The Crimson Snow (A Realm of Chaos and Void #1)

Chapter 16

The Voided Fox

A frozen heart deal is never what it seems. Certain humans before the Great War and the veil’s creation used to accept that in exchange for eternal life. It was one of the biggest blessings, but not all humans could not bear the weight of immortality, which meant forsaking their humanity.

Retrieved from Golden Tales from the Otherworld

by Galen Sorrowspring, Ch. 30, p. 210.

Seraphine Ashcroft

Seraphine no longer saw colors or the beauty of the foliage in the Otherworld. She just stood there, as frozen as her heart. She watched Evren move across the Shadowmarket, shadows surrounding him, screams echoing, creatures hiding from the darkness that emanated from him. As much as she wanted to delve into what was happening, she could barely speak or move.

It was as if she were caged in her own mind, her body a machine built to move her limbs. An object to be used. A heartless tool. She wanted to feel—fear, hatred, guilt—but the deeper she searched, the more she could find nothing more than void.

Evren held her firmly, his arm on her back as if he knew her body was barely able to act by itself. Seraphine found no meaning or excitement in that anymore.

Her heart barely beat once or twice per hour. She had been counting. Breathing deeply, she decided to play along. Evren held the strings, but he had promised to free her after whatever quest he had in mind. Perhaps she could learn about him. It was a better use of her time than staying silent and letting the void in her heart consume her.

“I guess you delight in scaring poor creatures,”

she said, slowly scanning the scene. Shops were closing, and beings of all kinds—hags, siths, selkies, merrows—were running away.

“Who are you truly, Evren Wraithwood? Is this part of your plan, that so-called quest? Scare innocent creatures for fun?”

Evren stopped and surveyed her, his face the essence of smugness and smitten affection. He almost looked like royalty. A prince of nothing.

“Curious, aren’t you?”

he smirked, yet she recognized a flicker of concern in Evren’s eyes. “There is someone I need to talk to first before we start our quest. Shortly after that conversation, I will share all the details,”

he promised, as if it would mean something to her—as if it were proof of trust.

“I remember that one there,”

she said, changing the topic to something more vain and less boring. She was looking at his cat sith.

“Ah yes, Shadoweater was my trading pal since I was prohibited from entering the realm.”

Turning her head to the side, she stifled a yawn. “Why were you not allowed here? And why are you allowed now?”

Seraphine was far from curious, but she needed to obtain some information from Evren to use to her advantage.

Feelings can be overshadowed by purpose, it seems.

“That, Crimson Eyes—”

He tugged her close to his body with the hand he had on her back. The closeness sent warmth through her body, melting a little of the ice in her veins. “I cannot tell you just yet. We barely know each other,”

he mocked but kept her close, as if he knew she was cold to the bone.

She followed him. Somehow, the route was vaguely familiar. “Who are you searching for?”

she inquired, noting there was nothing appealing about the Shadowmarket now.

“A friend of yours. Your beloved Dorah.”

“Why her?”

“Why not?” he said.

“That is not an answer. You cannot answer my question with another question.”

Seraphine found his answer a little frustrating.

“Can’t I?”

Evren once again answered with a question.

Seraphine closed her eyes, took a breath, and then looked again at the sky. The Otherworld was different, inverted. The stars were closer.

Evren took off his furred cloak and put it on Seraphine. “She used to be an old friend of mine too. Just that.”

The cloak was warm enough. Although a gentle and useless gesture, the girl tugged it closer to her body while they walked toward Dorah’s shop.

Evren Wraithwood

Evren noticed Seraphine’s usually pale and lively skin was dull. Perhaps it was due to the deal or hunger.

If only I were brave enough to be honest.

The truth was that he, born to unfairness and darkness, was afraid of what the truth could do to her. Would she remember? Would she think of me as a monster? Evren was a monster, nevertheless. For now, the best thing he could do was to find a way to end the quest and succeed. He could master the role of the villain anew. He could lie again, he could kill one more time, he could drown himself in the darkness once more.

