Aleksander's POV:

There were very few times in my life when I couldn't control my emotions. I prided myself in mastering all aspects of the heart but love was a very strange thing. Though I tried, it wasn't something I could control like my other emotions. It snuck up on me, wrapping itself of around my heart and seizing full control of my thoughts. It was a blissful emotion for a while, so I didn't bother to protest it's intrusion in my life but that all stopped when the bliss turned to pain when the comforting feelings of trust were shattered by betrayal. She saved his life. The very man who helped slaughter so many people, including my brother. She saved him.

Why?

I asked myself that question continuously as Jaxon and I walked to our dorm in silence. His own emotions mirrored mine: shock, betrayal, anger confusion. And I was sure my agonized thoughts didn't help him either. His fists were clenched and stuffed inside the pockets of his trousers. His lips had thinned into a tight line, a wrinkle appeared above his brow as he stared intently at the creaking hardwood floor. My own appearance resembled his closely.

"She must have had a reason," Jaxon whispered as we reached our dorm.

Torches lined the stone walls, golden hues of light illuminated the hall. Pictures of previous students hung on the walls, their haughty stares seemed to be directed right at us. But that was just my imagination, it must have been. There was no one else to be found in the hall. Only a few people were actually in their dorms, I could feel about five other emotional auras that didn't belong to Jaxon or myself. The others must have been out.

"What reason could there be, Slade?" I asked, "There's no reason someone should save him. That's like saving Hitler."

I jammed my key into the lock and fiddled with it furiously. After many grunts, growls and curses the door finally swung open. The room wasn't too different from the one I had in the twenty-first century. The furniture we had was a bit sturdier and always smelled freshly laundered but both rooms had two twin beds, two dressers and separate desks. The walls had the same crown molding and similar red wallpaper. Hanging above the the beds was an iron shield, the Nox Haven emblem was painted on it. Unfortunately, I had to share a bathroom with Jaxon. In the present I had requested for my own room which was given without question because I was an heir. It kinda sucked not being that important. I mean, it's definitely a headache being an heir, but the free stuff and special treatment always made up for the whole risking my life on a daily basis.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jaxon followed me into the room and closed the door behind him. "Stop being difficult, this can't be as bad as what you're thinking," he told me.

"Give me one good reason as to why she should care about saving his life," I began to pace across the room, my shaking hands cupped my mouth.

"Well he is her ancestor," Jaxon said, "Maybe she was afraid that if she killed him, she would never to exist."

I rolled my eyes at his ignorance, "Roberto was turned before he could have kids. It says in the history books that his half-sister, Elizabeth, carried on the bloodline."

Flustered Jaxon through his hands in the air, "Well if I didn't know that, and I grew up in the magic world, what makes you think Caddie would?"

I couldn't dispute the fact that that was a very real possibility. It wouldn't be the first time Caddie's ignorance to our world had gotten her in trouble. Walking over to my dresser, I skimmed through the pile of books that I had been given for my classes. I snatched the one from the middle, not caring that the rest of the books spilled onto the floor. I had, had that particular book on me the day we came to the 1800s. At the time I had felt very silly for bringing the slim history book to the restoration of Nox Haven but my father wanted me to give a speech and I knew that the book contained a few eloquently written articles about how are people had triumphed over terror before. I had planned to quote those articles during my speech but that never came to pass. Before I could let my thoughts wander to the twenty-first century, I licked the tip of my index finger and flipped through the pages.

"What are you doing now?" Jaxon asked, exasperated.

"Finding proof."

"I honestly don't think you have to do that. You can just explain it to her," Jaxon insisted.

I forced myself not to laugh at him, "You really don't know her that well, do you?"

Letting out a small sigh of relief, I found the article I was looking for. In history class, most Nox Haven students studied the Black Magic Scare for nearly a month on end. I remembered all the rigorous tests I had to take and lengthy essays I was forced to write. The teachers did not necessarily teach the lesson because it was the biggest moment in magic history but because they were afraid it would happen again. The Council Members used that lesson as a form of propaganda to deter kids from wanting to use black magic. Everyone knew at least one thing about the Black Magic Scare but none of them, not even their parents or grandparents, knew the main cause of hysteria. It wasn't just because of the large groups of Dark Ones forming but it was also because the Dark Witch had no formidable heir.

