Chapter 15 #2
“No one said it was going to be easy. But once you have accepted yourself as both a light and dark witch, you will be stronger. You will be more powerful even than Cordelia.”
Frowning, I couldn’t believe I’d gone through all this trouble to summon the witches and stayed alive, only to find out that I needed to meditate.
I let out a heavy sigh and realized I couldn’t be mad at these women. They were scared and feared getting involved with the supernaturals—familiar emotions I’d felt before I returned to the kingdom.
Just as I needed hope that Willa was alive, the witches needed reassurance about their future.
I wasn’t sure if I could live up to the expectations of being a great werewolf Queen, but at least I could try to help the witches.
If the vampire Queen was eliminated, peace would be restored in this realm, and the witches wouldn’t have to hide.
“I’ll make you a promise,” I said. “I’ll restore peace to our realm, and witches can live freely without hiding. You won’t need to fear getting into the crossfire of vampires and werewolves. I will use my power as the next werewolf Queen to make this happen.”
Their gazes softened, and I wasn’t sure if they believed me or were trying to be sympathetic.
I drew in a sharp breath. I’d just told the witches who my father was.
“Do you hate the werewolf King as much as Cordelia does?” My voice broke at the end, and I cleared my throat.
Although Dad wasn’t personally involved in the Salem trials, which had happened much before his time, Dad’s predecessors were. Cordelia held a grudge against the werewolf King anyway.
The three women could accuse Dad’s ancestors of having been involved in the Salem trials, and by association, they could despise Dad and me. I guessed I wasn’t out of danger yet.
I watched the witches carefully and held my breath.
"No, young lady, we don’t,” the woman leaning against the thick root said. “It wasn’t your father who wanted to enslave the witches and make them work for the supernaturals.”
The woman stood and muttered a spell. The root behind her descended back into the ground, disappearing from view. And the hole separating me from the women closed as the soil shook underneath my feet.
“Now go home,” the witch said and added, “and don’t return here, young lady.”
I winced. I falsely thought I had made allies.
“You don’t have to make a promise to us. Living in hiding is not that bad,” she said, but the glow in her golden eyes decreased.
I’d lived in hiding from the supernatural for seven years, and in hindsight, it wasn’t a life worth living.
“I hope I change your minds one day,” I said, bending over to pick up Cordelia’s book.
When I straightened up, my gaze settled on the witches’ expressions.
All three of them had tentative smiles growing the longer they stared at me.
Some emotion, perhaps sympathy, flashed in their eyes and disappeared as fast as it had come.
Then they abruptly exchanged looks and turned around, sauntering toward their cottage.
Clutching the tome close to my chest, I stepped over the uneven, damp soil where the ground concealed the hole. I headed toward the enchanted forest of my dream realm. No thorny maze stood in my way. Glancing at my free hand, I noticed the scrapes were already healing.
I curled the fingers of my other hand tighter around the ancient book as my intuition told me to keep the book close. Somehow, I knew I would need the summoning spell again.
As I walked, I thought about Willa and smiled. She was a light witch, which didn’t help explain how I had both dark and light magic in me. But if I were to find my biological mother, I could get more answers.
Crossing through the invisible veil separating me from my mate, I spotted Hayden where I left him, leaning against a tree. When our gazes locked, he dashed to me and embraced me hard, as if I’d been gone for years.
“I was so worried. Are you okay?” As he asked, he stepped back and scanned my body.
His eyes darkened to sapphire when his gaze fell on my almost injured hand.
With heightened emotions, werewolves’ eyes changed, flashing with their wolves’ eyes when the animal wanted to emerge.
But Hayden’s color never changed, only brightened or darkened with the shift of his feelings.
A cold chill travelled over my body.
And yet as he held my hand in his, my body also reacted to its mate. Warmth settled in my chest, my muscles relaxing. I groaned as these hot and cold sensations and conflicting emotions around Hayden overwhelmed me.
I pulled my hand to my side. “It’s nothing. I had to go through some thorny bushes. It’s really nothing, Hayden.”
He eyed me. “What did you find out?”
There was so much I’d learned. The fairy realm existed. Willa escaped there years ago, but she must have made it to the human realm to meet Dad and had a baby. I met a witch coven of three who wanted nothing to do with the outside world… I had no idea where to start.
“That I have to meditate more.” I scoffed, but Hayden kept looking at me with an intensity I didn’t like. “I learned a lot, but I need to focus on getting my wolf back right now. I’m supposed to embrace my dark magic to access Cordelia’s realm.”
Hayden narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. What if the dark magic corrupts your soul and you can’t come back from it? Your dark magic can harm your mate. So how am I supposed to help you if that happens?”
He genuinely sounded worried that I would turn into a bad person. I’d be lying if I claimed I didn’t worry, too, but Hayden’s worrisome expression had me on high alert.
“There is no other way. I will have to try accessing Cordelia’s dream realm one more time. Time is running out.”
He ran his long fingers through his hair. “Do you want to try now?” After I nodded, he said, “Let’s sit next to this tree. I will be right next to you.”
