FREEDOM
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Dahlia began to tire of the worries in her mind that only made her chest rise and fall heavily with anxiety that she knew herself she didn't need to feel. Not in the peace and quiet of being on her own, devoid of the Pagan's trouble and Caliban's drama. It was unusual, Dahlia actually relishing in the isolation she used to loathe, but she felt that the longer she would stay alone, the more her stresses would eat at her brain. She had to meet someone– perhaps Sabrina or one of her friends were still at the academy.

Dahlia stood from her lying position on the hard bed that constantly made her back feel like she had endured intense physical activity, and waved her hand over her torso. The t-shirt and red plaid pyjama pants were soon laced in Dahlia's purple magic, and with the flick of her wrist, were replaced with her velvet gown. She patted the dress, evening out its thin layers and smiled contently, feeling at home at the sight of her traditional djinn dress which she had often replaced these days with a basic top and jeans. Closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, Dahlia wished herself away to The Academy.

All Dahlia felt was a slight breeze that chilled her neck, leaving it covered in goosebumps. When she opened her eyes, she found herself at The Academy's bar. Nick stood behind the well-polished counter with a glass of alcohol in his hand, replacing the long-haired boy who she remembered to normally work at the bar. Begrudgingly, she walked toward him, not in the slightest interested in speaking to him given how narcissistic he was, but she had no other choice.

"Dahlia, what are you doing here?" He placed his cup down, leaning forward against the counter.

"Have you seen Sabrina?" He shook his head, to which Dahlia wasted no time to turn around and walk away.

"Wait- hold on." He followed after her like a dog.

Dahlia could feel his feet padding along behind her as she trotted down the hallway on the left, looking through every door she passed in search of Sabrina or Ambrose. As she approached a crossroad at the end of the hall, she looked in both directions. A grin formed on her face when she saw the blonde girl standing in the small hall to the right.

"Sabrina!" Dahlia cheered as she walked toward her. "You're not on the next quest?" The brunette furrowed her eyebrows in realization.

"No, I'm about to, though. Please don't tell me Caliban's already gone," Sabrina said, her eyebrows raised pleadingly. Caught off guard when a taller figure appeared behind Dahlia, Sabrina's expression faded and was replaced by a toneless stare. "Nicholas, what are you doing here?"

"Watching the bar for Dorian... Uh, what's going on?"

"Nick, everything," Sabrina sighed, squeezing the bridge of her nose. "My Aunt Zelda was shot. My Aunt Hilda was also shot. Blackwood's come back– he's working with the Pagan's now..." She unloaded, listing everything off in her head like they were written on a checklist that kept going on and on.

"What?" Nick gaped, his lips parted in shock.

"That's horrible," Dahlia said apologetically, squeezing her friend's shoulder reassuringly.

"Yes, and I have to find the final piece of the Unholy Regalia before Caliban does," Sabrina groaned, every word laced with frustration.

"He just left a few minutes ago... I don't think you're too far behind him, don't worry," Dahlia assured, giving the girl a soft smile.

"Wait, seriously? The Sabrina Spellman I know would never leave her family in trouble to go on some stupid quest," Nick muttered in disbelief, his eyes wide in surprise as he looked at the blonde. "But I guess you're not a Spellman anymore. You're a Morningstar."

Sabrina's eyes darkened and she glowered at him. "For your sake, you better hope I'm both," she threatened, stepping closer to the painting in front of her. Dahlia had to hold back a smile that tried to grow on her face as she nodded at Sabrina in approval of her words.

Nick looked away briefly and took a step back, as though giving way to Sabrina to proceed. "Good luck, Sabrina."

Sabrina nodded to both Nicholas and Dahlia assuringly before diverting her attention to the painting. She took in a deep breath before reading out the words she had memorized. "With these words, I seek Vlad the immortal. Open to me this hidden portal."

