The Devil's Cursed Witch

Draven found himself momentarily closing his eyes, as if remembering those days from the past.

"I cannot forget that hellish day. Many lives were lost, and I had to make a decision--do I run after the escaping enemies at the risk of losing more of my people, or do I stay to protect the survivors and make sure to preserve at least one more life?

"She made the decision for me--to protect. The leaders of the races, the most senior elders of the clans and the strongest warriors, they all sacrificed their lives to protect their people. She told me to honour their sacrifices, that I could not let them die for nothing.

"How could I refuse when she too made a sacrifice of her own? She chose to commit a sin to protect our people. There was no one else but me left to lead the broken alliance of races when even the strongest warriors were mourning over the loss. I had no choice but to agree.

"In exchange for her sacrifice, she made me promise her that I would stay here and protect our people. So stay I did. I led those lucky enough to survive to rebuild our kingdom. It's impossible to bring everything back to the way it was before, but for the sake of those who survived and those generations yet to come, the people had to continue living.

"I did not forget. No, no one forgot. The hatred we had is impossible to forget. The physical wounds healed but the scars are still left...but for the sake of those who sacrificed, I and those of the council, we who needed to shoulder the future of the survivors, we have to bide our time until those we protected are strong enough to protect themselves."

Erlos was at a loss for words. The King he served was a man feared by many for being heartless and cold, and he was someone who barely spoke about his real thoughts and feelings.

Just as Draven knew Erlos, Erlos also knew Draven. The elf never expected that today of all days, his master would open up the scars of his past to him.

"Sire," he spoke tentatively, "the woman you speak of, I believe it's the Monarch of the White Witches?"

"It is indeed her. When she left, she assured me that she would try to find them. I wish she was still with us to lead our people, then I would have the confidence to leave and go after our enemies. If not for my promise with her, I would not have bound myself to this kingdom."

Erlos understood Draven's reasoning. Somehow, hearing about the sacrifices of others strengthened his determination.  "Sire, I know I am still weak now...but I want to do something that's within my current abilities. I might not have the ability to kill them yet, but at least allow me to search for their whereabouts. Then when I'm stronger--"

"Not yet," Draven said. "When the time comes, I will be the one to send them all to hell. Be patient till then."

"But..."

"Do you not trust me?" Draven asked.

Erlos could not argue. "I do, Sire."

"Then wait and you will get what you want," Draven assured him.

Erlos tightened his grasp over his bow, but in the end, he had no choice but to nod.

"Instead of spending your day off venting over things you cannot control, you can do something else," Draven suggested. "Roam the kingdom. See the current strength of our people. After all, this grudge is not for you alone to bear. You will have companions to fight along with you when the time comes."

Erlos let out a shaky breath and stood up. Just as he witnessed his master using his powers to vanish out of thin air, he heard Draven's parting words, "I will leave you to it then."

------

Draven reappeared inside the open palace grounds. When he left the palace earlier, Fire Fae Helia had just arrived for Ember's magic lessons and checking the time, hours had passed since their lesson ended so there was no need for him to head to the rear of the palace.

Once he arrived at his study, he called for Yula to get an update about his mate.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Yula bowed to the King.

He accepted it with a nod and asked, "Where is she?"

"Miss Ember should be in her study, Your Majesty."

"How did the lesson go? Any improvement?"

The blue-haired elf smiled. "Indeed, Lady Helia asked me to inform you of good news. Miss Ember was able to sense  the core of her energy, and they can now proceed to the next part of her education."

Draven replied with a nod. "Is she still in her study?"

"Seems like it as Clio and Reya are yet to prepare for her midday meal," Yula informed him.

After dismissing Yula, Draven thought of going to his mate and talking to her. When he was with her the previous day, she was not herself, and after that, they didn't come across each other.

Draven disappeared from his study and appeared outside of the study of his mate. The two servants standing outside the door immediately bowed to the King.

"Miss, His Majesty the King has arrived to see you."

Clio knocked first before opening the door of the study, knowing that the King was there to meet his mate. Despite not hearing a reply, Draven entered inside while the servant promptly closed the door behind. He looked around the room filled with shelves, but Ember was not sitting at her desk. He walked towards her desk which had stacks of books arranged on the surface. On the side, a number of books were scattered open, as if his mate had read them and left them just like that.

He picked up a random book from the books that were scattered about and skimmed through it. Draven was aware of the current human language and thus he had no issues understanding its contents. Even the few random images drawn inside were enough for anyone to understand what those were about. He checked the other books and all were of the same kind.

'Does she enjoy reading this kind of book?'

He put the book in his hand back on the desk, and turned towards where he knew his mate was. Though she wasn't inside, her scent was filling that study, the source coming along with the fresh breeze entering through the direction of the balcony. He knew she was outside.

Draven walked towards the balcony and stood at the door from where he saw his mate leaning at the railing of the balcony, her back facing him.

As he watched her, her long mahogany hair danced along the mild breeze.

Even though he could not see her face, he could feel she was in deep thought and something was troubling her.

'Did something happen?'

As he stepped out onto the balcony, his entire body froze. Other than the scent of his mate, his nose caught a familiar scent of a male. He knew that was Morpheus, but that scent of his was stronger, deeper, than the one in his memories.

His red eyes darkened into a dangerous shade as an unwanted thought entered his head.

'Did he...?'

Ember was still troubled by her conscience. It's been about half an hour since Morpheus left, but to her, it was as if he was still there with her as the memory of his closeness haunted her head. As she stood on the balcony, her mind was so chaotic. She didn't even know where to begin unravelling her thoughts.

'I should tell what happened to His Majesty. I should be honest with him. I feel like a sinner if I hide it...'

Ember's body stiffened when she realized she wasn't alone. It was pure intuition on her part as she was too far from him to catch his scent, and she hesitantly turned around to look at the black-haired man standing in the doorway between her study and the balcony. She noticed his red eyes were darker and looked scarier than usual. She gulped as her guilt continued to cause her discomfort.

Seeing him simply watch her without a word was making her feel more guilty.

"Your Majesty..." She bowed to him, keeping her head low.

Draven continued to gaze at her and then looked at the red fruits bundled inside an animal hide that surely didn't belong to his mate. It reeked of the scent of that brazen eagle.

"Was someone here?" he asked.

Ember nodded immediately. "Y-Yes, Morph. He brought these fruits for me."

His intense eyes fixed at her.

She could see he was upset about something. She felt suffocated under his gaze as if it would suck out her soul at any moment. For a moment, she wished she could disappear from his line of sight.

Draven could read the guilt in her emerald green eyes. Her face was an open book, and he knew she would not harbour that emotion without a reason.

He almost imagined himself going to her and strangling her to death for what he guessed his mate might have done but...

He closed his eyes briefly to calm himself. With his hands clenched in fists and his jaw clenched, he asked, "Anything I should know?"

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The Bonus chapter is dedicated to the reader "SacRaj (RMehrotra) " for gifting supergifts to the novel. Thank You so much. <3<3