As always, your comments inspire me to write more so thank you everyone for leaving funny comments and interesting theories about this novel 😘

Dimitri leaned against the wall, his gaze following her every movement. She dived to her friends, laughing and hugging everyone she loves. They danced to the music and sang with the songs, their bond prominently glowing.

He almost feels envious. He wanted to have what they had but in a world like his, such a thought is just a delusion.

He downed his drink before taking another from a passing waiter. As his back slumped against the wall once more, Xavier was already on his side giving him a grin. His movements were subtle, his footsteps were almost nonexistent allowing him to move unnoticed even in a room full of people.

"You finally made her yours." He scoffed, almost mockingly.

Dimitri did not reply, not even acknowledging his presence. He is typically stoic and reserved but when he's with (Y/n) he wants to speak out more, laugh, and smile. Now that she's across the room having fun with her friends, Dimitri no longer has any reason to speak unnecessarily, especially to people like Xavier.

"I never thought you'd claim that woman or any woman at all. But to see you so shit-brained about someone..." he chuckled, his voice low almost like a growl. Dimitri's face remained passive, his expression betrayed no emotion not even the slight irritation forming at the back of his head.

"What do you want, Thanatos?"

"To tell you that you have grown a weakness." The grin on the assassin's face was malevolent but Dimitri remained unmoved.

"Soon enough you won't even become worthy of my competition, Aidoneus. This woman will weaken you. She will dilute your resolve and ruin everything you worked for. She will tell you not to kill, to try to be a good man, "violence is not the answer," blah blah blah. But don't worry. When that happens, I'll take over Frost Bringer and you can enjoy your boring life in retirement with your little pet." Xavier tried to provoke him but it failed to affect him the way he wanted.

"You're not invited to this occasion, Zandor. Get out." Dimitri spat out, a glare forming on his face.

"It really hurts my feelings not to be invited to these kinds of things you know. I might just curse your baby or something."

"Are you Maleficent now?" Xavier jolted when the little Belladonna showed up from behind him.

"Hello, boss. Hello, damsel in distress that I saved." greeted the Nymph.

Eidanne looked surreal now that she had shed her Belladonna uniform. She was on the chubbier side but that did not stop her from looking exquisite with her dark purple dress and silver accessories.

"Ah, fuck! Shit! You little turd. Why are you sneaking up on people?" yelled Xavier making her chuckle.

"Aren't you supposed to be an assassin? How could I have sneaked up on you?"

"Because I barely acknowledge your existence."

"Because you're scared that I'm better than you in every single way as an assassin." corrected the Belladonna.

"No, because you are so fucking annoying. Get out of here and join your coven." Xavier pointed in the direction of her friends who have now begun dancing on the table. They were clearly intoxicated.

"Later, but for now I have something to tell, Aidoneus. Move along, Xavier, the grown-ups are talking." Xavier's hand suddenly wrapped around her neck but this only made her grin wider.

"Arrogant bitch." he growled.

Dimitri suddenly pulled him away from the Belladonna and pushed him back. "(Y/n)'s family is my family too. You do not touch my little sister."

Xavier returned his glare and slapped his hand away. He stared down Eidanne one last time before disappearing into the crowd.

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm good. He wasn't really hurting me or anything. But I guess he's the kind of man that can't stand when a woman stands up to him." surmised Eidanne. Dimitri gave a little nod and looked around the room. Thankfully, no one seems to have seen what happened maintaining the peace of the event.

"Hibiscus 1789 tried to set up something that would sabotage the event." Eidanne began, pulling out a small object from her purse. She held up a flash drive and offered it to him.

"Do you know what's inside it?" asked Dimitri as he accepted the object.

"I didn't bother looking but she'll likely keep sending you this shit until you know what she wants you to know. It's most likely something that would ruin your relationship with Sis (Y/n). The bitch is bitter but she wouldn't do shit for now. I'll deal with her." Dimitri nodded, pocketing the flash drive.

"You need to sort this out between each other. The choice is yours if you want to see what's inside but please don't let it be another Lyonel. Don't make her cry for months like he did." Eidanne rolled her eyes and downed an entire glass of vodka that made her gag.

