The Devil's Cursed Witch

As the King of Agartha, Draven had become extremely busy dealing with the necessary preparations for the upcoming big day, alongside with the difficulties regarding the current state of peace and order of the kingdom. After Ember left for the witch city of Honeyharbor, he continuously met with the leaders of different clans. Even after he finished granting audience with them, his work for the day was not yet done. He had to pay a visit to the border of the human territory to check the situation.

A handful of members from the council met him on the rampart of the natural fortress at the edge of the Forest of the Elves.

"Your Majesty, I am not sure why but these days, those humans are getting aggressive and ambitious. Just today, we found two human scouts near the fortress. I wonder what is there that gives them courage to do so," the Chief of the Shapeshifters, Divine Eagle Agraleus, commented as his clan members who were patrolling the border recently dealt with the nuisance caused by them.

Draven continued to silently observe the other side of the forest border, prompting his aide to respond.

"Aren't our people at fault for attacking them this time?" Melion commented in the King's stead.

"That's true, but humans were the ones to provoke them, knowing the day of mourning is close and we all would be sensitive to the wounds of the past," the High Elder from the Moon Elf Clan, Halifax, countered.

"We know how they are so we need to handle it sensibly, not falling for their provocation. It will simply destroy the peace we have been working on for a century now," Melion suggested.

Though Wind Fae Melion was the King's aide and not any clan leader or member of the council, his words were always taken seriously. As Draven's most trusted messenger, he was the King's mouthpiece; his opinions were considered to be what the King also wished to say.

Others didn't contradict his statement as Draven's silence implied his tacit agreement on the matter.

"We agree with you, Wind Fae Melion, but still, we need to act with caution. Something more must be going on in the human territory. We cannot ignore the restlessness among the villages. Two decades ago was the last time a village head raised arms against us. Ever since his son  took his place and became the new leader, did he not rally for the unification of the other human villages? He is known to be more ambitious than his father," Agraleus informed.

"Oh, I have heard of that human child," the most senior elf remarked. "My people had come across him a few times a year back when my grandchildren facilitated trade with the human villages and they spoke ill of his temper."

"I think this was a concern you raised in one of the council meetings? He initiated a feud with the merchant's guards back then?"

"He seemed to have something in his hands to be this ambitious. He keeps pushing for demands like making him a part of the council, or letting humans enter our clans' territories. How dare he ask permission to let them roam freely inside the central regions of the kingdom when he himself behaves with such impudence?

Draven finally spoke up.

"Are any of our people on friendly terms with them?" he said, his voice impassive as usual. "If not, have people from the outside reached out to them?"

"We have such doubts as well because we fear history to be repeated, but since we have no spies among the villagers, it is hard to say," Agraleus sighed. "I had already asked the scouts from my clan to search for traces of any outsiders coming in contact with them, especially traces of black magic practitioners entering the kingdom. But so far, we have found none."

As per the message from the King of Megaris, Draven knew these days that the Black Witch Zaria Lynx was active with her old scheme and he was sure she would not leave Agartha alone. He knew all her efforts for creating troubles were simply for the sake of a  single goal: to sit on the throne of Agartha and take control over all the supernatural beings in the kingdom.

Seemingly having the same thoughts, Halifax commented, "Your Majesty, do you think... Zaria might be plotting against us once more?"

Draven nodded. "I received news of her most recent activities outside the kingdom. Given her tenacity, she must have been working on a grand scheme for the past  century in order to achieve what she failed to have back then."

The council members were surprised but not shocked. As that witch was one of the greatest enemies of Agartha, they found it only natural that Draven would keep tabs of her movements.

"She won't move if she thinks her chance of succeeding is low. That means she got a powerful weapon in her hands," Agraleus said as worry painted his face.

Draven didn't deny it. He could guess what Black Witch Zaria was planning.

First, she wished to get another source of divine blood to strengthen her black magic spells, and for that, she aimed for the wife of the King of Megaris and Divine Eagle Aureus. To get them, she was planning to use the enemy kingdom of Megaris. Once she got her targets, she would return to Agartha with stronger power and attack once again, possibly with the help of humans.

"We have to be careful then," Halifax commented. "We cannot let our guards down this time."

"Rest assured, Elder Halifax," Agraleus said, determination filled his eyes. "This time, we won't let her escape. It's a good thing that she plans to come back, that way, we won't waste time searching for her. She has to pay for all the lives we lost."

The High Elder of the Moon Elves nodded. "I believe His Majesty would not let the past repeat itself."

His words also meant to remind Draven. Both back then and this time, there was a human next to the King; worse, the human in this situation was his mate. As leaders of their people, though they hoped in their hearts that Ember was not going to betray their trust, they still worried exactly because she was a human. Though she was someone special, they would not hesitate to be her enemy if she would endanger their people.

Draven merely stayed quiet. He didn't try to assure them that Ember was not someone they should be worried about. He too suffered from the wounds of the past. Back then, he had trusted a certain human blindly and he assured everyone which caused them harm and countless deaths, so this time his words would hold no value. Instead of persuading them, Draven preferred to let time show that Ember was trustworthy.

Ember was not simply a human being with a special ability but someone much more than they could imagine.