He watched as Seraphine moved slowly beside him. In his white-furred cloak, she looked regal despite her tiredness. Her wavy, long hair and her eyes were the ones that made his breath hitch whenever he gazed upon them. However, once full of stars and light, her eyes were voided. And it’s all my fault.

Not for long, though.

The Shadowmarket looked as he remembered, full of shops selling the most disgusting items. He had traveled here a few times but was always told to avoid it. This was a place for mercenaries, black magic, and the worst kind of trading. Evren, too, had been tricked here.

Still, now that Dorah knew Seraphine, he hoped he could leverage that to get some information from the hag.

As they walked, he couldn’t help but breathe in the air of the Otherworld. When the veil was created, he barely glimpsed how the realm was transformed. Some parts remained the same, like the Shadowmarket, eerie and dark. Other parts stayed in the human world, like his forest. The world was crafted so the human and the Otherworld realms would lay in the same space. Still, Evren could sense something was off—mixed, unbalanced, unnatural.

There was so much he needed to understand about his realm. How ironic. If he had been more careful years ago, the veil and the war would have never happened.

“What an unpleasant visit,”

an ethereal voice said, moving out of the shadows and resting close to a dark old storefront.

“Likewise, Theodorah,”

Evren said, bowing to the hag.

Seraphine Ashcroft

Seraphine expected to feel something when seeing Dorah, but there was nothing. Still, she tried to soften her eyes a little, faking some politeness for the sake of her old friend.

Dorah approached her, her hair a mess with sharp roses. Still, Seraphine let her take her head in her hands, her nails sharp and long. “Seren, what happened?”

she uttered quietly, concern in her old eyes, the flowers in her hair opening and closing.

“Nothing,”

Seraphine muttered. “Everything is all right, Dorah.”

She could pretend, even if it hurt to pull her lips in a smile. If Dorah was part of whatever Evren required to complete this quest, she had to ensure that her current state would not interfere with whatever they needed to discuss.

Dorah’s eyes seemed to flicker with an emotion Seraphine could not comprehend, her uncanny brows moving down. As she opened her mouth to say something, Evren cut her off.

“Stop fussing over her, Theodorah. At least be kind. It’s her birthday,”

he hissed, his voice deeper and more dangerous. Seraphine had never heard Evren sound like that.

How did he know it was my birthday?

Dorah seemed taken aback. “How?”

she asked Evren, her voice small, scared.

Seraphine couldn’t understand a single thing about the conversation or its importance. She almost laughed at the stupidity of it.

“That is impossible,”

Dorah continued. “You know that! What have you done, Evren?”

It seemed that while she was yawning, Seraphine missed something in the conversation.

“I did what you should have done, Theodorah. I fixed what you did,”

Evren said, his voice sharp like spikes of ice on the trees.

Seraphine eyed Evren, who was standing somehow taller and closer to the hag, like a hunter, a wild animal without control. “Do not come at me so high and mighty with the right to ask questions or doubt my decisions.”

Evren moved closer and whispered something in Dorah’s sharp ear. Whatever it was made her flinch and nod. This was the first time Seraphine had seen Dorah so subdued.

“Come inside. I guess you need something from me besides this... unexpected news,”

Dorah said to Evren.

Are they still talking about my birthday? Seraphine was failing in her plan to learn whatever could be useful against Evren. Dorah looked her way, a small smile full of sharp teeth this time.

“Child, I’ll grab some new clothes for you. The dress is lovely, but you may need something lighter.”

“For free?”

Seraphine looked down. No wonder she was cold. Her dress was torn in places.

Dorah puffed at her. “Are you up for a deal?”

Seraphine found the normality of the conversation comforting.

“Always,”

she said to Dorah, briefly glimpsing at Evren, who seemed lost in his thoughts. Whatever it was caused him to hit his hand on the door’s sharp edge.