Dimitri frowned, the information was new to him. "I've researched her previous boyfriends but none of them is Lyonel. Who is he?"

"Lyonel was (Y/n)'s real first love but they were never in a relationship. He was her friend during high school. He was kind, sweet, and gentle making her fall for him hard but he was already in love with Megan. Sis confessed to him but he rejected her. She wrote so many poems about him that she burned to a crisp ceremoniously. Like this one." Eidanne passed her phone to Dimitri where a picture of a piece of paper was on display.

Torberknight
By (Y/n) (L/n)

"Youthful radiance of my knight
Brings light to this starless night
Though he is not mine
He is my torbernite

Torbernite beauteous gem
To my mind you bring mayhem
I indulge in your radioactive beauty
A danger to my heart and my sanity

From sunshine to star shine
Heart beats, speaks, and breaks
Emotions controlled by admiration
Suddenly turns to lamentation

Oh joy as you come to my vision
And HATE to love that spreads like poison
I want to escape this confusion
But I became a prisoner of passion

Feelings scorch like wildfire
Endearing as it is
But to ruin myself it brings
I try to relinquish
But it can’t be extinguished

It rages and burns my entirety
Dark abyss drowning me to stupidity
I wish for it to be like the wind
Light and easy passing

But alas it is a tempest
Leading to a storm
Rupturing the frozen armor
Of my feeble fragile heart

Fly, Fly, little butterfly
Away from the fire
Do not touch the red flower
You are ignorant of its power

I laugh, I cry, asking myself why
I confess to the knight
Hoping for something
Knowing that pain is coming

You laugh, I laugh at my foolish confession
I feel nauseous, my limbs weak
What is even happening?
What am I doing?

I ask already knowing the answer
There was pain, there was hope,
Then there was satisfaction
Because of the rejected adoration

It's time to move on
Thank you for the lesson
As well as for not playing with my heart
You gave me a new start

They say Love is mightier than a tiger
It destroys like a disaster
But luckily, I’m not a flower
I’m a diamond, I will recover"

Dimitri gripped the phone hard almost to its breaking point. He can't believe that she loved someone as deep as this. It made him furious to know that there was someone before him who could make her feel this profoundly.

He wanted nothing more than to tear that bastard Lyonel apart and watch him scream in agony. He wanted to tear him limb from limb and make him watch as he took apart his organs one by one. He wanted to torture him until he begged for death.

"I know that look. Please don't kill him. Lyonel is a good man and things are over." Eidanne pleaded plainly, cringing at how terrifying he looked.

"She was really in love with him... for how long?" he asked, handing her phone back. He had tamed the fire burning in his eyes but this does not mean that it has been "relinquished".

"3 years but don't worry though she got over him. There's a new poem in her journal and it's all about you! Like guurrrl! She is so into you. She doesn't make poems unless she's head over heels for someone."

"And you know this because?"

"I snoop through her stuff to make sure that no psycho is bugging her, like you. I stumbled on her journal by accident. There are poems about everyone she loves including me hehe," said Eidanne bashfully. "Sometimes I just read it to feel better when I'm upset. She can make words sound so beautiful, it feels like magic to my soul."

"Why are you telling me all of this? If you are her ally, shouldn't you hide this from me?"

"And let you discover this for yourself so you could fight and have misunderstandings? Bro, I'm telling you all the grimy stuff so you can deal with it now because I need your relationship to be strong. Like hella strong."

"Why?"

"Because our survival, (Y/n)'s survival, depends on you. I'm doing everything I can right now to ensure that my sister can protect herself when the time comes. My job is dangerous, they could send me on a mission just to die. So before that happens, I will make sure that (Y/n) will win, even if I don't get to see it happen."

Dimitri's eyes softened. He can clearly see her sincerity and dedication to her family, something he only got from one member of his family. It made him happy to know that (Y/n) grew up with love and loyalty. His own cousins were shit. They were opportunistic snakes who would feed him to the lion if given the opportunity.

"Why are you so loyal to her?"

