Page 22 of The Silent Mountain
“My former coven is a very elitist one,” she admits. “They sometimes get hired by the Fae kingdom for help and are very proud of their heritage and strength. I was always the odd one out. They only kept me because my mom was a powerful witch and died for the coven.”
“I thought covens were like families,” I say.
“No, most of them are really more like an organization,” Cassie explains. “It’s not like a shifter pack.”
“It’s why a lot of witches like to join a pack,” Alana explains. “Many of them are also lone witches, like Aylin, the witch of the royal werewolf pack. Dark witches can get very old and often spend centuries roaming the lands and different countries before settling down. White witches are rather rooted to one place.”
“Okay, Cassie,” I frown. “Where can you stay? I think I have an idea.” I call one of my guards, having him bring Frederick to me. He appears only a couple of minutes later as he was just in the library, reading up on herbs.
“King Favian,” he says with a gentle smile. “How can I help you?”
With a few words, I describe Cassie’s situation, noticing how Frederick indeed looks at her sympathetically instead of fearfully. Stefan’s strategy might just work.
“As our current healer, do you think you could mentor and tutor her to learn more about healing?” I ask him.
“Of course,” he smiles at Cassie. “What do you think, little Miss Cassie?”
“I would love to!” she beams. “No one has ever tutored me before.”
“If you want, my king, she can stay in my house,” Frederick offers. “My mate and I are alone and wouldn’t mind the breath of fresh air.”
“She is slightly… chaotic,” I warn him.
“I noticed that from your explanation already,” he says with a smile. “It doesn’t matter.”
“What do you think, Cassie?” I ask her.
“I would like to stay with the nice old man,” she agrees, making Stefan and Alana grin.
Frederick doesn’t seem to mind being called old and instead just chuckles. “Then, allow me to show you the way.”
I watch them both leave, shaking my head slightly. “What do you think?” Alana asks me.
“It could work,” I admit. “The fact that she can’t lie could prove useful for us, but also become a danger.”
“I agree,” Stefan says. “If our enemies get her, then it might be dangerous. We can’t share any secrets with her.”
“Once she proves to be trustworthy,” Alana says. “We can find a way to lift the curse. She is only seventeen. I doubt her former coven leader put an unbreakable curse on her. I’d even go as far as to say that if she put some thinking into it, she probably could have already broken it.”
“I’m not sure if I should cry or laugh,” I say, but slowly my amusement wins over.
“I can keep an eye on her,” Alana offers.
I’m not sure how to feel about that. I know Alana is capable, but at the same time, I don’t want to deliberately put her at risk. She catches on to my troubled thoughts and looks at me, amused. “I’m capable of handling this young witch, and I have Barbara and Ludwig constantly with me.”
“I know,” I mutter. “Still, she poses a risk.”
“I will keep an eye on her too,” Stefan says. “It was me who brought her into our kingdom, so part of the responsibility lies on me.”
“See, we will share the babysitting,” Alana says.
I have nothing to complain about her offer now, so I just nod. “Thank you. Now, the only problem that remains is: Is she even useful?”
“She is chaotic and young,” Stefan explains. “But she comes from an elite coven, and she has learned a lot. She just doesn’t know what to do with her knowledge. Also, my contacts have told me that she has a good intuition.”
“Well, I guess we can try,” I say.
“What’s the plan for the rest of the day?” Alana asks. “You asked me to keep the whole day free.”