We sat on the damp soil, and I leaned my back on the rough bark that dug hard into my skin, reminding me I was still alive.
If Cordelia killed me in her or my dream realm, I would die next to Hayden, at least. If my spirit died in the dream realm, my body in the physical, human realm wouldn’t survive without it.
Hayden’s steady gaze met mine, and I found reassuring warmth in his eyes. I stared at him, doing a double take. So he worried about the possibility I could turn into a dark witch, but he didn’t worry about Cordelia killing me.
The base of my head throbbed.
The back of his hand brushed over my cheek, leaving a trail of tiny sparks behind. “You’ll come back to me. I know that for sure. Otherwise, I wouldn’t let you fight the witch in her dream realm.”
I drew my eyebrows together. “There’re no guarantees in life. Why are you so confident in me?”
His charming smile made an appearance on his handsome face. “Because you’re meant for bigger things, sweetheart.”
Hayden was likely mentioning my responsibility to ascend the throne as Queen. The weight of everyone’s expectations settled heavily on my shoulders, but I found solace in my mate standing beside me with unwavering support.
I left the book on the ground next to me. Giving him a small smile, I closed my eyes and decided to do what the three witches had suggested—accept myself for who I was, including dark and light magic.
I took deep breaths to control my heartbeats and calm my nerves. Energy came from my body and merged with the power from the bracelet. The jewelry and I were one now.
I sighed, feeling stupid. Had it been just a waste of time summoning the three witches? At least I’d learned more about my biological mother and about a whole new realm.
Perhaps the second time attempting to overcome the witch’s block would be successful. After all, I felt different.
I did feel stronger now, knowing my light magic guided me to find magic books while my dark magic could corrupt creatures. I just had to find a way to use these powers in the right way and for the right cause.
After glancing into Torin’s memories, my emotions had veered onto a dark path. But the truth was, I had always struggled with who I was. I felt lost just as before when I was thrust back into the supernatural world.
Was my soul becoming corrupted from the dark magic? Was the darkness what made me want to destroy Cordelia for aiding the vampire Queen and stealing my wolf spirit?
The more I thought about the dark witch, the higher the pile of her crimes stacked up.
And her latest indiscretion was corrupting the fairy realm and continuing to stir more trouble in the human realm by bringing creatures here.
The reasons for killing Cordelia piled up until my resolve solidified and strengthened.
I was now on a mission to end her life.
I took another deep breath as I kept my eyes softly closed. My senses heightened, detecting the melodic inhales and exhales of my mate. The familiarity of the rhythmic sound further relaxed my body.
Focusing on the energies inside me, I let my emotions emerge. The dark magic felt like anger and hurt, but at the same time resilience, whereas my light magic felt like compassion.
I had to embrace the gray area—the place of imperfection. My dark and light magic powers intertwined, and I accepted that they were both part of me, and coming to terms with the truth warmed my body.
I had told Torin to accept himself for who he was and to embrace his vampire side. But I felt like a hypocrite.
I also had to come to terms with the fact that Torin would never be mine. He’d never be with me, and I wasn’t meant to be his mate. My experience with Torin was one big test set up by the Fates to gauge my strength of becoming the next werewolf Queen.
But I couldn’t live with myself knowing the Queen tortured my fated mate. Once I freed Torin, I wouldn’t think about him anymore and would move on. I vowed and repeated my words until I believed them.
After a deep breath, I exhaled slowly, and with it, I let go of the pain Torin had caused me.
Still with my eyes closed, I immediately imagined Cordelia’s last memory of the Salem town square.
But instead of the town, a field of daisies surrounded me. I’d seen this meadow of daisies before in my dream realm. Why was I here?
The white petals swayed gently in the light breeze. But a swirling vortex of shadows loomed over the meadow, casting darkness and turning the daisies’ petals black, abruptly interrupting my sense of serenity.
It was such a beautiful sight that I wished to capture it with my calligraphy pens and canvas. Now I understood my dream realm better. The dark shadows represented the duality of my existence, reminding me that both my light and dark sides were necessary for my purpose.
Then a peaceful feeling overtook me as the dark flowers parted in the middle, forming a path of steppingstones cutting through the field.
At the end of the path, a blurry image of my father’s safe room came alive as a mirage.
The room looked bare except for the Queen’s crown sitting on an empty shelf.
My dream realm showed me my destiny. My path had always led me to the throne. Even when I’d deviated and denied it.
Energy surged through my body as my thoughts cleared out. It was time to try one last time to access Cordelia’s memory. I recalled an image of the town square with the burning stake.
It was my last chance of getting my wolf back.
The last thing I would do for him.
At first, the same inky, suffocating void enveloped me. My temples began to pound, a dull ache pulsing through my head. But I refused to let it stop me and pushed through it, ignoring the sensation. As the shadows receded, my vision cleared, and I could finally see my surroundings again.
I stood in the middle of the town square. But there was no stake or fire in sight.
Before me, Cordelia stood, her lips pressed in a line. Clearly, she’d been expecting me. The sense of being insignificant before someone of immense power washed over me, yet I chose to stand tall.
I had changed, too.