The Dark Witch Chronicles Book One: The Curse of The Cymmerien Dragon
Chapter Thirty Seven: Betrayal

Lea coughed as Soter helped her sit up. He pushed a pillow behind her and she rested her back on it, leaning her head on the wall. Azrael immediately rushed to her side and sat beside her on the bed. Lea shut her eyes for a long moment before turning to Azrael and giving him a tired smile. He held her hand.

“How are you feeling?” He asked in a whisper.

“I’m fine,” she replied, her voice raspy.

“I’ll get you something to eat,” Soter said and stood up to go to the kitchen.

Amara and Iris headed towards the bed and Iris offered a reassuring grin to Leandra who returned it with one of her own exhausted smile. Her face looked paler than ever, Iris observed. Her eyes had dark patches under them; overall she seemed weak since she had not eaten in three days.

“Do you remember what happened?” Azrael asked cautiously, not wanting to make her feel like he was burdening her right when she woke up.

“Let her eat first, Rael. She’ll answer your questions later,” said Amara, taking a step forward.

Leandra snapped her head towards Amara. Since when did she start calling him Rael? She wondered but decided that now wasn’t the time to bring up that issue. There were other things to be taken care of. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FɪndNøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“No, I’m alright,” Leandra croaked.

“Are you sure?” Amara asked with concern and she nodded in response.

Iris picked up a glass of water and extended it in Lea’s direction before she began talking. At least that was due until Soter got the food. Lea gulped down the water in urgency. Her throat that had been feeling dry and parched now seemed soothed. She let out a sigh, putting the goblet away. Azrael continued to hold one of her hands in his own, not wanting to let go. He did not intend to lose his sister again.

“While we were waiting at the place you had asked us to,” she began. “We were busy chatting and then I felt this strange presence around me. I couldn’t understand what it was. It seemed weird but there was something; something bad. I tried to sense what it was but nothing helped. That presence lingered around us for a while before Iris passed out. I tried to wake her up but the invisible force was concealing me from doing so. I tried a lot. That force began to push me away from her. But as I struggled to get closer to Iris, I was thrown afar. By the time I recovered and reached back, she was already gone. I panicked and started looking for her.

“I looked in every possible place I could but it felt like something was stopping me from going much further. Then I waited. I stopped at a place and waited to try to understand what the force was. It was so strong that it had ceased my voice. I couldn’t speak. Then I was being lifted above. It was as though there were chains around my body. That force took me higher into the air, it all happened so fast I couldn’t even send any messages. I struggled then something crashed into my abdomen and before I knew it, I was on the ground. By this time I think you all had realized that Iris and I had disappeared. But I was far from the tree we were supposed to be waiting under.

“After that I was dragged to the Sea of Cypress. I struggled a lot but the strength the force had was impossible to battle all by myself. So I concentrated on identifying what it was. Right before I was thrown into the sea, I sensed that it was a spirit. Whether it was the spirit that we were carrying or some other one, I’m not sure. But I know that it was an extremely powerful one. And that’s it. You know the rest.”

When she finished, Soter walked in with a tray of fruits and a vegetable salad. Everyone made way for him to go in and he placed the food in Leandra’s lap. A moment later, she was busy savouring the food kept before her. Amara decided to leave the chamber to ponder upon why a spirit would so attack Leandra. Was it sent by Noctia Stella to make Leandra leave Iris? Had it been sent by Lord Mikhail to distract Leandra so Iris could be harmed? He had wanted to harm Iris and Erasmus anyway. Now that Erasmus was already trapped, it was easier for him to hurt Iris to accomplish his task since she could turn out to be the brightest witch there ever was. What could it have been?

It was quite disturbing to have such an attack happening when a battle was about to strike. It only made sense that the spirit and Noctia Stella were sent by Mikhail so he could weaken the army. As she walked out of the chamber, Eridanus followed after her leaving Iris and Azrael with Leandra to take care of. He knew there was no point in staying with Iris when she was busy with her injured best friend. It only made sense to leave them alone along with Leandra’s brother who needed to be with his sister at that moment. Eridanus walked out of the chamber and shut the door behind him, looking for Amara in the process. She was going towards the great hall and he began to proceed after her.

“Amara,” he called out.

But she didn’t respond. She kept walking. Eridanus sprinted in her direction and stood before her in the hall.

“Amara,” he said again and she looked up from where she was staring at the floor wondering about the questions that were bothering her.

“Yes?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.

“The Lord asked me to tell you that he wants to see you as soon as you return,” he told her.

“Why did you not tell me before?” She said and started to turn for going towards Lord Lucifer’s chamber when Eridanus grabbed her arm to stop her.

“Wait,” he told her, going in front of her again.

