Her Purpose || Kai Parker

Chapter 36

FLASHBACK

Arthur and Vera, consumed with worry for their daughter's safety, fled to another town upon hearing about Qetsiyah's exile and Silas's entombment.

They couldn't afford any missteps, not with the ever-present danger looming over them. Astraea, however, remained silent about Qetsiyah's creation of a new dimension, a secret weighing heavily on her heart.

She spent months searching for a way to rescue Silas, desperate to find him, but her hope wavered when she learned of Qetsiyah's death.

During this turbulent time, a string of murders began to plague the land, each one more grisly than the last.

The victims were non-magical people married to witches or warlocks, and fear spread like wildfire among the magical community.

Dark witches were suspected to be behind the killings, and Arthur, Vera, and Astraea constantly moved from place to place, trying to stay one step ahead of their enemies.

Meanwhile, Agnes, still possessing the body of a dark witch, finally located where a hidden book-one with immense, dangerous power-was rumored to be.

But when she arrived, it was too late. The three mysterious sisters, who had long been tracking the dark forces surrounding the book, had already taken it.

They warned Agnes that she wouldn't be able to control the magic it contained, but Agnes, driven by greed and hatred, ignored their warning. If she couldn't wield the magic, then no one-especially not Astraea-would.

For a time, Astraea and her family found refuge among other lone witches, who had chosen to remain separate from the covens.

Astraea, in an effort to distract herself from the pain of losing Silas and Qetsiyah, began investigating the mysterious deaths.

She soon discovered that the Elysium Coven was aware of her involvement in the growing imbalance of nature and had begun discussing potential retribution against her.

One fateful day, while walking through a quiet village, Astraea came face to face with one of the dark witches she had been searching for.

Hoping to extract information about the murders, she approached the witch, but before she could question her, members of the Elysium council-along with Agnes-suddenly appeared, surrounding Astraea and her parents.

Just as things seemed hopeless, the three sisters emerged from the shadows, intervening to protect them from Agnes's wrath.

With Elysium on one side and Agnes on the other, Astraea, her parents, and the sisters were caught in a violent standoff.

The sisters deflected Agnes's dark spells while Arthur, Vera, and Astraea were forced to fight off the coven members. In a desperate bid to escape, they ran towards an old, abandoned shed, seeking refuge.

Inside the shed, breathing heavily from their escape, Astraea demanded answers from the sisters.

One of the sisters, named Lana, stepped forward and handed her a tattered, ancient book.

The moment Astraea touched it, a cold shiver ran down her spine, and she knew instantly what it was.

With an eerie whisper, Lana told her, "The book belongs to you." Astraea barely had time to process the weight of those words before another wave of attacks began. Agnes and the Elysium witches had found them.

The air crackled with malevolent energy as spells were hurled in every direction.

They tried to flee once again, but Vera was almost struck by a deadly curse. "No, no, Vera! Astraea, stay behind me, my child!" Arthur shouted, his voice filled with panic.