25. YOU ALL NEED HER, AS MUCH AS I DO

DAEMON

I stepped out into the courtyard, the trudging boots met my ears as the guard made their way forward.

Jayda was restrained like an animal, chains around her neck and limbs as they shoved forward. Her mouth was sealed shut with an iron muzzle.

Her hair was disheveled, with dry patches of blood. Her eyes were sunken and hollow.

We locked eyes, and for a second I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces. Even though she couldn't speak, I could feel the pain through her gaze.

She made a small movement, perhaps sucking in a deep breath, I couldn't tell. She missed a step and toppled on the ground.

Before she could get on her feet, one of the guards drove his shin against her sides causing her to grunt painfully.

“Stop hitting her!” I yelled impulsively. The guard, seemingly paying no attention to me, grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her into a stance.

“Move it you witch!” One of them barked aggressively, his voice laced with disdain.

She winced and her legs were wobbly as she tried to find her balance. I couldn't just stand here and watch them do this to her.

She might have been a witch, but she wasn't a bad person.

“I can't wait for the alpha to call for the execution of this vermin,” the one that was holding her chain as though he was walking a dog muttered, i had this pressing urge to shove the chain down his throat.

As I witnessed the inhumane treatment she was getting, I felt perplexed. I couldn't deny that I felt something for her. I swallowed the lump forming in the back of my throat.

The doors to the throne room parted, revealing my father who was seated in the throne wearing a stern expression.

The elders were seated in two adjacent rows, their gazes turning to face Jayda. The guards roughly dragged her to the center of the throne room and then one of them gave her a swift kick to the legs, causing her to fall.

She let out a sharp breath as the air in her lungs were compressed and knocked out. Blood tainted her lips and she kept her head lowered.

They all looked at her like she was a circus freak, like she was a zoo animal meant for their entertainment. I felt my blood boiling, I clenched my fists to my side.

All she's ever done since she got here was help us and this is how they planned to repay her?

My father rose, his shadow looming over her as he made a slow descent from his elevated throne. The elders fell into a hushed silence as they watched him.

My heartbeat quickened and my chest tightened. I felt a shiver run down my spine when I began to imagine what he could possibly do to her.

“Take off the muzzle” he said in a relaxed tone, making her raise her head to face him.

“My alpha, she's a witch what if she-”

“Casts a spell on us?” Greyson finished and then extended the daggers for claws housed in his palms. “She wouldn't dare” he concluded with a smug grin that caused my skin to crawl with disgust.

One of the guards went down on one knee and loosened the muzzle, it dropped to the floor with a clink.

She let out a soft cough and then moved her tongue.

Greyson was getting dangerously close to her, I felt glued to the spot as I stood by the door. He grabbed her jaw and tilted her head upwards. “Look at this face, cause it's one of the last faces you'll see before you die”

She stood there unfazed, she didn't blink, she didn't frown, nothing. She just held an indifferent stare. Her face was still covered in fresh bruises and blood.

He shoved her backwards, making me flinch.

“Take her away, behead her and place her head on a stick, then send it to the coven. Let her serve as a warning to the others who would dare to set foot on our lands”

What?! Behead? I felt my heart skip the minute father made that judgement, how can he think of killing Jayda?

The frauds grabbed her arm and jerked her upwards, as they dragged her out of the throne room she tried to struggle but they were much stronger, and she was weak.

“Wait!” I shouted before I even realized. My voice resonated within the throne room with so much authority that all heads turned to face me. Except my father, who only froze in his tracks, but he didn't bother to turn around.

The guards paused as well, having some ounce of respect for the alpha's son. Even Jayda lazily raised her head to face me.

I swept my gaze through the room and stepped forward, nearing my father's throne. “Stop” he ordered when I reached the foot of his throne.

I stopped immediately, the sound of my footsteps ceasing. His back was still turned to me, but then he slowly turned around.

I dropped to my knees, trying to play on his sympathetic side. I was willing to do anything if it meant that Jayda would be spared.

“Permission to speak father, please” I said confidently.

He exhaled sharply and sighed “go ahead”

“You cannot execute Jayda, she has served this pack for months. She has healed most of the important figures in this pack. She stopped the plague from wiping us all out, she has helped you, you and many of you here, most of you would be dead if it wasn't for her” I explained.

“She is a witch, you know that”

“A good one” I countered. “And she's proven it so many times, if she wanted to harm us, she had the opportunity to, but she didn't, all this while she hasn't, you don't really think she's evil”

A scoff escaped from the distance, from the periphery of my vision I saw that it was one of the elders. “There's no such thing as a good witch.”

“But she saved your life, all your lives!” I flared up, feeling irritated by their lack of gratitude.

“Watch your tone young man” he retorted.

Greyson raised his hand, indicating that we maintained silence. I saw his face twist as he pondered on my words, hopefully seeing some reason in my statement.

“Daemon is not wrong, she has proven to be a valuable asset” he said, his voice void of emotions.

“On your feet” he ordered and I arose.

“Give me one good reason why I should spare her life”

My mind raced, I had to provide the perfect response, a wrong utterance from my end could result in her immediate execution, I couldn't afford to allow that to happen.

“The elders themselves confirmed that the scorpion is still out there” I said, gesturing towards them. “Who’s going to heal the people when that creature attacks? Who here can heal? is it you who claimed there is no good witch but couldn't you save yourself” I turned to the elder that spoke last, making guilt wash all over him.

“Surely there are other healers, we just have to search.”

“And where will you search? Do you know the lengths it took me to get Jayda? We tried that, we searched and searched and with every passing second out people were dying, we'd revert back to how things were before her arrival if we executed the one person who could cure the plague. There's no healer like her in the four kingdoms and you know it, you have all seen the previous healers, they couldn't even cure one person wholely”

He paused, I watched as doubt washed across his face. “We only have two enemies, the easterners and the witches. She, is a witch. How can we trust that she's not here for a different purpose?”

I looked at her through the corner of my eyes, and she stared at me with hopeful eyes.

“She is different, she has been here with us, helping us because she truly cares about the people, she has never requested that I pay for her service, not has she asked for anything in exchange. She is a good person father, that, I can attest.”

I turned to face the elders, feeling a surge of boldness. “You all sit here and clamour for the execution of someone who saved you from a beast you failed to save yourselves from, what happens after her death and then the scorpion returns? Is this how you pay her back?”

Their faces fell, shock etched into their features.

My father let out a sigh, folding his arms behind him. “Very well then, guards, take her to the dungeons, lock her up. I'll decide what to do later”

The guards nodded and led her away. The elders began to chatter amongst themselves brewing noise in the throne room as whispers flew left and right.

A sickening growl that made my stomach drop rippled through the room, echoing off the walls as the room fell into silence.

“Do not taken this gesture as an olive branch, the fued between our kind and the witches is still very much existent. It has been one that existed for years, long before our grandfather's even dreamt of being born and it's not going to stop today”

A trembling hand was raised in the air, it was one of the elders. “Permit me to speak, but then why did you spare her life if that is the case?” He asked.

“She's still of value to us for now as my son has rightly pointed, he is soon to be Alpha and I respect his decision and judgement, I will deal with her in a manner I deem fit”

He turned around and ascended and then sat on his throne.

“Nobody is allowed to visit her in the dungeons, if caught there will be consequences” he declared, narrowing his gaze at me.

“You are all dismissed”