Midnight was an essential part of every being's life. With its blanket of protective shadows and nothing but strings of moonlight falling from the heavens, it was the perfect time to sleep, to hunt, to seek.

But for Venix, it was the time to uncover the truth.

Wiping her puffy eyes and face and choosing to toss her scarlet gown in exchange for comfortable black jeans and a violet shirt that covered her pale arms, the BloodBone Witch was a skillful hunter and killer as she snuck out of her hut quietly, closing the door behind her.

The tribal grounds were empty, essentially lifeless with barely a soul lingering on the sandy grounds. Whispers of the wind echoed through the chilly night, the crunch of her boots against the grainy sand. Glad to be out of her violet gown, she had opted for comfortable black jeans and a black top as she camouflaged into the night,

She knew she should be asleep at this hour. She knew she should have been hunting for her next victim at this hour. She should have been doing anything but making her way towards the dining room at this hour.

But hell, sleep didn't come too easy tonight.

The BloodBone's mind was still racing after seeing Onyx lifeless and covered in blood. Everyone had practically had, all of them hearing her screams of agony as they echoed from a dark hallway. For a while, it all seemed to be a dream, a hallucination even.

But when Rheynoak emerged from the shadows holding her unconscious, blood-soaked body in his arms, the BloodBone knew it was all real. Too real.

She had practically heard her heart split into two as she tore away from Lucien's presence and threw her body onto her friend's soulless one, begging her to come back to life.

But as every cruel thing that has ever happened in her life, Onyx still remained lifeless as she was carried into the infirmary to be treated.

Venix herself knew she should have been weeping by now but all her tears had dried up behind her eyes and the mission ahead of her was too important to pass up. Lucien was counting on her to show up and she was not looking forward to letting him down.

The double doors to the dining hall were slightly cracked open, the inside only lit by a few lights as she slipped her way through the crack. The doors slipped shut behind her, the wind outside hushing as silence met her ears.

The hall still smelled of roasted feasts, Trojan wine, and drunk madness as the Witch wandered through rows of tables that were still scattered with leftover scraps of foods and trays. Some of the table legs were even left unhinged, the chairs tilted to one side.

A groan slipped out of her lips, her head shaking. Whoever had to clean this up was in for a long, long day.

Her footsteps echoed throughout the hall as she followed the lights to a dark hallway, her advanced eyes outlining the lean body of Lucien leaning against the cold walls, sinking his teeth into what looked like an apple. His white hair was distinguishable against the bright candlelight, the trace of his jaw flexing.

"You don't share?" Venix uttered as she greeted him, resting a hand on her stomach to calm the fluttering that exploded in her stomach. The Hell Siphon turned his icy gaze over to her, a smile pulling on his face. "Never asked" he replied back, wiping a bit of the juice off his jaw.

"Still want it?" he asked, extending the half bitten fruit towards her. The Witch grimaced, shaking her head. "You enjoy it for now" she denied, shaking her head. A blush formed on his cheeks but he nodded regardless, taking another bite of the apple. "I'm a mess," he said, running his hand through his hair. "Haven't eaten since morning."

"Why? You know ever since we unlocked our true forms, our bodies are still adjusting and are a bit weak so skipping meals is not beneficial for us." Again the Hell Siphon nodded and sighed, shaking his head once again. "I know, I know" was all he muttered, tapping his finger on the core of the apple.

His lips twisted into a furious scowl, winter blue eyes eyeing down the fruit in his hand. The veins on his arm glowed white, a barely there glint before it disappeared under his snowy skin. Dark brows were furrowed, his thoughts obviously sweeping him away into another world.

And for a second, Venix debated on whether to let him dream on or snap him out of his daze. Her mind said to keep it professional but her heart was another conflict, willing her body to do everything her mind went against. Yet still, the BloodBone cleared her throat and asked, "How is Onyx doing?"

"She's the same" he replied, his eyes gliding from the apple as he tossed the fruit in his hand. "She's in her hut, being supervised by Rheynoak and a few members who dabble in black medicine and hybrid spells, hoping they can come up with a solution" he informed her, leaning back against the wall.

"But so far no progress?"

Lucien turned his head to look at the Witch and the look in his was the only sign she needed to know he was telling the truth. A shaky breath escaped her lips, the slight feeling of tears prickling behind her eyes. Usually, she would never shed a tear, not even in heart-wrenching situations like this.

But ever since the oath, she seemed to have grown a more vulnerable side, a side that balanced out the cold, dead being that was her soul. And she didn't like it one bit.

What was the point in feeling when she was dead all over?

