Liana's mind instantly traveled back to the time when she had first found her adopted son, her life, her Damian -

Liana was sitting by the window, gazing at the bright red moon.It wasn't very often that one got to catch a glimpse of the crimson ball.The sky was crispy clear too. It looked magical from every angle.She had found herself drawn to another dimension, simply by staring at it.

Things weren't very good at home either. She had just hung up after yet another heated argument with her mother. Ever since her father died, her mother had been a totally different person. She had left Liana in the care of workers and set off, wanting to make a fortune for herself. She sure was successful in multiplying the wealth her father had left behind. But she had no room or space for Liana in her world anymore. Liana was just another liability for her. The only time she had for Liana was to sign her monthly allowance cheque. At first it deeply disturbed Liana. She was very close with her father as it was. His death had shattered her from within. It was the perfect time for her mother to fill in , but she chose to abandon her right at that point when she needed her the most. Over time, Liana didn't actually care about it anymore. She got herself busy in her own world. However things turned a little different after she joined college. Ever since she moved into her new home, her mother wouldn't let her be. She would often try to interrupt Liana's plan of actions . She would interfere in Liana's social life. She interfered with Liana's position in her college with lump sum donations. She would even get Liana followed by bodyguards sometimes. Liana was getting frustrated with her mother's sudden overflow of concerns. This led to the two often arguing whether in person or over the phone.

It wasn't that Liana didn't want her mother to be present in her life. In fact that was what she had always wanted. But the fact that she was always judgemental without giving Liana a chance to explain herself, drove Liana crazy. She had grown to be self dependent over time after her mother had left. Now she suddenly wants to control everything in Liana's world.This made the rift between the two, even wider.

Liana had put on her jacket and decided to go for a walk. Walks were excellent for clearing her mind. She had taken some energy bars in her pocket. Put the music on loud in her headphones. Pulled the hoodie over her head and started walking. It was like she was invisible to the world. Neither did she notice anybody nor did anybody register her.

A few miles down the road, she had found the perfect view to sit and admire. The mountains had met the ocean with its head bowed down in submission. It was a picture of perfect union between the high and the low, the rugged with the lively.

She had sat there for a while, hanging her legs down the cliff, dangling it to the beat of the ocean splashing its water against the walls of those mountains. She was so engrossed in grooving, she hadn't even noticed what the time was or that the bright moon was already shadowed by huge clouds. It wasn't till a few drops had fallen on her that she had noticed the overcast over her head.

She remembered looking up at the sky.At that moment she had seen something glittery and shiny move right past her like a shooting star,and fall somewhere across the horizon.But it wasn't exactly like a shooting star. It was much smaller and less bright. The place it fell on hadn't seem very far from where she was. But before she could have pondered more over it, a few more drops had drizzled over her eyes and face.

"Shit, " She had closed the zipper of her coat and started running towards her home. By the time she reached, it was already raining quite heavily. She herself was drenched too. So without wasting any time she had to run to the washroom to get cleaned and changed.

"The rain sure felt refreshing, " She had thought to herself looking for something to eat while towel drying her hair.

Suddenly, she was distracted by some strange howling of the dogs. It wasn't that strange though. They would often fight late in the hours of the night while scavenging for food. It was due to their over breeding in the area . Liana hadn't paid much attention and got back to looking for her food.

"Here, what do I have here? Oh, eggs.And, bread? No bread, Damn. " She remembered closing the fridge with a bang and continuing towards the kitchen, " Instant ramen to the rescue, then. "

She had happily hummed as the food got prepared. Her mood seemed to have been lifted.

"Wneeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" a sudden cry like shriek had caught Liana's attention.

"Are those cats fighting again, " she had thought.

Then it had happened again. It was a combination of the crying and the howling of dogs. And it was getting more and more intense. Liana had immediately looked out of her window. There sure was something going on in the waste bin area. She had the thought that it was none of her business, but curiosity had got the better of her and she had hurried outside, tossing over her raincoat. She had taken a walking stick along too.

The nearer she had gone the more human like the cry had seemed. She had to hurry and run towards the bin, keeping those dogs at bay with her stick. Liana had to strain her head inside and immediately had taken a few steps backwards.

There sure was a baby inside. As white as milk. Unclothed, with dirt all over its perfect little body.

At first Liana couldn't react. She didn't know how exactly she should have reacted. But the child's cry had brought her back to reality. As soon as the child cried the dogs had started going rabid yet again.

Liana had to quickly gather her wits and had picked the baby up. She had it covered with both her hands and had run inside.

Strangely enough, the dogs hadn't followed her. She was expecting a full chase but none of the canines had budged from their places. Liana had closed the door behind her,after taking one last look at the dogs who were standing in perfect silence, staring in her direction.

