The Devil's Cursed Witch

Just as the first rays of the sun hit the sky, Draven disappeared from the riverbank without saying a word. Morpheus didn't bother to turn his head and simply lay down on the ground covered in colourful pebbles.

He closed his eyes and spread his arms to the sides to feel that pleasant morning breeze,  the growing brightness in the sky seemingly giving his skin a soft glow.

'Will I be happy after I kill that Dragon?' he asked himself, only to answer his own question the next moment. 'Of course, I will be. Isn't revenge what I have been waiting for all this time? He should face the same suffering that my people had faced. Once he loses his mate, he will be able to understand the pain of losing your most precious one, and then I will have his head and offer it to my parents' grave,' he concluded. 'Once he completes the bond with that human, I won't even hesitate to do it.'

As he had those thoughts, the innocent face of a human girl flashed in his mind. The way she looked at him, the shy smile on her small face, the brightness in her beautiful eyes, as if she was looking at someone she could trust...

'Morpheus!'

His name in her sweet voice and realized he never found his name sounding so good before.

A soft smile appeared on his lips as he continued to remember her child-like innocence. 'Her eyes, those are the prettiest eyes I have ever seen. I wonder what she's doing now...if she's adapting well to living in that large palace too large to be a cozy home...I think she'll prefer my smaller but comfortable nest over a palace made of stone...'

As his mind idly wandered, an errant thought made him frown. 'Will I be able to hurt her?'

With the thought of hurting her, he felt stuffed in the chest. Letting out a loud exhale, he discarded all those thoughts from his mind.

'I am thinking too much. I don't have anything against her, but she's unlucky to have become that Dragon's mate. She is nobody to me. I will kill her when the time comes.'

------

The next several days passed by in peace for Draven as his little mate had not pulled any stunt during that time and had remained inside her chamber obediently.

'I wonder, what's keeping her so busy these past four days?'

Just then, he heard a knock and Yula entered his study. After greeting him, she asked, "Your Majesty, you called for me?"

Draven nodded as he looked at her from the armchair behind his desk. "What is she doing these days?"

The short blue-haired elf didn't have to ask who he was asking about. "Miss Ember is spending time in her study. She seems to be immersed in reading all day, she barely leaves her study room." Draven was pleased to hear that his mate was enjoying her time with the books Erlos got specifically for her, but then Yula's next words changed his mind. "From what I heard from her maidservants, the Miss has been studying the book she borrowed from Your Majesty."

'Borrowed?' Draven scoffed inwardly, not letting it show on his face. 'She's a little thief, daring to sneak in here and get a book without my permission. That brazen human only knows how to get herself in trouble.'

His eyes glanced at the part of the bookshelf that was missing a book. There was a separate library within the palace where the ordinary books were kept, and those inside his study were unique or important books that were part of his personal collection. He knew that the 'borrowed' book was about advanced magic.

'She won't understand it.'

"Your Majesty?" Yula called out, seeing the King remain silent.

Draven looked at her and she said, "Miss Ember has stopped bleeding so I am thinking of calling the male servants back to the palace. But before that, I want to know your opinion."

"Do it," he replied.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." She bowed to him lightly and said, "I will make sure to send them out every month whenever it's time for Miss Ember to have her monthly cycle."

Draven simply nodded. As the elf was about to excuse herself, he could not help but ask, "Is she in her study at this moment?"

"Yes, she is, Your Majesty."

The most powerful man in the kingdom, with him being a Dragon and the entire palace grounds being his territory, was asking his aide about the whereabouts of his little mate.

Draven never had a need to ask anyone's position before, because his powers allow him to locate people in a matter of seconds. What a pity that when it came to the one who was most important to him, his powers failed him. Due to his instincts as a mate, his thoughts would go to her from time to time, and he needed constant assurance that she was fine, but...

When it came to Ember, there was nothing he could do but ask others. It was a first for him.

This was the main reason why he found dealing with her difficult. She would constantly do things that would catch him unaware. Only if he could find her presence, he would have avoided coming across her and all those encounters wouldn't have happened. Especially the one that happened in the study that night.

Ever since she appeared in his life, it seemed he never had peace of mind.

After he tasted his mate once, he could not help but crave for more. At times, he regretted doing it, but sometimes, he found himself questioning why he was denying himself his mate. She was his-- how could he not expect at least that much?

After dismissing his aide, his gaze passed across that particular bookshelf once more, but it seemed he could see two people standing in front of it, one caging the other as they shared a short burst of passion.

The memory was vivid in his mind--how good it felt to touch her face and how he felt his entire being become alive as soon as their lips met. There were no words to perfectly describe his feelings.

His gaze then moved towards the space in the bookshelf where the missing book was supposed to be.

'Even after all that, she was ridiculous enough to take that book with her. That little sneaky thing.'