Chapter 71 CHAPTER 71

Chapter 71 CHAPTER 71
ALINA

They took me a to a cell and so much time had passed that I didn't even register how many hours had really passed. Some time later, the door was opened and they took me out. I yelled out at them for so long, hoping that Kai was going to come to my rescue but he never did.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I was led to the center of the pack court, my hands shackled in iron cuffs. The weight of the metal was nothing compared to the crushing anxiety I felt inside. I had heard whispers about the witch trials, the way they had been used to "test" those accused of witchcraft in the past, and I knew the odds were stacked against me.

These trials were designed to prove guilt, not innocence. Now that I was here and it was too late, I wished I had spent my time trying to study about the witch trials. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad then. Kai was standing at the far end of the court, his face pale, his eyes full of guilt and fear.

It was the last thing I wanted to see before facing this nightmare. But I couldn't blame him. I knew he must have possibly done everything he could because from the look in his eyes, he was as scared as I was. He had tried to protect me, but the pressure from the pack, the lords, and the elders had been too much perhaps. Now, I was the one who had to face the consequences.

Elder Gideon stepped forward, his voice cold and authoritative as he addressed the pack. "Today, we put Alina, the Luna of this pack, to the test. These trials are ancient and fair, designed to reveal the truth. If she passes, she will be cleared of all accusations. If she fails ..." He let the words hang in the air, the implication clear.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breath. The crowd around me was silent, watching with wide eyes. Some looked scared, others looked angry, and a few, like Lord Olly, looked eager for the outcome. They wanted to see me fail. They wanted proof that I was something other than what I was. A witch.

The first trial was called "The Test of Water." My heart sank as two guards stepped forward, unshackling me just to push me toward a large, deep basin of water. It was icy and dark, rippling ominously under the dim light. They wanted me to swim, to see if I would sink or float. Witches were said to float, buoyed by their magic. If I sank to the bottom, I was innocent. But that was the trick-if I didn't float, I could still drown.

And all of that was absolute bullshit because they had shackled my hands. I could swim even if I wanted to. I was going to fucking die. "Step forward," one of the guards said, his voice emotionless.

I hesitated for a second, my feet frozen in place. Kai's eyes bore into me from across the room, pleading silently for me to survive this. I took a deep breath and stepped forward. The water was frigid as I was shoved into the basin. It hit me like a thousand knives, and I gasped, my body immediately going stiff from the cold.

I tried to stay calm as I treaded water, willing my body to sink. But I wasn't sinking. The panic started to set in, my legs kicking frantically beneath me. No, no, no. I had to sink. If I floated, they'd kill me. Sinking was going to be better. They were going to burn me at a stake, which was going to be more humiliating and painful.

I felt myself rising to the surface, my chest tightening with fear. The crowd gasped as I began to float, their whispers filling the air.

"Witch!" someone shouted from the crowd.

"No!" I screamed, thrashing in the water, trying to force myself down. But it was no use. My body remained on the surface by some force I couldn't explain. The guards pulled me out of the water, their eyes hard and cold. I could see the smirk on Olly's face, and it made my stomach churn.

"The first trial is complete," Elder Gideon announced. "She floats, but there are still more trials to determine her fate." He added,

dropping down the microphone.

They dragged me, shivering and drenched, to the next trial. My heart was racing, and I could feel the fear crawling up my spine. The next trial was the "Test of Fire." I was stripped of my wet clothes and given dry ones as they bound my wrists again. I stood in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by kindling and wood. A large pyre had been constructed, and I was forced to stand in the center of it.

I looked over at Kai, whose face had drained of all color. His hands were clenched into fists, his knuckles white. I wanted to cry out to him, to ask him to stop this madness, but I knew he couldn't. I wanted him to do it himself.

I knew that this was selfish, but my fucking life was on the line. I wanted him to be selfish. To come forward and whisk me out of this nightmare before they killed me, but he didn't. He stood rigid on his chair like he was fighting hard to not get him. I wanted him. So badly.

"The Test of Fire," Gideon said, his voice solemn. "If she is truly a witch, the flames will not harm her. If she is not, she will burn."

Terror flooded through me as one of the guards lit the pyre. The flames licked at the edges of the wood, slowly crawling toward me. I could feel the heat on my skin, the crackling of the wood deafening in my ears. My body trembled, my heart slamming against my chest.

"No!" Kai rose from the seat but the elders quickly sprang up to stop him, which really did nothing because he was stronger than any of them.

"You need to let things happen the way they are supposed to happen, Malakai." Elder Agnes yelled at him, her voice shaky.

"You are not burning her on the stake," he shook his head. The fear in his eyes were real and blazing, hotter than any fire they could have built to throw me into. "I am going to kill every single one of you if you hurt her."

"Would rather that she faces the fairy mother's wrath? You know what is going to happen when she does." She warned him.

I didn't know for sure, but I knew that it was going to be worse than whatever they were going to do to me right now. She could subject me to eternal pain of something like that. But if I stepped in there and I was not a witch, she would burn and die.

The flames grew higher, inching closer, and the heat became unbearable. I closed my eyes, praying for something-anything-to save me. My skin began to sting, and I bit down on my lip to keep from screaming. The crowd was watching, waiting for me to either be consumed by the flames or to walk through them unscathed.

I could hear Kai still trying to fight for me, but the guard did not wait. They threw me inside the flames. I closed my eyes, waiting for the fire to burn through me, but nothing like that happened. Suddenly, the flames flickered.

I opened my eyes, gasping in surprise. The fire wasn't touching me. It was circling me, as if repelled by some invisible force. The crowd gasped, and I could hear murmurs of fear.

"Witch!" someone shouted again.

The flames danced around me, never quite reaching my skin, and I felt my legs grow weak. What the hell was going on? How was this happening?

The fire was extinguished, and the guards pulled me from the pyre, their faces grim. The crowd was growing restless, and I could hear people whispering, demanding my execution.

"The final trial," Elder Gideon said, his voice shaking slightly. Even he seemed unsettled by the results of the trials so far. "The Test of Earth."

They led me to the edge of the courtyard, where a large pit had been dug. It was deep, dark, and filled with dirt. I knew what this trial entailed. They would bury me alive, and if I was truly a witch, I would rise from the earth. If I wasn't, I would suffocate.

My heart pounded in my chest as they forced me to lie down in the pit. I wasn't even worried now because I knew that it was going to survive it. I had to be a witch. The dirt was cold and damp beneath me, and the walls of the pit loomed above me like a grave.

My breath came in short, shallow gasps as the guards began to shovel dirt over my body. The weight of it pressed down on me, and I struggled to stay calm. They covered me completely, the world around me turning to darkness.

I couldn't breathe. The dirt pressed down on my chest, making it impossible to inhale. Panic gripped me, and I began to thrash, but it was no use. The earth was too heavy. My lungs burned, and I felt the edges of my vision go dark. Was this how I was going to die? Buried alive in a pit, branded a witch for powers I didn't understand?

Just when I thought I was going to pass out, something shifted. I felt the earth tremble around me, and suddenly, the dirt loosened. My body was lifted from the pit as if pulled by an unseen force. I gasped for air, my lungs burning as I emerged from the ground.

The crowd erupted into chaos. People were screaming, shouting that I was a witch, that I needed to be killed. But I was too weak to defend myself. I collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath as the guards moved to seize me.

Kai was there in an instant, his eyes wide with fear and anger. He stood between me and the crowd, his voice booming over the chaos. Enough!" he tried to yell at them, but they wouldn't stop.

I knew it was too late. I had survived the trials, but in the eyes of the pack, I was something else. Something they feared. Something they would never accept.

I was a witch.