Venix hadn't noticed Lucien leaning off the wall and cupping her face until his thumb wiped a tear from her cheeks. She hadn't even realized she had been crying until she resurfaced her attention to reality and finally heard the whimpers escaping her lips.

Everything in her mind was complicated, not calculated and so murky that she didn't even protests when the Hell Siphon wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to his chest, enveloping her in a hug.

Her hands were shaking as she snaked her arm around his waist, resting her head on his chest and letting the last few tears fall from her eyes. Skilled fingers wove through her hair, stroking her head calmly and his calm voice was almost like a lullaby. "She's Onyx, Venix. She won't go down without a fight."

And through all her salty tears, the BloodBone nodded, letting her eyes dry up before she wiped her face on his wool shirt, sniffling. "I know" she whispered, breathing in his ocean scent. Her hands fell from his waist and she wiped her face clean, shaking her head. "Let's just focus on the task ahead."

"Are you sure?" the Hell Siphon asked her, worried blue eyes meeting hers. "Because we can do this another time if you are not up to it."

"No, we're not rescheduling this" she protested, shaking her head. "You know how private Rheynoak likes to be and this might be our only chance of actually discovering something. My insecurities won't stand in the way of that."

"Tears are not insecurities, Venix" he whispered back, holding onto her still shaking hand. His fingers gently stroked her fingers, outlining the barely blue veins that lined her pale skin. "Tears are strength. They build us up even when we are breaking down."

His words rang through her ear like bells, the soft tone of his voice and the pleading look in his eyes only adding to the heartache that began to throb deep inside her heart.

Their bodies were close, too close with only an inch of space left to breathe. Hurried breaths heaved out of their chests, the sound of waves crashing on the shores.

So supportive, so gentle, a devilish angel she couldn't imagine.

He could have been with anyone right now. He could have selected his soulmate years ago. Start his own tribe and his own family and build his own legacy. He had the passion for it, the eyes of a warrior and the loyalty of a great king.

And yet here he was. Hundreds of years later, he was here with her. A right-hand man Hell Siphon who was capable of so much more than this small desert. Here he was, his heart practically bleeding for her and yet by her own decisions and selfishness, she couldn't- wouldn't- be with him.

"I hate tears" the BloodBone finally explained, pulling her hand out of his grasps and crossing her arms. "They show only the weakest parts of a person that can't be repaired, only damaged further."

Disappointment pooled in his eyes but he nodded, clasping his hands together. A huff fell from her lips, followed by a few curses and a breath she didn't know she was holding before she finally said, "Let's just focus on the task ahead."

The cold wind drifting into Rheynoak's office blew through the thick curtains, the glass windows spread wide open to the stars and dark skies above and to the red sand below.

Everything was abandoned including the tribe leader's desk, leaving nothing but his over-decorated office that boasted his ego and the thick presence of danger that drifted around the room. Lucien cautiously opened the door, looking both ways to make sure it was truly empty.

Since there was no magical connection alerting him that Rheynoak was present, he opened the door a slight bit more, allowing Venix to walk through first. The BloodBone shivered at the presence of his magic lingering around the room, fighting with her internal magic as well.

"I would have burned a sage in here but we are in a rush" Lucien whispered once he shut the door behind him, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "It was hard enough sneaking you into the main building.

A smile twitched at the Witch's lips, her hands tucked behind her. It was indeed hard sneaking her into the mini castle that stood in the middle of the entire tribe. There was a shield around it, a selective barrier that only allowed a few people to pass through. Seeing how she and Rheynoak wanted to gut each other out, it made sense that a little manipulation of the shield was necessary in order for her to get through.

"Okay, so what are we looking for exactly?" the witch asked, immediately heading over to the bookshelves against the walls that held numerous books dating back millions of years ago. "I don't know myself" the Hell Siphon replied back, walking over to the wooden desk to ransack through the papers. "All I know is that ever since the oath, something has been off with Rheynoak. He's been acting differently around Alesandria and Onyx. Draco's unexpected visit only drives my point further."

"And you believe that Rheynoak holds a visual piece of evidence to confirm all of this and prove that he is a backstabbing, cold demon" she hissed, completing his sentence. "Hate to break it to you in case you haven't noticed but his existence is proof enough."

Again Lucien found himself suppressing the smile that itched at the edge of his lips, instead shaking his head and continuing to ransack through the papers, finding nothing but useless information and scrolls from different tribes written in their own unique dialect. "We'll know it when we see it."

So for the next hour, the two magical beings tore the office apart, the witch searching through all the bookshelves and drawers around her while the Hell Siphon checked his desk, the hidden chambers in his office and even lifting up the carpet to see if anything was there.

