Chapter 178
CAMILLA’S P.O.V
“What do you mean that Reina was missing?” I asked in confusion. “The bodies were burnt weren’t they? How would you have been able to identify her?”
“The witches wore different robes to signify their positions. There were three levels in the coven. There were the ser vants who ran errands for the others, they wore simple robes that were burnt to a crisp in the fire. The next level was the coven priestesses. They were involved in the rituals and the sacrifices. They were bright red robes with some embellishments on them. You could make out the designs, even in the fire. It wasn’t hard to seeing as they were etched into the fabric.”
“And Reina?” I asked. Her name felt like ash on my tongue and simply mentioning it had the air in the room growing colder. I remembered Lyla’s words about the souls of the other witches and I couldn’t help but wonder if they were feeling angry about the fact that we were openly speaking about her.
I tried to put myself in their shoes. I would be furious, beyond a reasonable doubt. She not only led them down the wrong path, but she betrayed and killed them all- for power. It was disappointing but it was the way of life. Cruel people did whatever they could to remain in power- it was their way. I blinked away all thoughts of them realizing I was getting swarmed by it and turned back to Briggs.
“Her robe was pure silver as if it had been spun from moonlight. My father said it was embellished with precious stones and it looked like it was worth a fortune. Around her neck, she wore a talisman shaped in a crescent moon that she used to communicate directly with the goddess. After the fire, people stormed the coven grounds in search of her body so they would steal the stones but she and her robes were gone.”
“She set the fire and escaped,” I deduced and he nodded. “So there is a possibility that she is the one doing this to us.”
He shook his head. “It isn’t a possibility, your majesty, it is a fact. If there is anyone who has the power to do this to a person- it is her. Besides, I saw her.”
My eyes widened in shock and I stared at Briggs with my jaw slack. It was comforting to know that I wasn’t the only one who was stunned by his admission. Ryker and Lyla were staring at him with varying degrees of shock on their faces. I would never have expected to hear that. No one in the past had ever mentioned seeing her, not even Riley. Why would she choose now to appear to Briggs? What was she playing at?
“What did she look like?” I asked and he opened his mouth to respond but I cut him off with more questions. “What did she want? Why did she appear to you? Did she say what her plan was? Did she say why she was attacking us?”
“One question at a time, please,” Briggs held out his hand to stop me but I was too agitated. There was so much that I needed to know. “I was walking in the gardens trying to get some herbs when I wandered into the forest. I came across a young woman, I immediately knew she wasn’t meant to be there. She was beautiful with silver hair and eyes so dark they looked unnatural but there was something about her aura that was off. It was almost dead. It felt like she was radiating death.”
because it aldr many
“I tried to leave but she called out my name and told me that she had a message that she needed me to. deliver. I offered to take her in but she refused. She said that she couldn’t set foot on those grounds
bad memories for her. I hadn’t even put two and two together when she grabbed me. It felt like I was dying, I could almost feel the life seeping out of me and before my eyes, she grew younger. She told me to pray that you came this way because you were the only one who could save me. Then she said to tell you congratulations on passing her test because you are now ready for the endgame.”
“What does she mean by endgame?” Ryker asked but no one answered.
I could tell that Briggs didn’t know and neither did I but Lyla knew. Something dark passed through her eyes and she had to turn away from us. Ryker took a step forward but I stepped in front of him. She already told us a million times over that she couldn’t talk to us about the future. She could risk her life and I wasn’t going to demand that of her. She had already been a great help to us and that was more invaluable than knowing how this was going to end.
We had already fought so many enemies, maybe not on the same scale as Reina but that didn’t mean we couldn’t defeat her. I trusted that we would, it was just going to take some time and planning.
“Thank you, Briggs,” I placed a hand on his shoulder. “You have been an amazing help to us. You should go back to rest. We will be leaving tomorrow but I will come to see you before I go.”
I turned to leave when he grabbed my arm. “Wait, I think there is something that might be able to help you in your upcoming war. I would get it for you but I don’t want to give the people a scare. Is it alright if I describe it for you?”
“Of course,” I said immediately. “What is it?”
“I don’t know what it is per say, I never opened the box. It is in the attic, there is a large carved box in the center of the room. It was the prized possession of the witches. My father saw it and stole it. There were some writings on it but it was in Latin. He was too terrified to open it for fear of incurring the wrath of the goddess. You might want to check it out.”
I thanked him once more before rushing towards the attic with the other. A part of me was already braced for disappointment but the other part of me hoped for a better outcome. We needed all the help we could get and if this could help us then it was going to be a relief.
We found the attic and the box very easily. It was larger than I imagined, reaching above my knees. It was burnt around the edges but otherwise unchanged. It was carved from wood and overlaid with gold. I could understand why Briggs’ father stole it- it looked expensive. I ran my fingers over the words on the box and turned to Lyla.
“Latin is the language of witches, is it not?” I asked and she nodded slowly.
She looked hesitant and unsure as she made her way over. She went to her knees beside me and trailed her hand over the writing. She exhaled deeply before speaking. “For every beginning, there is an end and for every start there is a finish, to the goddess we are born and to her we shall return. That is what is written there.”
“What do you think it is?” I asked Ryker. “It talks about beginning and end, life and death, do you will tell us how we can kill Reina?”
think it
“I don’t know,” he admitted running his hand down his jaw. “There is only one way to find out.” He stood in front of the box and turned to me. “I need you to take a step back. I don’t know what is inside this box and I will not risk your life.”
“Are you insane?”
“Now, Camilla!”
Before I could protest, Lyly grabbed my arm and pulled me away. She shook her head slowly telling me that it wasn’t worth it. I crossed my arms over my chest and watched. The box was apparently locked and there was no obvious key. I watched Ryker try to pick the lock but it wouldn’t budge. The longer I stared at the box, the more I realized that there was something different about it. It was almost pulsing with… life?
“This is going to sound absolutely insane,” I began making Ryker turn to me. “But could you cut your thumb and put it in the keyhole?” he looked at me like I had grown five heads. I knew how absurd I sounded but something told me it would work. “Just try it, please.”
He muttered something about witches under his breath before doing as I asked. The moment his thumb came in contact with the keyhole, the lid flew open. I couldn’t stop my smile as it grew on my lips. Ryker stared in shock and confusion as I rushed towards the box. There weren’t many things in the box, in fact, there were just two. There was a piece of parchment paper with some writing on it and a smaller box.
I picked up the small box and opened it feeling grateful that I didn’t have to cut myself for it. Sitting inside was a single dagger. It was simple with a golden hilt and a blade that glistened under the sun. There were writings on the blade but it was too tiny to make out. I closed the lid and turned to Ryker who was holding the piece of paper in his hands. His eyes moved over it fast as he tried to digest the words as quickly as possible.
“Does it say anything?” I asked but he held out a hand to stop me. I waited two minutes for him to be done.
“Apparently you are holding the only known weapon that can kill the priestess of the goddess,” he said simply and my eyes widened. “It cannot be wielded by another witch. That dagger is the only thing that can kill Reina.”
