"This is the only flower this tree bore since the day we planted it," she softly spoke and my brows raised when she hovered her hand on top of it and the flower has slowly been sealed in a small ball of ice.
So small, I could fit it in my pocket without anyone noticing a bump.
"Keep it," Yuki handed it to me which I gladly took. "I sealed a powerful spell in there that can break even the strongest barrier there is in this land. You'll need that especially now."
"Why?"
"I just can't seem to trust those old hags. They're just so skeptical."
"Geez! Don't worry about that. I'll finish this job alive."
"You better be," she snorted. "Even Aiden, the ruler of the dead, can't bring the deceased back to life. Remember that."
I chuckled. "Yeah! Whatever."