Chapter 60

It didn't take him too long to agree.

We quickly gathered out things and headed out in the direction where the werewolves had told Dion to go. The trail was steep and narrow, with rocky terrain and dense forests on either side. A biting cold wind blew against us and I shivered.

Dion was in the lead, sniffing the air occasionally, while Elijah walked behind me, his eyes constantly scanning the area. My heart pounded in my chest and I felt my breaths coming out in quick puffs.

The hike was steep and treacherous, but we pushed on, driven by our need to break the curse. I heard the sound of rushing water nearby, and soon we came across a small waterfall, its crystal-clear waters cascading down the rocks.

I sat down, catching my breaths. My legs ached from walking all these miles. I haven't ever done that before.

"Don't be such princess and get your ass off the ground. I'm not going to wait here for eternity." Elijah bent near to me and whispered.

"I'm tired."

"You were dying to come here."

"Yes, but now I need some rest. Just give me a few more minutes." I pleaded with wide eyes, hoping he'd let me sit for some time more, till the ache on my legs lessened a bit, till I could walk again.

"It's not too far," Dion spoke behind after scanning the area again. He rose the flash light in his hand and pointed it toward the left. "I can smell fire and wood down there."

I sighed and rose up from the ground before continuing with the journey. As the sky grew darker, I finally saw a glimmer of light in the distance, just as Dion had promised there would be. We quickened our pace, and as we got closer, I saw shadowy figures moving in the distance.

We crept closer, trying to get a better view of the area without alerting anyone to our presence.

Suddenly, we heard a voice from behind us, "What brings you to our territory?"

I stunned around to face a tall, dark-haired woman with piercing blue eyes. She wore flowing black robes and held a staff that crackled with black energy—shadow magic.

Her gaze flickered to Elijah and she stepped back with her staff. Horror flashed over her face. "We have not harmed anyone!" She exclaimed, fear racing in her tone.

Quickly, the shadows behind us began to scatter away into the darkness and in a matter of few seconds, we couldn't sense anyone but the woman standing in front of us.

"Chill. I'm not going to kill anyone," Elijah said, moving closer to her. "I just need some information and that twenty-something girl you see behind me believes you have the information we need. It's a stupid assumption, but she does have spirit magic so part of her intuition might be right, or maybe not, or maybe this all was nothing but waste of time and energy. Who knows? I'm just so selfish that I need to make sure I don't get killed."

I placed my hand against my face and held back the groan that nearly fled my throat. What was up with him tonight?

Dion stepped forward, his shoulders meeting with his. "He has simply lost his mind. Don't listen to anything he says."

"What kind of your information do you need?" The woman asked, dashing her head left and right while a hint of fear still remained in her eyes.

"About a curse."

She pursed her lips and nodded, "Come with me." She gestured us to follow her and further into her territory and we did.

We walked deeper into the coven, passing by hooded figures who watched us warily and behind the trees. They were terrified of Elijah as he was queen's son after all. The air was thick with dark magic, making my skin crawl. There were three small cabins and a clearing between the cabins where the woman led us to.

"What is the curse about?" She asked, turning around.

"It's a curse my grandfather—"

I stepped forward and interrupted Elijah. "It's the curse of enslaved magic where someone's magic is taken and securely kept in others. Once they die, the magic returns but it's far more powerful than before." I explained to her and avoided sharing any details about Alexandria, or Elijah's grandfather.

These were people who hated the kingdom and her reign and information like this could spread.

"We store the magic that was taken and our death's are in the corner. We need to find a way to break the curse without getting killed." Dion added.

The woman grew confused. She shook her head and shrugged before meeting my eyes, "I haven't heard of a curse like this, or a spell like this. It must've been done by someone powerful."

It was.

Stephan Sven was no ordinary man. He was the greatest witch of all time and he possessed power like no one ever did.

"We need to break the curse, and I'm well-aware you've enough knowledge about curses and all these dark spells. So just spill." Elijah came in front of me and said while covering my sight with his large body.

Rude.

I stepped to the side, "Is there any way? It's a century old curse."

She shook her head again, completely clueless about it. "The only way to break such a curse like this is through guidance from the spirits. They see all and they know all. If you know of anyone who practices spirit magic—"

Elijah let out a peal of laughter while glancing in my direction. "I know one, but she clearly doesn't knows how to do shit."

