Brewing Them

Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The sounds of crows hooting from a distance began getting louder and louder as every second passed by. Midday sunshine shifted as scattered clouds covered the sky and covered most of the light. It grew dark in a snap of only a few minutes, but there was still some light inside the old, dusty house I had been forced into.

Elijah agreed to my demands, promising me to protect me from whomever I wanted protection from, especially his own mother.

"Do you think she'll kill you?" I asked him, curious to know myself.

I had no knowledge about Queen Alexandria's son. From the looks of it, I believed barely anyone even know she had a son. Or was it just me?

"You don't know what my mother is capable of," He rose up and neared me, his presence making my chest tighten in fear and defense. "And you don't know what I'm capable of."

"I'm not scared of you." I looked up at him as my heart pounded in my ears.

"Is that so?" He leaned forward.

Panic choked and silenced me down as quickly as the fear of being killed or worse tortured spread through me. My eyes narrowed. He stepped back, and I finally had a moment to breathe away from his scrutiny glare. What was it with him? My head rose and I caught a glimpse of the mark running down the back of his neck.

It wasn't the mark of the pentacle, but rather some other tattoo which only made me curious to know where the mark of the pentacle was.

I had seen Callan's, even Dion's. Where was his?

He sat opposite me and spread his arms over the sofa. "My mother's strength is unbeatable and if she wants something, she's going to get it. It doesn't matter if I'm dead or alive, she will still get it."

"So, she will kill you?" I swallowed hard and asked while remembering what I had read at the mating ball.

His mouth thinned into a frown, "Is it part of the curse?"

Before I had the chance to say anything, a knock appeared on the door before a rattle of the door knob. My head turned, brows furrowing. Who was there? Elijah stood up and approached the door he had once sealed.

Suddenly, it was unlocked.

"Perfect timing," Elijah said, his voice brimming with thrill as he let Dion and Callan into the house.

Dion carried a body over his shoulder. Unable to see it properly in the dark, I waited until he dropped the body down onto the ground. Then, I caught a glimpse of the face.

It was the guard sent by Alexandria for me. He was dead, his throat ripped open and several more wounds over his body.

I stood up as surprise washed over my face. Why did he kill him? What had he done? My fingers went to my mouth as I stepped back.

"What did you get from him?" Elijah asked.

Their gazes were on the guard on the floor. "Nothing much except that the queen sent him to watch Vivian and to report back whenever she practiced black magic and what kind of magic she was doing. Anything new, he had informed her about it." Callan explained before raising his head and meeting my eyes.

I could still see the anger and betrayal between them.

"He had also taken her to the queen several times throughout her stay here. Her meetings with the queen were short and brief." Dion continued.

I folded my arms over my chest and breathed heavily as my life unfolded in front of me. I couldn't go anywhere anymore. I was trapped, until all of this was over.

"What else is there? Does my mother know where she is, or has she asked anyone about her whereabouts?" Elijah questioned, wanting to know everything. I could hear the slight fear in his voice, the dread he had for his mother. It made him even tremble a little.

"No, not yet. I don't suppose so, but when she finds out that he's dead she's surely going to ask questions." Callan said while rolling the guard's body on the floor.

"She's willing to talk, finally," Elijah said, the corner of his mouth lifting into a grin before he stepped back. "I'll shut the curtains."

The clouds began to disperse, letting the rays of sunshine spread all over. Before the light could flicker into the house, Elijah dragged the curtains shut, closing them and making it even more darker. I furrowed my eyebrows while glancing at Callan.

It was midday and he came here.

The sun should've burned him, but with the clouds, there was no sunlight in the sky, making it easier for him to travel. But how did he know when to leave, or come here? My thoughts ran wild.

No one's magic was that powerful enough to shift skies, or clouds. Or was it? What kind of strength did Elijah even have?

Callan smelled the blood on me and turned his head away. His eyes darkened for a moment as his bloodlust took over his consciousness. But it didn't last for long. He controlled it before it surfaced.

They all settled down, one on each side. They all had death in their eyes. Instead of me taking them to their dooms, they were taking me to mine.

"I was invited to the winter ball earlier. That was where I met Alexandria. She knew I had done black magic but instead of punishing me, she told me about the curse and the mark," I heaved in a breath as my hands fell flat over the dress. My body broke out in goosebumps as I recalled the first night I had spent out of town. "She wanted me to find the four men that carried the mark and in return, she promised me protection and anything else I wanted."

"And you agreed?" Callan cocked an arrogant brow at me.

"I didn't have any other option. You told me yourself the Queen was a piece of work. She could get you to do anything she wanted. I was convinced and I agreed because if I didn't, she would've killed me like you had killed those practitioners of black magic for her." I snapped back at him. It didn't make me feel any better, in fact, it made me feel terrible.

"I didn't know that I was going to lead four men to their deaths." I shook my head.

"Where did you learn your magic?" Elijah asked, leaning back on the couch.

It was common for another witch to teach a new one, but no one taught me. My mother didn't practice the magic I did. She had no clue about it.

"I didn't learn—it came to me. Every spell I've done came to me by itself. No one taught me," I whispered while curling my fingers over one another. "I cast the first spell over Callan. He was nearby my town and I didn't know it was him until I found the mark on him." My gaze lingered over him as I told the truth.

There was no emotion on his face, nothing.

"I told Alexandria about him and she invited me to live at court. A few days later, I learned about Dion and told her about it. She wanted me to continue, get the names of the cursed men as quickly as it was possible, but I stopped as soon as you began to retort to the magic I did to you."

Elijah smiled, "Don't ever try it again."

My stomach shifted uncomfortably and I moved over my seat as another chill of fear rushed down my spine. There was something about him. Something terrible.

"Last night, at the mating ball, I went into Alexandria's rooms and found the information about the curse. Her father had taken away her magic before his death and it was his death that began the curse. I believe on the hundredth death anniversary of King Stephan, Alexandria is going to kill the four of you and take your powers, your immortality, and your strength. It's going to open a kind of magic that never existed and she will absorb it all."

Just then, it clicked in my mind.

My mother.

Alexandria had threatened her and I couldn't let anything happen to her.

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