But it seemed as if all the evidence had disappeared, leaving nothing but the cold, the shadows and two absolutely baffled beings. "We've looked everywhere," the Venix said, reading over the last few words of the book in front of her. "Nothing seems to point in his direction."

"But he's hiding something, Venix" Lucien replied back tossing the papers aside on the floor. "I know he is."

The BloodBone rolled her eyes, slamming her palm down on the ancient page. "We've searched every inch of this office. If something was truly hidden in here, we would have found it."

Sighing, she closed the book, shoving it back in its place on one of the many shelves in his room, letting her weight rest on her knees. She ran her long fingers through her hair, hoping to any gods that were listening to her that something would appear before the last of her sanity went missing yet again.

The Hell Siphon refused to give up, knocking his fist down on the table."Rheynoak obviously wouldn't leave it lying around. He's calculated, skilled. He uses his head and cheats in order to win the game, Venix."

Venix turned around in time to capture his gaze, seeing the frustration build up in his blue eyes. "I'm not crazy. I swear I'm not."

"And I believe you, Lucien" she replied back, pulling herself back up on her feet. "I really do but we are getting nowhere. We've been looking for evidence for over an hour and nothing has surfaced. I don't know where else to look."

Lucien cursed underneath his breath, sinking to the bottom of the desk at his knees, his long fingers intertwined in his hair. A shaky breath escaped his lips, strings of moonlights capturing the veins that crawled up his arm, glowing with anger. "I don't know what else to do from the point on" he admitted, cursing once again underneath his breath.

The BloodBone let her shoulders sag, seeing the sadness that dawned on him. There was nothing her heart wouldn't do to help him find what he was looking for but reality seemed to be cruel to them, driving both of them to the brink of exhaustion.

Nibbling on the bottom of her lips, an internal instinct whispered to the Witch to turn around, her violet eyes making contact with the bejeweled walls. A negative energy met her, dark and alluring. Scowling, she traced her hands over the jewels on the walls, darting her gaze from the cases that held medals of achievement and weapons to the walls that were decorated with picture frames.

Except for one.

Far away from her, near the double-doored entrance to his office, was a wall covered in jewels as all the other ones. Except this one bore two swords crossed together to form an 'x'. One was made of nothing but pure black stones and silver diamonds while the other was more extravagant, rubies and copper blending together to create an extravagant beauty.

In the middle of the two swords was a sculpted golden sun, a brooch pinned against both blades that held them in place against the wall. The color was a dark sunset, almost like a burnt gold and it blended against the wall so finely.

"Maybe we've been thinking about this too logically, Lucien" Venix pointed out, walking over to the two blades. The Hell Siphon looked up from his bent position, casting his icy eyes towards the witch. "Elaborate please" he pressed.

"Come here and I'll show you." Nodding, he pulled himself up, brushed off any first off his clothes and made his way over to the Witch in a few seconds, making sure to keep his distance away from her.

Still, the slight brush of his hot breath on her neck caused the witch to suck in a breath, taking in a deep breath to calm her beating heart. "Look at this wall. It's the only one without a sword decoration on it" she pointed out, tracing her fingers against the weapons. "And this golden sun brooch, one glance at it and one would have never paid attention to it."

A curse fell from the Hell Siphon's, his fingers reaching up to trace the black stone sword. "Kalei and Eira" he whispered, a hint of sadness laced between the words he said. "This is my sword and Kalei was his. In the time of war, we always used these swords and we always came out victorious" he muttered, shaking his head. "He framed them on the wall to commemorate out brotherly bond. An unbreakable one it seemed back then."

"How long has it been since you last used Eira?" the BloodBone asked, resting her fingers against the sun brooch. "Too long for me to remember" was his reply, letting his fingers fall from the sword. "All I seem to remember was the number of lives we took when our swords worked together."

The witch turned back, watching the Hell Siphon shove his hand down in his pocket, his pale cheeks flushed red and his winter eyes warming up with the hues of anger and frustration, the glistening of tears in his eyes.

Something in her heart winced for him, called out to him. Her fingers ached to run through his hair and wipe his tears away, her eyes wishing to see those blue stones that stirred a feeling in the pit of her stomach and caused her skin to feel as if her body has been set on fire.

But at last, she cleared her throat, tightening her grip on the brooch. "If I could just unlock this" she hissed, gripping the golden ornament. Her nails dug into the sides, turning it. Hoping it would open, the brooch did the opposite, glowing ruby red before shocking her with a wave of negative magic.