When he did not let go of her arm involuntarily, Amara shot him an intimidating glare that made him step away instantly. Just because she was being normal towards him did not mean that he could make any sort of close contact with her. She knew he didn’t mean any harm nor did he have any wrong intentions. But there was a stature that Amara had to maintain and no one but Azrael and Iris were allowed to crash it down. She had not expected that to happen with Azrael either, but things seemed to have suddenly changed.

“I’m sorry,” Eridanus said sheepishly.

“What do you need?” She asked impatiently.

If the Lord had asked to see her immediately then she had no time to spare. It had to be important.

“Do you think those spirits were sent by Lady Calypsa?” He asked, perplexed.

Amara was taken aback. She had not thought of something like that. Why would Lady Calypsa send spirits to harm Iris and Leandra? There was nothing remotely close to what they had done that would be of any issue to her. But could it be that Iris and Leandra were not welcome at the Sea of Cypress and that angered Lady Calypsa? Although, Amara knew that there was enough trust, so the Lady would talk to Amara or Azrael directly if it were a problem.

“Why do you say that?” She asked with a frown.

“I’m not sure. I mean, Iris and Leandra got attacked near the Sea of Cypress and Leandra was found in the Sea itself. It’s sort of curious. Also if Lea says it was a sprit that harmed them, it’s only natural to wonder that the spirits could have been the ones that we carried and that Lady Calypsa asked one to attack,” he replied.

“Okay, look, I have to meet the Lord at the moment. We’ll think about this when I return. Until then you try come up with some conclusion for this, okay?” She told him.

Eridanus nodded in response and Amara pushed past him to rush towards Lord Lucifer’s chamber. She knocked on the door thrice upon reaching. It was opened by Ambrosius who asked her what she needed.

“The Lord asked me to meet him after I returned,” she told him.

Ambrosius disappeared for a moment and then Lord Lucifer walked outside the chamber, shutting the door behind him.

“Follow me,” he said to her and she silently obeyed, walking after him to where he led her.

They were going towards the sacrificial chamber and Lord Lucifer stopped at the closed door.

“Lilith’s spirit is in there, Amara,” he said. “Lord Vairya tells me that the spirit is very uncertain. It has started to descend to the afterlife and a part of her keeps pulling her back to the world. It is most dangerous for she is malign as well as safe at the same time. We need to be more careful. The battle will start in the next two weeks. The two covens that are going to be our allies will be here by tomorrow night. We discuss strategies thereafter. But if Lilith’s spirit is not controlled properly, it will destroy everything.

“The three treasures will be threatened once again, for they will be out in the open. It won’t take time for Lord Mikhail to resurrect himself and achieve what he wants to. I need you to put your protective shields around this chamber for protection. Lord Vairya will be inside at all times. To safeguard him and to make sure that nobody from the enemies finds out he is here, we need to guard this area thoroughly. Will you perform the required spells?” He completed and Amara immediately nodded in response.

“Of course, m’Lord. I will begin right away,” she replied.

“What of the two young witches? Are they alright?” He then asked.

“At the moment, yes. But m’Lord, may I discuss something with you?” She said.

“Go on,” he told her and they began to walk away from the chamber to get seated somewhere.

Amara led him to the library where they sat opposite to one another.

“Leandra says that there was a spirit that attacked Iris and herself. We are quite confused about where the spirit might have come from. Also, Iris was captured by Noctia Stella, who was supposed to be in Heletes but somehow she reached the Sea of Cypress, which is most curious. I am not sure if I can come up with an answer. What are your thoughts on this, m’Lord?” She asked.

“Well, it is perplexing, to say the least. As far as the spirit attacking Leandra is concerned, I have my doubts on Lord Mikhail. Maybe he wanted to harm her so he sent some unidentifiable spirit. Leandra is strong enough to battle a Conjurer as far as I have seen her strength. But fighting a spirit all alone is very difficult even for someone stronger. I do keep my doubts on Lord Mikhail. Since we cannot prove anything at the moment, I think this should be left to ponder upon until after the battle. Maybe we get some clues that tell us it was him.

“Then there is Noctia Stella. She would have needed a very powerful someone to help her reach the Sea of Cypress. I don’t think that had anything to do with Lord Mikhail but we cannot underestimate him at that. Noctia Stella, however, had her own motives in wanting to harm Iris. Who brought her there is the question. I have my doubts on the traitor. Have you been able to find out who it is?”

“No, my Lord. There hasn’t been much time for that but we are trying,” she told him with remorse.

“M’Lord, may I ask you something else?” Amara said before he could say anything else. Lord Lucifer nodded in response.

“Why did Noctia Stella capture you?” she said, hesitantly, not wanting to seem too interfering.

