Chapter 91 Untitled Chapter
Chapter 91 Untitled Chapter
“The new moon is the only time when the veil between both worlds is at its weakest,” the seer said, peering up at him with her silver eyes, “so it will be easier for you to get into the spiritual realm today than on any other time but you already know that.”
Lyon nodded. He knew that the new moon was a time when the creatures of the moon, the werewolves, were at their strongest and coincidentally, their weakest. Because under this moon, werewolves were able to fully shift into their wolves, but if they were k
“I know all about the new moon, wise woman. What I want to know is how it can help me enter into the spiritual realm.”
“Patience, prince Lyon,” she warned, “if you enter into this hastily, you will only be getting you, your mate and everyone relying on both of you killed.”
That stopped Lyon short. The thought of Rina dying, passing on to the next world…
His wolf growled. That wasn’t happening. They would bring her back safe and sound and nothing was going to happen to her.
“Here,” Lyon looked up to see the healer giving him a rolled piece of papyrus.
“What is this?” He asked, unrolling it. He stilled at what he saw. “A map?”
“Not just any map, prince Lyon.” She cocked her head. “It is the map that leads to the Veil, the doorway to the spiritual realm.”
That raised Lyon’s head up as he came to understand just what he held in his hands. “A map to the spirit realm? Wasn’t this thought to have been lost forever?”
“Do you really want a map that could lead one into the spiritual realm and become known to the public? Everyone would be trying to bring back their loved ones from the dead.”
“But it doesn’t work like that,” Lyon said, his voice hoarse.
The healer’s eyes softened as she knew he was remembering his mother. “Yes, but no one would believe that. Not until it was too late.”
A brief pause, then she asked, her voice quiet,“You still think of her, don’t you?”
Lyon turned away, his throat burning as he swallowed. “How could I not? She was my mother, I think of her everyday.”
“Oh Lyon,” the seer placed her hand on his shoulder, “if there was a way to bring her back I would. Sometimes I mix herbs and think what if I had just tried a little harder, given her another mixture, maybe she wouldn’t have left us this soon…
“Don’t say that. It wasn’t your fault. She knew that she was too weak to carry another child but she wanted him too much….”
The curtains in the room billowed and the seer stepped back, avoiding his eyes. Lyon immediately sensed something was wrong.
“Lyon, there’s something you need to know.” She fingered the loose threads on her cloak. “Your mother didn't die during childbirth because of her weakness. She died because of something else. A curse.”
Lyon frowned. “A curse? What are you talking about? That's not what father told me…” he trailed off, knowing that the last person he could trust was his father.
“Your father, he meant well, he didn’t want you to worry,” Lyon snorted but the healer continued. “The reason why your mother died was because a powerful sorceress laid a curse on him. She cursed him and his mate saying that they would die during childbirth. That’s why your mother died.”
Lyon staggered back, stumbling under the weight of the words he had just heard.
What the hell was the wise woman talking about? His mother had died because of a witch’s curse? How had he never known about this? All along he had thought that his mother’s death had been because of her weakened state. Instead, it had all been a curse by a sorceress instead?
Lyon looked up, his eyes shards of ice. “Tell me everything.”
The seer looked hesitant, her lips pursed in contemplation. “I shouldn’t be telling you all this.”
“I’ve had enough of the secrets.” His wolf was rising, his eyes shifting, and it was all he could do to control it. It didn’t sit well with him, not knowing things.
He said, more calm, “Please, I deserve to know what really happened to my mother. Why did the sorceress curse us in the first place?”
The seer’s eye glazed as if she was being transported back to that time, her voice husky, “You have to understand during that time it was forbidden for a werewolves to breed with witches after the Great War. All the creatures agreed on it and that’s the way it continued until one day, your father received word that another alpha was having a relationship with a sorceress.”
“The king was enraged and went to battle with the alpha. He killed all the wolves that had accepted the witches into their pack, both women and children, slaughtered them all. And the sorceress, seeing that her lover had been killed, cursed your father just before he killed her too.” Her voice wavered. “And the baby in her womb.”
Lyon stilled. “What?” His voice cracked.
The seer turned away, busying her trembling hands. “Like I said. Dark times.”
Lyon was only half listening to her, his mind racing. His father had been the reason for the curse, the curse that had killed his mother. And not only that he had killed entire families, women, children and even a baby and all for what? And yet…
“You said the baby died?”
She looked at him knowingly. “It’s not her.”
Three words, yet it deflated his chest. The baby wasn’t Rina, it hadn’t survived. It hadn’t been given a chance to live, to grow.
Emotions threatened to suffocate him so he asked, “That’s why the king annihilated all the witches, wasn't it? Because of this curse?”
“Yes, it was in part. When your mother died during childbirth, the king knew it was because of the curse and waged war on the witches for it. There were a lot of killings that day. The river flowed red that night.” She looked at him compassionately. “The king really cared for your mother, and it pained him what happened to her.”
He scoffed disgustedly. “Did it really hurt the king or his wounded ego?”
The healer looked down. He had noticed that the seer had said, cared not loved. He doubted his father even knew the meaning of the word.
Restless he turned to the window at the back of the house, uttering almost to himself. “So that’s why the massacre happened. Not because the witches were planning a coup but because of my father’s actions.”
“Lyon, you have to understand your father,” the seer interjected hastily. “The witches had killed his mate.”
“Because he had gone to them first.” His voice was ice itself. “What would you do if someone had come and just killed off your entire family without even trying to reason first? I love my mother and I miss her everyday but if my father hadn’t gone there in the first place, she would still be alive..”
“But they had disobeyed him. As the king, he had to punish them.” She frowned. “If he didn’t, he would look like a weak king.”
“A weak king?” Lyon slowly turned back from the window to face her. “A weak king is someone who chooses violence over protecting his people. That battle led to a war that could have been easily avoided if only he had tried to keep the peace. Don’t try to defend him, seer. The witches weren't right but he should have known better.” He shook his head in disgust.
“Perhaps,” the healer said slowly, “when you become king, you’ll understand why your father did what he did.”
Lyon shifted but said nothing. He had no desire to be a king like his father and, he vowed again, after all this was over, and he had gotten Rina back, he was challenging his father for the throne.