Amelia
The next morning, Cassius has become grumpy due to a huge problem that has been going around. I tried to ask him what the problem is but he only snapped at me then he apologized afterward without even telling me the reason why. I, later on, found out when Hansel had slipped the information from his mouth.
Hansel said that one of the guards patrolling has found the dead bodies of some guards with lots of silver bullets on them. If they were Lycans, they would only receive scratches but only a few here are Lycans which are Cassius, Hansel, Zeyd, Venus, Casper, Quinn, Lance, and five more that I haven't met yet.
Due to the news about the dead bodies, everyone was advised to stay in their houses and that includes me. Cassius on the other hand went somewhere far with Hansel and Zeyd. They didn't even tell me cause they think I will follow them. How can they keep someone like me locked up in the house when I can obviously help them?
"That is because you're a troublemaker yourself." Errick said from my right who was currently playing a game on the screen. I looked at him and raised a brow. I probably said that out loud.
"I'm a badass angel, of course, I should become a troublemaker in this place." I said and he laughed.
"I can't believe your aethyraz is Cassius. You two are complete opposites." he said and I rolled my eyes. "It's great that someone like you is his aethyraz. A very funny, beautiful, and stubborn angel that can literally light up a fire in his life. It's about time my friend needs to settle down." he said.
"You haven't found your mate yet or what you Lycan's call it aethyraz?" I asked him and he gave me a sad smile before he masked it off with his playful smirk.
"Not yet, but I'm hoping that I can find her before it's too late but for now, I'm content with my freedom of being a Cassanova and I'm still young." he said while wiggling his eyebrows.
"What do you mean by too late?" I asked again and he shrugged nonchalantly.
"Too late as in gonna marry some random high-class lady, my aunt will pick." I looked at him sympathetically. "The chances of a Lycan finding his or her aethyraz are slim, especially if you're someone who has already lived hundreds of years. Like my parents for example, they married each other when they didn't find their aethyraz just for the sake of continuing the bloodline."
"Well, that must have been tough."
"Yeah but they love each other and made me so now, my aunt is trying to get me into an arranged marriage like my parents. My aunt may be the Alpha of the biggest pack in Russia but she cannot rule over my life because to me, having my aethyraz by my side is more important to me. It's either marrying my aethyraz or being single forever." he said genuinely and I smiled and patted his back.
I guess this is why the goddesses have favored the Lycans, the first of our kind. Their loyalty is closer to none just like how Errick spoke about having an aethyraz can bring you happiness or how Cassius is still single despite living a lot longer than most Lycans. I can see that whoever Errick's aethyraz will be is going to be the luckiest girl.
"I've changed my views about you." I said and he raised a brow.
"I'm sure that what you've been thinking about me before is not really good." he said with amusement in his eyes and I only shrugged with a smile. He ended the game and stood up.
"Well then, I should make the most of my time here by going to bars and getting to know a lot of women." His eyes glint with mischief and I kept a straight face.
"And now, he's back to his old self." I said sarcastically but he only winked at me before he left to chase some girls.
I lay on the sofa and looked at the huge ceiling while trying to think about what I'm going to do or how will I tell Cassius about the possibility of the connection I have with Adaya's daughter. I don't want to tell him if I'm not yet sure or if I have all the evidence.
"Mia! Someone is looking for you. A little girl and I think she's a witch. Also, she smells dangerous and to think she cannot be detected entering from the barrier." Venus burst out from nowhere and was panicking. I suddenly felt uneasy about this.
"Take me to her." I said and we both ran to where the girl is. It was outside but she was nowhere to be found. Instead, we found Lance and a lot of pack warriors lying on the ground.
"Oh, my goddess! Did she kill them? What should we do? Cassius, Zeyd, and Hans aren't here at the moment." Venus said while starting to panic.
"Don't worry, they just passed out. The witch might have put them all to sleep." I reassured her.
Witches are a very cautious and isolated race. If you provoke them, they may take it seriously and try to kill you or worst, curse you. So far, Lance and the rest weren't cursed, the witch only cast an illusion spell on them which made them unconscious and trapped in their dream. I can release them but the spell used is too powerful for someone like me who is not a real witch.