Eidanne stared at him as if it was the most basic question in the universe. "(Y/n) helped to raise me when my mother died. She was young but she convinced my father to name me "Eidanne". She read in a book that it means "born of fire" or "little fire" so that anyone who dares to hurt me will get burned. She loves me like a sister and she's my family. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that her dreams will come true and I'm sure you'll do the same."

"Alright, since we both have the same objective I'll put you under my employment, no official contracts though. But I'll still pay you the standard fees and you'll have a room here like a true Frost Bringer. Will this alarm the Garden?"

"I'm now (Y/n)'s primary Belladonna. If she lives with you, then me being here won't be a problem."

"Excellent. Now let's talk about Hibiscus 1789. Why does she hate (Y/n) so much?"

Eidanne avoided his gaze. "I... I can't answer that. It's something sis has to tell you herself."

Dimitri nodded understanding her sentiment. He noticed her fidgeting. It was uncharacteristic of the whimsical and outgoing Belladonna making him raise a brow. Is the Russian vodka finally hitting her?

"What's wrong?"

"Bro Dimitri, I'm... I'm really scared," she confessed.

"Why?"

"Sister claimed the Crown of Thorned Roses in exchange, she saved your life and the lives of your people. A total of 157 assassins to be exact."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"I don't know what price she paid for the lives of 157 people."

"The Crown is a convoluted privilege. It takes more than it gives most of the time. We need to figure out what they asked from her. Unfortunately, she can't tell us the price because she's under a vow of silence in any way or form."

Eidanne thoroughly explained the concept of the Crown of Thorned Roses to the Assassin King who listened intently. If the Garden finds out that (Y/n) told them the price, they'll label her as a Black Dahlia for betrayal of trust. He can't let her get banished from her own organization. (Y/n)'s resolve had shown him just how far she was willing to go just to protect the Garden. The gears in his mind were already turning, calculating every aspect of the situation.

🌹

(Y/n) slumped on the bar, drowsy and tipsy after partying so hard and drinking too much. She sang song after song to celebrate the night, even Sabrina Carpenter's "Please Please Please" directed at Dimitri who smiled every time she got to the lines "I beg you don't embarrass me motherfucker."

Most of the guests had already left while her friends remained sprawled out on the couches already asleep. Even Tristan now leaned against Eidanne after they drank too much vodka. The hacker vomited three times while the Belladonna patted his back like a true friend.

The staff are already packing up certain things while the hired services like the music and the special lights have already left.

Dimitri placed a tall glass of cold water in front of his girlfriend who looked up from her arms. Her eyes were clouded with the liquor's influence while her mind had melted to a puddle. She looked as if she didn't even recognize him.

"Drink up," he ordered as he took a seat beside her. "The food were all your favorites but the drinks were for me. You took several glasses of Russian vodka. I fear that you'll regret it once the morning comes." He leaned against his palm while his other hand stroked her hair.

(Y/n) blinked unable to register his words. "Wow, you're hot. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"I do. It's you," he answered, smirking at her cute reaction.

"Wow, I've got such a hot boyfriend! What's your name, cutie?" She exclaimed cheerfully.

She hugged his arm, resting her head on his shoulder while a stupid smile decorated her pretty lips.

"It's Dimitri, darling."

"Oh, you're the guy who invented the Periodic Table! Wow, you must be so smart."

"How can you remember someone who died over a hundred years ago and not your own boyfriend?" Dimitri chuckled, flicking her forehead.

"Oww! You're a meanie. Chelsea would never hurt me. She'd crawl on the floor like a good girl to make me happy and make sure that no man touches me." Dimitri raised a brow, the name foreign to his knowledge.

"Who is Chelsea?"

"She's my sub."

🌹

Torberknight is a poem I wrote when I was 16. I fell in love with a boy who was already in love with someone else for 7 years. I was rejected and I wept for an entire month like a fucking fool. Now I get to joke about it. I'm too lazy to write a new poem so you'll get this one instead.

Notes:
Torbernite is a radioactive gem. It could kill a human if exposed for a long time.
Sub short for submissive which refers to a person who likes to be dominated.