The Devil's Cursed Witch

"Didn't I warn you to stay away from her?" Draven seemingly growled.

"I…was…worried for her…" Morpheus managed to speak with his choked voice.

Draven smirked as if he had heard a joke. "Worried for her? You? Weren't you the one who wanted me to mark her? Weren't you the one to push my limits? Now, you act as if you care?"

Morpheus didn't argue and closed his eyes as if he was regretting something.

"Draven," he called and opened his eyes to look at the red-eyed man. "I am serious."

"I don't care. Just stay away from her," Draven warned once again.

Morpheus didn't argue as he himself was filled with guilt and simply stayed quiet. His intuition was telling him it was also the best way to calm the rampaging devil.

Seeing him stay still, Draven loosened his grip around Morpheus's neck, but he warned him before he let him go. "I have marked her—you got what you want. Stay away from her."

Draven stood up and turned his back on Morpheus, about to leave, when he stopped mid-stride because he heard Morpheus calling him.

"Draven."

Draven stopped but didn't turn to look at him.

"When I said I was worried for her, it was not a lie."

"And when I said stay away from her, it was not a lie either."

"Ember is a person, not a puppet you can control, and I am her friend so you cannot stop me coming to her." Morpheus slowly sat up and pinned his gaze on the King. "Do not monopolize her. She is not your mate yet entirely. Putting a mark on her is not enough. Something one-sided is not enough to make a sacred bond complete. Even if she fulfils the first stage of survival which proves her potential to suit your bloodline, without her consent the two of you cannot proceed to —"

"Enough!" Draven exclaimed as he didn't wish to hear about the last stage of completing the bond. "Stay out of it if you don't want to die."

"I just want to say, I don't know if she will survive or not. Don't stop me from seeing her," Morpheus said.

"Do it if you want to die," Draven said coldly as he disappeared from the forest.

Morpheus stood rooted to his place, "You can not stop me from seeing her. Somewhere I am the reason for the condition she is in. Despite, even if you had planned to mark her even before."

----

Meanwhile, Leeora and Cornelia got to know from the other palace servants that the King had brought the human girl to his chamber. Though it was surprising for the two women, they had long abandoned trying to understand Draven's thoughts. For now, they only wished to see Ember first.

When they reached the hallway leading to the King's chamber, they found only one elf in sight. Erlos was standing outside to guard the door, as per the King's order. Since the palace where the Devil King resided never needed guards in the first place, there were only aides and servants staying inside to manage the affairs of the palace. Erlos standing guard at the door was more for the sake of convenience rather than protection.

Erlos bowed a little to greet the two women.

"Erlos, is Ember inside?" Leeora asked to make sure if the King had really brought the human girl to his chamber.

The young elf signalled towards the door behind him. "She is, Elder."

Leeora and Cornelia looked at each other, their expressions indescribable. Up until now, they were still doubting what they heard from the other servants.

"Is Sire inside as well? Leeora asked again. When Erlos shook his head, she prodded. "Where is he?"

"He simply disappeared from the chamber and I am not sure where he went," Erlos answered.

"Disappeared?" Leeora mumbled, feeling puzzled as she thought the King would be with the girl as he had brought her to his chamber. Her life would be in danger until she wakes up. It would be good to assign a companion who could at least watch over her.

"Can we see her?" Cornelia asked. "We won't stay long. We just want to see her before we leave."

Erlos awkwardly scratched his ears. "Apologies, Lady Cornelia. Sire has instructed me to not let anyone enter his chamber. He even closed all the windows and drew the curtains inside the chamber, instructing me to not open it as if he is keeping  a precious gemstone in his chamber that even birds flying in the sky are not allowed to see."

Cornelia looked at Leeora. "What do you think, Elder? I need to tell His Majesty what I had sensed when he was marking her."

"We can wait for him to return," Leeora replied. "For now, all I want to see is her. I don't know how her frail body is coping with the power of a dragon's marking."

Cornelia agreed and Leeora instructed Erlos. "Will it be fine for us to wait in one of the drawing rooms?"

Erlos nodded. "Once Sire is here, I will let him know you wish to meet him."

Just as the two ladies were to turn away, Erlos sensed a familiar surge of power from the other side of the door he was guarding. As the King's only personal servant, he was used to seeing him disappearing and reappearing out of thin air, and it could be said he's the person most familiar with Draven's powers. Most of the time, he had to personally face his master's powers, regardless if it was Draven bringing him to teleport elsewhere or a target of punishment.

"Elder, Lady, wait! Seems like Sire is back!" Erlos called them out and the two women stopped.

As if on cue, the door of the King's chamber opened on its own and the black-haired king was standing there looking at the witch and the two elves.

"To my study," Draven simply said before he once again disappeared from where he stood.

The three were startled but not surprised. It was within reason that the King was aware of their presence outside of his chamber. They probably wouldn't be surprised if he was already aware of the purposes of the two female leaders.

Erlos stayed back to continue guarding the King's chamber, while Leeora and Cornelia headed towards the King's study.

When they entered the study, Draven was already sitting in his armchair behind his long desk.

"Leeora of the Wood Elf Clan greets King Draven, the ruler of Agartha."

"Cornelia Grimm of Honeyharbor Coven pays respects to His Majesty King Draven Aramis."

Draven, who looked the same as usual, cold and unreachable, gestured to them to have a seat.

Once they sat down, Leeora asked, "Sire, how is Ember faring?"

"She will remain unconscious for a while. If she does not wake up in two or three days, chances are she will never do," Draven answered, as if the matter of life and death was just any other ordinary issue that he solved every day.

Leeora could only swallow what she originally wanted to say. No matter how sad she was feeling for Ember, she could only wait and leave her survival to fate. She sighed, "Lady Cornelia wishes to inform you something, Sire."

Draven looked at the Head of the Witches. "Did you sense something when I was marking her?"

Cornelia was surprised to hear it but then nodded. She realized that if she could feel that strong power then Draven, who was much more powerful than her, would not miss such an important thing.

"Yes, Your Majesty," she replied, but she hesitated, as if unsure where to start.

Draven remained silent, as he was not the one to keep asking obvious questions. After all, they were the ones who came looking for him..

Cornelia was thankful that the King did not pressure her to speak, and this time, she was able to recall what she witnessed without trembling.

"When Your Majesty was marking her, perhaps you triggered something that temporarily awakened the power hiding inside her. I merely caught a glimpse of it, but it was overwhelming, way beyond the power I felt when I failed to scry her soul. However, at least this time, I can confidently say that this was truly divine power, a power that shouldn't exist within a mortal. I even saw a mark appearing on the back of her neck, and it was as if something was waiting to be unleashed—"

There was a sudden change in Draven's emotionless eyes. "On the back of her neck?" he asked.

Cornelia nodded, and she heard another question from him, "What kind of mark?"

"I am not sure what that mark exactly means as it was burning, but it looked like an ancient symbol. I am still lacking in the study of runes, but if I am to make a bold guess, I will say it is related to the true source of that power inside her soul," Cornelia replied.

The next moment, several items floated in the air from Draven's desk towards the table in front of the women's seats. One empty parchment spread in front of the witch with a bottle of black ink and a writing brush pushed towards her hands.

"Draw it," came the command from the King.

He generally didn't like to waste time, but after the mention of that mark, he became more impatient.

Cornelia picked up the brush and started to draw the mark she had seen. The other two quietly waited for her to finish it.

Once she finished it, she put the brush aside and held the parchment in her hand to show the King what she had drawn. "Only difference is that the mark was crimson red and was covered in fire."

Draven's eyes narrowed the moment he saw that mark drawn on the paper.