~Jason's POV~
(In Athena's cottage)
"Jason, I have news," Athena says as soon as we're all seated.
"So do I" I pause to recollect my thoughts.
"We found meaning to nymph Echo's words. Noah..."
"The other half, that's Lord Jason's mate." Noah continues, getting the message.
"'Don't make the same mistake twice' means..." He trails off. I thought for a second that he was going to rat me out.
A look of realization crosses Athena's face and she nods in understanding.
"What do you need?" She asks as she clears the table across from her.
"A locator spell." I place the strands of hair on the table and lean back on the chair.
"I'm going to need your blood," she hands me a pocket knife and I slit my palm with it.
She lays a map I hadn't noticed before on the table and grabs my wrist, placing it above the map. Droplets of my blood fall on the map and after a while, she lets go of my wrist.
She says a bunch of jumbled words and soon, the blood starts to trail across the map. After a while, it stops.
"Oh no!" She exclaims.
"What's wrong?"
"She's in the witches' territory. And not just any territory. It's the territory of the ancient witches. Three sisters, Electra, Lyssa, and Melania. They are the most ruthless witches you'll ever find."
"Well, that's where my mate is, so we're going there anyway."
"Um...we can't just go there. Remember two decades ago?" Noah says.
Two decades ago, there was a war between the vampires and the witches. To settle things, the boundaries to both realms were sealed by the twelve elders. Since then, in other to cross the border of the realms, the twelve elders must be summoned and would then decide if the reason for crossing the border is good enough.
If it is, a key would be given for a one-time visit.
If it isn't, well...
It takes two weeks to gather them together, so this isn't going to be as fast as I want it to be.
The thought of my little human mate being tortured or being used for some spell didn't seat right with me. So, if I wait two fucking weeks for the twelve elders and they deny me access, things aren't going to be funny.
"Judas, summon the elders as soon as we get back. Athena, what's your news?"
"My sisters and I did a truth spell as promised. Mneme said to find the ancient there and ask for the little one."
"The little one...Noah, let's head back. You and I would do research on the ancient three, whatever that is. And we'll also sketch out a plan B, just in case the twelve elders decline. Let's move out. Thank you, Athena."
Noah and I walk into the library. It's no longer the utter mess we left it as, but it's actually pretty clean.
"Start from the back, I'll start from the front. Find anything on the ancient ones and call the librarian if you need help." I walk to the first row of shelves and start going through books that look remotely relevant. The sound of Noah's footstep fades as he goes around back
This is going to be a long day...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two hours later...
Two fucking hours later and we have nothing.
We've gone through every single book, every scroll, and everything in the library has been turned and searched.
Heck, we even went through the archives, but we have nothing.
Zip zero nothing...
Noah and I head to my office exhausted and frustrated. As soon as I reach the door, I pick up the scent of my Mom and Judas. I facepalm internally. I prepare myself for another mental-draining lecture about why I need to find my mate.
Taking a deep breath, I pull the door open and walk in with a blank expression. Noah is nowhere to be found by the time I'm settled in my seat.
Mom is seated in one of the two chairs opposite mine and Judas is standing next to the second chair.
He looks like he has seen a ghost and my mom has the if-looks-could-kill kind of expression on her face.
It doesn't take a genius to figure not what happened.
Mom got Judas to spill his guts.
Noah caught on the moment he sensed my mom and Judas in my office.
In conclusion, mom knows about everything now...
Great...
Just what I needed...
"How are you doing, mother?" I ask as though I have no idea what she's doing here.
"Cut the bullshit, Jason! I thought I raised you better!" She snaps.
The sound of Judas swallowing doesn't go unnoticed.
I should send him out for his sake, but seeing as he was the one who blurted his guts to my mom, it's only fair if he shares in this extremely uncomfortable discussion.
"Sit, Judas." He opens his eyes so wide, I'm pretty sure they'll pop out if he opens them just a little wider. He lowers himself into the chair as slowly as possible.
"How much did you tell her?"
"Enough to know that your human mate is missing!" Mom snaps.
"I'm working on it, mom."
One minute, I don't give two shits about my mate, and the next minute, I'm so desperate to find her. Maybe if she is a vampire I'll worry less, knowing that she is safe where ever she is. But no. The moon goddess just had to pair me with a weak, pathetic human.
Fuck this mate bond.
I'll find her and reject her. There's no way I'll rule with a human as my Luna. That would not only ridicule me in my territory, but it would tarnish my reputation among all the vampire races and even in the whole supernatural world.
I'm the most feared Lord for a reason. Even more feared than my father. I've been ruling for over a decade now without a Luna and I don't mind keeping it that way. If mom wants an heir, I'll give her one. There are plenty of sluts waiting for me to say the word. But I won't mate with a mere human...not even to please my mom.