"Urghh...y-your...highness." I heard Lance mumbled. Venus and I went to him.
"Lance!" I tap the center of his forehead with my index and middle finger after reciting a spell and that seemed to release him from the spell completely. Ven and I helped him up.
"What happened?" Ven asked him.
"My lady, we tried to ask the girl how he entered the pack without us noticing but she suddenly mumbled something and before I knew it, the warriors passed out. I was trying to fight the urge to pass out as well. The witch went inside, your highness." Lance explained.
"You did well resisting it. Not many can do that, you know." I tried to console him. This guy is like a teddy bear. A bit gruff on the outside but has a tender heart.
"Ven, did you contact Cassius and the rest?" I asked her.
"Yeah, and they are on their way." she told me.
"Tell them that they don't need to rush here. Tell them, that I know this witch and she's harmless...for now." I said and Venus nodded her head.
"Also, you stay here with Lance and help the warriors since they are going to wake up in a few minutes. I'll handle the witch." I said and went inside the pack house before Venus could protest.
It wasn't hard to find the witch since she deliberately left a trail by leaving black smoke on the path she went to. Of course, it's only visible to witches and someone who is learning. The trail stopped at the library and I open it. The witch was standing near the window with her back facing me. But I knew who this is.
"You're that witch who killed Felicita." I said and she slowly turned.
"My name is Naenia." she said after she did a curtsy bow.
"What are you doing here?" I asked her.
"Ah, straight to the point. I like it. This will be easier." She said and sat on one of the couches. "Can I have something to drink first? An orange juice would be great." she said and just in time, a woman entered the library. I think she was about to clean the library because she brought some cleaning tools with her.
"Excuse me, can you get us two glasses of orange juice please?" I asked her.
"Of course, your highness." she said and bowed before leaving. I took a seat on a couch in front of her with a coffee table separating the two of us.
"There's no need to be so tense. I'm not here to wage war like that dumb witch did. My life is too precious to pick a fight with divine beings. I'd rather curse the humans." she said. For someone who's young, she talks as if she lived a hundred years old.
"Then...what did you come here for?" I asked her. Just in time, the woman before, entered while carrying a tray of pastries and orange juice. She wasn't the only one who came in though.
"I see, those warriors have woken up." she said and took a sip of her juice. Venus was by my side and on alert.
"For someone so young to be able to even put a Lycan into a momentary unconscious state, you must be a genius." I complimented her.
"Hm. Despite my appearance, I'm a lot older than you think. It's just that I was born special. I was born with a mismatched growth rate. I aged normally but my physical appearance is very slow. Hence, why I still look like a child." She explained. Never heard of a witch whose body aged slower than normal. The only race I could think of is...
"Are you perhaps...a hybrid?" I asked and she smiled.
"That's right. My mother is a witch but my father is a faerie." She said.
"Wait! Faeries are real?" I asked surprised.
"You didn't know? Faeries are pretty much real. We have a friendly pact with them." Venus said.
"Well, that's because I haven't met one."
"Oh I forgot, their homes are on a different dimension just like elves. The reason we knew about faeries is because of Cassius' family."
"Faeries tend to be attracted to beings with potent curses. The more powerful they are the more attracted the faeries are to them." Naenia said. Wait, attracted?
"Oh, it's not what you think. They are attracted to them like how butterflies are attracted to the sweet nectar of flowers. Faeries feed on the dark energy the curses emitted then they filtered it out and turn it into pure energy. That is why the faerie land is abundant in pure energy." she explained. So Cassius is like food to them.
"This isn't what I came for. Your husband is already approaching."
"H-husband?! He's not my husband...yet." I said and a blush crept on my face. Venus nudge me giddily while Naenia remained a stoic face, unfazed by all this.
"Anyways, I went here to warn you." She said and became even more serious.
"The prophecy will soon come true, now that the slumbering phoenix is starting to rise. Discard what is shown and believe what is hidden. Trace back to where it all started and the truth shall be revealed." She said. Dark smoke engulfed her and she disappeared just in time for Cassius to enter the library.
That riddle. Why did she tell me all about it? Am I connected to the prophecy? Well, shit.