The Devil's Cursed Witch

"Interesting. Are you going to kill me because of a human?" Morpheus managed to speak, trying to remain composed despite the pain spreading from his neck. "You might be stronger, but I'm not going down without a fight. If I were to resist, that kid might end up needing to reconstruct not just your chamber but your entire palace."

Morpheus did not strike back, not because he couldn't but because he felt this was enough.

'Enough… for now…'

Seeing the anger in those red eyes, Morpheus felt a small satisfaction. Next time, it wouldn't be mere words. What the shapeshifter had in mind was not only physical punishment, but one that would stab straight into Draven's cold heart.

Soon, Draven would have a taste of the suffering  Morpheus had suffered after losing his loved ones.

"Stay away from her," Draven warned.

But Morpheus only found his reaction more and more amusing. "After seeing you like this, how could I?"

"If you hate me for that mistake that much, why didn't you accept the throne when I wanted to give it up?"

After his failure to protect his people, Draven wished to give up the throne and exile himself from Agartha as punishment. He was going to hand over the throne to Morpheus, a trustworthy warrior whose strength was only second to his, but the shapeshifter declined.

Morpheus sneered. "And what? Let you run away? I want you to stay here, to witness the children of your subjects grow up without their parents, to see the people who still grieve over the loss of their family and friends even up to this day, to be reminded every single day that your mistake cost us our loved ones. How can you think of freeing yourself from your guilt and running away? You still have to pay for your blood debt…

"...and taking that little female away from you is but a small interest of your debt."

In a fraction of a second, the two men disappeared from the King's chamber and reappeared at the peak of a faraway rocky mountain. The darkness of the night had covered the entire sky at this point, yet this darkness seemingly paled to the shadow on Draven's face..

"Stay away from her," Draven repeated with gritted teeth. He even tightened the grip of his hand on his throat to drive his point.

Morpheus choked, and this time, he used his powers against the angry devil. His hand emitted a strong pulse made of sonic energy that pushed not only Draven back but also Morpheus. The two men slid away from each other, their feet leaving trail marks on the ground.

Once again, the collision of their powers disturbed their surroundings, causing dust to be stirred and the nearby rocks to overturn.

Both were standing quite a distance from each other with Draven glaring at the winged man while Morpheus was more concerned about his throat. He stretched his neck left and right as he touched what he knew were finger-shaped bruises left by the King's hand.

"Ah, I almost thought my neck would break," he said with his trademark lopsided smirk and took a step forward. "I see you still don't put up your guard against my powers. If you are letting me go so easily, why waste energy on strangling my neck in the first place? Do you think I am that human female who will be scared by your antics?"

"Don't check my patience, Morpheus," Draven warned coldly. He remained standing in one place while Morpheus approached him with leisurely steps.

"Do you know how fascinating this is?" Morpheus chuckled. "I have never seen you angry like this in decades. It makes me curious about the identity of that female. Does that female mean something to you?"

The winged man paced around Draven like he did inside the chamber earlier.

"Why do you want to keep her with the elves? Is she worth it? If you are going as far as to contradict the wishes of your own people and betray their trust anyway, you might as well bring her to stay with you in your palace." Morpheus shook his head. "A female who doesn't even look two decades old…"

Draven simply stayed quiet, aware that not only Morpheus, but many of his subjects also had a serious misunderstanding about his intentions about that human girl.

If it were someone else, Draven would have strangled the person for real but Morpheus….though they were not on good terms, they used to be comrades.

"As you are not saying anything, then I will take it that you are willing to let her go," Morpheus said but Draven simply stared at him, not willing to answer any of his questions.

Willing to let her go or not, he didn't need to tell anyone. No, he wasn't capable of telling anyone. He was a man whose first memories were of solitude and survival. How could he express emotions when he didn't understand them? He had always been alone,  and even after he gained comrades and followers, he never talked much.

He knew how to express anger, and he knew how to be threatening. He used actions to talk, but not words. He never knew how to express himself through words.

That was because he didn't understand people and he didn't understand himself.

Morpheus sighed. "It's during times like this I wish Evanthe is here. Only she is capable of understanding you without you saying a word."

At the mention of the name Evanthe, Draven's gaze softened. The only person who could understand him and act recklessly in front of him, and he never minded it.

Similarly, Morpheus's expression also relaxed as he remembered her who had gone from their lives, but fond memories of the past still remained with those who were left behind.

'No! This is not the time.' Morpheus shook his head to get rid of those old memories, those days that used to be the best phase of their lives.

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Top 5 Golden Tickets Rank = Mass release

I am sure you all want to know faster if Draven keeps Ember with him and how. So please vote and make me write it faster. :)