The Devil's Cursed Witch

The next morning, Ember was readying herself for her magic lesson with her instructor,  Fire Fae Helia. Not being able to sleep well due to what Isa said to her, her head was feeling a little heavy and she felt cranky despite having a sumptuous morning meal.

Lady Helia was waiting for her at the training grounds in the rear of the palace by the time she arrived. In the previous lesson, Ember succeeded in finding her energy core, and now, both she and her instructor looked forward to her progress. Of course, it probably wouldn't be easy given Ember's special case.

When Ember reached the middle of the training grounds, Lady Helia cordially greeted her."Good morning, Miss Ember. I hope you have been well since we last parted."

"Good morning!"

Though her voice was bright, Lady Helia noticed how Ember had to force herself to smile.

"Pardon if I sound intrusive, but you feel…gloomy? Is everything all right, Miss Ember?"

Ember denied having issues, but deep inside, she knew she was not feeling as excited as in her previous lessons.

What Ember didn't know was that Helia was not ignorant of the confrontation. She had heard from Draven what happened to her student, and she knew she had to keep that in mind while teaching her today.

"If that is what you say," she relented. "All right, shall we start our lesson?"

Ember nodded.

Helia didn't hold Ember's hand this time as she instructed, "To start with , why don't you try locating your energy core again?" When Ember told her she was done, the fairy smiled. "Wonderful. You did it quite quickly this time."

"It is because I became more familiar with it now."

Helia then moved on. "Since we do not have any more issues with that, we will move on to the next step. Let me ask you, Miss. We have been practicing for a while and I wish to know when was the last time you felt the presence of your powers."

It reminded Ember about the previous day's incident, so she confessed, "Yesterday, something happened."

Helia waited for her to continue without saying a word.

"I was…" Ember hesitated "...angry at something and didn't actually mean it but I felt like hurting another person. Not just her, but I felt like destroying everything around me to release the pent up emotions, and only then I could be calm. That urge of destruction was so strong that I almost gave in to it. I felt like something evil inside me which wanted nothing but destruction."

"How do you feel about that urge?"

"I do not like it one bit, Lady Helia," Ember said with a lowered head.

Helia touched her chin and lifted her face, smiling as soon as their eyes met.

"Are you afraid, Miss?"

Ember pressed her lips in a thin line as she considered answering that question.

Her instructor patiently told her, "Do not doubt yourself. As you have just found your energy core, you might have subconsciously tried to manifest your power the same way some people who couldn't swim were forced to learn how to swim once they were on the verge of drowning.

"It might also be that due to the seal on it weakening, your strong emotions can trigger that energy, kind of like an energy leak.

"No matter what it is, believe in yourself. Only your willpower can control your energy. Out of all the emotions, anger is always the one that leads to destruction. As your energy core is not completely yours yet, any leak of power can get out of control, so make sure to control your anger. It won't be easy but you have to try it."

Ember let out a shaky breath. "I will try."

"That is all I wanted to hear from you," the Fire Fae smiled. "Then, about our lesson for today—"

As Helia began her lecture, Ember saw Draven standing at a distance and though he was quite far, she was sure he was looking at her. She didn't avert her gaze from him.

That man standing there was her husband, her own family, but how difficult it was to reach him and she could only look at him from a distance. Though she had complaints for him in her mind, she forgot them all the moment she saw him. The sight of him was something she wanted to have in front of her all the time.

'I wish I could just go to him.'

But suddenly, Draven's eyes narrowed at her and her breath momentarily quickened. She froze in place as if some invisible force was binding her.

'Huh?'

She could not move her body. It was Draven who bound her with his energy as his mate was not paying attention to the lecture and was about to step ahead in a daze only to bump into her teacher.

Just then a young woman who appeared to be her age, her every move showing elegance and grace.

Isa.

Ember saw Isa came to Draven, and she couldn't help but narrow her eyes at that person.

"—and so, in order to move that energy—"

With a frown, Ember averted her gaze from the King and the fox and looked back at Helia who continued her lecture as if she didn't notice her student's momentary lapse of concentration.

"—with that, it concludes the lecture. Miss, stand there and we will begin the practical application of everything I said." The Fire Fae then pointed at the place a few steps away where she wanted Ember to stand.

Ember walked over there, not forgetting to throw a brief glance at Draven and Isa who were now talking. Isa was smiling a sweet smile, while Draven was nodding, seemingly listening to her with his entire attention focused solely on her.

'Didn't he come here to watch me? Why is his attention elsewhere?'

Deep in her heart, she wondered what they were talking about to make Isa smile like that. She would even laugh once in a while.

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This Bonus chapter is dedicated to readers "RMehrotra" for gifting almost 200 Golden Tickets to the novel last month. Thank you so much, dear. <3<3