The Five Cursed Witches: Volume 1 - Zoe, the Witch of Innocence

Chapter 100 Oak's deal

Zoe

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Me, Felix, and Father settled around the kitchen table. Ash and Pine had both left but promised they would be back shortly. I felt certain they simply left to give us some privacy to talk about all things that needed answers.

I had brought out homemade cookies and tea for us to eat and drink while we talked.

"Want to tell me what's been going on since you left?" Father asked as he took a sip of his tea.

"Has the coven been here to bother you?" I countered instead, needing to know if they had harmed him in any way.

He took a cookie also and bit off the edge. He chewed it slowly and seemed deep in thoughts about what to say.

When he had swallowed, he sighed and seemed to resign to tell the truth. "Yes. But they only came to threaten and... taunt? Goddess, if they only knew for how long I've waited to hear that you've found your mate." He laughed lightly and looked at Felix. "You could be a demon and I wouldn't care. But... Harry Jackson..."

My father's eyes flickered to me again.

I took a deep breath and gave an as short as possible account of all that had happened to Father. Just mentioning the more important things of meeting Felix, him realizing who I was, Harry wanting to kill me, Felix accepting me, Ash and Pine explaining that I was part nymph, helping Harry move on.

My father smiled at me as I finished. "Your mother's greatest strength was to always see the good in people."

"Father, why... why didn't you..." I felt myself tearing up, but then Felix squeezed my hand. I looked up and at him. He had been all quiet and still, not saying anything. But just one look from him and that light squeeze made everything better. I felt stronger and calmer. I had an inkling that no matter what Father was about to tell me, it would make me sad. But that was alright because Felix was there to be my strength.

"We tried to become pregnant for a long time before it finally happened," Father began. He looked at the table and I focused my eyes on the same spot as he did. "The happiness lasted for maybe a month, then your mother seemed to get anxious. She wouldn't tell me what was happening, but she was clearly worried about something. She left without a word for a couple of days and when she came back, she was happy again. I tried to get her to tell me what had happened, but she would always avoid the topic and she was happy, so I didn't want to press it too much. She grew weaker, though. At first I assumed it was just normal pregnancy things. It wasn't until she was about seven months along that I understood that something was wrong and she finally told me then."

A tear fell on the kitchen table.

"She said that she had felt how your life energy had been growing weaker and weaker. To begin with, she had herself tried to use her nymph magic to figure out what was wrong and heal you, but when she realized she didn't have the magic needed to save you, she sought out a faerie, Rheseis. According to your mother, Rheseis said that she could save you but that the magic involved would cause consequences. The way your mother explained it, Rheseis manipulated your nymph magic. Your mother said that as easily as a nymph can heal, they can also destroy, it's just that because of most nymphs' natural nature, they rarely do. But Rheseis made the destruction part of the magic the more prominent one but also made it so that you could harvest and strengthen yourself with the life energy you destroyed for others."

A shiver ran through my whole body and all I felt was coldness. So that was the truth. I was created to be a monster and a murderer. Killing to strengthen myself. I was evil, like I had always known I was.

But before my thoughts had time to run out of control, Felix's arms were around me. He pulled me to him, onto his lap. There I curled up and leaned against him, soaked in his warmth and love.

"Your mother knew that you were slowly taking her life energy to survive. She's the one that chose that," Father continued, and he now looked up from the table and into my eyes with a fierceness that I had never seen there before. "She loved you so much, and it was never your fault. It was her decision."

I gave him a nod because I knew he wanted one, but I wasn't sure the words had actually sunk into me.

"When Rheseis agreed to help your mother, she asked for a condition. She said that you were not allowed to know that you were half-nymph or why your skin was the way it was until after you had found your mate. When your mother told me all of this, she said that it was of the outmost importance to honor this promise, that according to Rheseis this was for your own good, and that Rheseis had to have good reasons for saying so. And Rheseis really must have found it very important. Do you remember when you did the blood test to find out more about your magic? Rheseis manipulated the result to not show you the nymph magic."

I couldn't help but scoff. Who did this Rheseis think she was? Who was she to make such decisions? And how could it have been for my own good? How was suffering for my own good?

But a small voice in my head, a small part of me, started to argue against myself and for Rheseis.

Would you have agreed to the coven's demands if you had known how to control your powers? Would they have sent you to kill Harry Jackson? Would you have met Felix?

But Felix was my destiny, my mate. I would have met him no matter what.

And if you hadn't met Felix the way you did, what would have happened when he found out the truth? Rejection? Would you have had any reason to meet and reconcile after that?

I felt ice cold as I tried to find arguments against that, but I didn't find any. That was the most likely scenario of what would have happened. But had Rheseis known that? Or had she had another motivation? And why? Why did a faerie that I had never met even care about what was best for me and not?