Entering the shop, she noticed Evren trying to hide his now bloody finger and the straight line on his mouth. That was contrary to her, who pulled off a real smile.

“Ah, I must have been cursed by Nemera or something worse,”

Dorah sighed, looking at Evren with disdain. Evren smiled—a handsome smile.

He was, indeed, handsome, but who gave him the right to smile?

Seraphine made a mental to erase that smile from his face soon. A pained smile might be better.

Dorah pulled out a piece of paper and started drawing with a pen filled with crimson ink. Probably blood. Seraphine rolled her eyes at the dramatics of the Otherworld. She approached them and saw Dorah lining a map.

Despite her lack of taste, Dorah was kind enough to lend her a pair of old-looking pants and a soft shirt. Seraphine still had Evren’s cloak.

The thought of getting on Evren’s nerves by stealing his cloak tempted her.

“Here. Our realm is misplaced and somehow hidden over the human realm. There are a few places that remained, but—”

She cleared her throat. “Since you were gone, King Malvrek took the opportunity to expand our realm.”

The infamous Malvrek. Seraphine had read about him.

Malvrek, king of the Otherworld, had been created by Nemera to oversee all matters here. Not much is mentioned about him besides that his word is power and that one of his three children will inherit his position one day.

Evren looked lost in thought, tapping the map on the table. It seemed he was fine after hitting his hand. There was no trace of blood anymore. He heals quickly, she thought. “If the veil were to fall, these new lands would create a major catastrophic event in the human realm. It would be a collision,”

he muttered to himself while dragging one finger across the map.

Seraphine could not help but track that finger, up and down, moving from one drawing to another. It was so elegant and polished, different from hers, full of scratches and dirt.

“Why would the king do something like that, knowing it could lead to major destruction in both realms?”

He finally stopped, but his brows were furrowed, his eyes darker.

“Because he thinks the veil will remain,”

Dorah said, giving him a knowing look. “Now, could you please zip that unpleasant mouth of yours and let me finish explaining?”

Evren smiled and covered his mouth with his hand, like a child pretending to sew his lips shut.

Seraphine almost laughed at that.

Dorah sighed. “What you are searching for, I do not have knowledge of. But I am sure that regardless, you wish to reach this place, don’t you?”

She pointed to a high hill at the border of the map.

Evren remained silent, still holding a hand over his mouth.

Moving forward, she stood near them at the table. “Oh, for Nemera’s sake, stop playing around and talk,”

Seraphine hissed at Evren, pinching his arm along the way.

“Ouch!”

Evren jumped at that and looked at Seraphine with a smirk. “Such playful grasp. Those might come in handy.”

He winked at her.

Seraphine rolled her eyes.

What an egocentric, confusing, and smelly wolf he was.

Then, she suddenly felt warmth. Evren, silently as a predator, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and muttered close to the shell of her ear. “Did I ever mention how much I enjoy you bossing me around?”

Perhaps it was the hunger because she could not deal with him anymore. Still, she felt a burning sensation that started in her stomach and traveled throughout her body. “You are a narcissist, a maniac with a self—”

Seraphine stopped as her eyes met Evren’s, just mere inches apart, and she could see them perfectly, every small detail. His eyes were gray-blue, like ice and full of white drops. This close, she could finally see that those were real snowflakes moving across his iris—dancing just like the ones she used to love in the Weeping Forest.

Seraphine wondered if she could live inside his eyes eternally. That would be a good place to live, in the snow, in the frozen gaze of my enemy.

Evren’s eyes warmed, more blue than gray in an instant, and then he closed them. What a shame, Seraphine thought, since it was the only nice trait about him.

Liar, liar, liar.

“Don’t,”

Evren whispered again, his eyes remaining closed.

She could see Dorah making a face of pure disgust.

“Don’t what?”

Seraphine said back, unfazed.

