‘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.

Cole sat quietly on a bench at the Valerian Garden, staring at the letter in his hands. He glanced at the serpent seal at the end of the letter with an etching frown on his face. 


“Have you made a decision yet?” Carella asked, slowly sitting next to him. 


Cole looked at her with a blank expression. “I thought I told you not to come here,” he said in a cold tone. 


“I know. What ” she responded glumly. She wore a huge black cloak that covered her head to her toe. 


“I will be leaving for Hildegarde, as an ambassador for Valeria. I am to stay there as long as Lord Fraizen wants me to,” Cole said with a chuckle. 


“It could have been worse,” Carella uttered. 


Cole chuckled. “Eloise did this,” he knew this because she had her name written all over this. She had some kind of influence over Wrath now, even more than he did. He wondered how he didn't notice this at first. 


Chapter 49(The beginning of the end; Part VI: The Day of the Masquerade)