Roberto had disappeared, most people assumed he had died somehow but his power never transitioned to his half-sister Elizabeth. For nearly three years the Council Members were left vulnerable. They refused to let the Dark Witch deal with the Dark Ones, in fear of her death. That only allowed the Dark Ones to spread and grow quickly like weeds. It wasn't until Elizabeth gave birth to a little girl, three years after her brother disappeared, did the dark clouds that loomed over the Council Members drift away. That little girl became their single ray of hope. As she grew up, every witch and warlock was sitting on the edge of their seat in anticipation, hoping she had the power, hoping that she could stop the Dark Ones. Somehow, all of that hoping paid off because the little girl did grow up to be a Dark Witch- one of the best, some people even claimed.

I explained the story of Elizabeth Moyer and her daughter, Imogen, to Jaxon. His green eyes lit up with recognition as I reached the end.

"Oh yeah!" He exclaimed, "I remember that from history class, well sort of, I mean I remember the words Black Magic Scare and Imogen Moyer. Everything after that gets a little fuzzy."

The smile slipped off of Jaxon's face as he furrowed his brows. His emotions were so conflicting, I didn't even bother to try to keep.

"Dude," Jaxon said slowly, "Roberto said Caddie saved his life and you said that this was the year Roberto was supposed to be turned into a vampire. D-Do you think Caddie might have stopped the vampire from turning him?"

My heart started to race in my chest. I looked up at Jaxon and both shared a look that could only be explained as, oh shit. Loosening the white necktie from my neck with one hand, I used the other to hold me up against the bedpost. Caddie what have you done, I thought to myself. Without Roberto's disappearance, Imogen would never be a Dark Witch, she would never be able to stop the Dark One apocalypse. And most importantly, she would never create the family that would lead to Caddie's birth.

"We need to fix this," I almost yelled. Jaxon gave me a curt in agreeance.

Barreling out of the room, I quickly snatched a torch off of the the wall and made my way to the girls dorms. Jaxon stayed close on my heels. The stairs were narrow and small, squeezing both of our bodies in the confined space was a nightmare, doubled by the fact that Jaxon was claustrophobic. I tried to calm his emotions to the best of my ability; we didn't really have time for a panic attack. After a momentary pause, Jaxon took in a deep breath, and nodded as if to say that he could continue on. I was practically jogging by the time we reached the girls dorm room. I knocked three times, their wooden door shook beneath the brunt force of my fist. If anyone had been sleeping they certainly weren't anymore due to my pounding. The girls, however, didn't respond. I tried three more times but there was no response.

"I can't hear their thoughts or dreams," Jaxon said, "They must not be here."

"Where else could they be?" I groaned.

Jaxon didn't get a chance to answer before a familiar, soft-toned voice entered the conversation. "I hope you boys do not make it habit, coming to the girls dorms," Moria said, "Some people might think you're up to something scandalous."

She had no idea how close to the truth she was. We were definitely up to something scandalous and it definitely dealt with the girls, but this kind of scandal didn't involve things like sex- it involved things like murder.

"We were just looking for my sister and her friend," Jaxon face twisted in disgust as he got a good look into Moria's head. Whatever she was thing, obviously had nothing to do with Jaxon and Alix spending some sibling quality time.

"Oh," Moria said, her cheeks turned pink.

"You should check the bonfire then," Moria states after a moment of awkward silence, "Almost everyone is there, celebrating team Fire's win over Water."

Jaxon and I shared a look and shrugged. I didn't actually believe the girls had gone to a party, Alix was so set on the mission and Caddie always hated social events, but where else could they be? The options were endless and at least if they weren't at the bonfire we could ask some people if they seen them recently. I bidded Moria goodnight and followed Jaxon out of the school. We needed to act quick, or else the world we were trying to protect would no longer exist.

**I know people don't really like reading the chapters in Aleksander's POV but this is a pretty big development in the story. We now have been introduced to two knew characters, and we will definitely be hearing more about Elizabeth and meeting her soon. For a while now I've been trying to find the project to continue with after this series and I have decided. Also, Alix and one other character will be making a few cameos in that story. I've been trying to find the perfect way to start that story for almost two months now, it's been really aggravating lol, but I like the direction it's going in now and I hope you guys enjoy it when it's completed. Thank you so much for the support and love, The Nox Haven didn't win a Wattys this year but there's always next year. After all, The Dark Witch has only been out for a year, a lot of these books that won have been out for a lot longer so I'm really happy with all the success this series has gathered in such a short time. Thank you again!
XOXO,
Ro.**