‘Where am I?’ Eloise woke up abruptly to find herself by a small pond, in the middle of a very large garden. The cool evening breeze blew wisps of her dark red hair into her face.
She looked down to find herself in a beautiful white gown. She slowly stood to her feet confused.
‘My wedding day?’ But that was two days from now. She quickly touched her stomach to find no stab wounds. She found no blood in her palms either. She swore they were filled with blood minutes ago
The scene of Cole stabbing her was so vivid now. 
She died......
Yes, she died. She would never mistake the fear she felt while, Cole pushed her off the balustrade. It was real. She knew what she felt. The sharp piercing pain from the cold iron knife, he stabbed her with. The satisfaction in his eyes while he stabbed her multiple times. The hate.
 Pure hate, she thought.
But why?
Why would the love of her life kill her? 
Most importantly, why wasn’t she dead yet? Yes, she was the Phoenix. She could rise from the ashes every time she died but not this time. She was sealed.
Yes, by that woman. She’d seen that tattoo on her hand before, but where? 
Oh, she remembered it all perfectly now. There was a witch circle, the seal of the condemned, a bright red moon and her blood.... 
 She fell from a three-story building, right to the bottom of the pool. She spent her last breath drowning because she couldn’t swim. 
What a terrible way to die, she thought. Or maybe not.... She was alive, wasn’t she?
Some terrible dream that was......

INTO THE FLAMES.

“We were saved that day by our matriarch, Syphe. She burnt down all our enemies and protected our people. That is why you should never trust a vampire, kids,” Circe ended, closing the journal in her hand. 


The group of ten teenage witches around her nodded in response. 


“But I heard witches were invited to the ball this year. Has the queen accepted the invitation?” one girl asked. 


“Suprema is married to the Lord Imperio, does that make her our enemy now?” another boy asked. 


"Suprema only accepted to marry the Lord Imperio to protect us, her people. She has our best interests in mind and yes, the queen, along with the princesses will be gracing the Fall Ball with their presence this year,” Circe responded. 


Chapter 43 (Secrets of the Lower chamber)