Chapter 24
-Vera-
I stay silent, observing Elden carefully.
and aunt believe her to be alive. I have not confided in anyone but Noah what I know about the Witch Mother and Spirit Wolves; more importantly, I have not told anyone that both my grandmother
“I always thought the Witch Mother was just a myth; a legend perpetuated by w itches and warlocks to instill fear in other creatures, but I’m beginning to think my initial as sessment may have been wrong. I now believe that the Witch Mother was the witch that accompanied Alistair and made him believe she was his mate all those years ago; I have no other explanation for the level of power she had. What I still have yet to figure out is, why? Why go through all the trouble? It also doesn’t escape me that her b*dy was never found. When we went looking for her remains, there was nothing there.”
Once again, I stay silent.
It has never been out of mistrust that I have chosen to keep things from Elden; he was and still remains one of the people I trust most in this Castle. Noah and I simply figured that keeping it between the two of us would protect everyone else around us. If they don’t know, they have plausible deniability; also, they wouldn’t go digging for information that could prove dangerous.
“The scholars and I have been searching endlessly for any books, manuscripts, folktales, witnesses, or anything that may help us figure out how to destroy her; but we’ve had no luck so far. The accounts we have of her are not only ancient, but they paint this woman as evil personified and a literal force of nature, and I’m afraid she may seek retaliation against you.”
“Her name was Mehra.”
Elden blinks,
“Who?”
“The Witch the accompanied Alistair, her name was Mehra, 1 killed her and burned her b*dy, that’s why you couldn’t find any remains,”
“You killed the Witch Mother?!” Elden says, his eyes opening up wider.
“She wasn’t the Witch Mother, Elden, she was a mere servant. In fact, she even offered to take me to the Witch Mother to serve her as well.”
He stays silent, looking at me. I know he’s blind, but sometimes when he looks at me, it seems like he can see through my soul; this is one of those moments.
“But you are not wrong to believe that the Witch Mother may be alive. In fact, it’s one of the reasons why I have agreed to not shift to my wolf form as often: my wolf is sort of a beacon for magical creatures. But that’s not all,” I pause. “she might not only be after me.”
“What do you mean?*
“You asked why that witch would have such interest in Alistair, and the truth is, she didn’t. She found the weakest link and used him to kill King Alexander; Noah was only spared because nob*dy knew of his existence. There’s a prophecy, Elden, that says that the end of witch-kind will come about at the hands of the first son of the first son,” which is in reference to…”
“Alexander’s bloodline,” he says.
“Yes”
He observes me in silence after I let him in on my secret. I’m trusting Elden will be cautious with this information, not only to not tell anyone, but to not go digging he’ll only find bones.
“Everything makes sense then. I was right in my suspicion, only I had the wrong culprit, and the wrong reason,” he says after a while, “no wonder I was hitting wall after wall in my research.”
“Elden, you have to be careful. If the Witch Mother is indeed alive, which we have every reason to believe she is, we don’t know under what capacity or with which magical abilities.”
“Don’t worry about me, I’m a ghost; but Vera, you have to be very careful. Alistair had loyal servants within the Castle, many of which I can guarantee are still here
amongst us. If he had eyes and ears here. I wouldn’t be surprised if that witch did too.
I nod, even if it’s just to myself.
“How much do you trust Cas sia? I may put her on a special mission to investigate some documents I can’t yet read.”
“We only just met, but my wolf seems very comfortable with her. She’s just… young. Besides, the tea didn’t kill her, clearly.”
He chuckles.
“She even asked for seconds, Well then, I better get back up there before the nosy schilars come into my corner wondering what kinds of books I’ve been collecting.”
We both stand and he leads me to the door.
“You know, you could probably let Cas sia help you out with the greenhouses; she had a very beautiful one back at her home.”
*T’ll think about it,” he says, “this way.”
He leads me to the entrance to the tunnels once again and opens the fake wall.
“After you,” he says, and I comply..
We begin walking once again towards the library, reaching it soon after.
When we enter the library again, we say our goodbyes and Elden disappears into one of the corridors filled with books yet to be organized.
I stretch, cracking my neck, my back, and my arms,
I’m so tired.
I feel like these past months all I have done is try to distract myself from this terrible feeling of foreboding, but now it’s coming back with a vengeance. My head is lightly throbbing from the terrible sleep I’ve been getting; it’s all stress related, no doubt.
I groan as I remember my promise to Lucas.
Stupid bonfire.
If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t even go. Screw Violet and her fear of me. In fact, she does have good reason to fear me, she tried to take my mate. Not only that, but I defeated her despite her cheating
let out an exasperated huff, trying to get rid of my sudden sour mood. All I want right now is to soak in a nice, hot bath; but I have to do this for Lucas.
Stepping out of the library where the level of activity betrays the hour, I walk through halls and countless stairs to reach the entrance of the Castle, which is literally the other end of the Castle from here.
When I get to the entrance of the Castle, I note that it is mostly desolate. The warriors are no longer training and the dining hall is completely empty.
I step onto the threshold of the main doors to the Castle, greeting the night guards who politely greet me back.
I stretch the tension off my b*dy once again, letting the cool night air clear my thoughts, but instead, the smell it carries makes me frown.
air smells of the bonfire and a whole lot of wine.