Within the painting Sabrina was standing before, a small hole of shiny grey-blue began to grow. Its edges were smooth and uneven, changing size and shape as it widened. The wind howled behind it while it expanded, flowing past everyone's hair in the room and making Dahlia shudder from the chills it brought to her cool skin. Inhaling deeply, Sabrina stepped into the painting. The black-hole-like thing in the painting disappeared, leaving Dahlia and Nicholas alone in the room.

The two awkwardly looked at each other, struggling to find the words to say to one another. Dahlia wasn't exactly the fondest of Nicholas anymore– not after she found out he cheated on Sabrina. What he went through was indescribably traumatic, but Dahlia didn't think anyone deserved a pass to treat someone badly. Nicholas wasn't a fan of the djinn either after she and Caliban had left him and Sabrina for dead. They were even, Dahlia thought.

"Who do you think is going to win?" She broke the uncomfortable silence that filled the air.

"Sabrina... unless your little boyfriend cheats again," Nick declared snobbishly, shrugging.

"I'm not sure you should be one to talk about cheating, Nicholas," Dahlia spat, an eyebrow arched in confidence. "Besides, he's not going to cheat."

"We'll see about that."

"He won't," Dahlia repeated. Her voice was firm and steady, her arms crossed over her chest in credence. While her poise was strong and confident, her heart raced whenever the thought crossed her mind.

"If you say so." Nick surrendered. Dahlia watched his arrogant smirk get replaced by a frown as he looked down at his hand. When his eyes lingered on his palm, Dahlia stepped closer toward him.

"Nick, what's going on?" Her eyes landed on SOS that had suddenly appeared in sharpie in the palm of his hand.

"This is how Sabrina communicates with me..."

"But we were just with Sabrina," Dahlia stated in confusion.

"Right... so it must be her mortal friends," Nick said in a low voice, struck by a realization. He looked back up at Dahlia who watched him curiously. "I'm going to check on them at Harvey's cabin. You coming?"

Although eager to make sure her friends were okay, she had other things on her mind. Dahlia shook her head. "I need to get back to Pandemonium before Caliban gets back, but I'll see you later." He nodded in agreement and allowed Dahlia to take a step back. Within the blink of an eye, she vanished with a puff of smoke.

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Dahlia's eyes were ripped away from the book in her hand when a small pouch had suddenly landed on her bed with a light clatter. She glanced between the pouch before her feet and Caliban who stood leaning against her door frame with an arched brow and sly smirk.

"No way," Dahlia gasped, scurrying toward the pouch and cupping it in her hands. She untied the string at the top of the material bag and looked through the opening with the pounch close to her eye. The light sneaking in through a part of the opening that Dahlia's head wasn't covering illuminated the silver pieces, leaving them sparkling in her few. "You won?" The words came out slowly, as though she was still processing the fact. She looked back up at Caliban whose smile was even wider.

"I won," he grinned from ear to ear and inched closer to Dahlia, sitting at the edge of her bed and picking up her hand in his. "I want you to be there when I present it to the Infernal Court... and I finally receive my crown."

"Wait... but where's Sabrina?"

"That doesn't matter." Caliban's lips remained curled upward, trying his best to stay composed and avoid Dahlia shooting more questions toward him. "All that matters now is that it's all over. I'm King of Hell... and I want you to be my queen." His words appealed to her more than anything ever had. He wanted her beside him on the throne, as his queen. The thought of it sent goosebumps to Dahlia's skin and made her want to smile and kiss him with joy, but Sabrina stood at a higher position in her mind. Dahlia's heart raced and her hands began to sweat at the way Caliban seemed to avoid her question.

"Caliban, where's Sabrina?" she repeated, voice slow and wary.

He pulled his hand away from Dahlia and sighed in frustration, raking his hand through his hair. "She got left behind, trapped in stone."

"What? How?" Dahlia stood from the bed, hovering over Caliban who was still seated. She played with her hands nervously as she tried to comprehend everything going on. "Did you try to save her? Is she going to be okay?"

