Lilianna POV

He took us to Amazon Rainforest. The freaking rainforest! I instantly noticed the difference in climate. The castle was surprisingly cool, it was in hell after all. They probably had a good air conditioning system.

The hands of humidity grabbed my throat and squeezed. It was uncomfortable so it took some time to get used to it.

It was sweltering but the scenery was worth it. There were countless skyscraper like trees, vines, plants, flowers and so on. There were all sorts of animals living in there. Frogs were chilling on the trees while catching insects with their long, pink tongues. The colorful birds were flying in a flock and communicating with each other by their constant chirping. There was a monkey taking care of her babies. It looked so adorable, I wanted to hug it. I also spotted a hairy, brown sloth doing what it was best known for, sleeping.

Raindrops on the trees glistened in the sunlight as all the animals carried on with their daily lives. There was only one word I could use to describe it all, beautiful.

When I was alive I was the quintessential city girl so being around a lot of nature was never something I really got to experience. The zoo was the closest I ever got the masterpiece that was nature untouched.

Gabriel and I started walking, but to where, I had no clue.

"Why did you transport us here?" I asked.

His face developed into a deep frown, "What happened, you don't like it here?"

I shook my head profusely, "No it's not that, I am just curious. I don't get how anyone could not like it here. Everything is so wonderful" I said as I looked up at the sky.

His full lips turned up into a smile."I am glad you like it. Well as you know we have people chasing after us and thought this would be the best place to go. There aren't a lot of people and this part of the forest is thick. I think it would be a good place to hide."

We continued walking in silence for with only nature's song playing in the background.

We trekked the rough terrain until we came to contact with a cheetah. The black spotted cat looked directly me in eyes and prepared to pounce. My breath hitched and started walking back slowly.

"Relax, it is just a cheetah," Gabriel said in a nonchalant tone.

"RELAX?!" I screamed. "There is an animal that can maul me."

He rolled his eyes and said "The poor thing can't even see or hear you. You are essentially a ghost, remember? Lucky cheetah, he doesn't have to be subjected to your screeching."

I folded my arms, " Hey! That is not nice."

He shrugged, "Screaming when it's not necessary isn't nice either, but who am I?"

I couldn't come back from that, he had a point. We walked for what seemed like miles and Gabriel started falling behind. I slowed down my tempo so that he could keep up, but he became slower and until his pace was almost snail like. He began sweating and took deep, short breaths

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He shook his head slowly, "No I need barshka."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What is barshka? It sounds Russian."

He gave me a weak laugh that came out more like a cough. "No, it's a kind of plant. Transporting us used a lot my energy, especially since I needed to break Celeste's barrier. Our energy is drained when we use our powers. Spirits don't eat, so a special drink is given to us to keep up our energy level. The drink is made from barshka, so that's why I need it."

I sighed, "Oh, okay. Is that something we could find here?"

"Yes, it would be difficult to source it out, but it's possible."

Gabriel looked really beaten down. His thick black hair was in disarray and his movements resembled an 80-year-old man.

"Do you want to sit down for a while and then we can look for the plant?" I asked.

"Yeah" he replied in a soft voice.

I helped him get down to the ground so he could sit down against a tree. I sat with him as well. He was taking deep breaths as a bead of sweat formed on his abnormally large forehead.

"Why are you sweating, we aren't alive anymore," I questioned him.

"Energy, running out" he sucked in air like it was his last breath. "No energy, I fall into deep sleep for a long time." he said but I could barely comprehend him because his voice was breaking up.

I started pacing around on the dirt floor "Oh no, oh no, oh no! What does the plant look like? You could stay here and I can try to find it."

"It looks like an aloe plant except it glows." He said as he began wheezing. "Please hurry!"

With that, I made sure that he was comfortable and ran off. I scoured the jungle floor for a glowing aloe plant. On the way, I picked up stones to mark my path, so I wouldn't get lost. I walked for what felt like miles and I couldn't find the plant. I was panicking. If I didn't find it Gabriel would be in a deep sleep and he would not be there for me. I needed him, more than he would ever know.

I was still searching and I heard a branch snap and I could have sworn I saw a shoe. I immediately stopped and looked around.

I saw a head of brunette hair and I hid behind a tree. When the person came close I jumped on their back. I was prepared to go right through them but I tackled whoever it was to the ground. I flipped the man over and I realized it was Devlin.

He gasped when he recognized me and I punched him square in the face. I kept my hands balled in fist and keep punching. I didn't care what I hit, but seeing him sprawled on the ground brought me a twisted satisfaction.  I was possessed, possessed by utter anger.

"What do you have to say for yourself?!" I screamed in his purple and blue decorated face.

He turned his head to the side and shouted "Sorry!"

I kicked him in his stomach forcefully.  His back arched and he looked like he was going to vomit. I spat "Sorry is not good enough."

When I was about squash his hand, I saw whatever he was holding glowed. I pried it out of his grasp. It was the barshka.

I laughed out of relief and joy and started to run off with the magical plant.  I stopped when I heard Devlin cry out "Wait!"

I walked over to him as he laid on the floor.

"Please! You can have the plant, but take me with you. I need protection." He pleaded with me and gave me the puppy eyes. A while back, that would have worked on me, but not that day.

I shook my head and chuckled. "When someone was after my life, did you protect me? When you decided to cheat on me did you think about protecting my heart? Give me one good reason why I should help you, just one."

He was completely silent. Not a single word.

"I didn't think so," I said and turned away from the man who was the best and the worst thing that ever happened to me.

My eyes welled up and I left him as he begged for me to come back. I loved him and he betrayed me. He took my love and my trust for granted. I might have forgiven him with time but I knew I would never forget.