"What do you need? I can help you." She scoots forward in her seat and places both palms on my table. The look in her eyes makes me feel slightly guilty, so I look away.
"Nothing, mom. I don't need anything. I have it all under control."
She takes a deep breath and stands up.
"Don't do something you'll regret." With that, she walks out of my office, closing the door gently behind her.
As soon as I hear the door click shut, I turn to Judas with the most deadly glare in the history of glares.
"Start talking," I growl.
"I swear, I didn't mean to. She just came in while I was writing the elders. And she saw and she demanded I tell her, but I didn't want to and she gave me the look and I couldn't hold back, so I told her. But I swear I didn't tell her everything. I told her just enough to get her off my case and you walked in almost immediately. I didn't tell her that your mate is in the witches' territory or about the whole Echo/Mneme fiasco..." He rambles on.
"Get send the letters to the elders and get Noah. Let's get started on that plan B." I cut him off.
~Nancy's POV~
Where in the world am I?
I look around me and cringe at the sight.
There's water dripping from the high ceiling, and puddles of water are all over the room. The metal door looks old and rusty and has a little opening at the center of the door, just big enough for my head to pass through. The walls look old and the paint is fading and peeling off. There's only one window allowing the rays of sunshine into the room and it's way high up. The temperature here is very low and my fingers are already frozen.
How did I get here?
The last thing I remember is falling asleep in a makeshift bed.
I pace up and down the room for a while before getting tired, so I lay down on the ground and curl up into a ball, trying to keep all the heat in.
I don't know how long it's been, but from the sight outside the window, it's been hours...an entire day. The rays of sunlight are now rays of moonlight and I'm still in the same position as before.
I seat up to allow blood to flow through my legs as I stretch my hands.
My stomach rumbles for the hundredth time.
After a while, the door cracks open and a tray of food is shoved into the room along with a lantern. The door closes as I rush to the food. There's a piece of bread, a cup of hot chocolate, and a bottle of water. I shove the bread into my mouth as fast as I can as I warm up by the lantern. The bread disappears so fast, I could have sworn someone was eating it with me. I drown the chocolate down my throat and let out a satisfactory belch.
Picking up the lantern, I move to a dry corner of the room and drop myself to the ground. I place the lantern as close to me as safely possible and try to get myself warm enough to fall asleep comfortably.
Soon enough, I feel my eyelids shut.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I open my eyes to the darkness.
Did the lantern go out?
I try to move, but it feels like there's a really heavy load resting on me.
I try talking to no avail.
Here we are again!
After a while, the darkness is illuminated by a familiar bright light.
Nancy...
Not this again! I thought Hades took care of it!
Cursed is she until she knows...
Your mom is disappointed, Nancy...
You should do better...
Buried deep in what she's not...
NANCY!!!
Nancy?!
Cursed... you're cursed...
She's disappointed...
You should do better...
Time is running out...
Nancy...
Everything goes silent for a few seconds and I hold my breath knowing what's to come.
Just as I thought, I'm hit by a very terrible, gut-wrenching, toe-curling pain. I double over on pain...oh, wait...I still can't move...Yay me!
I let out a scream, but it comes out silent...I still can't talk.
Hot tears stream down my face as I struggle to get my heavy muscles to move. I squeeze my eyes shut as if it'll help me cope with the pain.
I don't know for how long I was in that bright light, writhing in pain, but when I open my eyes, in my room...as in the room with the makeshift bed. No longer the room with fading paint and metal door.
I look around to find the three sisters staring at me as if I'll disappear if they blink for a second. Electra takes a step closer and I flinch back on instinct. A look crosses get face but it's gone just as fast.
"We came you check on you and found you screaming. What happened?"
That's something I would like to know myself.
I open my mouth in an attempt to speak, but it's as futile as before.
Weird, that's new...
I shake my head and hope they get the message. I've been locked up twice in this place, attacked by a demon boy, stabbed, and starved. It's like I'm back with my master all over again. Fear courses through my veins as I think of the things they could do to me.
"Nancy, we've checked with all the ancient libraries and archives in the entire realm and we still couldn't find anything about your specie," Melania says.
" We don't know if you're a threat or a spy. We don't know how you got past our borders with the help of the twelve elders, because there was no plague with you that allows you to come through our borders. While it's possible you lost it, we need to check with them to be sure of how you got in here. And we need to find out about your kind." She continues.
"Until then, you'll remain locked up," Lyssa says. "You'll be returned to your cell now."
Silent tears flow down my cheeks as I seat up, mentally preparing myself for what's to come.
~A/N~
Ciao y'all.
I'm going to be posting the aesthetics soon. I should have done it earlier, but better late than sorry, right?
You are loved, you are beautiful and you are you.
Bläïr änd whïtë
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