Chapter 175
CAMILLA’S P.O.V
It didn’t take much convincing to get Ryker to let me go with him. It was a relief to finally be out of the room, but I couldn’t help but wonder if the reasons were good at all. We were led to the council room and needless to say, it was a weird pairing to see Caius and Lyla whispering together in hushed tones. When we arrived, they immediately jumped apart.
“We found it,” they said together and my brows furrowed. I was confused as to what they were talking about but Ryker seemed to understand because his eyes widened in shock and relief. “It took a shi t ton of time but we did it.”
Ryker took the seat opposite them and I followed suit. “Tell me everything.”
Caius brought out a single piece of parchment and on it was what looked like a sigil. It was hard to distinguish at first because it just looked like a badly drawn circle but on closer inspection, I saw that it was a snake eating itself. I had never seen something like that in my life and I couldn’t help but wonder why they would be looking for it.
“I knew it had something to do with the witches so I reached out to a few of my friends but none of them know,” Lyla began. “I thought we were simply too young to know of it so I asked Caius and he happened to know some friends who are a bit older and have ties to the witch world. One of them was able to identify this.”
“it is the seal of a long forgotten witch coven,” Caius continued. “They used to be so powerful in the days of my youth. They were considered ser vants of the goddess. They would offer sacrifices to her and speak directly to her. It was believed then that the goddess used to walk amongst them. They were favored and blessed until one day, things started to go wrong. They started hearing strange things from the goddess- things she would never have said on a normal day,”
“They weren’t smart enough to realize that they had been compromised. Instead, they kept sacrificing, kept praying,” Lyla cut in. “A few of them started to realize that things were not as they used to. Their crops were dying, they were not getting older, they started to investigate and they found that their coven leader had diverted from praying to the goddess. She started to dabble in dark magic, she fed off the life force of their land which was connected to the goddess- she was powerful. They tried to stand against her but there was a battle. It was long and it is was blo ody and by the end of it, their cover was razed to the ground.”
I felt goose bumps on my skin as her words settled in the air. She had a faraway and sad look in her eye. I figured the story hurt her more seeing as she was a witch.
“What happened to the leader? Did she die?” I asked but she shrugged.
“No one knows. By the time the battle was over, no one was recognizable. Legend says that a few of them managed to escape and merged with the other covens, their powers were long forgotten and the goddess never walked the earth again. Other legends say that they all died and put an end to their lineage forever.”
“What do you say?” I asked and she went silent. It was clear she was not expecting that question from me. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before sighing.
“I don’t think I am qualified to speak on the subject. I wasn’t born when it happened and my mother would have been a child. Even she wouldn’t have known-”
“I didn’t ask what you know or what you are qualified on. I asked what you think,” I corrected. “Think about it and give an opinion.”
She sighed.
“If the coven leader was as powerful as history says she was, she wouldn’t have gone down that easily. She would have made contingency plans in case things went south. She couldn’t have assumed she would be able to lie to them forever. I think she lived past the battle and if she was able to continue her practice, she would be young forever. She could still be alive.”
“You think she is responsible for this,” I deduced and she nodded. “Does your history mention her name?”
“No, but it does mention where their coven used to be.”
“Where is that?”
She grimaced before speaking and when the words finally left her mouth, I was dumbstruck.
Against his wishes and better judgment, we ended up riding out of the palace that morning. Ryker was pissed about it to say the least but even he realized just how close we were to getting to the bottom of this. I could have sent a guard but I didn’t want to risk anyone else’s life. It was obvious that I was the one she wanted, she wasn’t going to risk killing me.
Ryker, Lyla and I set out to what used to be their old coven. If I had been given a chance to think about where it could have been, I never would have guessed. The ride was quiet, everyone was lost in their own minds but I could tell it all centered around the same thing. No one knew what they were walking into, none of us knew just how bad things could be.
“I have a question,” I asked suddenly making all eyes turn to me. “If she is alive, why doesn’t she just take her old coven land back?”
“Well, there are a lot of stories about what happened after. Some say that after the war, the goddess cursed the land so that no witch can inhabit it anymore. Others say that the very essence of the land cries out against us. No one has ever thought to try it out since then. If it is true, then that would explain why she didn’t go back for it.”
I hummed as I mulled over those words. It gave me an answer but it wasn’t enough, there were still so many questions that I wasn’t sure I would ever get the answer to unless I asked her directly- whoever she was. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was following us right now, tracking our every move and trying to figure out the best way to attack. I looked over my shoulder and at the trees lining the sides of the roads almost imagining her jumping out and putting a halt to our expenditure.
“Your majesty,” Lyla’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned to her. “I hope I am not crossing a line but if I might ask, what are you planning to do when you get there? Do you want to summon her?”
“Of course not,” I said immediately and she let out a sigh of relief. “I want to leave her a little… message.”
No words were exchanged again until we got to the massive house. It looked exactly the same as I had left it and I couldn’t help but wonder why out of all the places available, my father chose this spot for his vacation home. I took in what now was and tried to imagine what it looked like when the coven was here. If I were to judge by what I had seen with Lyla, they would have been minimalistic and down to earth.
I got off my horse expecting to see Briggs but instead, I was met with someone else- another young maid I had seen in passing before. She gave me a warm but worried smile as she rushed over to us.
“Your majesties,” she bowed. “We were not expecting you. Would you like me to prepare your rooms for you?”
“Where is Briggs?” I asked. “I need to see him.” Her answering grimace gave me cause for worry. I risked a glance over at Ryker who I could see was sporting the same look in his eyes. “What is going on?”
“Mr. Briggs has been ill for a while. We fear there is nothing to be done. I could take you to him if you would like,” I was barely able to nod before she led me towards the serv ants building.
Most of them were in black, already mourning the loss of a man who was alive. His room was on the first floor at the far end of the corridor. She stopped at the door but I could tell she didn’t want to go in. Ryker pushed the door open and I could barely recognize the man in the bed. He looked like old age had crept up on him and drained the life right out of his bones. There was barely any flesh on his skin and every breath looked labored.
“Hello Briggs,” I said softly as I took the seat next to him. He managed to peel his eyes open and when he saw me, he smiled as best he could. “How are you?”
“Your majesty,” he managed out, his voice sounding hollow and breezy. “I never thought I would see you before I passed. I am afraid the illness snuck up on me faster than I would have liked. The doctors are trying their best but there is no hope for me.”
“Do you know anything about who this land used to belong to?” I asked and I saw awareness in his eyes. It was clear that he knew but he was too sick to talk. I turned to Ryker and dropped my voice to a whisper. “Let me heal him.”
“Are you mad?” he spat.
“He knows something that he might be able to tell us. This is out only chance. If I do this, I swear on the goddess that I will not use my powers again,” Ryker’s frown didn’t move. “Please, this is the only way.”
“This is the last time, correct?” he asked and I nodded. “Fine, do what you must.”
I let out a sigh of relief and turned to Briggs. He had closed his eyes again but he was still breathing. I slowly took his frail hand into mine and with a large breath, I focused on pushing my powers into him.
