Chapter 115 Blade

Chapter 115 Blade
When she woke, she was in chains.

The dungeon was damp and cold, the walls covered in runes that suppressed her magic. She could feel it, the power that had once flowed so freely through her, now locked away, trapped behind a barrier of dark enchantments.

She was alone. Or so she thought.

"You're awake."

Morwenna stepped out of the shadows, her face bathed in the pale light of a single candle. She was holding a blade, its edge gleaming with an unholy light.

"What do you want from me?" Seraphina asked, her voice hoarse and weak.

"I want you gone," Morwenna said simply. "I want you erased from existence. I want to be the most powerful witch in the coven, and as long as you live, I will never achieve that."

"You're a fool," Seraphina spat. "The coven will never accept you. They know what you are a traitor, a collaborator with the enemy."

"They'll accept me once you're dead." Morwenna's smile was cold, predatory. "They'll have no choice."

\---

The news reached Gideon the following morning.

He was in the war room, reviewing patrol routes with his beta, when one of his scouts burst through the door, his face pale with alarm.

"Alpha," the scout said, his voice shaking. "It's the witch. She's missing."

Gideon's heart seized. "What do you mean, she's missing?"

"There was a struggle near the forest edge," the scout informed him. "We found signs of a fight, but she's not there. Some of the pack members claim they saw wolves moving someone north up the hill. They think she's been taken."

Gideon was already moving, his heart pounding with fear and fury. He grabbed his sword, his eyes blazing with a fire that made the scout take a step back.

"Assemble a search party," he ordered. "Now."

He left the war room, his mind racing with a thousand possibilities. Who would dare to take her? Who would dare to harm the woman he loved?

But he knew the answer before the question had fully formed. The wolves who opposed the truce, the ones who had been whispering against him for months. They had finally made their move.

He reached the eastern gate, where a group of wolves was already gathering. Among them, to his surprise, he saw Seraphina's mother, the High Priestess, her face pale with grief and rage.

"Alpha," she called out, her voice cold and formal. "I will be joining you."

Gideon nodded, too consumed by fear to argue. "We don't have much time. If they've taken her north, we need to move quickly."

The search party set out, a strange alliance of wolves and witches united by a common purpose. They moved through the forest, following the trail of Seraphina's captors.

But as they climbed the hill, the trail grew colder, more difficult to follow. And when they reached the summit, they found nothing but an empty clearing and the lingering scent of dark magic.

Gideon's heart sank. 

The High Priestess walked close behind him, her face pale, her eyes hollow with fear. She had not spoken since they had left the coven, her silence more terrifying than any words could have been. 

Gideon could feel her pain, a mirror of his own, and it only deepened his desperation.

They were almost at the clearing when the High Priestess suddenly screamed.

The sound was raw, primal, tearing through the silence like a blade. 

Gideon spun around, his heart seizing, and saw her collapse to her knees, her hands clutching her chest.

"No," she gasped, her voice choked with anguish. "No, no, no—"

"High Priestess!" Gideon rushed to her side, his hands reaching for her. "What is it? What's wrong?"

She looked up at him, her eyes wild with terror. "I can't feel her," she whispered, her voice breaking. "I can't feel Seraphina anymore. Something is wrong, something is terribly wrong."

Gideon's blood ran cold. He had felt it too, a sudden emptiness where her presence had once been. But he had refused to acknowledge it, refused to believe that anything could have happened to her.

"Pray, Alpha," the High Priestess screamed, her voice sharp and bitter. "Pray that nothing has happened to my daughter. Because if it has, I will never forgive you, I will never forgive any of you."

She pulled herself to her feet, her eyes blazing with a fury that made Gideon's heart ache. He knew she had every right to.

But there was no time for blame. There was only the desperate need to reach Seraphina before it was too late.

They burst into the clearing, and the sight that greeted them shattered Gideon's world.

Seraphina lay on the ground, her body crumpled and broken, her silver hair spread around her like a halo of light. 

Her face was pale, her eyes closed, and a dark stain spread across her chest, seeping through her robes like a cruel mockery of life.

She had been stabbed deeply. The wound was mortal, the blood pooling beneath her.

"Seraphina!" Gideon's scream tore through the silence as he rushed to her side, falling to his knees beside her. He gathered her into his arms, his hands pressing against the wound, trying to stem the flow of blood that was draining the life from her.

Her eyes fluttered open, and when they found his, they were filled with a love so profound that it broke him completely.

"Gideon," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "You came."

"Of course I came." Tears streamed down his face, hot and relentless. "I will always come for you. Always."

She reached up, her trembling fingers brushing against his cheek. "I knew you would," she said, a faint smile touching her lips. "I knew you would find me."

"Don't speak." He pressed his hand more firmly against her wound, desperate to stop the bleeding. "Save your strength. We're going to get you out of here, I'm going to save you."

"There's nothing you can do." Her voice was soft, accepting. "The blade was enchanted. It's... it's too late."