chapter 84

ARIELLA.

The two necklaces became one, and it shone brightly like the moon. Lawrence and I couldn't believe what we were seeing. The necklace didn't look like it could hold so much light, but what do we even know at this point?

"What is happening?" Blaire asked as she tried moving to me. Lawrence then covered his eyes as he tried to get away from the necklace.

"I'll explain later," I told them, then held the newly combined necklaces into my hands. I closed my eyes as I placed the pendant just on top of my heart. "Please, please, send me back three hours ago..." I whispered to the necklace.

And just like that, the blinding light coming from the necklace engulfed everything. Everything became white, and then the light disappeared after a minute. I looked around and saw that I was all alone right now but I was still in the same spot where me, Blaire, and Lawrence should be.

"It worked!" I said to myself excitedly. I was more than delighted to find out that I really did come back in time. "Finally, I can save Eli! But wait, where was I at this time? Oh yeah! Back inside that abandoned building!"

I then hurriedly walked to the building. I could hear voices from inside, and I almost went inside if not for my common sense coming in. The realization nearly gave me a heart attack because I just remembered that I was still inside the building with everyone at this point in time, and going inside would ruin everything because I would see my past self and vice versa.

So what I did was lurk by the window and try listening to what was happening inside. I froze when I heard that Eli and I were arguing. This was the argument that we had about the vampires. And hearing all those words that we both said now made my heart ache. The fact alone that Eli was still alive at this time made me cry again and I didn't like it. I didn't like the idea of mourning him.

"I'll save you this time," I told myself and just waited for the right time. If I remember correctly, after our argument, Eli volunteered to patrol our surroundings while we planned on where to go next. So all I had to do was wait for Eli to come out of the building and I could start from there.

After waiting for a couple of minutes, Eli did come out. I saw him walk briskly as he looked around. I instinctively hid from him because I also realized that he might mistake me for an impostor. He knows that I'm still inside the building so appearing right now in front of him wouldn't help my cause in the slightest. I still need to wait for the right moment to show myself to him.

Eli continued walking towards the forest at a distance. He kept on looking around as if he could sense something so I got scared that he could sense my presence. I quietly followed him and tried my best not to get spotted until the right moment. But I realized that it was actually hard.

He entered the forest and I saw him look around for fresh water. He was holding a water bottle and then went to a small pond and examined it. I guess he was checking if we could drink the water there. Seeing him like that made me emotional again because he was still doing something for me even after arguing. But I braved it and finally walked to him.

He immediately sensed my presence and saw me coming from behind. He was about to attack me when he saw that it was just me. Eli stopped and dropped his water bottle that he was about to hit me with. "You gave me a scare, Ariella."

I walked closer to him. "Sorry. I... I didn't mean to scare you."

He gave me a small smile that made my heart ache more. "Why are you here? It's cold here. You should go back there and stay warm."

"No... I think we should talk because we argued back there... Eli... I'm sorry. I know I hurt you just because you don't agree with me, so I apologize---"

"No, no, you were right," he quickly replied. "Now that I thought about it, I could see your point now. I guess I just wanted to avenge my father as much as I could and I won’t be satisfied until I kill David."

"I'm sorry..."

"I'm sorry too, Ariella. I know that you mean well and you're right. We need to look at this war from above, right? From a clearer vantage point. Killing all the vampires would just make us the winners, but not the heroes."

"Yeah... But I also get why you feel that way earlier. Especially after what happened to your father... But you know, I also think that David needs to go now... What we need to protect are his younger brothers. The new generation of vampires shouldn't harbor David's ideologies so we need to take him out. Let's fight him together this time."

Eli smiled at me and this time it was genuine. "Thank you, Ariella. You just make me fall in love with you all over again."

I blushed despite knowing that we were in the past. Then I remembered that Darius and my past self would come out of the building after three hours of Eli not coming back, so I had to do something about that.

"I think I saw a cabin just a little over there," Eli told me. "We should check it out. There might be food there."

"Yeah." I was happy that he told me that because the cabin was the perfect place to wait until the right time came. If we just hide in that cabin, Eli won't encounter David and Viel, so he won't die. I know he met them just outside this forest so if we hid in that cabin, Eli would avoid death.

The cabin was empty when we got inside, but still warm and cozy even without the flames in the fireplace. We sat on the couch and covered ourselves in a blanket, the same blanket that I found later and used to cover his body. Pushing that memory away, I hugged Eli and gave him a peck on his lips. He was surprised by it, but he quickly responded and then it turned into a full makeout session. Our lips only parted as we gasped for air.

"You're really the best, Ariella. I don't know why I even got mad earlier..." he said then kissed me again.

"Well, maybe because you got jealous?" I teased him. "Darius got nothing on you though. And he doesn't like me. He only protects me because he loves my mother."

"That is so weird," said Eli and we both laughed. He kissed me again and this time his hands were exploring my body. He would have taken off my clothes if not for me stopping him because I just realized something dreadful.

I realized that I deliberately changed the events of the past two to three hours. And now that Eli hadn't met his untimely end, then David and Viel would just go to the building, so everyone there would be in danger, including me!

"No... No..."

"What's happening, Ariella?" Eli asked me worriedly. "Is there a problem?"

"I think David is already here and he's going to Blaire and the others! I need to go there!"

Eli stood up. "What? How did you know?”

“I could sense him,” I lied. “I have to go back!”

“No. I won't let you go there alone. Besides, David and I have some unfinished business. It should be me, Ariella."

"But Eli... I don't want you to die!"

"And I also don't want that to happen to you. So let's fight him together."

I wanted to tell him that we might get defeated, but to be honest, I'm already tired of fighting David. I should really end this now and I think I can because right now I have the two necklaces that would make me a powerful goddess just like what my mother told me.