"Protection spell" she hissed, shaking her hand. Lucien casted his gaze over to her, his brows furrowed in worry. "Will you be okay?" he asked, reaching out for her hand.

"I'll be fine" she reassured, pulling her hand away and intertwining her fingers together. He seemed to get the hint, instead focusing his attention of the gold brooch as well. A hum escaped his lips, tilting his head. "The brooch was a gift from an aftermath of one of the many wars we were in" he explained. "A village girl nearby gifted it to us and we have kept it ever since, a symbol of the peace that was achieved that day."

His fingers grasped each side of the ornament, another hum escaping his lips. "What is it?" Venix asked, raising her brow. "Well, number one the brooch only responds to Hell Siphon magic and number two, my suspicion was the girl dabbled in some black magic and there is a special way to unlock the brooch."

His grip tightened on the ornament, his knuckles blistering red. "Unfortunately, I am impatient so if I could just Siphon the magic out, it will open."

"Lucien, you can't. If the girl indeed dabbled with magic, it could still be present." Still, he shook his head, heaving at the gold brooch with all his might. "Screw black magic. This is more important."

And with that, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, summoning all the powers of hell that were gifted to him to battle against the magic that protected the brooch. His veins glowed a fiery red, his blood boiling underneath his skin and the white of his eyes seeming to dim into milky clouds.

A groan escaped his lips, a brutal pain digging sharp into his bones. The magic buried within him exploded into a fire his body couldn't control, his strength maximizing. With another heavy groan, the Hell Siphon heaved and the brooch gave out and snapped off the wall, along with the negative energy surrounding it.

The gold ornament fell to the floor and in its place was a hole the size of the brooch precisely, holding several important items. "What's inside?" Venix asked, watching as Lucien reached inside the hole. He grasped on to something and pulled it out to reveal the dagger Alesandria stabbed herself with at the Catalyst Oath.

"I thought it was still in Alesandria's possession" the Hell Siphon whispered to her, his worried eyes glancing up to meet hers. The BloodBone shook her head, stumbling on her words in a breathless effort not to question everything. "I'm just as surprised as you are" she muttered back, moving closer so that her hands could trace the ruby that was set in the middle of the dagger's head.

Blood swirled inside the ruby, a small puddle but still not completely invisible. The Witch turned her head, frowning at the ruby. "This doesn't look right" she pointed out, poking the jewel in the middle. "It doesn't fit the dagger."

"We're not looking for aesthetic details" the Siphon pointed out, tucking the dagger into the band of his jeans. "I know but something about that ruby seems a bit off to me. Like it's not supposed to be with the dagger."

"Have I ever told you how much you love picking at every single detail?" he told her, raising a cocky brow at the Witch. She scoffed and smiled back, punching him on the arm playfully before reaching into the hole. Her fingers wrapped around a smooth, small item.

Curious, the BloodBone pulled it out to reveal she had in fact pulled out pictures. Three of them actually.

"What the hell?" she hissed, flipping through them. The first one showed two baby girls, both with dark hair and sound asleep. The sketch was beautifully detailed as if the picture was only captured yesterday.

The second picture was of an ice wolf lurking among icy ground. The snow on its gray ash fur complimented the ember that was its eyes, a rather unusual symbol sculpted in between its forehead, glowing strangely blue.

Flipping through the last one, her eyes grew wide, casting her gaze over to Lucien. "Is this you and Rheynoak?" she asked, raising her brows. Immediately, the Siphon's eyes grew wide, his fingers tracing the outlines of the sketched picture. "I haven't seen this pictures in years" he whispered, his fingers shaking as he grasped the thin sheet of paper.

The picture sketched showed three people standing underneath a star-littered sky and a foggy forest. Lucien stood on the far left, his hair much shorter, cropped to his chin and his lean physique cladded in silk red and gold. Rheynoak, on the other hand, sported longer hair to his shoulders, the black cloak surrounding him becoming a night sky that matched his soul. But in the middle of the photo stood a girl, about Lucien's age with long, white hair that reached her knees and pale blue-green eyes that glowed with ferociousness. Her lips were twisted into a rather cocky smile, her elbow resting on the curve of Lucien's shoulder while her other hand rested on her hip.

"Who is she?" Venix asked, clearing her throat. Her violet eyes traced over to the Hell Siphon who looked paler than ever, his once milky complexion paling to nothing but a snowy forest. He shivered, licking his lips once before whispering, "That was my twin sister, Esmeralda. She died years ago" he informed her, his words cracking at the base of his tongue.

