“Papa’s alive.” I whispered. “He’s not here right now but-” I started to rant.
“I know. King Nikolai told me.” His smile was sad.
And then it clicked. “Your parents…?”
He shook his head.
“I’m so sorry.” I hugged him again. “Where were you all this time?”
“I left the island and went to America. I didn’t have a reason to stay here.”
“Well I’m glad you decided to come back.” I smiled.
“I’m glad I ca-”
The doors opened suddenly and a female walked in. Now her, I definitely hadn’t seen before.
The girl had long red hair and flawless porcelain skin. Her light light brown eyes were lines with kohl and I instinctively knew she was a witch.
Nik grew tense when he saw her.
Who is she?
The girl’s eyes fell on all of us before she looked at Nik again. “We need to talk. In private.”
An ugly feeling grew in the pit of my belly. Who was this female? How dare she talk to him like she knew him? And order him like this? I haven’t seen her. But it looked like the two knew each other.
I was jealous. We were definitely not over the jealousy stage. And it was definitely not amusing.
Nik gave her a sharp nod and then turned to look at me. “This may take a while. You can go. Take guards, be safe and have fun.” What? Who was she? What work did she have with Nik? Why talk in private? I didn’t like it.
“Who are you?” I asked the female.
She bowed.
“Rise.” I said.
She stood straight again, “Apologies, Luna Queen. My name is Anna.” The name rung a bell.
I turned to look at Nik. He nodded, replying my silent question. She was one of the witches he had seen in Poziarne. Her friend Arrow was going to go to Scholae Pythonissam to get more information about the sacrifice and black magic. But where was he? Why is she the only one who’s here.
“Where is Arrow?”
Tears erupted in her eyes. “They took him.”
My hand flew to my heart. He’s probably sacrificed by now.
“And Lloyd.” A sob tore through her throat.
Oh goddess. My feet took me to her and I wrapped my arms around her. “I’m so sorry.”
She broke down. “It’s all because of me! Stupid! I’m so stupid!”
“It’s not because of you.” I said softly. “You couldn’t have known.”
She backed away and looked at me with tear filled eyes, “but I did! Arrow had told us to not come. But we f-followed him. Upon my insistence! They came and captured Lloyd. Arrow tried to save him and they both got taken!”
I chewed down on my lip. “We’ll get them back.” I looked at Nikolai who was looking at me with creased eyebrows. And then I saw an idea light up in his eyes.
“Did you find the information you needed?” Nik asked.
Anna looked at him and nodded. “We found a couple of books that could be helpful. But we accidentally dropped them… and then I-I had to run away before they got to me too.” She said in a small voice.
“We have to go there.” He said. “The answer to saving them and all the witches is in those books.”
She opened her mouth but Nik cut her off. “If you keep following the only witches rule, no witches will be left alive.”
“I think they have a sensors or something there. We were not there for even five minutes and they arrived.” She wiped her cheeks.
“We will have to be fast then.” Nikolai said.
“You can’t go.” Nat suddenly said. “You’re the King, you can’t put your life in danger like this. You are needed here more.”
She had a point. This trip would only be for witches. Our pack-our people needed him more. They needed him to fight for them, with them and kill Adrik.
“The kid went there for me.” Nik simply said.
“I’ll go.” She volunteered.
“I’ll go too.” Mikhail said. “We’ll be quick. In and out. And we’re a good team too. We don’t need anyone else. You know it.”
“Fine. Get all the information from Anna, device a plan and then you can leave.” Nikolai told them. “If you die, I’ll crawl down to hell and kick your asses.”
The pair smirked. “We expect nothing less.” And then the duo, along with Anna left.
“You should also go, Love. Today will be the one day you’ll be able to go about freely before it will get too dangerous.” Nik’s hands rested on my waist and he pulled me in to place a soft kiss on my lips. “I love you. Please stay with the guards.” He reminded me. I nodded with a smile, “I love you too, Mi Amor.”
The long walk out of the palace calmed me down slightly. Four guards joined me the moment I stepped out of the Council Room. The car waited for me at the entrance with Tessa in the passenger seat and Eliyah waiting for me outside the car.
He opened the back door for me when he saw me arrive. “Are you okay, Mistress?” He saw the guards defensively. I placed a hand on his arm, calming him down. He didn’t like most of the supernaturals. Scratch that, he only likes me-and maybe my family a little bit because they care for me and protect me. But if those were his criteria, he should like everyone in the kingdom. I knew for a fact that everyone cared for me and would lay down their lives for me.
“Yes.” I smiled. He was growing softer by the day and I was happy. I think this is the first time he has called me Mistress without hesitation.
“To the hospital first.” I said once he got behind the wheel. The guards followed us in another vehicle.
“Fine.” His tone was blunt again. He seemed to dislike the guards. He cleared his throat, “yes, Mistress.” He replied normally this time around. I smiled.
“And how is your training going? I hope that Dimitri isn’t going too hard on you.” He wanted to grow stronger so I had asked Dimitri to train him whenever he was free. But Eliyah was still a human so I worried that we would seriously get hurt.
“The training is going good. But he’s just making me work on the punching bag or do target practice. He’s scared that he might hurt me if we actually spar.” He trailed his hand through his hair, looking annoyed by it.
“He’s not wrong, Eli.” I told him gently. “For example me, I may look small, but I can break your wrist with just two fingers.” His eyes fell to my small, delicate looking hands and then his own that were twice my size and looked much stronger and rougher. And then his jaw clenched when he realised it was the truth.
“We are here.” He said as he pulled up in front of the hospital.
The three of us walked inside the hospital, the guards behind us. Everyone were shocked to see me. I hadn’t been here since after the hospital was built. A nurse rushed towards me, bowing deeply.
“Rise.” I smiled.
“Good morning, Queen Avalyn. Is there any way can be of your service?” She looked anxious.
I smiled kindly at her. “Oh no, I don’t want to keep you from your work. I’m just here to meet the patients. You can continue with your work.”
“Of course, as you wish, Queen Avalyn.” She bowed and took her leave.
I walked up to the reception, making both the receptionist bow.
“Rise.” I said both stood straight, looking at me in awe.
I smiled. “Can I know the total bill of everyone in the hospital?”
She blinked.