Draven turned towards Agraleus. "Continue to watch over the human territory and their leader."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Just as humans were not allowed to step inside the lands belonging to supernatural beings, the opposite was true. None of the supernatural beings were also allowed to step inside human territory aside from the trade made once every few months. However, there was a loophole to this rule. The feathered races could fly in the sky; thus, they could keep watch over any part of the kingdom, especially members of the Divine Eagle Clan famed for their sharp eyesight, so it was part of their responsibility to keep watch. Still, humans were not fools either. They were aware that from the sky, pairs of eyes always watched over them so they did everything carefully in their way.

As they were conversing, a little bird approached their group and it chirped repeatedly to get their attention. Draven and others recognized that bird's identity. It was the black sparrow bird which belonged to the Head of the Witches, Cornelia Grimm.

Draven understood there was a message for him as Ember had gone to Honeyharbor City. As it chirped and circled around Draven, he raised his arm, allowing that black sparrow to sit on his arm. There was a tiny piece of paper rolled and tied to her neck with a thread.

Draven pulled it out and opened the note, and the others respectfully gave him privacy and chose to talk amongst themselves.

It was a short message composed of a few runic letters, but upon reading that note, Draven burned it until nothing but ashes were left behind.

His action caused his group to grow concerned.

"Anything to worry about, Your Majesty?" Halifax asked.

"It's nothing serious. I will take my leave," Draven said and disappeared from there even before others could bow their heads to see him off.

---

Moments later, Draven appeared at the territory on the other side of the kingdom. His tall form stood in front of the residence of the Head of Witches where he found Erlos already waiting for him.

"Sire, good to see you came at once," Erlos said as he approached his master.

"Where is she?" Draven asked, his expression colder than before.

Erlos could clearly see how worried his master was for his mate. "Miss is resting inside. Lady Cornelia had asked me to bring you to her room as soon as you arrived." Without delay, the elf led Draven inside the large cottage where each and every person working inside hurried to bow upon seeing the King walk past them.

Draven was brought to the guest room where Ember was sleeping in the bed with Cornelia by her side. Draven watched his mate's expression, his gaze checking if there was anything wrong with her body, and only after he found nothing wrong with her did he pay attention to the redheaded witch who answered his unspoken question.

"She was exhausted so I had given her sleeping potion so she could rest comfortably and recover her energy. She will feel much better once she awakes."

Draven nodded. "What exactly happened?"

Cornelia narrated the brief excursion they had on the residence of the Queen of the Witches.

"Evanthe? She had a vision of Evanthe?" Draven asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Your Majesty, and even I am wondering when Her Eminence came across that green-eyed woman in Miss' dreams."

Draven stared at his mate with a complicated gaze. Every new thing getting revealed about her was a discovery that even he himself finds it hard to accept or understand..

'From the kind of vision she had about Evanthe, it looked like what I knew  about my friend was merely the tip of the iceberg. I had always felt Evanthe was far more superior than a White Witch. Not just Ember, but even Evanthe's real identity is a mystery to me. If she knows the exact identity of the green-eyed woman, then I need to find and meet her. Only Evanthe can confirm if the green-eyed woman is really Ember in her previous life. If not, then she must know the connection between her and Ember.'

"What are you thinking about, Your Majesty?" Cornelia asked as she observed Draven who was lost in his thoughts.

"It's time for Evanthe to return to Agartha," Draven answered, which took Cornelia by surprise, but then a pleased smile appeared on her face as it was something to be happy about.

But the question was, "Will she really return?"

"She has to," Draven said with determination.

"We don't know where she had gone for all these decades. How are we going to find her?" Cornelia asked.

"Last I heard, she had gone wandering on the other side of the continent, planning to explore the land our people had never stepped on. I will send scouts to roam the land. Knowing her, she would interact to help humans in need so I am sure we will find clues about her. Since Agartha is also forming an alliance with Megaris, I will ask  the King of Megaris to help us find her."

"Sire, maybe Aureus can also help us find her," Erlos suggested. "Supernatural beings are rare on that side. Aureus mentioned that he used to roam around with his mother, so there is likelihood he has come across her. Even if not, if he knows a witch or other wanderers, maybe they had interacted with Her Eminence in passing."

Draven nodded. "I will ask him. Not just him, even the King of Megaris could have come across her. If he is like me, then even if she purposely pretended to be human, it's very difficult for Evanthe and the essence of her powers to not catch his attention."

Cornelia felt glad to hear this all. "Your Majesty, if there is anything that I can help with, please let me know."

Draven nodded.

"I will be outside," Cornelia excused herself. Erlos was smart enough to leave his master alone with his mate as well.

Draven walked closer to the bed and sat at the edge as he observed Ember's sleeping face. He had nothing in his mind and simply stared at her. After a while, he reached out to hold her hand, content to simply listen to her rhythmic breathing.

'I thought the day would end with me seeing you all happy and cheerful since your wish to go out is fulfilled, that you would excitedly show off to your pet and servants how you enjoyed your visit outside, but it seems like even such a simple wish is impossible for you to fulfill. Nothing about you is simple, and trouble keeps finding you."

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