The Bloodbone turned around, seeing the clear tears that rippled in his blue gaze, his fingers still holding on to the picture. "I didn't think he would still have this picture after her death during Solyerian. He was heartbroken." A single tear trailed down his cheekbone, fresh and painful as it dripped down his neck.

"I'm sorry for your loss" was all Venix could utter, placing her hand on his arm and squeezing gently. What sounded like a sob escaped his lips, wrenching and heartbreaking as multiple tears streaked down his face, his face blooming with the fresh colors of roses.

"Why would he keep all of this?" Lucien asked between his broken words. He looked up briefly, displaying his throbbing eyes that were now bloodshot red and aching. The picture in his hands was shaking, a single teardrop hitting his sister's face. "After everything that has happened, why does he have all of this. The dagger, the pictures of the babies, my sister. Why?"

Why. Venix herself was still trying to process why all of this was happening. The lying, the secrets, the oath, the spells, the cheating, the confusion. The terrible sickness that was currently eating her best friend's soul, the crackling SilverClaw Witch haunting her in the back of her mind, and her heart aching for the one thing she couldn't have.

Why? Why did Rheynoak possess these things and possibly many more treasures with him that others didn't know of? Why was Onyx suddenly dying? Why did the existence of life continue to mock them all with just failures and more secrets? Why did life have to be so cruel to those who weren't born with a mortal heart?

Questions. Those were all questions she knew weren't going to be answered soon enough.

"I don't know" she finally whispered after letting the whole thing process in her mind. She leaned in to rest her forehead on his, cupping his tear-streaked face with her cold hands. "I don't know for sure but we have a lead now and that is all we need for tonight, Lucien. We can continue this tomorrow if you want."

"But we can't walk away from this" he protested, closing his eyes. "We're so close to uncovering something. I know we are." Again, the BloodBone shook her head, curling her fingers around his jaw. "Lucien, you're fooling yourself if you think you can continue to search Rheynoak's office for clues after you just saw a picture of your dead sister."

"You were fooling yourself earlier when you said you were fine after breaking down. Clearly, you were not but you pushed forward despite the fact that you were terribly worried about Onyx. If you could ignore the pain in your heart before, why can't I do it now?"

Venix was left speechless for a moment, a frown pulling on her lips. He was right. Every word he uttered was right and she hated the fact that he was. She's been fooling herself for years, pushing down her personal pain in order to push forward. And though it may have seen like it was the best decision back then, it only made the pain grow over the years, leaving her to question her decisions.

"I'm not the best example, Lucien" she finally managed to say after a moment of silence. "I'm fucked up in all the wrong ways and we both know it. Whatever you do, don't take after me as a personal guideline."

The Hell Siphon only listened intensively, inhaling deeply. Despite his head nodding after a few seconds, one single tear dripped down the bridge of his nose and onto his shivering lips. "We're not walking away from this completely" the Witch reassured, letting her thumb stroke the back of his neck tenderly. "We're simply distancing ourselves from this chaos just for tonight. It's the best for both of us."

"I don't know if I can-"

The BloodBone simply stopped him, putting her other thumb over his lips. His words died on the tip of his tongue, blue eyes searching through hers for answers he knew she didn't have. Venix's next words broke at the tip of her tongue, her voice hoarse. "Please. Just for tonight."

And despite the tears still lingering in his eyes and the way his soul ached and cracked underneath his crumbling heart, in the end, Lucien found himself falling deep into her violet eyes and nodding his head once again, almost instinctively.

Without any question in mind.

"Persuasive little Witch. Since when did you have such a soft spot?" the Hell Siphon asked, allowing a bit of humor to entangle with his words. The Witch scoffed and rolled her eyes, shaking her head against his.

Somehow, hearing those words - so full of sarcasm and little hope - was enough to make the cold-hearted witch smile. It was enough to blossom a little warm spot in her phantom soul. "I don't have one, Lucien" she glared, raising her brows. "But I can pretend to have one just for you."

A/N: And that is the end of second part of Chapter Seven!

Wow, it feels good to be back updating! Sorry for such a long wait!

I know I haven't been active lately! Sorry for going off the radar and disappearing all of a sudden! I needed some time to myself to really distress and get some stuff in my life back together. Plus school started and it's a bit chaotic since I have to get my schedule fixed and I have a terrible cold. But in the midst of it all, I finally seemed to have overcome my writer's block so hopefully, I will be back on track updating in no time!

Thank you so much for understanding! 

So tell me what you guys thought of this chapter between Lucien and Venix. Any specific scenes you liked! Any conspiracies? I would love to hear them!

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Until next time Lovelies!

With love, May