UNCHAINED SONATA

CHAPTER THREE

(OVER A HUNDRED YEARS AGO)

ACCELERATING at the speed of two hundred miles per hour inside the wilderness of Tamaska, a sinister leer tugged on Alistair's unnatural absence of color's face while he's taking pleasure in the whooshing sound of his swiftness was creating on the knee-length scrubs against his hazel-colored trousers.

Alistair cackled and like a lad having the time of his life, he skimmed like a flash of lightning through the murky compactness of evergreen which fueled the adrenalin surging in his veins, making him extra inquisitive in discovering where the saccharine aroma coaxing his nostrils coming from.

"Human blood. No!" he rasped with his orbs glinting ruby red under the faint tinge of the moon passing through the branches of the trees, indicating how his excitement intensified when he finally reckoned what the zest stimulating fragrance was. "A vestal human blood!"

No ordinary mortal could be as intoxicating as the scent blending in the air and blowing into various directions but only the pristine vital fluid of a human. It's excessively overwhelming that it's rousing his insatiable drive to feed to an insane level. Sending his volatile mind over the edge.

Alistair's lips curled back as his predatory instinct guided him to the heart of the forest. In his peripheral, he caught sight of the shadows striving to match his speed.

He had a gust of familiar essences and he snickered. It appeared to him that the others were also hooked by the vestal blood and it only meant one thing. The hunting would end up as a competition.

"The prey should be mine!" he grunted and pushed his acceleration to its limit.

_____________

TORAK CASTLE

ANASTASIA rolled up to her side and smashed her cheek on the soft pillow before she deliberately snapped her eyes open.

"It's him again," she whispered to herself in a croaky voice as she woke up the next morning remembering the same dream that kept on visiting her deep slumbers since she was a kid.

It didn't bother her before. She thought that it was just a creation of her wild imagination. However, for the past few weeks, the dream had been constantly striking almost every night and what added up to her perplexity, the scenes and the places got more vivid like she was there. Even the man's animated voice was audible that she could feel his words brushing her sensitive ears.

Nonetheless, Anastasia never saw his face even once. All she knew base on her observance was, he was in his late adolescence. Might be in between eighteen and twenty years of age.

Anastasia inhaled deep and muttered, "Whoever he is, maybe I knew him from before." But she instantly contradicted her statement.

The timeline in her dreams seemed a long time ago and it didn't match hers.

Anastasia snickered and eventually decided to snap out of it. There's an important thing that she must do and she should focus on those things first. With that thought, she got up and slid off her comfortable poster bed dragging the duvet with her until it fell to the side of the mattresses.

She walked past through the full mirror of her dresser and her reflection revealed her perfect curves wrapped with a gold satiny nightgown that dripped down to her ankles.

Anastasia yawned and grabbed her slipper before she continued striding to the door with her pads pressing against the woven fabric on the floor.

"Wait a moment," she mumbled and suddenly halted. A deep frown formed on her forehead. "Why am I in my chamber?"

She tilted her head to the side and wracked her brain about what happened the other night when Liliana told that her husband was summoning her.

Did she perhaps fell asleep after the hydrotherapy and failed to see Ivanov?

"Oh, good gracious!" Anastasia rasped as her empty stomach churned out of worry that she might have offended the new Duke of Torak.

Even if she's grown apprehensive of him, she still must act according to their status.

What if he divorces her and sends her out of the castle which is her only home?

"I must see Lillian!" Anastasia exclaimed.

She quickly grabbed the door's handle in front of her and opened the leaf. The dismal corridor of the second level of the castle greeted her when she stepped out of her chamber and began sprinting through the tunnel-like but a grand passageway. She ran past the other servants who gave her morning curtsy but she had no choice but to ignore them for she's in a hurry. She continued running with the sides of the nightgown flapping like a bird's wings until she turned to the corner where the staircase leading to the first floor was.

Breathing rapidly, Anastasia snatched the lower edge of her garments before she jogged down the spiral stairs with the aid of the rails and reached the last step. She then entered another aisle which guided her to the entrance of the castle.

She was panting and excessively sweating when she finally caught sight of Lilliana who was outside with the other female attendants pulling a bunch of boxes out of the carriage. Anastasia's brows knotted together as she approached them while covering the upper part of her face, protecting her eyes from the radiance of the sun.

"What are you doing?" she asked which made them jumped in surprise and faced her.

"A pleasant morning to you, Lady Anastasia " Lilliana smiled when she glanced at her and then dipped her head down.

The others gave curtsy too before they resumed their task.

"Lilliana, what are those?" Anastasia curiously asked her lady in waiting and hauled her under the nearby tree.

Lilliana's smile widened. "Those were dresses for the royal gathering tonight at the Altalune palace sent by his grace to you, Lady Anastasia."

Anastasia's eyes went broad. "Royal gathering at the Altalune palace?" she gasped and covered her mouth in astonishment.

Lilliana nodded. "Yes, my Lady. The Duke said that he'll pick you up one hour after lunch so you should start preparing now, my Lady."

Pulling her hands off her lower face, Anastasia swallowed hard and winced. "T-the duke and I will..." Her words were cut when she shook her head and grabbed Lilliana's shoulders. "L-Lilliana I need your... I need your help!"

Her lady in waiting heaved a sigh and gave her a sympathetic look. "My Lady, if you're going to ask me something that can be used against his grace, I am deeply sorry but those things were banned in the castle since this morning."

Anastasia's jaw dropped in disbelief. "H-how did you..." she wanted to ask how Lilliana guessed what's in her mind but the news that Ivanov took out all the things that she could use against him made her trembled in fear just by the thought that she had to travel with him to Altalune that afternoon. She hugged herself and mumbled, "Oh, no. What should I do now?"