The Devil's Cursed Witch

Ember, who had gone unconscious for hours, finally woke up. She felt surprised to find herself in bed, her last memory being in the bath.

"Miss, you are awake?" she heard the cheerful voice of Reya who had noticed that Ember had stirred under the sheets.

Ember blinked in confusion at her two servants who came to check on her immediately.

"Miss, are you feeling alright now?" Clio asked as she helped Ember sit up, the other elf moving to hand a glass of water for her to drink.

"Wasn't I taking a bath?" Ember asked in a low voice after giving the empty glass back to her servants..

"Don't you remember, Miss? You fainted suddenly in the bath."

"We were so worried the entire time you were unconscious."

Hearing their concerned voices, Ember tried to recall what happened, causing her body to tremble.

Pain. She was in so much pain.

At that time, she didn't have the energy to pay attention to what was happening. All she wanted was to get rid of that pain.

It started when she stepped out of the pool. She felt a sharp stabbing pain in her chest, causing her to lose her balance and fall on the ground. And with each passing second, the pain intensified, making her feel tremendous suffering to the point she was unable to breathe.

It was as if something inside her was being torn to shreds. She felt like she would die any moment.

But then the pain eased for a moment and she was able to find a little comfort when her mate came.

Though she was at the verge of losing her consciousness back then, she remembered Draven covering her with a towel and lifting her in his arms.

Air came back to her lungs. She was able to breathe again as the pain slowly lessened. Though it was not completely gone, she felt comfortable with her mate nearby.

Did he cast magic on her? Was it his power? The mate bond? Whatever the reason was, she wanted him close.

Later, she went unconscious due to exhaustion.

"...Miss?"

"Huh?"

Ember blinked ignorantly, not realizing that her servants were talking to her.

Clio repeated what she missed. "We were asking if you want to dine here in your room."

"Ah, sorry. My mind drifted off for a bit." She let out a wry smile. "Can I simply have fruits? I don't really have an appetite now..."

The servants brought several sliced fruits for her to eat, even making sweet refreshments for her to feel better. Once she finished them, she told the elves she wanted to continue resting, and the two tactfully left.

Ember remained in her, leaning on pillows with her back against the headboard. She asked Reya and Clio if they had an idea why she passed out, but neither of them could tell her what was wrong with her body. They told her to ask the King instead.

She could not help but think about why this was happening to her. It was the third time she felt such overwhelming pain, but the first time it came along with a nightmare, and the next two, she was wide awake.

'I wonder what's wrong with my body. Do I have some sort of strange heart disease? But then, what about that nightmare with the purple-eyed woman...?'

In a while, her servants informed her that the King was there to visit her. Draven had received the news that Ember was awake and came to see her.

The black-haired man entered his mate's chamber before she could say anything. Meanwhile, Clio and Reya excused themselves, leaving the pair alone.

Draven stood at a distance from her bed, staring at her with those emotionless red eyes of his. As the night of the full moon was close, the pull he felt towards his mate was getting stronger, and the fact that he was in the same room as her was already testing his limit.

Ember stared back at him, her emerald green eyes filled with questions. There were many things she wanted to ask, but didn't know where to begin. She was about to get out of the bed to greet the King but she heard him speak coldly, "Stay in bed."

As she was feeling lethargic, she promptly obeyed him and continued to sit in bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I am fine now," Ember answered, feeling strangely upset to see him maintaining a distance with her. She didn't understand his reason as she didn't feel the pull of the bond as strongly as him.

'Why is he only staring? Shouldn't he show his care like how husbands in those books cared for their wives?' She could not help but clench her hands against the sheets. 'Is it because...because he doesn't see me as his wife? It does make sense. We started off as strangers, and he is only compelled to come close to me when he is affected by the power of bond.'

Not knowing what she was thinking, Draven spoke, still standing at a distance. "You must be wondering about the cause of these chest pains."

She nodded. "Before coming to Agartha, nothing of this sort had ever happened to me before. I don't know what is wrong with me."

He hummed in response. "I had asked Cornelia to check on you and we had drawn a conclusion as to why this is happening."

Ember's eyes immediately lit up, eager to hear what the Head of the Witches discovered, but the next moment, she turned anxious. Did she really want to know? What if it was something serious, like a terminal illness? What if it was some sort of symptom telling she would lose her life?

'Was it because I am learning magic? Could it be dangerous for a human to find her core? My instructor did say I am a special case...maybe there's a reason why humans don't have powers...'

She had struggled to survive and suffered a lot. There was no way she would want to die now. A few weeks back, she had tried to kill herself by jumping from the cliff, but that was because she thought her life was meaningless back then. Luckily, she was saved and it led her to meet her first friend.

"W-What is it?"

But what Draven said next was something she never expected.

"There is an existence, a third party, causing you pain."