The woman's eyes fell on me and she became surprised, "Do you?"

"She doesn't—"

"I didn't know what it was until recently and I'm not sure how I can tap into that part of myself." I told her while blurring out Elijah's voice from my head.

"Spirt magic is connected with emotion. You can get through to the spirts by being in that certain emotion that the spirits have formed a bond with you. For certain witches it's sadness and for some envy." Her eyes glinted under the moonlight and she explained to me.

"I don't know." I replied, feeling unsure of myself. Emotions were never my strong suit and I couldn't imagine being able to tap into a specific one in order to connect with the spirits and take their help.

The woman nodded understandingly, "It's not an easy thing to do, but if you connect with your spirits, you'll be able to do anything you want to, and you'll be able to get information you wish," We walked further into the clearing and she sat down on the ground. "I can help you with finding and triggering the emotion that connects you with the spirits."

Glancing over my shoulder, I found Dion behind me and he nodded in agreement.

I got down on my knees and sat against the unknown woman. Even more shadows began circling around us as the woman pressed her one hand over my shoulder. Elijah neared me and crouched beside me. He watched the woman carefully as if he doubted her.

"You've done dark magic before?" She asked, her eyes closed.

"Yes." I whispered.

"Plenty of times," Elijah whispered. I gave him another stare and he rolled his eyes. "What? You're no saint, Vivian."

My shoulder warmed under her touch as she proceeded with whatever she was doing. A few chants fled her mouth and she lifted her hand.

"I can't get through you. There's no magic within you." The words were familiar, as if I heard them before and I did.

Elijah.

When he tried to take away my magic, he mentioned the same thing that I didn't have any within myself.

Dion sat down beside me, taking my hand in his. "You told us the first time you did dark magic was when you killed your father, right?"

I nodded.

"What did you feel then?"

"Anger. Rage." My eyes widened in realization. I felt nothing that day but rage. It was in my veins, rushing through me until I ended his life.

"Your rage is what links you with the spirits," The woman in front of me said, completely throwing the fact that I had killed my own father. "And in order to connect with them, all you have to do is become enraged."

"But I don't know how to." I shook my head, feeling a little terrified. There were things I didn't even know about myself until now.

It made sense why Alexandria believed that I was perfect for her task. The spirits had created links with me through the rage I felt.

"Simple," Elijah grabbed my elbow, turning me to him. "What would you do if your father was alive right now?"

"Kill him again." My teeth clenched at the thought of him, something I wanted to suppress it for the rest of my life.

"Did he hurt you? Or did he hurt your mother? Why did you kill him after all?" He continued with the questions, as if he wanted to get a reaction out of me.

I shook my head and turned away from him. I couldn't think about the past, I couldn't think about the terrible things my father had done to me. I killed him—he was dead.

Elijah grabbed my face, forcing me to meet his eyes. "Tell me, Vivian. What did your father to do you? What would you do if he was here right now, doing what he did? Would you kill him all over again? Such a cruel move to kill your father, isn't it? Whatever you did, his blood still flows in you and you can never change that."

The memories flooded back, and I felt my heart rate pick up. I dug my fingers into his wrist and pushed him back. The anger began to simmer within me, forming at the thought of my father.

"He deserved to die and I would kill him all over again if I had to. I'd do it again, and again, and again!" My breaths came out heavy as I exclaimed in the silence.

"That's right. Let it in, feel the rage." Elijah said, his hand still over me.

My vision blurred as my heat turned hot with anger. A flicker of red appeared in front of me as I blinked and a few voices appeared in my mind.

"It's working," I heard the woman say. "Let her speak with the spirits."

The curse.

Enslaved magic.

I became connected with the spirits. They spoke to me in quiet whispers, giving me the names of the spells they knew, of the spells I should do and the information I needed. The words were in jumbles, some I couldn't understand.

Dion squeezed my hand, grounding me as the spirits spoke to me. I felt overwhelmed, like I was drowning in a sea of information. But the more I listened, the clearer their words became.

Until I heard someone behind me.

"She will never reign!" A man whispered, his voice reaching everyone with me.

A sharp edge pierced through my back, cutting my skin. I gasped and my back arched as the knife went deep into me. 

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