The Devil's Cursed Witch

After Morpheus left, Draven went to his chamber to retire for the night.

As he had given Erlos permission to stay in Ronan, Draven was without an attendant; he had to take care of his needs on his own. This time, when he removed his bloodstained clothes, he didn't scatter them on the floor like usual, and when he went to the side chamber to have a bath, he used his powers to heat the fresh water. One could see that his movements were skilled though unhurried, a sign that this was not the first time he tended to himself.

While soaking in the pool of water, Draven's thoughts wandered. His arms were spread on his sides, his head slightly tilted back, and he could not help but close his eyes.

The day of mourning...

The day of mourning this year was bound to be different. This was already within his expectations given the fact his mate was human, but after hearing about the visions that Cornelia and Leeora had, it seemed things were more serious than expected.

He clearly heard that there was a mention of fire, and he could not help but be concerned about Ember, whose control over her own fire magic was still somewhat lacking. If the cause happened to be her, then something would provoke her into losing control over her emotions, as he knew from experience negative emotions such as anger was her trigger.

There were plenty of plausible reasons. One would be that she would grow upset at being a target of hostility if he brings her to Netherfield to join the mourning. Another was the possibility of her being attacked, either by those who hate humans or by a third unknown party.

He also could not ignore the possibility that those who sealed her powers were coming after her. If that were the case, then he needed to be by her side all the time.  He wished to keep her away from anything dangerous.

'If the Commander of Warriors takes control of managing the manpower for security...'

With Morpheus wanting to share the workload, Draven would be free enough to focus on Ember and the potential danger lurking on the day of mourning.

'An omen of death.'

Death...

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The corner of his lips lifted at the contradiction. Death? He was never scared of it. If the man Cornelia and Leeora saw in their visions was him, he was ready to face it.

Draven was not called the Devil for nothing--he who reaps lives ought to be ready to die anytime. For someone like him whose existence spanned thousands of years, he was exhausted from living without meaning. In fact, if not for his responsibility and guilt towards the residents of Agartha, he would have willingly let Morpheus end his life long back.

It was only upon meeting Ember that a small spark was ignited within the darkness inside him. And when she became his mate,  he started to grow greedy. Greedy for life, greedy of the future.

But the visions meant she would be endangered on the day of mourning, Draven would gladly accept death to protect her. He would protect her even if it cost his life.

'Fate looks kindly upon me, to let me meet my mate and die for her sake...'

Getting rid of all of these muddled thoughts, Draven soon readied himself in his night robe and disappeared from his chamber, only to appear in front of his mate's chamber. After this tiring day, all he wanted was to be with her.

Ember's servants were outside the chamber, about to return to their quarters when they saw the King. Both bowed to him. "Greetings, Your Majesty."

One of the elves tactfully told him, "Miss Ember had just fallen asleep, Your Majesty."

Draven gave her a small nod before walking towards the door which opened and closed on its own after he entered the chamber. Not having any other thoughts other than to be with his mate, he straightaway climbed the bed and pulled her into his warm embrace. Instinctively, Ember snuggled back and slept holding onto him.

His mate said she didn't want to see him and talk to him--was he not a good mate to not go against her wish? At this moment, she was sleeping and could not see or talk to him.

A hint of a smile could be seen on the man's handsome face as he closed his eyes to sleep.

---

When Ember woke up the next morning, she could not help but let out a hearty yawn as she stretched. She felt like she had slept really nice and had a satisfying dreamless sleep last night.

'Hmm?'

She sniffed once to make sure she was not mistaken. She could smell a familiar scent and immediately looked at the place next to her in bed.

'It's his scent. Was he here last night?' She moved towards the pillow next to her and sniffed closely.

"He did sleep next to me!"

She then raised the blanket covering her body, checking for anything amiss...

To her relief, her clothes were fine and her body didn't feel any discomfort.

"He didn't do anything." She was surprised. "Are my fertile days over so he didn't go crazy this time?" She tilted her head. "That can't be. Yula said fertile days for me are six to seven days and they are not over yet. Then, how did he spare me?"

Her train of thought was broken when she heard the knock on the door. Her two servants entered the chamber, wondering if their master would look like the previous day as the King had visited his mate but...Ember looked completely fine.

"Good morning, Miss."

The servants greeted her and helped her with her morning routine. While they attended to her, her mind was fixated on a single thing--to find clues about the symbol embroidered on her handkerchief. All she could think of was going to the King's study to look for the map of the Kingdom of Valor and find out her real identity.

After her morning meal, she asked her servants about the whereabouts of the King. Reya left and came back with the information.

"Miss, His Majesty is entertaining guests inside his study. The Commander of Warriors is there as well and seems like they are discussing important matters with the leaders of various clans. Only this much I got to know."

After listening to her report, Ember stood up to go to her study. "Thank you, Reya. Let me know if His Majesty leaves the palace."

The servants received her orders before following their master to her study.