𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐛𝐢𝐞 | 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝

[86]

𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨, 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨, 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙗𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙬.

Evelyn had left his side as she had to attend to matters with Kyle, although she had agreed to meet up with him along with her husband to meet their hidden crew as soon as they were done.

He looked up from his path, hearing Odalia's frustrated muttering before gasping recognising a puppet in her grasp. 

"Oh, it's getting tangled!" She grunted, lifting an elongated spiral neck. 

"Wait, wait," King interrupted, holding his hand out to the woman. "Can you, uh, give me that one?"

"Hmm?"

King looked down, recognising Hooty's face, even if in puppet form, and smiled as he took it from Odalia, who dropped the toy without care.

–––

Marching down the hallway, King wrapped Hooty's neck around his head as the bird demon's little house-bag was in his clawed arms. He neared a darker corridor that led to the Owl Beast's location, signs reading 'keep out' and 'beware of the beast'. 

Broken bars were visible and tapestries that were nearby were scratched terribly. Before the broken bars of the area stood the Heads of the Covens lined in a row, and next to a certain Bard-coven Head stood the Owl Lady.

Feathers stuck out of her hair and neck, the woman pretending to be dead as she stuck her tongue out playfully, making a 'bleh' noise. She raised the stump of her right arm in the air, her left arm dangling, holding her joking pose.

With a frown, King told Eda off, his mother figure placing her hand on her hip with a smirk.

"Eda, come on. Not right now," The small Titan huffed.

The Owl Lady glanced down at the line before her feet, hesitantly stepping over it. For a brief second, it was silent. Then, an alarm turned on, the line before her feet glowing red. Suddenly, the eyes of the Coven Heads glowed yellow, their heads whipping around to look at Eda's figure.

They rushed into a line before her, casting spell circles aimed at her, but none of them fired. Raine's glasses glinted against the light, glaring menacingly at the Owl Lady with bright yellow eyes, Eda's smile turning sad.

"Wait!" King warbled, rushing over to Eda's side before guiding her back behind the glowing blue line.

The alarm turned off, the Coven Heads going limp once more as they floated back into their original positions in a line, guarding the Owl Beast's cage. 

"You gotta stop leaving your room! The Collector thinks you're still in Beast Mode," King scolded Eda, the witch beside him sighing out a reply.

"I know," She smiled. "I just like visiting Raine."

–––

"Evie," Kyle sighed, hugging his wife tight as the two embraced. 

Evelyn nuzzled further into her husband's warmth, feeling comforted in his arms as they stood behind closed doors. The Collector was asleep, and they finally had a moment of peace to themselves.

"Oh love," She smiled sadly, pulling away. "You look so tired... I should speak with the Collector, tell him to let you have a break now and then."

"No, no," Kyle frowned, placing his hand over his wife's that cupped his cheek. "I'm fine. I brought this upon our family, it's about time I do something to fix it."