Liana looked to and fro. There was no mistake that Draco and Damian shared striking resemblance. The hair line, the jaw, even the way their eyebrows moved were similar. As Liana stared she could clearly see that the olive in their eye sparkled with the same hue.

"You can see it, can't you? " Draco pulled Liana closer as she looked up, puzzled as to what she aught to have seen.

"See what? You mean... " she was about the mention the unquestionable similarities but as usual she was cut short by him.

" The mark. The Dynasty Marking. You can see it right? " Liana had no clue what Draco was implying but she felt an urgent need to get away from his iron grip. The way his hands held her at the middle of her spine made a constant tingling sensation run around her core and belly. She looked up into his eye, one last time, in a attempt to correctly answer his question so he would let her go.

There was a distinct spiral in the iris, around which was wrapped a serpent like something. But it had, scales, and limbs and eyes that burnt like flames. It definitely looked like the shapes Liana had noticed in Damian's starry eyes as he gazed innocently at her for hours. She hadn't paid it much attention, thinking it might have just been a birth mark but now that Draco mentioned it, it didn't after all seem very random.

"The spiralling beast do you mean? " Liana just uttered these syllables when he exclaimed," I knew you could see it. " But instead of letting her go, Draco bent over, sniffing Liana at her collar bone. He traced her shoulder blades and neck with his nose, as she shuddered from the feel of his hot breath against her pale skin. He sniffed like a wild dog sniffing it's prey.

"What do you think you are doing? " Liana tried pushing once more as she tightened her grip around Damian.

" I knew you smelled different, " But before Liana could ask him anything more, Draco moved at lighting speed. He wrapped Liana and Damian in an invisible wing and flipped like a spining wheel. In what seemed like an instant they were standing on top of the highest tower in the city.

Liana grabbed tighter this time. She was extremely scared of heights.

" What on earth are we doing? " Liana grabbed around Draco's neck as he took Damian in the sky. He unwrapped his clothes as the baby hung mid air. But Liana was too scared to protest, let alone of any help she could be. But Draco seemed absolutely unfazed. He kept unwrapping the cloth around Damian till there was a silvery glimmer emitting.

A silvery cloud engulfing the little baby.

Liana panicked. "What exactly are you doing?Will you just let go of me? " she kept hitting Draco right at his chest. Though it would have been much easier for him to shove her off like a flee, he seemed to prefer to ignore her for the time being.

Draco kept his eyes fixed on Damian till he was completely shrouded in that silvery thing. He turned towards the dangling Liana after he was done and ripped her hands free.

Liana screamed in fright as Draco flashed his unholy smile.

" You wouldn't, " Liana looked at him with dread and dare as he rolled his eyes and smirked like he did.

" Didn't you ask me to let you go just a moment ago? " Draco looked into her eyes with glee.

" What did you do with Damian? " Liana asked, as it was no use reasoning.

Draco pulled Liana towards him again and shoved the silvery cloaked Damian in her side. She caught him promptly, trying to find his face and check for his breathing signs.

"You can still see him? You seem like a very interesting specimen indeed. " Draco whispered in Liana's ears as he looked for something across the horizon.

" You dare... " Liana was about to yell but he placed his hands inside her mouth. Liana gulped at the sudden impact as her teeth dug into his skin. It didn't seem as hard after all as it had appeared in the beginning.

"Ahhhmmmm! ... " Liana was still trying hard to protest , however Draco blew a strict, " SSHHHHHH, " in her ear that instantly made her regret.

" They are headed this way. Keep your volume down. " Draco instructed as his eyes morphed to a different shade and his eyebrows constricted into a deep frown.

"The Shadows. They are here. They had dispatched The Shadows to track Damian without my knowledge. That is the only reason I had to come down in this mortal world myself, " though Liana understood that Draco was trying to explain himself, she was unable to convey that she needed translation to make anything out of the explanation itself.

" It seems that they had the Shadows doing the rounds before this as well. But since they were not able to track you both down, I think I am sure about you as well. " He continued as he carefully retreated down the roof of the structure they were on. " But it's the Shadows we are dealing with, that too in the mortal world. It's better that his Aura stays hidden for awhile. " he said pointing at Damian, " as for you, you will be alright till I am by your side. "

They jump landed on the first floor of the top most storey in the structure which was perfectly deserted. Liana finally breathed as Draco pulled his hand out of her drooling maw.

"What are the Shadows? I thought you were a king? Why are we hiding here? What is that thing? " Liana instantly started bombarding with her question machine as she wiped her face and trailed him from behind.

He turned towards her with a jerk stop that almost sent her flying, but the table behind her made her stop. Draco placed both his hands on either side of the desk, as dust rose making her cough.

