The Lycans Luna Witch

Chapter 21

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Hades

Coven members are eyeing Addie wearily, her unexpected display of magic outside setting them all on edge. I just felt pride, though I seemed to be the only one sporting that emotion. Even Merabel was a bit weary. I suppose with untrained power like Addies, it could pose a threat.

As seen by her aunt, who was sitting at a table inside while one of the coven members performed a healing ritual on her wrist, which had sprained during the incident.

Braccius stands beside her with another witch close by, one who is whispering something to him. They must have some sort of muffling spell cast as the words reach me jumbled and indiscernible. Protection against our superior hearing. It makes me wonder what they are hiding, especially considering what Addie has just revealed about her aunt. My level of trust had been reset to zero.

Her aunt would have rather she died than let her power fall into the wrong hands. I can only imagine how hurt Addie must have felt hearing that. She felt disposable, like an object, playing into the insecurities created by Silas.

Ones I was trying hard to reverse.

"It's fine. Really. It already feels better." Lillith rotates her wrist as she rises, her gaze once again on Addie, who is standing silently beside me.

"Come, let's get something to eat, and then we can discuss everything." Lillith hesitates and then turns towards the large dining hall behind them, followed by Braccius and the whispering witch. The rest of the coven milling about follows after them.

"If you want to leave, we can." Addie turns to me, and I see she is seriously considering my offer.

"I think it's best we stay and hear them out. If there is an ulterior motive for their being here, we need to know," Merabel says quietly, her eyes darting around the place to ensure no one is around.

"Besides. You need someone to train you, Addie. We don't know the extent of your powers, and walking around with them out of your control is dangerous. You could end up seriously hurting someone."

These words sway her, and any hesitation about staying disappears. Addie doesn't want to hurt anyone. I can tell that even slightly hurting Lillith, who deserved it, in my opinion, didn't sit well with her.

"I'll be here, so don't worry. We'll do this together." I hold out my hand, and she smiles before taking it.

That is how we walk into the hall, hand in hand, followed by Merabel.

Seats are left open for us at the main table toward the rear of the dining hall, with Braccius, Lillith, and the whispering witch, whom I am becoming more suspicious of as the minutes go by—the one stuck to Braccius' side.

She is unusual looking, with two different-colored eyes—one brown and one blue. She is also staring at Addie with an emotion I recognize. Hatred.

Braccius elbows her, whispering something to her as we approach the table. Her face morphs like a chameleon, suddenly emotionless before she looks down at the table. It's definitely something I would have to keep an eye on.

I pull a chair out for Addie across from Braccius before sitting beside her and Merabel on her other side.

Addie eyes the charcuterie platter on the table, and when she doesn't move to dish anything, I grab a plate and add a variety of meats and cheese. She skipped breakfast this morning because of her nerves at the coven arriving, even after I insisted. I could already hear her stomach growling in the car, so by now, she must be starving.

Addie loves orange juice, so I pour her a glass and sip it before placing it in front of her.

After taking a tiny bite of all the food on her plate, I hand it to her. The surprised look on her face never fails, no matter how many times I do this for her.

"What are you doing?" Braccius asks, the annoyance in his voice not missed by anyone.

"Addie has some trust issues. This helps her feel secure." Lillith blanches, and Braccius looks outraged.

"Are you trying to suggest we might poison her?" Lillith asks, affronted.

"It's not about you." Addie's softly spoken, but confident response draws all our gazes.

"You don't know what I have been through after I was sold into slavery, so don't judge the way it has made me. There is no implication in the action. It is merely the way I am, and it happens with everyone. Well, nearly everyone," she says, glancing at me. "You have earned no exemption."

While she lifts a fork and digs into her meal, I cannot help the slow smile that spreads across my face. Addie has started eating meals I prepare without me first having to taste them in front of her. For her to openly admit I was the exception made me feel so fucking happy.

Another thing that had happened, which she wasn't even aware of, was that she had stood up for herself. She put the table in its place. I could see it from the looks on everyone's faces as they stared at her.

The meal is eaten in silence. Even the other tables around us lack chatter, making the atmosphere stifling.

"I received some news from one of our covens nearby." Braccius finally breaks the silence as one of the coven members appears and removes our plates.

"Silas has been rallying forces. Forming an army." I had heard this, too. Our surveillance team was keeping a close eye on him. Not that he was hiding his intentions. Ever since implementing the kill-on-sight order after he sent his lackeys to kill me, there had been scuffles breaking out everywhere between our species. He was openly spreading the news that something of his was taken, and he would fight to get it back. Once again, treating Addie like an object. He was also adamantly denying that he was keeping slaves.

"Which brings us to the dilemma we face. Addie is the mate of three powerful men. Two from different species. It is unheard of but not unexpected, I'm afraid." Lillith passes Merabel an old leather-bound book.

"I have marked the page."

Merabel opens the book and proceeds to read the passage out loud. It is from one of the witch elder oracles who passed away over thirty years ago. Clarice. It made the news everywhere as there was speculation that The Black Witch was involved.

Friday 13 February 1998

I woke with a start this morning at 03:33.

It has happened. She has arrived. The Scarlet Witch. The one who will lead our species into a new future. Into the light or into the dark. A fate intertwined with a choice made with the heart, the mind, or deception.

A Queen and her Kings. Bound to three, belonging to one.

A path unclear but one that, once chosen, cannot be undone.

Nobis futurum mendacium cum suo.

"Our future lies with her," Addie repeats softly.

"You know Latin?" Merabel asks, surprised.

"No. But I know this sentence well. I have heard it said often. When Silas brought in the fixer." Addies face pales as she gets lost in her memories.

"What fixer? What do you mean?" Braccius asks when Addie says nothing.

"Silas would beat Addie to within an inch of her life and then bring someone in, someone who would fix her and the other pets. Someone with the power to mend their broken bones, that sort of thing." I lift my eyebrows, the implications of what I am saying clear. Since that dream, a suspicion about who that fixer could be had formed, but I couldn't be sure. It was a witch. One of their kind. And we all knew which witch was rumored to work with Silas.

Lillith looks at Braccius, and together, they speak, confirming my thoughts.

"The Black Witch." 

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