Page 20 of The Silent Mountain
If the witch proves to be trustworthy, I would like to take her to the shore so that she can take a look at what’s going on.
“It’s going to be alright,” Alana tells me when we head to my meeting room after breakfast. “Please don’t worry so much. I won’t allow any threat to enter this kingdom.”
“Is my tension that obvious?”
She takes my hand. “I think I feel it through the mate bond,” she admits. “But even if I didn’t, it’s still pretty evident on your face.” She pauses. “How have you been sleeping recently? With the scented candles and the tea that we tried.”
I look at her, not able to lie straight to her face. “It’s the usual.”
She looks shocked. “You didn’t sleep at all?”
“The tea helped me relax,” I admit. “But I subconsciously battled its effects.”
Alana looks worried now, but nothing about her indicates that she is ready to give up. Since her first nightmare, when she found out about my insomnia, she has provided me with one idea after another to try and help me sleep. “Alright, I will think of something new for tonight.”
I’m curious to see what she has planned now. She is like an endless pit of ideas and creativity, something I truly love about her. But there is no time for further discussion, because Stefan and his witch are already waiting for us. Once I step into my meeting room, my eyes land on Stefan first, who bows and greets me politely, then I spot the young woman next to him. She is of small height, has the wildest locks I’ve ever seen, and a cute button nose. She is rather small and curvy.
“Your Highness,” Stefan says politely. “I’ve summoned the witch just as you requested.”
My attention turns from him to the young woman next to him once more. “She is the witch?”
“Yes, sir,” she says with a bright smile. “I mean, yes, King Fabi.”
“Favian,” Stefan corrects her.
“Oops,” she blushes. “King Favian.”
I stare at her in disbelief. I’m not sure what I expected, but she doesn’t look like any witch I’ve ever met or heard of before. Next to me, I can feel Alana’s surprise, and her curiosity too. “You are a witch?”
“Yes, a white witch, I only use magic I can extract from nature, like healing spells or defensive ones,” she says. “I know a bit about curses as well.”
That doesn’t sound too bad, but still… “So, you can heal?”
“I… I guess I can try?” she offers.
Which is it now? I am starting to feel a tad annoyed. So far, I’ve tried to use the mind link as little as possible. Our links get more stable as we grow together as a clan. As the king, I can link any one of my dragon shifters at any time, but they are all still healing and collecting the pieces of their former life. Their minds are still resting, and so are their dragons, which is why I barely link them.
But I feel like now is a good time to make an exception.Is this a joke?I ask Stefan.
She is a witch unlike any other,he says.
I stare at him.I wanted an unusual witch, yes, but not a useless one!
Allow me to show you something, my king.
I nod at him.
“Cassie,” he starts. “Are you happy to be here? You must be honored to serve the Dragon King.”
“Of course I am,” she beams, smiling brightly at us.
My annoyance starts to return as I try to figure out what Stefan wants to prove with this fake little question and her fake little answer. That’s when I see it. Blue dots are starting to spread on her skin.
Alana and I exchange a surprised look.
“You are turning blue,” I mutter.
“Oh no,” she whines, rubbing her face. “No, no, no, stop it! Okay, okay, I’m honored, but I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to serve the dragons, but I have no other choice!”