" Listen human, I have been paying you much more respect than I actually can. As you can see, there is a world here beyond your ignorant competence. Just stay close if you want to make out of this place. "

There was quick successions of tapping on the roof top followed by a few chilly winds. Even the hair strands on Liana's body, screamed in panic. It was like watching some horror show, holding your breath anticipating, but the difference was she was actually living inside it. Liana started having an emptiness growing inside her pit. Like something was sucking at her very core and it's made her weak at her knees.

" Steady! They can sense fear and pain. " Draco ordered, helping Liana recuperate.

The glass at the back shattered as Liana saw what she should not have seen.

A deformed face with bifurcated eyes. Made of thick dark smog, dripping as it crawled, inhumanely upside down, hanging from the wall. It jumped from one side , then it went to the next, but before Liana could move, it was standing against her breast.

She felt the cold sweat form on her forehead and under the nose.

It tilted itself in strange angles as above Liana's head it rose.

" Surrender! By your Majesty's Order! " Draco yelled.

But it kept staring Liana into her eye as she felt everything tighten from inside out. She turned her eyes to find her body slowly phase into solid stone. Despite that she looked at Draco desperately, asking him to hold Damian before he slipped from her hands and hit the ground.

But this time Liana caught something else in Draco's eyes.

He was looking in another direction, like someone waiting for a cue. But Liana was in no position to even turn to catch it's view.

"Now! " Draco barked as two consecutive jumps surrounded the Shadow in some kind of a net. It howled in pain as the two figures struggled to have it restrained. Draco walked nonchalantly towards it this time, filled with air and poise like he usually is, and robust.

He placed a hand on its mouth as it shrank. The two figures came in front of Liana's sight as they packed The Shadow up like some pile of dirty laundry.

"Nearly done... "

But Draco slammed the speaker at his back before he even uttered the rest of his words.

" What took you so long Calix?Did you find the ones issuing this order? "

Draco demanded as the lad looked up at him with timid but big eyes.

He was covered in steel, waist down like Draco was the first time she had clear view of him on that ground. The lad had fiery hair, reddish in hue very unlike Draco's white which was now short and cute.

" Ah! Did I just think this Dragon was cute! " Liana hit herself in her head and winked hard trying to shake what was in her mind.

" Oh! You. I had completely forgotten. Neutralise this one Raba, before we are found. " Draco looked at Liana as if disgusted with her winks and threw the instructions at the girl standing next to her.

She looked as badass as it could get. Liana kept staring as she blew her with a blast. The girl Raba, opened her perfectly sultry mouth as flame poured out from some mount. It warmly melted the solid entrapping Liana inside and she broke free and almost fell on her rescuer once again.

"Careful! " Raba smiled at Liana with the sweetest voice.

That was completely opposite to what she looked like. Her hair was tied in several tails unlike the boys and it appeared golden like, very much close to a blonde. Her frame was strapped in leather and steel but what set her apart from the two men were her hands, that appeared mechanical. They didn't just seem metalic but Liana could tell by the touch that they were actual steel.

" Is that our little prince? "She asked taking Damian in a little embrace.

" Let him be for a while. We still don't know how many more are lurking. "

They all nodded and then looked like they were getting ready to leave.

" Are you sure we should head back first?"

" How long do you plan to stay here? "

" It's better this way till we are able to detect the source of the defectors. I cannot risk what happened to happen again. "

Liana listened with concentration trying to understand what they were getting at, however Draco tucked her back under his arms as the other two leapt out of the open window frame.

" So? "

Liana finally asked when nothing came from Draco's end.

"So? So what? Don't you know where you live? Do you need help to even find your own home? How pathetic. "

Drack rolled his eyes like Liana had asked him an elementary question.

"Is he planning to come to my house? Is it for Damian. Can I even trust this man? It's improper to take someone to one's house on a first date.

Date? How did I even come with this word... Shit! shit! shit! There is something definitely wrong with the wordings in my brain. "

"Do you plan to stay here all night? " Draco's husky voice brought Liana back from her self reprimanding journey and she smiled the most awkward smile, and then moved slowly away from under his hands.

"Umm, may I ask if you were asking for my house so you could see Damian and me off? " She asked, knowing full well, it wasn't what he was talking about.

"See you off? I am going to live with you. You have my son and I need to be here too. We cannot set off to our kingdom right away. And isn't it obvious we would need a place to stay. Since he his already living with you, it's just going to be one more gracing your lowly residence. "

"Yeah, " Liana forced another smile, " Live with me, Yeah! And grace my lowly residence, " She looked at themselves and repeated, " Just the three of us. Under a single terrace. Alright. As you say your Majesty. I will lead the way. " She cursed under her breath so hard, she almost bit her tongue away. But Draco seemed to be quite impressed by the last few of her words. He nodded apparently quite pleased as she walked sulking in front, taking the lead.