Chapter 12
Ael
“You saw her do WHAT?!” Ael exclaimed as Luelle told him what she had seen Neoma do to Praxis the night before.
“She poured a green liquid onto him while she was fucking him, and he turned into almost a direct replica of you,” Luelle reiterated.
“Are you sure you saw correctly?”
She looked at him with a what-the-fuck expression, “Yes, Ael, I saw Praxis shift into you unknowingly.”
He knew Neoma was after him. That much was obvious.
He also noticed that she was flirting with him during breakfast. But wanting him and changing who she was fucking into him was something else.
He felt… violated. “Follow her. She’s up to something more than just desiring me.
I can sense it. If anything suspicious happens, find me immediately.
I won’t delay your coming to me next time, even if the castle is on fucking fire.
I also don’t trust her with Seda. She’s pushing to be around her too much.
Follow them, and make sure everything’s okay. ”
Luelle nodded, got up from the table, and pushed her chair in.
“Luelle?” Ael stopped her from leaving.
“Yes?” She turned around and looked at him.
“Keep an eye on Meir, too. He brought her here, and something really seems wrong with both of them.”
“Will do.” She left the room, and Ael remained sitting at the table, feeling disgusted by what he heard. He wanted to talk to Tahti and see if she had given her the potion. Why would she give her something like that? What sort of games was that tricky witch up to now?
He got up from the table, looked at the clock, saw he had some time before he had to hear petitions in the throne room, and made his way outside to find the damn witch.
He moved quickly along his usual path to her cabin in the woods.
As he approached, he noticed the usual smoke stack from the fireplace was gone.
He navigated through weeds that had grown over since his last visit, brushing aside the overgrowth to reach her door. He pushed through and knocked loudly.
Usually, he would hear rustling, grumbling, maybe some cursing, but now only silence responded. He knocked on the door once more.
When no reply came, he tried the handle, and it opened smoothly.
His eyes widened as he looked inside. The cabin was empty—no stack of pots against the far wall, no cauldron bubbling with the lingering smell of chemicals in the middle. It was a completely barren room with only an empty cauldron at the center.
The weight of absence pressed heavily around him, the stale air thick as forgotten memories. It seemed no one had lived there for decades. He cautiously entered and surveyed the space. Cobwebs decorated every corner of the walls, while a thick layer of dust covered the floor.
What the fuck?
He felt like his mind was playing tricks on him, so he walked back outside and looked at the cabin again, checking to make sure he was in the right place.
The small, shanty-looking cabin he knew so well came into view.
He walked back inside through the curved front door and went to the small kitchen, opening the cabinets to look for any sign that she had been there, but they were lined with even more dust. He went into the bathroom, looked around, and had to push his way through cobwebs that blocked the entrance to the small room.
He scratched his head in confusion and walked over to the empty cauldron she usually brewed in. Inside was a weathered-looking book. He picked it up and examined the blank pages.
Tahti was gone.