As ze departed, Arabe let out a sigh. She took a step towards the entrance but paused as she heard Thalia’s voice.


    “Are you nning to go after him too?” Thalia inquired, her brows raised.


    “No,” Arabe replied, then added, “Why?”


    “You’ve always been this selfish. I wish my brother could see through your charm instead of being blinded by his attraction to you,” Thalia retorted.


    “ze made it clear that I should stay. Don’t you think it would be selfish and foolish of me to put myself in danger after he tried so hard to help me out of it?” Arabe countered. Thalia just shrugged. “I see you have a different opinion.”


    Arabe took another deep breath. Regardless of what Thalia thought of her, she had no intention of making ze feel like his efforts were in vain. It would be foolish to leave the cave when she knew Sandro was solely focused on her. She hoped ze was safe, as she hadn’t heard anything for a while now. Though the attack on the cave’s structure hadn’t stopped, she could feel it weakening.


    “Why are you hiding here while my brother risks his life out there?” Thalia’s annoying voice interrupted her thoughts again.


    “You know Sandro will stille for you and do as he pleases if he’s lucky enough to defeat ze,” Thalia added.


    “I hope he won’t do that,” Arabe murmured. She couldn’t bear the thought of ze dying. She just couldn’t.


    “Listen up, Arabe,” Thalia snapped her fingers, wrinkling her nose. “Sandro will eventually break through this structure, capture us, and kill us. So, don’t think you’re achieving anything grand by trying to protect yourself or ze. It would’ve been a lot simpler if you’d died.”


    “I’ve reinforced the protection on the structure. Sandro and his witches won’t be able to breach it. Also, even though ze is outside the cave, he’s still shielded unless they take him somewhere else, which I’m fervently hoping won’t happen,” Arabe exined, causing Thalia to scoff.


    “For goodness’ sake, can you be any more delusional?” Thalia asserted. She groaned, ran a hand through her hair, then paced around. “You did nothing to shield my brother!”


    “I know you hate me, Thalia,” Arabe murmured, catching her attention.


    Thalia halted, her eyes narrowing at Arabe, who stood near the door with her palm on the wall.


    “Hating you is an understatement, Arabe. I don’t just hate you, but I also want you gone from this world,” Thalia dered, advancing towards Arabe and putting some distance between them. “Since you appeared, everything’s been going downhill. You’ve got two men fighting over you! It’s like everything revolves around you. I despise you for it, Arabe. I despise you so much.”


    Arabe nodded. “It’s alright to feel that way. But there’s nothing you can do about ze and me. You can ask me to leave him, but I won’t agree. Also, it’s best if we try to be civil, like ze suggested since I’ll be with him forever.”


    “Only if hees back will he put a ring on that finger,” Thalia snorted. “And I’m sorry, Arabe, but I’ll always be hard with you. The sooner you realize we can’t be civil, the better for you.”


    “Again, I’m not surprised,” Arabe grinned.


    She hadn’t expected Thalia to agree. She had tried to have a conversation, but she knew Thalia would never give her what she wanted. One thing she wanted was for the argument to end. She suspected that the main reason Thalia was angry with her was her connection to Sandro. Even though Arabe had assured her repeatedly that there was nothing between them, she doubted Thalia would ever believe it, given Sandro’s relentless pursuit.


    “I’m d you’re not,” Thalia shot Arabe a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Then, she gasped as the ground shifted.


    Thalia stared at Arabe, whose eyes were shut and brows furrowed. She wondered if Arabe had intentionally caused her to stumble, but it didn’t seem like it. Arabe appeared to be focusing on something, perhaps trying to reinforce the wall’s protection. Thalia sighed, straightening up before stumbling again.


    This time, the shift was more pronounced. Thalia ended up on the floor, groaning. “Arabe, what the hell are you doing?!”Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.


    There was no response from Arabe. She sighed, her eyes still closed, unaware of what was happening around her.


    The window of the room shattered, and the curtains whipped about as a fierce gust of wind rushed in. It wasn’t just a gentle breeze, but a violent force that brought instant chaos.


    “Arabe!” Thalia hissed, narrowly avoiding a chair hurtling toward her. “Are you trying to get me killed?!” Still, she got no response.


    She managed to crawl over to where Arabe stood and gripped her leg. “Snap out of it!”


    Arabe gasped, feeling the hold on her leg and a sharp pinch. She looked down to find Thalia crouching in front of her.


    “What on earth are you doing?” Arabe asked, shaking her leg free from Thalia’s grasp.


    “Oh, now it’s time to act like you don’t know what you’ve done?” Thalia grunted, rising to her feet. She brushed off the dirt from her clothes and fixed her gaze on Arabe. “Look around and tell me you didn’t cause this chaos.”


    Arabe followed Thalia’s gaze, her eyes widening at the disarrayed room. “What happened?”


    “I’m d someone as sharp as me is here to rify things for you, you damn fool. You nearly got me killed!” Thalia yelled.


    “I didn’t do this,” Arabe mumbled, inspecting her hands and the mess in the room. “I swear, I didn’t.”


    “I don’t need an exnation from you. Right now, what I need is to be away from you,” Thalia dered. She approached the door leading to the hall, but when she turned the knob, it was locked.


    “Arabe!” Thalia snapped. “Open the door!”


    “I didn’t do anything to it!” Arabe shouted back. “I was just trying to reinforce the protective barrier around the structure. So, I didn’t do anything wrong.”


    “You im innocence,” Thalia responded with a nod. “That’s fine. But open the damned door!”


    Arabe stepped up to the door, gripping the knob and trying to turn it, but it wouldn’t budge.


    “Why won’t it open?” Thalia’s irritation was evident in her voice.


    “I don’t know,” Arabe replied, attempting to turn it again.


    “Well, you should know. You locked it in the first ce, remember?” Thalia pointed out.


    Arabe let out a frustrated sigh, then turned to re at Thalia. “Perhaps if you were less judgmental and allowed me to think of a solution, we could get out of here sooner.”


    “Then be quick about it,” Thalia muttered.


    “Goodness, I can’t stand her,” Arabe gritted her teeth, ring at the door. “Open, damn it!”


    However, it remained stubbornly sealed, prompting her to kick it in frustration.


    “Shit!” Arabe gasped as the room tilted once again.


    Thalia groaned, trying to steady herself, but it showed no signs of stopping.


    A cold feeling settled in the pit of Arabe’s stomach. She clutched a pir in the room for support. She turned to Thalia, whose face had taken on an unsettlingly pale hue.


    “Not again,” Thalia muttered.


    “Do you know what’s happening?” Arabe inquired.


    “We’re getting thrown around!” Thalia yelled amid the chaos in the room.


    “What do you mean, ‘thrown around’?” Arabe pressed.


    Thalia opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Suddenly, both of them were flung violently across the room, their heads mming into the wall, rendering them both unconscious.