The Devil's Cursed Witch

Ember woke up in the middle of the night. She had been sleeping ever since she unintentionally wandered in the field of Glass Mist Flowers.

'I love you...'

'I love you as well, Ember...'

Her own voice and the affectionate voice of a man who she confessed echoed within her mind.

When she opened her eyes, the familiar view of the ceiling from her own chamber welcomed her. With heavy-lidded eyes, she looked around the room dimly lit with a single lamp and tried to get ahold of her situation.

'What was that? Did I... confess to Draven?'

Her heart skipped a beat at this thought.

'Did he say those words back to me?' She placed a hand over her chest, her breathing turning shallow as a flush of shyness spread across her cheeks. 'He did, right? He responded to my confession! He said he loves me back!'

Just as she turned to her side to look at him, what greeted her was the sight of his side of the bed empty.

Dismay hit her hard.

'Don't tell me...was all that just a dream?!'

Last she remembered, wasn't she in that flower valley owned by the Valley Elves, playing in the field of white flowers? She had no memory of returning.

'How come I am back in the palace? Was that confession really just a dream? A dream due to those flowers?' She touched her lips with her fingers, 'All that felt so real.'

Her mood turned complicated as she looked at the window.

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'It's already dark? I slept for that long?' She pinched herself firmly to make sure it was not a dream, and as the pain shot through her arm, she could not help but rub her face in frustration. All of a sudden, a sudden thought came to her mind.

'What about Morph?' She also searched for him but then slapped her forehead for being silly. 'Of course, he won't be here with me in my chamber at night. Morph must have left after sending me back...but...Draven?'

Ember found herself doubting her memories. A dream or not?

'I clearly heard his voice. It doesn't seem like a dream. His voice...it did sound a little different, but I couldn't possibly have imagined hearing that. It was sincere. It has to be real. I swear I felt that he is in love with me.'

However, though the impression she got was strong, everything else was fuzzy.

'But if it's not a dream, why am I alone? I don't believe my mate will be heartless enough to leave my side on the night after I confessed to him.'

With her head hurting and body feeling a little weak, she slowly sat up in the bed. As if her servants had sensed she was awake, one of them entered the chamber.

"Miss, you finally woke up!" Reya cheered as she lit up another lamp, her lips curved into a pleasant smile.

"Seems like I slept for a long time. Don't tell me it's been two or three days," Ember asked with a frown. She thought that if that was the case, it would explain why she was alone in bed. Something might have come up, needing Draven's attention. That meant that Draven had yet to retire for the night?

But Reya's response shot down her guess.

"Not at all, Miss. Commander Morpheus brought you back in the afternoon and you've only been asleep since then. It should be  past midnight now so..."

"That's still so long," Ember mumbled and asked, "Draven, he is not in the palace?"

"His Majesty? The King is in the palace."

Ember was confused. "Uhh, did he enter my chamber while I was asleep?"

"His Majesty indeed came to see you, but it was only for a brief moment. His Majesty left as soon as I informed him what Commander told us happened," the elf informed dutifully, unaware that Draven didn't listen to even a single word she said as all his thoughts back then centered on that strong scent of another male on his mate.

"What did he say?" Ember asked, her tone filled with both guilt and worry. She had no one else to blame--she was being irresponsible when she ignored Morpheus' warning about those dangerous flowers. Not only did she leave without informing anyone, she even returned under the influence of those white flowers. 'Morph, he must be upset with me. Draven as well, he must have found me troublesome...'

"Umm?" Reya looked hesitant, but then lowered her voice. "Miss, when I reported to him what happened, I felt like His Majesty was angry. He said nothing and left right away but I was more scared than usual."

'Angry?' Ember felt worried and asked, "Is he in his bedchamber?"

"Yes, Miss. Though no one else is allowed in his chamber, I saw Erlos leaving the east wing earlier, bringing with him the King's dirty clothes," Reya answered and offered Ember a glass of water. "Miss, you haven't eaten anything since noon. You must be hungry. I will bring something light for you to eat, so you can go back to sleep faster."

"No need, Reya," Ember replied and emptied the entire glass of water. "Instead, can you give me that elixir that Elder Leeora sent for me? The one that's good for the body."

"Oh that. Sure, Miss. I will be back shortly."

'I need to go see Draven first and need to make sure he is not angry. About Morph, I can just say sorry to him and explain to him why I went against his warnings. He is my friend. He will easily forgive me. The only thing I need to think about is how angry Draven is with me. Maybe he might have calmed down by now, but I will still make up for it.'

Reya brought the elixir for her, and some time after Ember had it, she felt her body regain its lost strength and stepped out of the bed.

"Miss?"

"I am going to Draven's chamber. You can go back to sleep," Ember instructed and left the chamber as fast as she could.

With each step getting her closer and closer to Draven's chamber, her heart started to beat faster in turn, and she wondered what he must be doing.

'Of course, he must be sleeping as it's late. Will I be disturbing him if I go there right now?' She stopped in her tracks as she hesitated. 'Shall I return to my room? Maybe I can just visit him tomorrow.' She was about to turn around but paused midstep. 'Since I'm already here, how about I'll just check on him now? As long as I move quietly, I can leave without disturbing him. A wife can check on her husband. That should be fine, right?'

Calming her senses, Ember took a deep breath before walking to the King's chamber with light footsteps. Only when she reached his door did she allow herself to exhale through her mouth. She tried to calm herself once more and slowly pushed the door to open it. She took a peek inside, only to find the entire chamber was dark, not even a single lamp lit.

'Is Draven not in his chamber? Maybe he's truly asleep?'

As she wondered if he was in bed, she pushed the door enough to let a small amount of lights from the hallway slip in, allowing her inferior human eyesight to take in the shape of the large bed, but the next moment, all the lamps inside the room lit up, taking her by utter surprise.