278- The Witch’s Head and the Alpha’s Oath
POV Elowen Grimwald:
Nodding in agreement, the elder continued:
“My son, our laws are clear and known to you.”
“Yes, but Elowen did not practice witchcraft intentionally, nor did she even know she was anything more than a hybrid wolf. Matter closed.”
The lipless one shook his head in denial.
“No, my son,” the other completed.
“What do you expect me to do? There is not the slightest possibility that I will allow my partner to be punished. Do you understand that? That shit is not going to happen.”
I could feel every drop of my partner’s fury.
“Intentional or not, two pups were injured. The people of Valmorin survived the trauma of the past by believing in our promise. In our laws.”
“I sacrificed too much for my people. I turn my back and they stone my partner. It’s over.”
“It is not like that, my son. Edric also sacrificed for Lunara, but she is not part witch. Listen to us,” he insisted, almost pleading.
The mention of my sister sent a cutting chill through me. If it were all true, we were daughters only of the same mother, and the bond of loyalty I believed existed from her side had never existed at all.
“And how do you know she isn’t?”
“We would have felt it upon seeing her. Listen. We have a solution.”
Would the elders have felt it? That told me that if I had met them as soon as I arrived, and Aldren and I had not yet formed a connection, I might have been imprisoned before anything but pain could happen.
“If it involves hurting or disturbing Elowen in any way, it is already denied.” He was unyielding.
“Aldren... let him speak,” I whispered, trying to calm him.
The mouthless one lifted his head and nodded at me in gratitude.
“Speak,” Aldren ordered.
“The penalty for concealed magic is the spilling of witch’s blood. Korlina will be killed and her head will be displayed in the center of Valmorin, placing the blame for the bonfire incident upon her. Elowen, however, is forbidden from using her powers or studying magic.”
“I did not ask to be born from a betrayal with a wizard. I do not want to practice witchcraft either!” I raised my voice, defending myself.
Aldren did not reprimand me, and both elders nodded.
“We know that, Elowen. If you agree, we will send Korlina’s head to Valmorin.”
At the same time that I felt my companion’s relief at knowing I was free from punishment, I also sensed a sudden sadness within him.
Inside me, emotions tangled, and something did not feel right.
“Do what must be done,” my alpha determined.
The weight in my cold stomach rose to my throat. My heartbeat quickened, and an urgency to have one last conversation with Korlina surrounded me.
“Where is she?” I asked the elders.
The eyeless one drew a deep breath before answering:
“In the southern prison, different from the one you were in. We ask your forgiveness, but also that you understand our laws are for everyone. Even our own children have been imprisoned for disobeying our orders. Without order and respect, peace and harmony among beings would not exist.”
“I understand... but I want to see her. I need to see her.”
Both Aldren and the elders were surprised.
“See Korlina?” the elder questioned.
“Yes.”
“I fear that will not be possible, Elowen,” he replied.
“Please.” I lifted my head to look at my confused companion. “Please. Korlina will die because of me. I will not have peace if I do not say goodbye, even after everything she did.”
Understanding flickered in my partner’s eyes. Nodding with a weary sigh, he turned to the elders.
“If my companion wishes to see the witch before her death, you will allow it.”
...
As soon as I descended the stairs, the putrid stench of death filled my nostrils.
The other prison was more harrowing than the one I had been held in. I fought back the urge to vomit as I passed a decomposing corpse hanging from suspended chains.
A door was opened.
I halted when, nearing the last small cell at the end of the corridor, I saw Mrs. Korlina seated on the floor, her feet bound in chains and her hands restrained apart inside some sort of aluminum box.
Her dress, which might once have been white, was covered in mud and slime.
Though her eyes were reddened and her expression sorrowful, she forced a faint smile when she saw me. My breathing faltered, and I was overcome with the sense that something was terribly wrong.
“Forgive me, my dear…”
The moment her hoarse, weary voice uttered that apology, I rushed into the cell and dropped to my knees, gathering her trembling, frail body into my arms.
I cried.
I cried in pain. With my heart being crushed inside my chest.
Why? Why?
“Was any of it true?”
With her hands trapped in those cruel boxes, she could not return my embrace, but I could hear her restrained sobs.
“It was all true…” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “I didn’t understand why I loved you without knowing you, but now I understand everything. Forgive me. I was able to sense that you were being attacked, but I couldn’t reach you in time with these weak legs…”
I pulled my face away from her soiled hair to look into her eyes.
“Why, Korlina? Why didn’t you tell me what I was?”
She shook her head, tears bathing her pale, wrinkled face.
“My ancestors did not allow it. I was not the one who activated your magic, my dear—I swear by my mother goddess.” Her words sounded like the most honest I had ever heard.
“I believe you…”
“That’s enough.” The elder’s voice reverberated. Everything happened too fast.
Aldren seized me from behind, pulling me away from Korlina.
The elder without a mouth, holding a dark, pointed dagger, stepped into the cell.
Korlina’s gaze searched for mine. Seconds—seconds—and—
The dagger was driven into her heart. I screamed!
Her white skin bloomed with black stains.
Her pupils darkened to the same color, until her eyelids closed.
A painful roar tore from me, as if I had felt the blow within my own body. I wrenched myself free from Aldren’s grip and fell to my knees beside her again, holding her torso before it could collapse backward.
Dead.
I wept, clinging to her lifeless body. I did not understand why, but Mrs. Korlina seemed to be taking a part of me with her.
A high, deafening buzz rang in my ears, and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to escape the sound. A powerful white light flared within my consciousness, and a familiar voice echoed in my thoughts:
Do not react. Keep holding me, my dear. Do not let go, or our connection will be broken.
A shiver ran down my spine, and I forced my muscles not to respond.
Yes, stay like that. Elowen, listen to me—now the strength of our ancestors is with you. They are here, telling me that the one you distrust is bewitched. Imprison him or kill him.
I forced my sobbing to continue, even as those words threatened to paralyze me.