The Devil's Cursed Witch

As the three women were covered in heavy silence, Reya let out an exaggerated 'oh' as she attempted to change the mood. "By the way, I heard that last night there was a feud at the borders of the human territory. A few villages were attacked by the Wild Elf Clan with the support of the artefacts made by the Valley Elves, and aside from the human casualties, many houses were burned."

Ember felt her entire body shiver. "What? A-Aren't those humans residents of Agartha too? Isn't everyone living in harmony now?" Ember asked.

"It seems that way on the surface, Miss, but in the end, regardless of race, people are still people. People have emotions. Not everyone wants to move on, not everyone wishes to forget the past, and especially for those who have lost all of their loved ones, they would never be able to forgive how humans killed so many of our people through evil means.

"But those humans are not the ones who killed your people a hundred years ago. From what Elder Leeora told me, they were in fact humans you saved from the mountains."

"Indeed they were, but Miss, humans reproduce fast, and the gratitude their parents or ancestors felt would not necessarily be carried on by their descendants. Humankind is a greedy race. Sometimes, for the sake of benefit, those humans attack the borders of the more bountiful territories whenever there is an opportunity, just like the night of the full moon.  Of course, no matter how peace-loving supernatural beings are in general, those attacked by humans would surely retaliate. It's a never-ending cycle of cause and effect. It seems like the grudge between our kind and humankind would never be resolved."

Ember could not help but fiddle at the sleeves of her dress. Everything was so peaceful within the safety of the palace walls that she had no idea such a thing was happening somewhere in the Kingdom of Agartha.

Was it truly impossible for humans to live in harmony with supernatural beings?

As she imagined the situation Reya painted in her head, she could not help but question how powerless humans could manage to harm supernatural beings who possess magic. Even disregarding magic, the physical abilities the non-human races have over the weak humans alone were an overwhelming advantage no willpower could disregard. Was it even possible for humans to defeat supernatural beings?

"I have something to ask. You mentioned there was a terrible war a century ago…but aren't your kind more powerful than humans? I remember that I am a special case—the only human capable of magic—so then how could humans kill so many of the residents of Agartha?"

"Miss, humans are sly and love schemes," Reya said, but then when Clio gave her a flat look, she backtracked, "or at least, that's what my parents say. Though I was born during the war, my parents and I were lucky enough to not be involved back then."

"Same for me, though I was too young to even know what war was back then. To be honest, probably only the elders and the warriors who survived can tell exactly what happened. Maybe, Miss, you can ask His Majesty. He will explain what happened if you asked him."

"All I know is that black magic practitioners got involved and sided with the humans."

"Black magic?" Ember asked.

Reya covered her mouth. "T-That is a taboo. Oh, silly me. Please just ask His Majesty."

"Oh, fine! I will ask him."

Clio looked at the pouting Reya. "Like every year, everyone in the palace will go to Netherfields for the day of mourning. Will His Majesty take Miss with him?"

"Not sure. We are yet to receive any instructions from His Majesty," Reya answered.

"Miss is human…so…."

"We will see," Reya interrupted Clio before she could say more. It would do no good to say more in front of Ember. That she might not be allowed because she was born human might hurt their master.

Ember understood their intentions, but what they were worried about wouldn't happen. She didn't mind as neither the tragedy that happened in the past nor the fact that she was born human were her fault.

If she could, she would have rather chosen to be born as a wild animal instead of being human. After what she had gone through in Valor and what she had come across in Agartha, in her opinion, humans were evil. She didn't dislike the fact that the citizens of Agartha hated them as she herself felt the same.

Inside Draven's study.

After dismissing the last batch of visitors, Draven got some free time and had Melion bring Logan with him.

"Draven, what do you plan about your mate?" Logan asked.

"She won't be accompanying us."

"That's a good decision," the White Tiger replied and Melion agreed with it as well.

"Due to the feud between the humans and the elves at the border, our people would be more sensitive than usual when it came to humans. It is only proper that we take extra precaution on the day of the mourning."

That was what Draven had in mind. "Many people are yet to even officially meet her as my mate. They need time to accept her and I don't wish to hurry."

Of course, if Draven were to insist, people would probably not question the King's decision to bring his mate with him to Netherfields, but as that vast graveyard was a monument of built upon countless painful memories this kingdom had because of humankind, it was inconsiderate to take her there in person. The survivors of the war would be mourning for their loss, immersed in the memories left behind by the loved ones they missed, and seeing a human there would highly likely cause them to feel upset.

It would still be tolerable if they treated her indifferently, but Draven could not allow them to disrespect her or let them say something that might hurt her.

Though Draven believed that the people of Agartha were more rational than that, the report he received about the feud the previous night made him think there would be a more proper timing for Ember to appear in the eyes of the public.

'And then there is her power.'

What he worried about the most was that an incident would occur which wouldn't be resolved by merely talking. Ever since Ember started tapping her elemental power, the lesser control she held over her temper. By chance, if someone angered her, her power might cause harm to others, and he didn't want the people he had long protected to judge her solely through that.

'Even I do not understand what kind of disaster she could bring.'

The fact that Ember was a human was posing to be a problem. What if her power was uncontrollable as well? If that happened, they would see her as a threat to the safety of Agartha. In fear of repeating what happened in the past, they might consider her as a spy from the side of humankind, or maybe some atrocious creation by the black magic practitioners. Rather than risking an unknown factor, they would surely aim to kill her.

Logan, as one of the highest-ranking warriors in the kingdom, marked a couple of strategic points on the map laid out on Draven's desk.

"We have to tighten the security at the borders starting today. We will pay more attention to these places where the largest human villages are located on that day as most of the kingdom's population would be heading for the Netherfields, leaving their cities mostly empty. Most of the guards would be younger ones who are exempted from visiting the graveyard on that day," Logan offered. "and especially here at the palace, if you plan to leave your mate here when the strongest ones will be away."

Draven nodded as he knew it was not safe to keep Ember away from him, but he was confident in the magic of their bond. The moment she finds herself in danger, he would teleport by her side. Fortunately, the bond they shared allowed him to sense the extreme shifts in her emotions and her powers.

Erlos knocked and then entered the study. "Sire, Miss Ember is coming here to visit you."

Draven nodded while Logan stood up. "I will take my leave then and look into the matter we have just discussed."

"I will accompany Warrior Logan," Melion said as he was ready to excuse himself as well.

Melion escorted Logan out of the study. Just as they stepped out into the hallway, they came across the slender human with emerald green eyes who was with her servants. The warrior from the White Tiger Clan and the Wind Fae both paid a polite greeting her way.

Ember offered them a light nod before entering the King's study. As he walked away, Logan thought about the human girl. Something about her seemed a little different from how he saw her during the festival of the full moon.

At that time, she looked fragile and weak, someone who needed to be protected, but now she had confidence in her gait, and her eyes…they didn't waver even a bit, as if she was scared of nothing.

'She didn't look at me as if I am a scary monster. I wonder what has changed in her. She is different. Is it the effect of the bond completion or there is something that we don't know?'

Logan being keen with his gaze to identify the people correctly, left with questions about Ember in his mind. In the past, he had doubts about that human as well but in front of Draven's trust, he put his doubts aside and chose to trust that particular human but it was not the right decision on his side.

'I need to know more about her.'

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