The Devil's Cursed Witch

Several minutes after Draven departed from the palace and left Ember in Leeora's care, the young human started to stir awake. As she's seated on a chair purposely placed beside the large bed, Leeora immediately sensed the movement and spoke up, "Ember, can you hear me? Are you awake?"

Ember heard the familiar warm voice and slowly opened her eyes to look at the elderly female elf. The dazed girl found herself greeted by Leeora's pleasant smile.

"Elder?" she mumbled in a weak voice.

"Good that you recognize me. That means you are fine," Leeora said happily as she touched the forehead of the girl. Her skin was feeling a bit cold to touch, but it seemed there was nothing wrong with her body.

"How are you feeling?"

Ember tried to sit up, and the elf hurried to assist her, arranging pillows behind her for support so she'd be more comfortable.

"Do not push yourself too much," Leeora told her with a kind smile. "You must be feeling weak."

Ember nodded lightly and her blurry gaze moved around the large chamber. She didn't know what this place was as she didn't remember ever coming here. She was lying on a canopy bed so large and sheets so soft, that she felt like she was sitting on top of a cloud. The chamber itself was several times the size of her tree house in Ronan, and the luxurious furniture around her were all things she thought only existed in Gaia's bedtime stories back when she was a child.

She took a deep breath and found her tense body relaxing due to the soothing smell of the forest that permeated the air. For some reason, she felt the urge to bury her nose on the nice-smelling sheets and go back to sleep.

Leeora stood up. "I will ask the servants to bring something for you to eat. After eating, you might feel better." Leeora went to the door and instructed Erlos who was waiting on standby outside.

Seeing the young silver-haired elf, recognition struck her.

'This place…am I in that red-eyed man's palace?'

Ember tried to recall what happened to her, putting together clues from her memories as to why she was here in this condition.

'The council meeting…'

All she remembered was the King, that red-eyed man, asking her if she was ready to bet her life for the sake of staying in this kingdom. Without thinking much, she agreed to be tested. Though she didn't know what the test meant, she remembered being instructed to stay seated on his lap. He asked her to breathe and then, there was a sharp pain on the right side of her neck.

Her body inevitably shivered, and she hugged herself as she recalled the inexplicable pain. 'My entire body felt like it's burning from within.'

After that, everything went blank, and the next thing she recalled was waking up in this chamber.

'What did he do to me?' she thought and touched the right side of her neck. She thought she'd feel a bite scar, but her neck was surprisingly smooth. 'I remember he bit me. Was it a hallucination?' Remembering that pain made her fragile body shiver once more, and she had to do large intakes of air to calm herself down.

She heard Leeora still talking to Erlos outside of the door of that huge chamber.

"—inform His Majesty that she is awake now."

'His Majesty?' It rang a bell in her mind. There was only one person they called His Majesty. 'The red-eyed man, don't tell me he is coming here?!'

Ember panicked as she seemingly recalled something.

'No, that can't be. That's a nightmare. It's impossible…'

In her bad dream, she remembered opening her eyes and finding herself wrapped in someone's arms. It was a very vivid dream, where she was roused awake by the pleasant scent of wood and earth, as if the refreshing and calming scent of the forest was embracing all her senses. The scent had a distinctive scent of peppermint as well, similar to the fragrant oils Leeora had given to her to help her sleep, which was one of her favourite scents.

Taking a deep breath of that mixed fragrance, all her nerves felt relaxed. She simply wanted to continue enjoying the refreshing scent, but then she realized a person was holding her, causing her to snap her eyes open, only to be welcomed by the view of the bare chest of a man.

The embrace felt so warm and comfortable that she wanted to snuggle in it more. It was purely instinct, as she was still half-asleep and her body succumbed to that pleasant feeling she was getting from that warm and strong body.

But then as it was with all bad dreams, an ominous feeling struck her out of the blue, telling her something was wrong with the situation. She then looked up, only to meet with the most terrifying gaze she had seen all her life—those pair of emotionless red eyes belonging to the most dangerous man in existence.

It was as if she lost her soul at that very moment, and all the good feelings she had evaporated into thin air.

'A nightmare. Yes, he's the last thing I saw that's why I had a nightmare about him,' she convinced herself. 'That must be it. Why would he be with me in the first place? It's crazy to think that scary man would be beside me in bed.'

Just then, Leeora returned to her side and disturbed her thoughts.

"Ember, your meal will be here soon. I am sure you will feel better and then we can talk."

Ember looked at the elderly elf with many questions in her mind. She hesitated as she asked, "Elder, where am I? Are we still in the palace?"

Leeora nodded.

"Why am I here? The test…"

"Calm down, dear. You have just woken up. I am sure you have many questions, but before that, I want you to eat first. You have been asleep for two days, so your body needs strength. Once you feel better, you can listen to everything I say."

Leeora wanted to completely explain the situation to Ember the best way she could, knowing that it was the right thing to do,  but she was worried things would only scare her more. Leeora was delaying their talk as she pondered over how to choose her words.

Ember agreed. Soon, the food arrived. As she had just woken up, Leeora had instructed for light food to be prepared but in greater quantity, knowing that mated females would eat a lot once they woke up.

With the help of Leeora, Ember finished her meal. She was surprised at how she ate more than she normally would.

"It's because you were sleeping for two days so it's normal for you to eat this much," Leeora, who observed Ember's confused face, explained. "You might feel hungry again soon. Just tell me if you are so we can ask for more food to be brought in."

At that moment, someone appeared outside of the chamber but didn't enter. Erlos was guarding outside and was about to say a word to greet his master, but Draven raised his hand which was enough for Erlos to understand that he needed to keep quiet.

He heard the human's curious voice from the other side of the door.

"Two days?" Ember asked. "I slept for that long?"

"Hmm, you were indeed sleeping for two days."

"Why? What exactly happened to me?" Ember asked, feeling lost. "I don't recall anything about how I even came here. The test…"

Leeora inwardly let out a frustrated sigh. She needed to tell Ember the truth, but how could she properly deliver it so she wouldn't panic? She doubted if this young girl even realized she had been marked, much less what it meant to be someone's mate.

"Ember, listen to me carefully," Leeora started tentatively, and Ember gave her a light nod, feeling anxious to hear what the elderly elf would say.

"When Sire said you are to be put to a test, it means surviving the mark he placed on you."

This was what Leeora came up with after struggling over what to say.

"Mark?" Ember repeated, confusion written on her face.

It cleared Leeora's doubt that Ember was not aware of the importance of marking. In the first place, a mate's bond was rare even among supernatural beings, as it only happened between a male and a female with strong magic or potential in their bloodlines. It was a concept humans wouldn't know in general.

Leeora cupped the girl's hands within hers.  "You remember what happened in the council hall? When the King bit your neck, he marked you."

'So it was not my imagination. He bit me for real,' she thought with wide eyes.

"The King is a Dragon, and he carries the strongest magic in his bloodline in this kingdom. No ordinary female can survive his marking. But as you have survived, that means you are not an ordinary human. Since you are special, you will be allowed to stay with us elves. No one will dare ask you to leave this kingdom as you are now under the protection of the King."

"I can stay with you?" Ember asked to make sure, her eyes filled with delight.

"Yes, you sure can. You will now be accepted as a real resident of Agartha," Leeora assured and said the next thing with hesitation, "Also you…are now the King's mate."

"Mate?" Ember repeated. "What do you mean?"