“Look at me like that,”

he muttered, opening one eye, almost timid.

She puffed, surprised. “Look at you, how exactly?”

He smiled then, an open and wide smile, dimples included. “Look who is answering my questions with more questions now.”

Perhaps he was relieved that he had not completely broken her. Yet, she found herself raising her voice a little. “Why would I bother to answer your silly, poorly—”

Seraphine started, but Evren moved faster than she had anticipated and placed a brief kiss on her cheek, like the touch of a leaf.

She felt hot. It was an unusual sensation for her frozen heart, which was not melting but merging with the warmth. Seraphine did not know what to say or do.

Is the deal wearing off? Perhaps she could ask him.

No.

The less Evren knew, the better.

One nightmare at a time.

Annoyingly boring and comforting, she could still feel the mark of the kiss there, lingering, warm.

“Now that my companion is beyond speechless and ready to not overwhelm us with a diverse number of adjectives toward me,”

Evren said, clearing his throat to suppress a laugh, “Yes, I need to get there, but there is research we shall do before that. About the lands, the current state of things, and some other relevant matters. There must be something I could use, something that could give me an idea of how I can—”

He paused, choosing his words. “Clear up all this mess.”

Dorah looked at Seraphine, who was frozen on the spot, and then at Evren. “There is plenty of information stored in the Mystweave Library.”

Evren’s head moved so quickly that Seraphine thought he might collapse. “Is my library still standing?”

He was shocked, his eyes widening and his hand gripping the table strongly.

“What do you mean, your library?”

Seraphine turned and faced him again. She had proclaimed that place as hers years ago. She had been the only one going, having never seen any other creature visit it.

“Mystweave Library was built and formally owned by this unpleasant being,”

Dorah said, pointing her long, sharp nails at Evren. “And yes, Theron hid the place. There are multiple entries, and there is one portal right here in the Shadowmarket. Seren is a frequent visitor.”

Evren muttered, “You don’t say.”

He moved, not looking at anything in particular, and took the map from Dorah. “I suppose there are hidden doors that will take me to some areas of the Otherworld from the library. Am I right?”

Dorah nodded.

“Theron made sure you had a way to reach out if you ever came back, which you sadly did,”

Dorah said.

Seraphine wanted to ask who Theron was, but she bit her tongue. Her head was still spinning around the fact that the muddy wolf beside her was the owner of her favorite place in the world.

Evren nodded. “Then, we shall begin our research,”

he said to Seraphine, facing her, this time his eyes hooded and looking at his feet. “As soon as we get to Mystweave, I will talk to you and answer the trillion questions that are in your head. But first...”

Evren moved his hand to her neck, closer to the odd ink on her skin, the mark that now bonded them together. Still, she did not want his grasp that close to her pulse, so she took a step back. “What are you doing?”

He sighed. “Calm down, Crimson Eyes. You kind of messed up the cloak’s buttons.”

His hand moved to the top of her cloak, and she, indeed, had misplaced them. Evren unfastened the cloak and buttoned it again.

He proceeded to thank Dorah and moved across the shop. Seraphine followed after him.

“Evren,”

Dorah shouted just before they exited the shop.

They both looked at her. Dorah seemed to want to say something to Seraphine, but instead, she closed her eyes and said, “I won’t forget what you did, Evren. The bad and the good.”

What a terrible mistake. Thanking him will just inflate the man’s ego… creature, whatever he is.

“Also, you must wander with care and remain hidden, Evren. The political state of the Otherworld has changed, and there is chaos. The balance of power is holding by a thread.”

“Why? Is this something to do with the Underworld?”

“The two eldest sons of Malvrek were killed,”

Dorah clarified.

Evren’s eyes grew colder and darker. His posture stiffened.

“I understand. We’ll be careful.”

He used a very well-polished and practiced fake smile. Then, he looked at Seraphine and motioned for her to lead the way to her precious library.