Kept Secret

Chapter 34

Lucas~

I suppress a yawn as Camille goes over the attack with the witches for probably the third time since we got here. They always seem to want to know something else but if they do they're not telling us. The head witch nods her head in approval but there's something in her eyes that says that something is still missing from the picture, "If I may, general, is there a reason you seem to be looking for something you're not finding?"

Her gaze drifts to me and she shoots me a curious but impressed look, "Well, your majesty, we've concluded that Roxanne wasn't the one in charge of the attack. We're trying to figure out if something happened during the attack that could give us an idea of who we're dealing with but so far, nothing."

"Why don't you talk to her?" the general gives me an odd look.

"who, Roxanne? She's crazy and powerful, which makes her dangerous. We've tried to reason with her but she hasn't said a word yet and honestly I don't think she will. She's upset because she thought she'd have the crown but unfortunately for her, she lost the battle against her sister years ago and lost any claims she had for the throne."

"Now why don't I go see her? She seemed to recognize me in the clearing that day, maybe she'll talk to me and let something slip she-"

"Out of the question. Your highness as much as we appreciate your help, this is beyond your control and frankly, it seems as if it's none of your concern. You will leave this matter to us and you will not interfere. We have ways of dealing with these kinds of things so let us. " she waves a dismissive hand across the table, effectively ending the meeting, and everyone around the table disappears save for Camille and me.

I huff out in anger and storm back to my room. This is ridiculous, why won't she just let us help? That crazy witch in the dungeon might be the only lead to where Lia is and I'll be damned if I let that opportunity escape.

I sneak back out, past Camille's room to find her passed out on the couch making this so much easier. I walk down the hallways, keeping track of my turns so I don't get lost in this deceptive hell hole. I pass the portraits of the queens again and spot queen Lumeria at the end of the lineup. There's a man behind her but no girl on the steps. I pause for a second to look at the painting. I've heard rumors in the werewolf kingdom of the secret daughter of the queen, born out of wedlock. She's apparently extremely powerful even though she only discovered her magic recently, she's said to be one of the most powerful witches in existence, far exceeding her mom. Of course, those are just rumors, just like how her father being the mate of the moon goddess has to be a rumor too. There's no way a demigod and a witch could have a kid, right?

I shake off the thoughts and head towards the spiral staircase leading to the dungeon. A guard sees me and bows respectfully, before opening the heavy door and letting me down the stairs. It's dark and gloomy, the only light being from the torches against the wall. It's quiet, too quiet.

I pass each empty cell until I reach the very last one. At first, it looks as if there's no one there but I hear a small chuckle coming from the shadows, making me squint my eyes to see her, "I was wondering how long it would take before you came to see me. Let me guess, my dear sister said no." she steps out of the shadows towards the bars making me take a step back involuntarily. She chuckles before a scornful look crosses her face, "Don't worry, I can't hurt you, not from in here anyways. My sister enchanted these cells so that I could do magic inside but it would have no effect beyond that door. It's a cruel trick really, having magic yet it being too useless to do anything."

I step back towards the cell and study her carefully. Her stance is relaxed despite the malicious look on her face. She knows she'll be in here for a long time and she seems perfectly content with it," I want to know where she is. You shifted into her so you must know who she is and I have a feeling you know who has her."

She gives me a bored glance but I see through the facade, she's interested in what I might have to offer, "So let's say I dó know where she is. You'd go and find your little girlfriend and everyone would live happily ever after while I rot away in this cell. Why exactly would I do that?"

I return her bored glance with one of my own. There's no reason for her to know how desperate I am. I take a seat on the bench outside of her cell, meaning someone's been down here to visit her," Let's drop the act here Roxanne, you clearly want something from me so spill it out before I walk back up those stairs and you stay down here. Now the only difference is I wíll find Lia but you will never see the light of day again."

I can see a bit of her resolve chip away before she seems to come to some sort of decision in her head," Very well. You're right I do know where she is but if I tell you where to go you'll get lost and die. No one can find it except for me and as you can see I'm in quite the situation here."

I catch on before she even says it, "I'm not letting you out of your cell. You deserve to be in there after you almost killed us, and from the other stories I've heard about you. There's no way I'd endanger the entire coven like that." she gives me a wry smile before stepping forward and placing her hand on the cell bars.

" That's not what I meant. As you can see I can't get in or out, but you can. After the last time, I escaped my sister conjured up this cell herself. As I've said my magic works in here but it has no effect on the outside world and she also made it so that anyone can move in and out of the cell besides the captive. She was cruel in that way. Once I'm in here, there's no way of escaping, not unless your power could rival or even outmatch hers and mine isn't nearly strong enough." I nod and she takes this as an indication to continue, "So what I'm saying is you come in here and then I give you a magical charm that will help you find the place where they're holding your little girlfriend. You go and find her and live happily ever after but if I do this for you then I need you to try and convince my sister to let me at least stand trial. I'm in here for life but with a trial, I at least have a chance to prove myself and earn my freedom."

The offer seems too good to be true. I get Lia back and then we return home and all I have to do is talk to her sister about letting her stand trial. My gut says that something is definitely wrong here, there's no way this could be it but I don't have time to worry about this when Lia is still missing without a trace, "Fine I'll do it." I take a deep breath before stepping through the bars. She gives me a reassuring smile but I don't miss the evil glint in her eyes. I still don't trust her but I've run out of options and out of time.

She closes her eyes and starts chanting under her breath. A freaky purple light emits from her hands as she moves them around in circles while her chanting grows louder and louder. The light flashes brightly before completely disappearing leaving a small black compass in the palm of her hand. She places the compass in my hold, "Follow this compass and it'll lead you straight to her but you have to go now or the magic will fade." I nod before stepping back outside the cell, out of her reach.

"I won't forget my promise Roxanne." again I see that glint in her eye, a promise of its own, although I'm not sure how much I trust it.

"Oh don't worry your highness. I have a feeling I won't be in here for long."