Lord Lucifer sighed. “Noctia Stella is one that created the book of Darkest Witchcraft and she found out about it being one of the treasures that Lady Calypsa guards. She has trained someone in dark witchcraft and I assume that it could be our traitor since that is the only person who has any idea about what the prophecy holds apart from you and Azrael. There is a connection between these two, and I happened to be in the land of Heletes for some rest during my travel. That is when she must have realized that I was there and captured me to extract information.”

“The traitor must be found. . . .” Amara breathed, realizing the intensity of the situation.

The battle would prove futile if they failed to find the traitor. Whoever it was would know the battle strategies and it would then be sent to Lord Mikhail so he could break everything easily. It was important to find out who it was immediately for the other covens would arrive the next night.

“Yes, we don’t have much time. Erasmus sent a message saying that the war strategies are being planned out discreetly in Lord Mikhail’s chambers. The traitor is probably the one that helped Noctia Stella and is the only connection between Lord Mikhail and the Mortuis. Everything will then fall into place.”

That being said, Lord Lucifer got up and left the library leaving Amara in utter worry about how she was going to find out who the traitor was. Sighing, she stood up and started walking back to the great hall where she was going to meet Eridanus. When she spotted him sitting on a chair in the hall, she walked over to him and settled beside him.

“Any results?” She asked.

He was sitting with his head resting on his fists, elbows on his knees. When Amara spoke, he looked up at her distractedly.

“Nothing,” he told her.

Amara sighed in response, looking away.

“I have to talk to Azrael. Keep thinking,” she told him and left to go back to Leandra’s chamber.

She could not tell him about the traitor that Lord Lucifer had talked about. Who knew if Eridanus was the one anyway? She headed forwards, about to bump into Iris who was busy staring at the floor as she walked.

“Iris,” Amara said and she snapped her head upwards, coming to a halt.

“Amara,” Iris breathed.

“Are you alright?” She asked looking at the uncertain expression Iris bore.

“I’m fine. I’m okay. I just-I need some water,” she said and placed her hand on her throat.

“Okay,” Amara replied blankly, nodding.

When she started to walk past Iris, Amara was pulled back to where she was before. She frowned, looking down at Iris, who let out a breath.

“Lea and Azrael are having an argument. I don’t exactly know what it is about because I was busy talking to Soter. He just left to get some herbs for Lea. And I had to leave because I felt thirsty and didn’t want to disrupt their conversation,” she said with uncertainty.

“An argument? Between Azrael and Leandra?” Amara shot back with equal confusion and worry.

It was hard to believe. Those two had such adoration and love for each other that thinking of them fighting or arguing over something seemed completely absurd and strange. Just a day ago, Leandra had spoken Azrael’s name in her unconscious state and Azrael had been so scared for her that it took a hug to calm him down along with a few more reassuring words. Now that she was awake and alright, they were arguing?

Maybe it is just a normal sibling dispute, Amara wondered. But it was still hard to believe. So she decided to go and see what was happening. An injured Leandra arguing with her brother did not seem like a very safe thing to do given their state of mind.

“You go get your water. I’ll see what’s going on,” she said to Iris who nodded in reply and then Amara proceeded towards Leandra’s chamber. She stopped at the door, hesitating whether or not to open it and go inside. She did not want to interrupt their discussion, it was personal. But the sounds coming from inside were not being of any help to her. So letting out a sigh, Amara slowly opened the door. She did not wish to eavesdrop, but hearing what the argument was about before she barged in to stop it seemed like a sensible thing to do. So with her head leaning on the slightly ajar door, she paid attention to what was being said. She heard Leandra’s voice first, filled with angst.

“. . .Accept it. Accept that it was you who tried to get Erasmus into trouble. Be brave, Rael, tell them that it was you who sent a message to the King’s Minister so they could find Lord Zachariah,” she was saying.

Amara’s breath stopped. Her eyes were wide and panic covered her face as she tried to understand what was going on.

“You don’t mean that, Lea,” said Azrael.

Amara sensed a sorrowful tone in his voice.

“I do, I do mean it. It’s only fair to accept that it was you who helped Noctia Stella reach the Sea of Cypress so she could harm Iris. It was you!” Bellowed Leandra, and at that moment Amara’s head began to spin. She clutched the handle of the door for support trying to digest what she was hearing.

“It was you who let the Lord get into the clutches of Noctia Stella and you tried to deceive them by going with Amara to rescue him! How long will you lie? How long will you act like you are not the messenger of Lord Mikhail? For how long will this betrayal go on?”

“Lea, you need to shut up right now!” Azrael threatened.

His voice was now frightening, and it made Amara want to go in and save Leandra if at all he were to do something silly. But she did not know what she was supposed to do. Was Leandra telling the truth? Was Azrael the traitor that they were looking for?