"I trapped her in the stone!" He roared, his voice rumbling through the chamber like thunder. Dahlia's lips quivered as she tried to think of what to say, as she tried to understand how Caliban could do that after Dahlia had put so much faith into him.

"W-what?" Dahlia whispered, her eyes pooling with tears.

"I didn't have a choice! She figured it out before me– it was the only way I could win."

"And winning is the only thing in the universe that matters to you," Dahlia spat, unable to fight the tears that began to roll down her cheeks. The pain that took over her body was so immense she couldn't decipher where it was coming from. She couldn't make out if it was an ache from her heart that cried for being fooled by him again, or a pounding in her head from the pure anger and confusion she was feeling– or both. She was trapped in a whirlwind and tornado of sadness, for what Caliban had done, fear for whether Sabrina would be okay, and anger... She was furious with herself for falling back into his trap and trusting him.

"That's not true..." Caliban said, standing up and stepping toward Dahlia. The girl only stepped away from him, her eyes blurring with more and more tears.

"Really? Because it seems true considering you left an innocent girl to die!"

"Dahlia, you need to understand that-"

"Don't you dare tell me what I need to understand!" She lurched toward him, holding a finger out at him scoldingly as her voice boomed through the room, making Caliban flinch in shock. "I understand very well and clear... that you're exactly the same person you used to be!"

"Dahlia-"

"Honorless, selfish, cruel. But what did I expect? You're a demon. You don't have a soul!" Even when she saw Caliban's eyes redden as they were pricked with tears, she looked at him with nothing but hatred. Her entire face was red with rage, her pulse beating loudly in her ears, making it hard to hear and gather her own thoughts. "I can't believe I thought you were different... I thought you changed, but I guess I was wrong," she spoke more softly as her own words settled in her brain.

"But you're not wrong, Dee! I changed– you changed me." He paused, trying to meet her eyes desperately but she refused to look at him. "Dahlia, I think I love you... I think I've loved you for a very long time."

His words struck Dahlia's heart like a heavy shard of metal was thrust into her chest. Her face scrunched up as his sweet "I love you" echoed through her brain and she squeezed her eyes, forcing faster and heavier tears to flow out with all the emotions she ever felt for him. They poured out like a river of sorrow and a whirlpool of outrage, sucking her in and drowning her in the mess that was her broken heart.

"I hate you," was all she could muster through her unending tears. Her voice, small and quiet, sent colossal waves of stinging to Caliban's heart, in disbelief that she could ever say those words to him.

"Dahlia... don't say that to me," Caliban croaked, trying to blink back the pool of emotions that threatened to spill from his blood-shot eyes. Her heart throbbed at the sight of a single tear sliding down his cheek as he stood in front of her hopelessly. He was tall with a muscular build, but at that very moment, he appeared minuscule in Dahlia's eyes. With his slumped shoulders and teary eyes, he looked like a normal, heartbroken kid. Dahlia tore her eyes away, watching his broken state only sent more jabs to her heart and made it harder for her to think straight.

"Where is she? Where did you leave Sabrina?"

"Embedded in a stone wall... inside a volcanic cave," his voice cracked. "Dahlia, can we please talk about this? I can't lose you."

"You already have," she whispered. "I'm going to find Sabrina's friends and Nick. He was right about you all along." Tears shot to her eyes again at the reminder that Nicholas was certain Caliban would cheat, but she only stupidly defended the prince. She turned around to walk away. She couldn't be in the same room as him while she teleported away.

"Dahlia, wait!" He exclaimed before she could take off. She turned around reluctantly, but her glare faded when she was caught off guard by the object in Caliban's hand. "I can't force you to stay when you clearly hate me. I can't do that to you." With shaky hands, he held her djinn bottle in front of her. Dahlia stared at the bottle in silence, the shiny exterior walls of it sparkling in her eyes as she reached forward to pick it out of his hand. When the cool surface of it touched her skin, she was pulled out of her trance, a scowl reforming on her face. She hugged her bottle to her chest.

"Enjoy your throne. I hope it was worth it."

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