“No, I won’t! What is your beloved Amara going to say to this? Do you think she’ll be happy upon knowing that you’re the one threat who is living in the same castle with her and luring her into falling for you? Don’t think I don’t see the way you’re meddling with her feelings. I see it, and I see that she has started to fall for you. You’re that brilliant, aren’t you? You acted like the one person that she could trust and when she finds out who you really are, what is going to happen?”

That was when Amara began to hyperventilate; that was when Iris reached to where she was and looking at Amara’s expressions, she started to go inside the chamber when Amara held her hand in place to stop her. Her grip was so tight that it began to hurt Iris but she dared not make a single sound.

“Lea, enough! I won’t hear another word-”

“No! I’m going to tell the truth to the Lord. I cannot believe you would do this. I didn’t know my brother was a traitor,” Leandra hissed and Amara sensed footsteps ascending towards the door, and before she could step away and leave or go inside herself, the door was slammed open to reveal a limping Leandra holding the door and Azrael standing at a distance with his head hanging.

Amara’s eyes were stuck on him. Was everything that she just heard true? Had Azrael broken her trust? Had she made the same mistake again? Was he really the traitor? Should she believe what Leandra had said? Her head was spinning out of control as she stared at Azrael who now looked up. His eyes were bloodshot, he held a murderous look and before she knew it, he had lunged towards Leandra in an attacking stance when Iris pulled her away only to fall to the floor along with Azrael. His eyes then lifted themselves to find Amara standing before him.

He seemed to have regained control then as he stood up. He opened his mouth to speak something when Amara cut him off.

“Is this true?” She whispered, staring at him blankly while Iris lifted Leandra off the floor.

“Amara I-”

“Is everything that Leandra just said, true?” She spoke again, her voice a bit louder.

“There is nothing that I would-”

“Are you the traitor?” She asked, still as cold and blank.

“I-”

“ARE YOU THE TRAITOR?” She now screamed.

The walls shook by the force of her tone of voice. It rang in Azrael’s ears and he flinched, taking a step back. Never had he seen Amara that angry. And now he knew that if he did not answer her questions, there would be destruction. He glanced at Leandra once before turning back to Amara.

Letting out a breath, he mumbled, “Yes.”

That was all it took for Amara to grab his throat and push him backwards to a wall. He did not struggle against it. By now, Eridanus, Sienna, Fabian and Ambrosius had arrived, for Amara’s voice had given the message to everyone that there was something grave that had happened.

“WHY? THE LORD TRUSTED YOU! I TRUSTED YOU!” she said, an agonizing tone in her speech.

There was a strange pain that was crawling up inside of her and she could not shake it away hard as she tried.

“I’m sorry,” was all Azrael said and Amara slammed his head on the wall behind.

It did not hurt him as much as the fact that what he was saying did Amara. He shut his eyes at the pain only to open them back in moments.

“Why?” She whispered with her eyes moist.

She could not believe it. It was painful; extremely painful. Hearing Leandra say the words and hearing Azrael do the same had a lot of difference. He admitted it, he agreed to it. And that was what killed her inside, knowing that he was the traitor they had been looking for. How could it be?

“I’m sorry,” he said again, looking down.

Amara stared at him long and hard before she let go of him and he was thrown to the floor. Those questions were to be asked by the Lord, she concluded.

“Inform the Lord that the traitor has been found,” she announced.

Ambrosius frowned. What traitor? He wondered. Nobody knew that there was a traitor apart from Amara, Azrael and Lord Lucifer. So it was quite obvious that Ambrosius would be clueless.

“GO!” she ordered and Ambrosius left immediately, not wanting to anger her anymore.

Azrael lay on the floor, staring at nothing in particular. Everyone had questions but no one dared to say a word. No one wanted to face Amara’s wrath. When Lord Lucifer entered the chamber, he glanced around everywhere from Eridanus to Iris to Leandra to Azrael and then his eyes stopped at Amara.

“The traitor has been found, m’Lord,” she whispered, gesturing towards Azrael.

Lord Lucifer turned his head towards his apprentice that lay on the floor, blank. He then turned to Amara but she was already gone. He did not want to question her. He was well aware of the fact that it would not be without cause that Amara had pointed out Azrael as the traitor. He trusted Amara far more than he did Azrael.

“Get the guards. Open the cellar, and take him,” he ordered coldly while staring at Azrael.

Moments later, three guards were in the chamber, pulling Azrael to his feet and dragging him outside. There was no movement that he made by himself. But as he was being dragged out of the chamber, his eyes flickered over to the side to find someone offering him a triumphant grin.

It was Leandra.

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